Wasn’t Up To The Challenge

(The majority of what we sell consists of alcohol and tobacco products. Because of the UK’s “Challenge 25” scheme, despite the fact that the age at which you can buy alcohol and tobacco is 18, if a person looks under 25 they must be asked for ID when purchasing either product. Two girls come in to buy cigarettes. They both look no older than 16. Of course, I have to ask them for ID before I am allowed to sell cigarettes to them.)

Girl #1: “Yeah, I’m 18.”

Me: “I’m sorry; I still need to see your ID.”

([Girl #1] produces her ID. It turns out that she is JUST 18, by about a week. [Girl #2] looks worried.)

Girl #2: “I don’t have any ID on me.”

Me: “I’m sorry. I can’t serve you without ID.”

Girl #2: “I’m 20!”

Me: “Look. I’m sorry, but if you can’t prove your age, I am not allowed to serve you.”

Girl #1: “Yeah, you’ve just seen my ID; you know that we’re over 18.”

Me: “No, I’ve seen your ID, not hers.”

Girl #1: “Fine, I’ll buy them then.”

Me: “Well, I’m still not allowed to serve you; you’ve just stood there and told me that you’re buying them for her. That would be a proxy sale, which is still illegal.”

Girl #1: “Oh, my God. I’m buying them, though. You’ve seen my ID.”

(This went on for several minutes, with her repeatedly telling me that I HAD to serve her because she had ID, which was untrue. Finally they left, [Girl #1] telling me that she was “so going to flip her f****** s*** in a minute.” Ten or fifteen minutes later, I got called back to the checkout, due to a sudden wave of customers. As I went around the back of the counter to log into my till, I saw that [Girl #1] was being served by the duty manager, her friend nowhere to be seen. Unsurprisingly, she asked for several packs of cigarettes, the same that she and her friend asked for earlier on. Seeing that the duty manager was still only halfway through the sale, I decided to go over and explain to him that this was the same customer that I had refused to serve earlier. Of course, he refused to serve her, explaining that this would be a proxy sale and therefore illegal. The girl walked past my checkout as she left giving me dirty looks, to which I responded with my biggest “f*** you” smile.)