To think she was being awkward?

How annoying, gillybob! If it happens again, call for her supervisor, perhaps.

We witnessed exactly the same thing at a Waitrose checkout a few years ago.

Over zealous check-out assistant I'd say!

WE complain when youngster get alcohol, many supermarkets will not sell to anyone under 21 (they are at liberty to set their own rules), hey openly advertise their rules and that proof will be required if you do not look 21. Likewise they would apply these rules to anyone trying to buy for another.

As said, you should have asked for a supervisor.
These rules are for our protection, sometimes they are inconvenient, but better that way than selling to underage drinkers.

If this is a regular problem, you can get an ID card.

I hope your daughter was flattered, no chance of that happening to me!

I witnessed similar recently a guy whom I would say was in his mid thirties accompanied by his wife and 8-10 yr old calling him dad was refused cigarettes because he had no ID.
Yes I agree with the policy but the sign said 'If you don't look over 21' surely common sense should prevail.

Gillybob YANBU at all! If someone's mum can't be trusted to know her DD's age who can? You might have been flattered to have been thought you look young enough to have a 17 year old DD though! Our younger DDs are (still) regularly asked for ID despite being 33 and 37. Best one I heard was my BIL who as a father of 3(admittedly tinies) took his teenage brother to the pub. They served the younger brother but not BIL

I guess she was just doing her job, but it dioes sound as though her smug demeanour was wholly unnecessary. When they said you could not buy it, you could have said DD was buying as a gift for you, so you are just cutting out the middle woman!

Had a similar experience in Morrisons when over organising the 90th birthday of my Mother, I was with my DD and her then partner, got to the checkout and was asked if I Was over 25, DD fell about laughing while translating for her partner.
Assistant got stroppy and asked for I.D. we all whipped out our Belgian I.D. cards, she said she could not understand them, DD asked if she could read English, more stroppy, supervisor arrived, was hautily handed the cards by the assistant who pointed out to her that DD and I's were in English.We got the wine.
DD still recounts the experience to friends here.

Is it wrong to be flattered when the self checkout asks for proof that I am over 21?

I do think a bit of common sense should have prevailed gilly and smirking form the checkout operator is certainly uncalled for,we have discussed this before with DS1 who is manager at S-------ys and he says the operators have to ask as other people in the queue could be a secret shopper and if you don't ask the right questions every so often your customer service can be marked down, we understood the reason but the fact that people who are obviously over the required age get refused is madness.

YANBU, I would have told her to take all the shopping and shove it. She could simply have said "I know you don't look over 21 but can you just confirm that you are"

Wasn't somebody asked for proof of age when they bought some boxes of fresh diced fruit recently. I seem to remember the reason was that they could ferment and would then be alcoholic.

The last time someone asked me what I wanted to do when I leave school I was 29. When I was in my mid 30s I was quite flattered when one of the checkout girls used to keep asking a supervisors permission to sell me booze, but then rather deflated one day when she explained that it was her who was under eighteen.

Wasn't there something in the papers this week about someone being asked for ID when buying a pot of fruit? The assistant said the fruit could ferment in the pot and turn to alcohol or other such gibberish.

DD who DID look about 17 when she was 30 used to get some very suspicious looks when she used her credit card which gave her title as Dr! If she used it to pay for petrol you could see them wondering if she was even old enough to be driving

ID cards cost from £15.00

I might as well get my son his provisional licence for £50.00 instead. At least then it will last some time and he can use it to learn to drive.

It is a pain, but the id rules do serve there purpose. Not to mention stores can be fined big time if they get caught selling to a miner. So the checkout assistants are given strict direction to check for id. Maybe she didn't ask the way she should have, but she was probably just following the rules that her manager gave her.

Many years ago when my sister in law was in her mid 40's and had 3 children with her, she was asked for ID, cannot remember the store. She left the shopping and walked out. She does not drive and also does not have a passport so she would have had trouble. She did look younger but again, not that young, even with her flowing curly hair.

I didn't know it was against the law to sell alcohol to a pitman

harrigran

There are a lot of Jobsworth around.

Give them the tiniest bit of power and they will zealously enforce stupid rules.

If I had had the time and the inclination I would have walked out and left them to put back all the shopping.