Remind customers of the policy. If you get a chance, remind customers of the policy. If there is no one waiting to be served at the till, try to get a moment to observe your alcohol aisle. If there is anyone browsing the alcohol, and appears to look under 25, approach them and politely remind them of the policy. Either they have their ID with them, They know the policy, or won't have any ID and will have to come back later with some.
Treat the customer equally. Don't automatically assume the person is underage and embark on shouting their face off, this just begs for verbal abuse and rarely, assault. Treat the buyer like anyone else, when it comes to purchasing the age related product kindly ask for an acceptable form of identification.
Check the identification. If they do have Identification, carefully analyze their proof of age, the different acceptable ID's are as follows: Provisional or Full Driving License Passport Citizen Card Any other form of ID with a holographic PASS logo
Use only the listed ID. Any other form of ID will not be acceptable. If they produce an unacceptable form of ID, or if their ID is fake, defaced or forged, decline the sale and ask for a real ID, remember to keep your cool!
Stand your ground. In the case that the customer has no real ID on their persons, politely inform them that you cannot sell them the product because of the policy. If the customer begins to make excuses or tries to intimidate you DO NOT ALLOW THE SALE. Doing so is illegal and can land you in a lot of trouble.
Get help if needed. If you feel you are being abused by the customer, get help. Sometimes the customer will cuss and argue with you because of the refused sale. If in any way you feel like your being abused call for help from a supervisor.
If there is no supervisor available, explain the policy. If you find yourself alone and in a position where you need to explain why the sale is refused, calmly remind the customer of the policy in place. If they continue to get abusive, you have full right to ask them to leave the premises, but only use this if you are really under a lot of fire from the customer. If they don't leave, call the cops. In the most rarest of cases their might be a customer who will refuse to leave until they get what they came for, it is now time to inform the local authorities of this, and ask for help. With any luck the customer will be removed from the premises.
Remember the consequences. Of course, getting through a work day upholding the policy can be a real pain, but neglecting the policy can lead to MUCH deeper trouble which includes: On the spot fine of £5000 Removal of license to sell age related products Shutdown of the outlet by Trading Standards Loss of employment Possible prison sentence
Look out for the Proxy Sales! These are sales intended to purchase age restricted products under age or to purchase for underage groups, look out for them: Loose change when buying cheap alcohol or cigarettes is a dead giveaway. Look out for youths loitering outside, they may ask customers to go in and purchase age restricted products for themselves. If a customer walks in and buys a product that a refused customer tried to purchase, ask them if they are buying it for themselves. But this is only applicable to instantly after the refused person leaves, not an hour later. If a customer does an unusual amount of thinking, or asks odd questions such as 'Whats the cheapest alcohol/cigarettes you got? This may be an obvious proxy sale.
Remember: At the end of the day, you are in charge of how you do your job. Always keep your wits about you in the employee world. One slip can lead to many different problems which may affect not just you, but others as well.
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