Challenge 72?

September 2007

Most licensed premises have adopted the Challenge 21 proof of age scheme, or an equivalent scheme where persons who look over 18 but under 21 are asked to prove that they are over the age of 18 years.

Recently a customer of a big national supermarket operator was refused two bottles of red wine recently because he would not confirm that he was over 21. Not unusual so far, but this 72 year old grandfather thought that it was a ‘stupid question’, and refused to answer it.

When he complained to the manager of the supermarket the check out operator’s decision was confirmed and the wine was returned to the shelves.

Whether to serve a customer or not, or whether to admit a customer to a premises is the sole right of the operator. Service (or entry) providing it is not refused on discriminatory grounds is at the operator’s discretion and if the customer refuses to comply with the policies in operation they will have to go elsewhere.

Yet on the face of it (no pun intended) there was no need to request identification or ask this customer to confirm he was over 21 years old. Many of us in our mid 20s or 30s would be flattered to be asked to produce ID. Where it is patently obvious that a customer is over 18 years (for example by at least 50 decades) , staff should use their common sense and avoid unnecessarily asking for ID.

 

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