FROM UK TELEGRAPH
HEAD: Tesco ban on alcohol sales to parents
Tesco (supermarket chain) is refusing to sell alcohol to parents shopping
with their children under rules designed to tackle underage drinking.
The supermarket has told ca****ers not to supply alcohol if they suspect an
adult is buying the drink for an underage youth.
Staff have been told to "err on the side of caution" when interpreting the
policy, leading to cases of parents out shopping with their children being
told to put alcohol back on the shelves.
Tesco says it believes parents will sup****t the policy and it would rather
apologise where it has misjudged the situation than sell to underage
drinkers. However parents who have been refused alcohol have described
the
rule as humiliating and daft.
Debbie Bell, 39, a housewife from York, was told she could not buy a crate
of lager at a Tesco Extra in the city with her stepson Michael Bruce, 18.
Mr Bruce, a student, was unable to show the ca****er any proof of his age
and
his mother was told to put the 24 cans of Fosters and a bottle of cider
back
on the shelf.
She said: "You can't do that just because somebody has kids with them.
"I was in there the day before with a 17-year-old lass and there were no
problems.
"Michael wasn't even carrying the beer, he was just standing next to me."
Dominic Zenden, a television medium, was told he could not buy six bottles
of Budweiser beer when he was accompanied by his 15-year-old daughter
Devon.
A ca****er at the shop in Sprowston, Norwich, refused to believe Mr Zenden,
who has his own series on Sky television, was not going to share the drink
with his daughter.
He said: "I was dumbfounded. There was absolutely no indication that my
daughter would be drinking the alcohol - it was for me.
"But the woman told me that they don't sell alcohol to people who have
children with them."
Mr Zenden, 45, who lives in Norwich, added: "They haven't got signs up to
say that they won't sell to people who have their children with them. If
they did it would save a lot of embarrassment at the till."
The supermarket said it had bought in the policy because a crackdown on
selling directly to underage teens had been so successful, youths were now
forced to rely on friends, parents and relatives for alcohol.
A Tesco spokesman said: "I can understand the frustrations of the customer
but I think that any reasonable parent would understand the problem and
sup****t our policy."
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How long do ya think until this nanny gov't idea hits here?
Dionysus
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