Jobs worth award goes to

Everyone takes time to learn the ropes and we have to accept a degree of incompetence while trainees practice their trade. After all we all make mistakes. Today however I encountered the sort of entrenchment that would make, the boy with his finger in the dam, proud. After trailing round the supermarket with my 22 year old daughter we loaded the checkout belt. Mushrooms, bread, chicken made it passed the beeping checkout, without incident. Then the gatekeeper of all that is fresh and conveniently available, picked up a bottle of red wine. Looked at it suspiciously, then at us in turn, then put the bottle down and fixed a glare at my daughter.

“Any ID?” she asked.

We were a bit bemused to say the least and both said “really?”

“Well “she said looking cleverly at my daughter,” you do look under 25”

This we did have to accept and nodded dumbly, but then I did offer a fact I thought she may have overlooked, just to speed things along a wee bit. “I am well over 25”ha ha” and I am the one buying the wine, sorry we don’t have any ID on us ha ha” My daughter co-operated by holding empty hands and patting empty pockets.

“Makes no difference she” nodding her head in her direction ”is shopping with you and looks under 25”

I tried not to be frustrated at the nonsense that was playing out in front of us, but I did feel tinges creeping up on me.” If I was shopping with a child would you ask for her birth certificate” I offered, thinking this may make her realise how intransigent she was being.

No, no joy there ”it depends how old your child was”The cashier had clearly got it fixed in her head that anyone in the queue buying alcohol had to be Id checked if they looked under 25. How ridiculous!

“Oh flippin heck, please get your supervisor” I blurted out trying my best to say no more.

The supervisor duly arrived and looked at the cashier holding the bottle of wine and then at my wrinkled 52 year old face and rightly stared back at me baffled.

I said “she wanted ID, because I am shopping with my daughter”

“Yeah but you are buying it ”looking at the cashier ”the mother is buying it” she didn’t say dummy but I heard it in the air.

Silently she beeped the wine through the bleeping machine and we continued packing away our shopping. We paid and thanked her and said a cheery goodbye (forced). But strangely the cashier said nothing. I wonder why not?

Have you encountered a jobs worth wierdo worse than this?

Alison x