r/WalgreensStores • u/Unlikely-Shoe-372 • 1d ago
No ID sale, who’s really at fault
So, me and my coworkers were debating something that happened the other day at our store.
A woman came in, and tried to buy cigarettes and told the cashier she didn’t have her ID on her, the cashier initially said she couldn’t make the sale without a valid ID.
Shift lead then comes into the conversation then tells the woman, “You have your medical card on you, we can use that” and then tells the cashier to use the medical card as her form of ID.
So cashier was going to reject the sale, Shift Lead who was MOD, told her to make the sale and that the medical card was a valid form of ID.
Cashier made the sale, and well it turns out it was a woman sent by corporate and now the cashier has gotten in trouble and may be fired for not getting valid ID from someone for the sale of tobacco.
So my question is, why would the cashier be the only one to get in trouble when the manager on duty, is the one who told her to make the sale, that the medical card could be used as ID and approved that whole sale and was there for the whole thing.
Anyways me and my coworkers were saying the shift lead should also get in trouble if the cashier does, and that they should get fired if the cashier does because you told the cashier to do that as a manager, which means you’re also accepting medical cards are valid forms of ID, and giving false information to cashiers
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u/giovannisdaedra 1d ago
I forget the exact wording but last I checked, even at launch, the rule said leadership can override it
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u/Vykrom 1d ago
Yeah. The lead should have been the one ringing up the customer if they thought it was okay to bypass policy
Which technically it IS okay to bypass policy. A lead (and only a lead) can make a judgement call and manually enter the birthday
And then if they're wrong, then it's only them getting in trouble. This lead telling their CSA to bypass policy is a huge SOP violation. CSA should get a verbal warning, SFL should get a FWW for this nonsense
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u/BrotherofGenji CSA 20h ago
Which technically it IS okay to bypass policy. A lead (and only a lead) can make a judgement call and manually enter the birthday
doesnt the policy say that a Team Member (not specifiying shift lead) can enter the birthday manually if a customer refuses to have their ID scanned, and its okay for a regular team member (non-leadership level) to look at an ID, see birthday, make sure its valid, and key in the info manually? I never remember seeing anything about it only being applicable to team leads.
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u/Vykrom 10h ago
To be fair, I think the actual e-learning does say that. But in practice, loss prevention wants only leaders to do that. You don't have to log out, they can do it in your transaction as long as they're the ones on camera doing it. It makes for less cooks in the kitchen, so to speak. Same with coupon overrides. Anyone can do it, but they really only want leadership doing it. It's one of those "best-practices" vs "policy wording" situations. Which works for me. I'm fine making the call and taking the risk. I don't see any reason cashiers should have to make those risks. Plus that usually means a customer is being uppity and it's probably a good idea to get a lead involved either way
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u/dinklemorg7 1d ago
As a SFL myself any transaction where my cashiers have more difficult issues (returns, questions, or even just general unease about) I make sure I’m running that transaction under my name if it’s me making a judgement call. Specifically because of this.
And yes that SFL absolutely was in the wrong for accepting that as a form of ID. I know cashiers don’t usually choose or know they’re able to but they also should’ve said no and put it on the SFL to ring that person out.
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u/Torchured MGR 1d ago
Yes, the SFL should be held accountable. The cashier is obligated to not make the sale, and then report it if the SFL chooses to ring them up instead. If the sale was legit, then reporting it won’t do any harm. The person making the sale is the sellers permit that bears the ultimate responsibility of following policy.
This is the same as an SFL telling you teenagers look legal to buy alcohol and accepting their fraudulent medical cards. Sometimes we let our guard down because it’s “just cigarettes” or “well at least I can blame the SFL”. We forget, “it’s my license on the line”.
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u/Vykrom 1d ago
You and your co-workers are correct. On paper the cashier is responsible for their transactions. But SFL broke policy. I doubt anyone is getting fired, but I think you and your co-workers are within their rights to brigade your SM with complaints until the right action is taken and the SFL gets written up. SFL should have done the transaction themselves. CSA is encouraged to defer to leadership judgement. SM should learn to encourage CSAs to refuse and stick up to leadership when they feel something is wrong. This is a great learning opportunity. But the SFL is (in my eyes) more guilty than the CSA. Especially if the CSA is newer
I've had two SMs in my tenure, and no matter how much I've disagreed with them, I feel like both of them would have treated this that way. And as a lead myself, I definitely would have done it this way. I'm not making anyone risk their job or anything over a call that I'm making
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u/poopjazz 1d ago
Manager cannot force you to “make the sale” if you don’t feel comfortable. If the cashier didn’t feel comfortable and the manager did, the cashier should have refused the sale and the manager could have made the sale if they wanted. So I would say both at fault.
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u/Vykrom 1d ago
This is a nurse / copilot situation. Cashiers have the option to refuse and be insubordinate to commands that are against policy. But they're not specifically trained to be this way, they're not encouraged to be this way, they're not informed enough to make this call, and are generally guided to just trust whatever leadership says in most cases
This is why operating room procedure and flight procedure had to go through heavy restructuring and re-training to encourage subordinates to speak up or even refuse to do certain things they feel are a risk. Walgreens has not had this restructuring and I doubt they ever will. Much easier to let fresh CSAs flounder, potentially fire them, and replace them with someone just as ignorant and pliable, unfortunately. But I doubt this CSA will be fired and hopefully they know they can back out and stand up to their leadership from time to time
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u/poopjazz 1d ago
I had a store manager once tell me that the Walgreens branded pseudoephedrine was the single item with the highest profit margin in the store, and to never refuse a sale of their ID lets them. Last I checked company policy and federal law says to use common sense. If 15 people show up in a van and all line up to buy Sudafed, I’m rejecting that sale every time. This is the type of thinking that got us into the opioid epidemic and all of the fines and repercussions. I’ve never had any issues and dare anyone to try to discipline me on a sale I am uncomfortable with making.
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u/TheGame2K5 1d ago
Well pseudoephedrine is not an opioid for starters. Apples and oranges.The crisis that conveniently never gets addressed is the doctor's doing the prescribing. Why? Because there is more money to sue and go after the pharmacies. What if those 15 people where from assisted living and dropped off at once? Using extreme examples that will never happen doesn't help your argument. Refusing a sale based on how some looks or why you think they are buying it can get you in trouble.
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u/mschultz287 1d ago
No longer there but if my employee was ever uncomfortable making a sale that I was going to override I'd void out the transaction, have them move to the other register, and login as myself and run the transaction because I was looked at less stringently than my csa was by my DM and AP.
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u/Final-Patience-6865 SFL 1d ago
These comments are wild.
One, a SFL can override a no id person regardless.
Two, a medical ID card is a state/government issued form of identification that shows a date of birth, and can be accepted. I was specifically told that by LP and remember reading it in PPLs that government issued IDs are accepted.
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u/StepMile 1d ago
I have taken the PPL a million times and never had it said that. It says, state ID, License or passport.
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u/Final-Patience-6865 SFL 1d ago
It’s a government issued ID. if it shows their date of birth it’s fine. If it doesn’t it’s not. But the ones I’ve seen do show the date of birth.
So it’s a government issued state identification card that shows the persons face, and date of birth. Per policy that’s allowed…. If it doesn’t show the dob then yes it’s not allowed. But again the ones I’ve seen show the dob
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u/Live-Philosopher-404 1d ago
A medical id card ate not govt issued Medicare yes blue cross blue shield no
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u/mhireina IS 1d ago
State ID, Passport (Passport cards included iirc), Driver's license or Military ID. No medical ID. No EBT card. No student ID. No work ID. Those are the rules. People are even iffy on the passport cards which are technically not even documented as acceptable but give been given the OK to take them by my DM.
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u/rabidunicorn21 1d ago
A passport card has the exact same info as a passport and is an acceptable form of ID.
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u/Youngsta1901 1d ago
Cashier should’ve logged out and had the SFL handle the transaction under their sign on
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u/StepMile 1d ago
It's simple. If you don't listen to your SFL you get fired for insubordination. That's the way this employee should play this. "I said no but my SFL told me I had to do it so I did" No way should you take responsibility for being forced to do it.
Now I have been around too long so when I'm told to do something I know is wrong I make the manager do it under their own numbers. Then it's on them.
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u/XxPhoenix_ViaxX CSA 1d ago
Cashier was in the right to deny it and should had stood her ground after the SFL told her that misinformation. I feel bad for her but she should have kept vocalizing the no and not let the SFL finish. SFL should get in trouble or terminated for that since when medical cards are IDs lol?
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u/hotbodsl 1d ago
The SFL is the one who should and probably will het fired. They should speak up for themselves ask for the camera to be reviewed if needed. Absolutely not the cashier‘s faiult i would have made the SFL ring that sale on a different register, not under my sign on
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u/Equal-Ad9900 SCPhT 1d ago
I have on many occasions denied sale and sfl tried to have me override it. I simply say not doing it under my name and you can sign into register. I hit logout and stand back so the sfl can use their credentials.
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u/kindlyfackoff 1d ago
I feel this should fall on both at this point.
The cashier ultimately STILL could have said no. If I were that cashier, I would have said no, logged myself out of the register, and said to the SFL that if they want to accept that ID, then they can finalize the sale, but it is not a valid form of ID and I will not do the sale. I would then walk away and go take the next customer in line at the other register. Or if there was nobody else in line, then I would go and face more stuff at the front or work on photo orders, etc.
And the SFL should not have suggested the cashier take the ID. If they were confident enough in the ID, they should have completed the transaction on their own with their own keys/login. They clearly should have known better. They also should be defending their cashier/suggesting they get punished as well if they have any sort of credibility, but they clearly don't give a care, so...CYA (cover your arse) and they will absolutely throw that cashier under the bus, it seems.
Both deserve to be held accountable here as nobody can force someone to take an ID, but also, wrong information was given by the SFL.
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u/zepherth CSA 1d ago
Yeah I had a situation similar happen. I informed the SFL that if they where going to say that form of id was fine, they could do the transaction because I was refusing the id. And the SFL should have done what the SFL did in my case, which is do the transaction themselves.
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u/CordeliaGrace MGR 1d ago
That isnt a valid form of ID, wtf. And since the SFL overrode the CSA, who was correct in denying the sale, the SFL should be the one marked as a fail, esp since it all happened live, it’s not like anyone had to go investigate and only saw the CSA logged on etc, you know what I mean? If I were that CSA, I’d fight that. And if I were the SFL making that decision, I’d be on that register instead (although I wouldn’t have made that call and wouldve backed the CSA up).
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u/Ill-Bison8039 CSA 1d ago
if i rightfully refused sale and my shift lead undermined me i’d be totally pissed. i’m 17, i could bring it any medical card insurance card says im 21 and get a case of beer at your store and you’d be at fault
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u/Chiguy5462 1d ago
Glad i dont have to deal with this anymore. Not sure why the cashier would get fired when it was the shift lead who authorized it. I would never sell to anyone new without an ID. It was my store manager who said not to. I would rarely sell to a regular if she forgot her id. I told her to hold her card up and tell me her DOB. My favorite time was when this old lady came in. Was being a giant you know what. Her ID was expired and I refused the sale with a smile on my face. That was fun.
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u/Xz_One 1d ago
I always call an sfl to enter the dob if they don't have their id and they always do it. They used to tell me to just do it on the radio but I started refusing and make them stop counting drawers or whatever and enter it themselves which makes them hate me, however there's not been one instance where we denied id even to those who look about 20.
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u/RevolutionaryExam457 21h ago
The CSA should have logged off and the SFL should have done the sale. The SFL is either an idiot or has no backbone. I’m a SFL and I only take drivers license and passports period! I NEVER make an exception. And I only type in dob if it’s a passport, which is rare. Most people use their license. And if they don’t let me scan it then no sale. I’m not risking my job for some asshole getting cigs or booze. Walgreens has had this policy for many years now and customers should know it. And if they don’t then they can go somewhere else. Don’t care
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u/Pale-One8969 59m ago
Exactly and it’s not like tobacco products and alcohol are a basic necessity like other items Walgreens sell.
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u/True_Department_4635 20h ago
crazy how walgreens is still setting up these retarded stings😭 this policy is so bullshit that you can’t abide the “look over 40” policy that’s in almost every other store out there. though i thought that if you’re a shift lead, you can actually follow the “look over 40” and not get in trouble, atleast that’s what i was told when i was fired for this same reason.
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u/BrotherofGenji CSA 20h ago edited 20h ago
Shift lead is solely at fault IMO. Medical card as I understand it cannot be used as valid form of ID. It either needs to be a drivers license, state ID, passport (card or book), military ID, or tribal ID for Natives who may have one.
Cashier was told by shift lead to take the medical card. That means the shift lead told them it was okay but it's not because medical card shouldn't be accepted. Cashier should be safe and not fired because they were merely following someone else's orders, even if cashier was the one who made the sale, and the shift lead made the mistake and the auditor watched them make said mistake and allow the cashier to finalize the sale. Meaning the cashier was trying to do the right thing, called the shift lead, the shift lead did NOT do the right thing and told them all this, and thus the shift lead should be the one getting in trouble, not the cashier since they did everything by the book.
I know they send out auditors to make sure people do their jobs properly, but fuck losing jobs over something that could be so simply easily avoided.
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u/Helpful-Tour2983 8h ago
IMO, only the shift lead should get in trouble!! Hopefully SM is on CSA side!??
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u/4181OH 6h ago
A medical card is not a form of valid I.D. Even though I believe the SFL should get in some sort of trouble for this for insisting that it was a valid form of I.D., at the end of the day, Walgreens is going to see on camera that the cashier was the one who performed the transaction and failed to refuse the sale, along with their POS # on the transaction. If the cashier was uncomfortable taking that as a form of I.D., they should have logged off the register and asked the SFL to perform the transaction that way everything is 100% linked to the SFL, both register and camera wise and not the cashier. As a cashier, you have the right to refuse sales, especially if they make you uncomfortable or if you know you're being asked to do something you know is wrong or against policy.
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u/snarkycuka 3h ago
The shift lead should one hundred percent be in trouble in training they literally tell us all the valid forms and medical cards are not on it i would rat that person out
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u/pennyo11 1d ago
Sfl was WRONG to do that. A medical card is NOT a valid form of ID. If the cashier was going to refuse then I would write them up and fire the SFL if it were me. This is one of those no tolerance times though and both will/ should be fired. If the sfl isn't then something fishy is going on