Woman had to show ID to buy quiche

Tesco shopper, 24, forced to show ID... because she was 'too young to buy slice of QUICHE'



Usually the only thing you need to eat quiche is a hearty appetite.

But according to Tesco you should be over 21 too.

At least that's what the checkout cashier told Christine Cuddihy when she took a 51p slice of cheese and onion quiche from the deli to the till.

At first, the 24-year-old office worker thought the cashier was joking when she refused to let the sale go through because she 'looked under 21'.

Eventually, as the shoppers queueing behind her grew restless, an embarrassed Miss Cuddihy had to produce her driving licence to prove her age.

'The girl told me: "You don't look over 21. I need to see some proof of age",' she said. 'I told her I was certain the proof of age laws do not apply to quiche but she just said: "We have to be really strict now and this applies to quiche bought over the counter".

'It was very embarrassing, what on earth is dangerous about a slice of quiche?

'There was nothing suspicious about me and it's not even like I was buying a whole quiche to binge on.

'It was rush-hour and the shop was really busy. I was so insulted that they thought I couldn't be trusted with a harmless snack.'

The incident happened at the Tesco store in Cannons Park, Coventry on January 21.

Miss Cuddihy, from nearby Leamington Spa, was on her way home from work when she popped in to buy the quiche for her supper.

But she ended up getting into a humiliating argument with the cashier, a woman in her mid 30s, as well.

'I was really embarrassed and just wanted to get out of the shop,' she recalled.

'There was a queue forming behind me so I just showed her my driving licence and rushed out.

'I was so hungry that I didn't even bother kicking up a fuss or complaining to the manager. I just wanted the quiche.

'The irony of the whole thing is that I've bought alcohol from there dozens of times without being asked for ID.

'I've racked my brains to come up with an explanation but I can't find one. The whole thing is ridiculous.

Yesterday Tesco apologised for the incident. A spokesman for the supermarket said shoppers did not have to prove their age to buy quiche.

'We're at a loss to say what happened here,' the spokesman said.

'We couldn't find the staff member who asked for the ID.

'Age-related prompts at till are set centrally and there obviously isn't one on quiche.'

The original source for this story is the Daily Mail. They say the incident happened on 21st January. If that is the case, why did it take so long for them to report it?

It certainly seems odd that it took so long for this story to appear in the paper.

Even more odd is the fact that Tescos were unable to find the staff member involved. If the shopper still had her till receipt the cashiers details would have been on there. I wouldn't have taken it so ligtly and demanded to see the store manager there and then. There's something not quite right in this story

The makings of an "Urban" myth?

Tesco is a very well organised supermarket
The last time I went shopping with the wife goes down in the annuals of the family
We reached the checkout, put all the goods through and when the lassie pressed the button for the bill, nothing happened and we are standing there waiting to pay and the comment flowed across " We have a problem" and my retort was " You have a problem, not we" which did not go down very well.
The Manager appeared by magic and stated that we must move to the next checkout and put the goods through again and it was then a case of light the blue touchpaper and stand back.
I slated him there and then and the next thing he started to load the goods through the checkout and I asked "Do we get tea and biscuits FOC while we are waiting" which did not go down well at all :lol
The whole supermarket was aghast at the scenario that was ensuing and I got applause from people and took a bow
The clown of a manager disappeared in a hurry and I fully expected a request to leave the store but it never transpired but what he did not know, that when I got home , I sent a stinging email to Head Office and the wife got a lovely bunch of flowers delived to the door as an apology from Tesco.
Remember the old saying "Shop at the Co-op"

Love the story Stevie!!

I used to shop at Tesco's regularly because it was just along the road from where I lived, but it was always hard work in one way or another - mostly poor staffing, incorrect labelling, empty shelves etc. etc. If there was ever a problem at the till you had to then queue up at customer services with other irate customers to let them try to sort the mess out.

Waitrose is my local store now and although they're more expensive, it's a delight to shop in there.