Liam Whelan, 16, was told he needed to be 18 to buy them after a self-service till barred payment.

A stunned Liam said: “I went over to the self-service till and scanned the teaspoons and the machine wouldn’t let me pay.

“A member of staff came over and asked how old I was, I showed him my moped licence but he said that I needed to be 18.”

Liam said he felt ‘embarrassed’ by the whole ordeal at the store’s Haslingden branch in Lancashire near to his home.

He said: “It was embarrassing enough buying teaspoons, but to get refused was even worse. I wasn’t with anyone but the supermarket was busy and I did know some of the other customers.”

Liam’s step-mum Yvette Whelan said: “I’d asked Liam to go round and pick up some teaspoons because he and his brother lose them.

"When he said they wouldn’t serve him because he wasn’t 18, I just couldn’t believe it. How silly, he had his moped licence on him but as he is 16 they wouldn’t serve him.”

A Tesco spokesman said: “We do include a till prompt for proof of age on our self-service tills for some items.

"We ask our colleagues to use their judgment as to whether this should be applied. In this instance, this was not followed and we apologise to our customer for any inconvenience caused.”

refuse – elutasít, visszautasít
teaspoon – teáskanál, kiskanál
need to be – kell lenni(e)
self-service till – önkiszolgáló kassza
to bar payment – letilt fizetést, visszautasítja a kifizetést
stunned – megdöbbent, meghökkent
to scan – átvilágít, szeknnel, itt: végighúzza a pénztár „csipogóján”
wouldn’t let sy do sg – nem enged valakit tenni valamit
member of staff – személyzet
to come over – odajön
moped licence – moped (kismotor) jogosítvány
embarrassed – zavarba jött, kellemetlenül érzi magát
ordeal – megpróbáltatás, kellemetlen, fájdalmas élmény
branch – egy áruházlánc boltja, üzlete
embarrassing – zavarba ejtő, kellemetlenül érintő
to get refused – visszautasítva lenni
even worse – még rosszabb
customer – vásárló
pick up – felvesz, felszed, itt: elmegy és megvesz
silly – buta, ostoba
had his moped licence on him / have sg on sy – nála van, itt: nála volt a moped jogosítványa
prompt – jelzés, figyelmeztetés
proof of age – életkor igazolása
item – egység, árucikk
colleague – kolléga
judgment – itélőképesség, megítélés, véleményezés
to apply – alkalmaz, használ, érvényesít,
instance – példa, eset
to apologise to our customer for any inconvenience / apologise to sy for sg – elnézést kérni valakitől, valamiért, itt: a vásárlótól a kellemetlenségért

Rewrite the sentences in reported speech into direct speech. (possible original sentences)

1. Liam was told he needed to be 18 to buy them.

What did they tell him? ’You …..’

2. A member of staff asked Liam how old he was.

What did the staff-member ask? ’How…..”

3. Liam said he felt embarrassed.

What did Liam say? ’I …..’

4. Liam told his step-mum they wouldn’t serve him because he wasn’t 18.

What did Liam tell his step-mom? ’They …..’

answers:

1. ’You need to be 18 to buy them.’
2. ’How old are you?’
3. ’I feel embarrassed.’
4. ’They wouldn’t (won’t) serve me beacuse I am not 18.’

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