‘What was your last interaction with an absolute jobsworth?’ – 21 petty people obsessed with sticking to the rules

‘A bus driver asking my daughter her age. Didn’t believe her. A child fare is £3. An adult fare is £3. Tit of a human.’
–DazzaStarfox

‘I asked a stranger if I could borrow their Nectar card at Sainsbury’s self service. I had forgotten mine. I was going to save £3. Was refused service, told I was committing fraud and asked to leave the shop.’
–Wonderful-Newt2181

‘I was buying a trolley load of shopping in Big Tesco’s, around £140 with clubcard or £200 without. I forgot my clubcard key fob so pulled up a screenshot I took of it, apparently this is unacceptable, the cashier suggested I just pay the full amount then submit for a refund when I got home. I refused and said I no longer wanted to complete the transaction.

Seemed petty and I know it was probably company policy but for contrast when I forgot my clubcard once at Tesco express the guy on the counter said “not to worry” and scanned his smart watch so I could get the clubcard savings.

Stupid cultcard bollocks.’
–ReeceEeding

‘Las Vegas. I had to prove I was over 21 to get into a concert we’d bought tickets for. I had to get a taxi back to the hotel to get my passport.

I was 45 at the time.’
–AppearanceAwkward364

‘Americans have a such a hard on for this sort of thing, it’s weird – it’s as if they can’t trust their own judgement or something.

It happened to my dad in Florida back in the early 2000s. He tried to buy a single beer, and was asked for ID in one of the Disney parks. They refused to serve him without photo ID.

Keeping in mind he was 37 – and looked it – at this point in his life. They still wouldn’t serve him without proving he was over 21.’
–JamsHammockFyoom

‘This was years ago but it really, really sticks in my head.

I was on my way home on the train having been on a holiday, and my parents rang to say they could pick me up from a different station which would cut my journey by an hour. So I got off at the earlier station and my ticket didn’t open the gate. A staff member at the gates started lecturing me that if I was going to get off at an earlier station I should have bought a new ticket and now I had to pay a fine for not having a ticket. It was before the days of smartphones, so not the easiest to rebuy a ticket when you are on the train.

Eventually another staff member rolled up and told the guy to stop being ridiculous and unlocked the gate for me.’
–FloofyRaptor

‘I was 25. I went to buy a bottle of wine. The cashier said I’d need ID. I went home for my passport. Came back. They said no because I might supply my friend who was with me the alcohol. I pointed out that my ‘friend’ was my identical twin brother and clearly he was the same age as me. Still a hard no.’
–EugeneHarke

‘I’m 40 next month, I just got ID’d last week in Waitrose buying one packet each of paracetamol and ibuprofen as part of a big shop. I didn’t have ID because i haven’t been ID’d since 2016.

Maybe I’m a young looking 40 and I do get challenge 25 but there’s no universe where I could pass for a 17 year old even with the roughest paper round. I have a full beard and crow’s feet ffs!

I didn’t give the member of staff any pushback (mainly because I had a throbbing headache!), I just unpacked the offending items and gave them to her, but inside I was both baffled and fuming. I called into a Sainsbury’s local on my way home and they gave me no bother.’
–GloomyGelBro

‘Had someone in HSBC bank tell me it was illegal to have an expired drivers license and try to refuse giving me my money.’
–fatty7775

‘Once I tried to buy a discounted train ticket using my rail card and the woman refused to apply the discount as if forgot to sign the card. I pulled a pen out of my bag to sign it there and then and she said she’d still refuse it as she’d seen me sign. I had to go to back of the line to have someone else serve me.’
–idontlikemondays321

‘Parked in a disabled bay at Asda. Got out to get the kids out of the car, and as I moved round to the other side of the car (where the blue badge is kept) a jobsworth asked me, with a distinct intonation that he was going to give a telling off, if I had a blue badge as it was a disabled bay.

I got the kids out, put the badge in the window and got his attention and pointed to it as we walked into the shop.’
–chillers85

‘There was a bit of a thing locally round here about 20 years ago, because an older lady refused to serve a police officer in uniform something like a can of pop and a packet of crisps and quoted some old rule about them not being allowed to buy refreshment etc while on duty, which to be fair to her was actually still technically a thing, just odd and forgotten about.

It caused the chain a small PR incident and implementing a policy that they would have the staff make them a cup of tea or coffee in the staffroom if they asked.’
–Phoenix-95