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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Gorguf62 on 2023-12-11 02:18:27.

At the grocery store I work at, our policy is to have an ID for all purchases of cigarettes. We can refuse the sale if their ID isn’t valid.

On this day, I’m up at the desk when two guys come up to the desk, speaking another language (for the sake of the story, since I’m not entirely sure what language it was, I’m saying Russian). One of them talks into their phone and then hands it over to me. On the phone is Google Translate from Russian to English asking me for cigarettes.

At this point, it’s clear to me these guys can’t actually carry out a conversation with me without Google Translate. I talk back into the phone asking what kind of cigarettes they want. The guy says back into Translate that he wants tall cigarettes. I ask him what kind of tall cigarettes he wants. What followed was a few moments of non-translated pointing and yelling while I’m trying to figure out what kind they want.

Eventually, I manage to figure out what kind of cigarettes they want. I scan them on the register and ask for their ID. Either they didn’t hear me or they didn’t understand me because they pulled out their credit card. I ask them again for their ID, this time they understand me, and pull out their drivers license.

There’s just one problem: Other than the words “drivers license” the entire thing is in Russian. Unsurprisingly, being able to read Russian is not part of my job description. Since I can’t read it, I can’t take it.

I tell them I can’t take it, to which the guy hands over his phone again and I have to again speak the phone to tell him I can’t take it. (by this point, I’m thinking this whole transaction is completely absurd).

Both of them are clearly getting annoyed by the fact I’m not selling to them without ID. The one guy offers a picture of his passport, but I tell him no because I need the physical ID. The guy yells something in Russian, and then speaks into the phone again. This time, he’s telling me that he’s 34 and I should just give them to him.

Now I’m done trying to do the whole thing via Translate and I just shake my head no. The two give up and walk out, leaving me to tell my coworkers the story. They all found it hilarious.