Again, this is a regulation enforced by the UK government, and has nothing whatsoever to do with that ruddy Tesco employee stopping you from buying your 98th bottle of Scotch this week. No matter how much people plea, the law dictates that staff simply cannot sell alcohol before 10am, and the same goes for later on in the day - 10pm is a strict curfew, at least in Scotland. In England, it's different, but North of the border, booze-hungry zombies seem to appear as if on cue, desperate to see that clock tick ever-closer to 10am. It will, inevitably, but not before the alcoholic's deft skills of persuasion are attempted, reminding staff that there are "only two bloody minutes, this is ridiculous". It may be ridiculous, but this job is more important than your need to sit on a park bench for the rest of the morning, seeing pink elephants and downing copious amounts of booze. If Tesco staff were allowed to swap with these people, things would be much more tolerable.