What part of closed do you not understand

[BookstoreEscapee]

I do not understand the thinking behind not announcing the store is closing soon, and not allowing employees to tell customers they need to leave. All it does is piss off the employees, keep them late which costs the company more money, and make the customers believe even more that the world revolves around them. At BN they do announcements and the employees are allowed to tell customers it's time to go. At 11 it's buy it now or come back tomorrow. If there are people in the store at 11 and they aren't heading for the door, we go up to them and tell them we're closed. There is no wandering around after closing time. There is drawer counting and straightening and (hopefully) going home at 11:30. (/rant)

We've had the power go out a few times. Once there was an accident a little ways up the highway from the store and power was out for at least a mile in each direction, for 2-3 hours or so. We got to kick out all the customers cuz we didn't know when the power would be back and most of the store is pitch black. Most of the crew was putting out magazines cuz the newsstand is right up front by the windows and about the only place you could see. I spent the time alternating between unpacking our massive shipment of Godiva chocolate and watching out the window to see if the intersection just before our store would end up with a crash too (it was the mall exit onto the 4-lane divided highway...I did not envy the people trying to turn left).

[Midnight12]

I remember when I worked at a certain store that was going through closing some stores because there were too many (another story)

I got to close two stores. and this was the last day at the first one when we wre shutting down everything
I got to page 20 minutes until closing, this was the last page I got to do

"Attention (store) customers, attention (store) customers, it is now 12am, the store is closed! This means get up here, check out or you will be locked in, thank you!"

the second store closing

"Attention (store) shoppers, (store) is now closed, please make your final selection and head to the front of the store, the employees have lives to and want to GO HOME!"

oh yes I know I'm going to burn for it, but considering the same manager was transfered with me to each store he didn't care...

[KellyHabersham]

I don't work a closing shift at my sales associate job too often, so I've never really experienced issues with customers refusing to leave afte we were closed. At the library though, it always seems like patrons wait until the last minute to need help with printing, sign up for library cards, call for a parent to come pick them up (this being if they're under 18),.....etc.

[greensinestro]

Do you live in Florida, by any chance? Things may have changed since my time, but when I worked for Publix, back in the late 1980's, they were never allowed to do things like this for fear of a bad rap. I recall incidents where customers would force the doors open, after the manager turned off the eyebeam. Much of the time, the manager would not lock the doors for fear of a customer complaining that they were held prisoner in the store. After that, managers normally would man the front door and then unlock it the moment a customer was beginning to leave.