Why do they always come at closing...

[DesignFox]

Today has to have been the worst day I had in awhile.

We didn't do shit. All day.

Then my manager leaves.

I swear, customers have a fucking radar for when you are alone, because all of a sudden, it was like the great flood. I was swamped. Top it off, my printer jams and I can't print receipts...which I needed to print because someone needed it for their rebate...so I'm fighting with the printer with a mob in my store...

Finally, I get rid of everybody (not any sales mind you, all questions, problems, etc.)
It's quiet. I figure I can finish my night on time and all will be well.

No dice.

I get a last minute upgrade. No problem, it's only 7:30- we close at 8. But of course, they wanna play let's make a deal and it takes 15 mins just to get a decision out of them.

7:45 I'm just STARTING the activation process. Something goes wrong. I have to call the service line to get them upgraded. So, I lock the door. Remember, I close at 8. This process has just become an ordeal.

Of course, a customer tries to come in at 7:50. I motion to them that I am closing.

I am just about to get on the phone with service, when the phone rings. It's the damn jackass standing outside the door.

JA: "You said you close at 8! I drove all the way out here."
me: "Yes, and I am finishing my last activation and then I am leaving. If you need an accessory I will get it for you, else you'll need to come back."
JA: "Forget it!"

I finally get on with the call center, finally activate phones, etc.

Process takes 40 mins. I finally get to do paperwork at 8:40 ish.

After 9 and I'm finally home.

How many people do you think tried to get in my locked door after 8?

I lost count. THAT many people tried to come after closing.

It's not like our hours recently changed or anything...and it's NEVER like that! Maybe one person will try, MAYBE. Never a damn mob!!! What was the entire poplulation smoking, tonight?

[Andara Bledin]

It's because they could see you working.

That whole dead then mob then dead then mob thing is what I call "feast or famine." You never get to have a steady stream, it has to be either nothing at all, or way too much to handle at once.

^-.-^

[blas]

I used to hypothesize that customers were hiding in the trees or had little alarms in their cars or clothes that would beep when I'd start closing duties or whenever I really needed to have an empty store, aka a spill, too busy, etc etc...

[Shengirl]

I used to hypothesize that customers were hiding in the trees or had little alarms in their cars or clothes that would beep when I'd start closing duties or whenever I really needed to have an empty store, aka a spill, too busy, etc etc...

In my store, I'm fairly certain they meet up by the cheese and synchronize their watches to plan their attack. There's no other explanation for a dead store to all of a sudden have every register swamped. Then there are the days when they get a psychic to tell them when one cashier will be on break at the same time another will have skipped off to the bathroom...

[GingerBiscuit]

the most dangerous thing to say in our store is 'while it's quiet, I'll just pop off to the bathroom', or if you're doing full days and have to buy your stuff before shop close 'while it's quiet I'll just grab my stuff'.

Sudden rush.

[Boozy]

I was just going to start a thread about this myself...

Why is it that the five-minutes before closing customers are always the most labour intensive? I don't mind if someone runs in and grabs a few things at five minutes to go, because that's quick. But if you have no idea what you need and need sales assistance, five minutes before close is not the right time. Come back tomorrow.

Last night, just before I was about to lock up, a guy walks in. And just starts wandering around. At one minute past close (I've closed the doors at this point, and this guy doesn't even blink) I ask him if he needs anything in particular, and he replies "I'm just browsing, thanks."

Um, NO. The time for browsing has passed. Buy something now or get the hell out.

[Der Cute]

Don't forget the Q-word jinx.

Anytime it was not busy in our C-store...if someone had said it's QUIET....it would literally pick up afterwards.

As someone else said, there must be some radar looking out for peaceful stores...and then invading...

Cus-To-Mers....Assholes in Disguise.....

cutenoob

[ruffledbirdy]

I have a theory!

One of my last nights up in the B&N Cafe, before moving to music, was like this. Packs of customers would come up, be all mean and nasty, and then go away. Just to be replaced by another pack of evil customers.

When I got home I grabbed dinner, put on PBS (a public TV station with educational programming in the United States), and there is a program on African wildlife. The program showed zebras and lions (Holy Crap! Lions! -- hahahaha) and such living around a waterhole in the spring, and lots of other fun stuff.

But then I realized what was going on!

Customers, when shopping, revert back to animal mode! They are no longer human beings but are primitive primates fighting through the grasslands to get to the water. In this mindset the water is the gadget/item/food/actual water that they want. Other customers are their fellow primates.

We are the lions.

This theory explains everything about evil sucky customer behavior: A) Why they are stupid: They have shut down their homo sapien brains. B) Why they swamp us in packs: Because they have reverted to the safety of the mob animal mentality. C) Why they hate us: Because we are the predators who would dare prevent them from getting what they want for free. D) Why they don't understand us: 1) They no longer understand English in this form, and 2) when we speak their brains replace what we say with an image of a lion going RAWR!

So there is my theory! Customers are primitives.

Ruffledbirdy, stuck at the B&N till he can get in the USAF

[blas]

Ruffles, you must now replace my laptop. It's ruined.

I spit Mt Dew all over it after reading your post.

Derrrr....

[garth1]

Ruffles, you must now replace my laptop. It's ruined.

I spit Mt Dew all over it after reading your post.

Derrrr....

RULE#1RULE#1RULE#1

[Hon'ya-chan]

I hate the lulls and then all of a sudden, we get crashed in by a rush.

I mean, one moment, i'm cursing to myself where the hell is everyone, and then next, 14 people decide to come up. I can pretty much set my chock to every quarter hour when we have rushes.

[katie kaboom]

This was how my whole damn day went. I will never in a zillion years understand why everyone and their mother has to go out and buy ridiculously expensive clothes on a holiday. What the heck do you need so bad on the fourth that you have to just flood my store like the apocalypse is coming? Geez people, go home and have a cook-out already.

Let me just say, being the only person working the last 3 hours of the day, in the busiest department in the store, on a holiday, sucks donkey balls. I need a

[El Barto]

I just had an entire day that was quiet. I got three plano's done while S sat in the photo lab and watched the door. So that probably means that when I go in Friday I won't get a damn thing done.

[ArenaBoy]

During the whole inbound process people ALWAYS seemed to come in before it was time for our break. Half-time was considered closing to me and people always rushed in even though the game started 30 minutes ago.

[Clintmax]

But I just need ONE THING!

I can't tell you how many times I've heard THAT one. Every time I've tried to be nice and let them come in AFTER CLOSING to get their "one thing", it's always turned into a 45 minute ordeal.

We get the last minute rush all the time at my store too. I've even seen SC's grin and laugh when they make it in a second before I lock the doors for the night. Like they won something.