Let's ignore the closed sign!

[Lace Neil Singer]

I know this probably belongs in the closing thread, but this ties in with two of my major annoyances. XD Basically, Wednesday was a day where I spent 1 hour on a till, then went to the petrol station, then returned for another hour on checkouts. I'm about the only person over at checkouts who's been trained on petrol for years, so I end up covering shifts there at odd times, cuz they have to have at least 2 people there at all times. That also means I sometimes do lunches or breaks there, too.

Anyway, at the end of the hour on checkouts, a closed sign was put up on my till to indicate its closure. Most people who tried to come on, maybe cuz they didn't see it, were fine when I told them that I was closing. Not so Stupid Mobile Phone Woman. She came to my till, phone clamped to her ear with one hand, armful of obviously squished shopping (no basket) in her free hand and knocked my sign down. She then started dumping her stuff on the belt, still yacking away into her phone.

Due to the quite absorbing conversation she was having about how her husband never pulled his weight and how much she'd spent on shoes last time she went shopping, It took some time to finally be able to get her attention. "I'm sorry, but I'm closed." By now, I had locked up my till, switched off the belt and screen and ready to go relieve someone at petrol. "Can't you serve me?" "No, I can't. I've locked up the till." "Well, unlock it. I'm in a hurry." "No, I can't. I have to go to petrol." She then gave me a dirty look, grabbed her shopping and stomped off in a huff... still with the mobile clamped to her ear, thus treating the person on the other end to her childish tantrum.

[MadMike]

I used to have people do that to me as well. One time, I got tired of telling them, so I finally just shut down the register and walked off, once I took care of the last person who was in line before I shut my light off.

By some miracle, I did not get in trouble for it.

[delorean623]

At my old store (I transferred to a new city in August), when it was time to pull someone's reg, I'd get in the end of the in and shoo people away. Surprisingly, it worked really well and people didn't get mad.

I just walk away. People will just stand there.... and I'll be loooooooong gone. I think it's pretty funny!

[Imogene]

Surprisingly, it worked really well and people didn't get mad.

I got the chance to do that, finally, a few months ago. Mom & I were... somewhere... Mom was ahead of me, checking out, and I was unloading the cart. Someone got in line behind me, and I thought nothing of it, until Mom caught my attention to tell the guy that we were the last in the cashier's line. So, I did, and he wandered off.

[Jack T. Chance]

Lace Neil, I'm not entirely sure what type of store you work in, in regards to how your tills are set-up. So, I don't know if this tactic would work or not. But at some of the grocery stores in my area, they have "end cap" style racks for magazines, candy, or the like, that are on casters/rollers, and when a till is closed, they'll roll one of those over into the entry of the check-out lane, so that it completely blocks off that lane to make it crystal clear to the customers that said till is closed!

And then there are other grocery stores where instead of using a rolling rack to block off the lane, they have a chain or rope or gate that the cashier pulls out across the check-out lane, for the same purpose.

But most of those stores have a secondary reason for using those tactics: Loss Prevention. They do it so that the only way out of the store is to walk through an open check-out lane, by a cashier, so the cashier has an opportunity to try and stop would-be shoplifters. The whole downside of this L.P. tactic is that it's REALLY annoying when the store didn't have what I was looking for, causing me to leave without buying anything, but the only way out is through the ONE check-out lane that's open, which has a long line because management is too stupid and/or cheap to put a second cashier on duty!

But, I digress. Hopefully these tactics will give you some ideas. If your register is at a counter like at the typical "petrol" station in this area, you can use counter displays of "impulse purchase" merchandise to block off the counter by your till, to make it clearer to people that you are closed.

[Lace Neil Singer]

We don't have sweets etc at checkouts; they used to, but cuz of various factors like parents complaining about their kids being tempted, supermarkets stopped doing racks of sweets. We do have tape that goes accross the lane, but that only can be put in if the opposite till is closed; which in this case, wasn't the case. I will never let someone in if I'm closing to go home; if someone asks first, with just a couple of items, I might if I was just about to go to break. I never let rude people like Stupid Mobile Woman thru; the fact that she knocked my sign down was reason enough not to let her inconsiderate arse thru.

[Seshat]

The whole downside of this L.P. tactic is that it's REALLY annoying when the store didn't have what I was looking for, causing me to leave without buying anything, but the only way out is through the ONE check-out lane that's open, which has a long line because management is too stupid and/or cheap to put a second cashier on duty!

What I always do (on the rare occasion when I'm walking - and used to do before the wheelchair) is to walk past the people, with my hands raised to show that they're empty. I wait until there's enough space in the checkout lane to squeeze past without inconveniencing anyone, and show the cashier I'm not carrying anything (again, hands raised) and slip out that way.

I've seen lots of other people do that too - it seems to be the accepted method around here.