I love the early birds.

[Deus Machina]

This was a recent one, where I had to go in at 7 AM (I hate early morning shifts) for a truck. We open at 9.

I head up to the front door, with an old shopping bag in hand, with the day's lunch and an extra shirt--truck boxes are dirty, reach up to hit the hidden doorbell for someone to let me in.

And some old lady leans out of a car parked in the first spot (seriously, why were they waiting there two hours before we open? Don't they have anything else to do?) and yells out, not unklindly. "They're not open yet!"

Smile, wave, nod. "I know, ma'am! I work here." And she pops her head back in.

Ring the doorbell again, because they can't hear it in some parts of the store and it's been a moment. Lady's friend leans out. "They're not open yet!"

"I know, ma'am! I work here! Early truck today!"

Again, ring the doorbell. One pokes her head back out "THEY'RE NOT OPEN!"

"I know! I work here, and we need to unload an early truck!"

One of the cashiers (C) opens the doors, lets me in, closes and locks doors. I'm an aisle back when I see the ladies walking toward the door out the front windows. It doesn't open, so they bang on the window, C goes to check, and seeing it's not an employee, points to the hours-of-operation sign.

Lady says something, muffled by the door, so C opens it a crack, and I can hear the old lady yelling. "How come you let him in early and not us?"

C: "Ma'am, he works here."
SC: "Then why wasn't he wearing his apron? He was talking back to us, and never said he worked here!"

[Ree]

Morons.

Selective hearing is good.

[marasbaras]

What idiots.

[tropicsgoddess]

Sheer idiocy at it's finest....en masse.

[Supermarket Slave Girl]

Talk about selective hearing right there

[Becks]

Who let them out in public?

[Rapscallion]

Oh, there were a set of people I affectionately referred to as 'vultures' who would congregate outside the local bakery along the road from us every Saturday morning. I've been away from that place for over three years, but I bet they still do it.

The managers there went ape when they tried to get in early, or even knocked hoping for special priveleges of getting in before eight am.

Of course, the Boss went along there every so often and - out of sight of the people inside and working furiously - would rap on the window with the ring on his finger. He would stand back and watch the fireworks.

Happy days...

Rapscallion

[blas]

We had vultures at the gas station before. But only because I (and anyone who wasn't the manager or asst manager) refused to open the store early. I actually never could, as it took me until opening time to get everything ready. My manager unfortunately pampered regular SCs and just let them in even if she wasn't open yet. So a random Saturday or Sunday morning where I'd be opening instead of closing, the door would be locked and I'd be counting the till and making coffee or whatever, and cars would pull up, regular SCs would reef on the door, look all confused and sad, then sit and wait for me to open. There was a 24/7 Holiday station right down the street.

[Beckpatton]

ROFL!!! It's stories like this that make me so happy that I found this site! I thought I was the only one who had to deal with such stupidity! thank God I am no longer alone!!

[Danjo]

We got a McDonalds across the parking lot from us and the folks that work there have some horror stories about early birds. Apparently they'll badger the opening worker, banging on doors and windows till the manager lets them in. Even though it's like 2 hours before opening and there's no food prepared.


We don't get a lot of early birds, it's the ones that come 5 minutes after closing that bug me.

[marasbaras]

I would never let someone in early. Just asking for problems.

[Snowbird]

I'd actually wager that she didn't hear you say that you worked there. Mostly because I'd also wager that she's the type that refuses to get a hearing aid for whatever idiotic reason (not having the money I understand, but vanity? get real!). In fine SC fashion, she's passed the stupidity of that lack of foresight onto your head for not telling her because obviously if she didn't hear it, you didn't say it.

[bsaana]

While working in a bowling center a couple years ago (wife was in the navy and we were over in Italy....) I used to love locking up for the night. After locking I would see all kinds of military members from this base come up to the doors, look at the posted hours and pull on the door handles. They would repeat this for a couple minutes each time, with me sitting inside finishing work for the night almost laughing because I know they could see the sign. Wether they could read it or not is left open for debate (we had a register break down and put up 8 different signs on the menu and the counter to place their order at the other register - we counted 100 in the first day alone that could not read any of the signs).

On the opening side of things.... We served breakfast and I didn't have many people come up and want in early - guess everyone had to get to work very early, but I did have one person that if I saw him out waiting I would let him in. Very nice guy who worked at the club and because of that couldn't play the slots there and worked the later night shifts. He would occasionally come in maybe 10 - 15 minutes before we opened at 7 am and get a MGD and play slots and that is all he wanted.

[Gerrinson]

At the grocery store we didn't have to get let in when I started, we just pulled open the Exit door and walked in. They had to stop this after the morning when I and several other employees went in and a lady watching us decided to let herself in, too.

She was in the store for 20 minutes without anyone noticing because we were in the back doing prep work. She had a cart full of groceries and wanted to lodge complaint about none of the registers being open and the main door being locked.

When I (being the front end supervisor for the day) explained to her that we weren't open yet and she shouldn't be in the store she went ballistic. The gist of her rant was that if employees could come in then customers must be allowed in too, because it's the law. The store manager finally had to escort her out of the building, still screaming.

After that, the store policy was changed to have a manager stand up front with keys and unlock the exit doors to let morning employees in early.

[Deus Machina]

Oh, I love the "it's the law" group.

We've had people in forty-five minutes after we close, and we're completely done for the night, we're going to be closing the registers and going home.

The manager had to inform one lady that, no, we didn't have to stay until she was finished and, in fact, if she refused to get her stuff and head out, he'd have to have a talk with the officer in the parking lot about trespassing.

Appearently, to SC's, "It's the law" means "It's convenient to me".