You're insane...I'll bet you think this post is about you...

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

I think everyone here has had to deal with that customer who just refuses to leave the store at the end of the day or the SC who saunters up to the door after closing and actually expects you to let them in to get "just one thing".

When I worked for that CSFHTSRN (Clothing Store From Hell That Shall Remain Nameless), we had a doozy one evening. I don't know what this woman's story was, but she was 3 cows shy of a milkshake at least.
She had been in the store for several hours and decided to check out right at closing time, and, of course, she had a @#$%-load of stuff. So the fun begins...

While she's being checked out, she decides to take this opportunity to 'pick and choose', meaning she wants to see what she wants to keep and what she wants to go back.
She had several items that weren't priced. A lot of times in cases like this, the customer will opt to not get those items since they know it's after close and they don't want to make a fuss. Not this lady. She HAD to have those things and a price check was done.
Once everything had been priced and totalled, guess what? Her payment was declined.
Wow. Didn't see that coming.
She then spent, oh, an eon or two on the phone arguing with whoever she managed to contact about this payment problem. Somehow it was rectified (I think she used some other form of payment, but what it boiled down to was that the declined card was due to her error or so I ascertained).
At this point she's going completely nutzoid. She's raving on about she doesn't have time for all this (?!), they need to get new people to work at this store, and on and on.
Uh, yeah. Right.
She had to call a courtesy bus to come get her, and when the bus finally arrived and I helped her out the door with her massive purchase, she started ranting to the driver about "Those MFs in there held me up! All their fault! Blah Blah Blah! MFs this! MFs That!"
I just closed the door and locked it.
TIGHT.
I got the distinct impression that she was on an outpatient basis, if you get my drift.

Oh, GOD, I don't miss those days.

[ladyklack]

Those customers are the worst. I had one once at the photo shop. She stopped in five minutes before close to pick up her pictures. This usually is a quick and easy process, but sometimes customers figure that since you've seen their photos you must be interested in the story of their life. This particular woman actually acknowledged to me that she knew we where closing and how she was sorry to delay me with her photo pick up. I assured her it was no problem, but she just needed to justify her lateness so she launched into this story about how she would have picked them up the next day, but her mother in law insisted that she get them now, and her mother in law would make her life miserable if she didn't and blah blah blah, evil mother in law, blah blah blah! She went on to spend the NEXT 20 MINUTES raging about her mother in law. (This is not an exaggeration, I looked at the clock. She came in exactly 5 minute before close and left exactly 15 minutes after close) By the time she left I honestly felt that her mother in law might have just reason to dislike her.

[DesignFox]

The nerve of some people...

That's dispicable. I hate when people know you are closing and come in your store anyway, and/or take their sweet time making their final purchases. The employees would like to go home too, you know!
We have SC's do that all the time in the mall. We have those big metal gates that come down, right? We get ***holes running in last minute all the time- they see the gate coming down and no lie...we had one guy say, "Hurry up, their closing!" and run in right before the manager put the gate down. This family of four then proceeded to take their sweet time...
On another occasion, I was putting the gate down and nearly clocked some teenager in the head who walked right under it! She was flabbergasted when we told her we were closed, and she couldn't shop!

[MystyGlyttyr]

I had one of those when I worked in a mall candy store. But it was funny instead of annoying.

I had finished the day and went to pull the gate down, and was turned to look around the store when I hear "WAIIIIIT!!" At this point, I have the gate pulled down to about chest high on me, and am still pulling it, not knowing what is going on, and this dude does the most perfect foot-first running baseball slide under the gate that I've ever seen.

Of course, since I was the only person in the store and this maniac just dove under the gate, I screamed, slammed the gate shut, braced one hand on it and one hand on a shelf next to it, and picked up my feet in order to proceed tap-dancing all over this freak's face, but in the instance before I start stomping, I hear the guy yelling.

"WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT MYSTY DON'T KILL ME IT'S ME!!"

So I'm hanging off the gate and shelf with my feet drawn up, and I finally get a good look at the guy and realize it's "D", a security guard/buddy from the mall, who is now cowering in terror and trying to protect his face.

So, I respond in the only way that seems logical at the moment, I start cussing him, his mother, his car, his clothing, his taste in women, and make several questionable comments on his sexual prowess/history.

He takes the verbal abuse and gets to his feet, looking very sheepish, and when I stop to take a breath, he replies.

"Geez, I'm really sorry, Mys, but I just got in a huge fight with my girlfriend and I wanted to get her a couple pounds of those chocolate-covered cookie dough things that she likes so much to make it up to her and I ran all the way from the other end of the mall to try and get here in time, I'm real sorry..."

So I'm still pissed, but he's a friend of mine so I tell him to load his bag while I go get the paperwork ready save for the day's numbers. While he loads up a bag, keeping his head down like a dog waiting to get kicked, the humor of the situation finally hits me and I start laughing.

"Jesus Christ, D, you do know that you were about two seconds away from getting your head battered into the gummi bear display, don't you??"

"Yeah, I know, Mys, but I really really REALLY needed to get this stuff for my girlfriend."

"You better tell her that you almost killed yourself getting in here with me to get those damn things. If she's still mad at you after this, tell her to call me so I can cuss you out to her, too!"

He got his $30 worth of candy, took it home to her, and all was well, heh. And I was only two minutes late getting out of work. Not bad to give me that great a story to tell, heh.

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

I used to have to deal with those gates, too. Oh, my years in mall hell. I had customers ducking under the gate as it descended.
Truly, if the gate is going DOWN...WE'RE CLOSED.

At least your experience was funny, Mysty! Gave me a laugh.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Your title cracks me up; I'm going to be hearing that song in my head for ages now.

[danegrous_21]

i wished where i worked was somewhat like where all of you work. where i work, if there is people in there at closing time we say nothing. we have no countdown till were closed thing. we close at 10 pm M-Sat. if people stay late, all we do is make a annoucement to remind them that we closed at 10, no saying get teh hell out, i want to go home or anything. just saying, hey we close at 10, but if your not done shopping, ask somebody for help, but where not pressuring you.i swear most days the last person doesnt leave till 10:30, and we still have to do clean-up. my job company might as well get us name tags that say "slaves for you, my name is Kunta Kenta" my job place seems to give customers more freedom then the US Govt. if you havent Go read my fitting room cs thread, and you will realize, our policy is to have no policy, so we are walking mats for customers.

[MadMike]

I think everyone here has had to deal with that customer who just refuses to leave the store at the end of the day or the SC who saunters up to the door after closing and actually expects you to let them in to get "just one thing".

It didn't happen at the supermarket a whole lot, but it happened at the home improvements store all the damn time.

A couple times, our idiot manager let them in! And of course, he expected the rest of us to stay and help them.

Now, if the assistant manager was the only manager there, they were SOL. Once he locked the front door, he wasn't opening it for anyone. Apparently this one guy got really bent out of shape, because I saw the manager walking away from the door, and chuckling about how "That guy wanted to kick my ass!"

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

Sorry, Lace. I get things like that stuck in my head way too often.
The other day I heard a version of 'Crazy Train' by a marching band and I still can't shake that one!

[Lace Neil Singer]

Sorry, Lace. I get things like that stuck in my head way too often.
The other day I heard a version of 'Crazy Train' by a marching band and I still can't shake that one!

Scary thought.

"You're insane
You probably think this post is about you
You're insane
I bet you think this post is about you, don't you, don't you?"

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Scary thought.

"You're insane
You probably think this post is about you
You're insane
I bet you think this post is about you, don't you, don't you?"

Thanks a lot, guys. Now I'll probably hear Carly Simon in my head all night long singing "You're So Vain."

[Lace Neil Singer]

My work here is done. XD

[LdyJedi]

Thanks a lot, guys. Now I'll probably hear Carly Simon in my head all night long singing "You're So Vain."

I know I am now!

Last year, we were held up by circumstances beyond our control. It was one of those days - one of those, OMG, I need a drink days. There was only one store between where we were and our hotel (we were out there for a convention, as staff types). We had no idea when it closed. We raced in and were told, "Hi - we're closing in five minutes."

"I promise, we'll be out of your hair in two!"

Ran back, grabbed quite a few bottles of wine (no hard stuff in the shop, but wine worked!) and were out the door with two minutes left to spare.

In the car, my friends and I wondered just how much those poor people at the register had groaned internally as we hurried in, expecting us to be those nasty dawdlers.

What I hated when I worked in the supermarket were the people who thought they were so very special that they could go in the exit once the entrance was locked, on a holiday, so they could "get just a few things." The few things turned out to be a whole freakin' cart load. I was over an hour late getting home and missed the start of Christmas Eve dinner because of those fools.

[Gypsy-Rose]

I once worked for a place that closed at 5:30. Now, this was by no means a big place, in fact, any one that came there knew the hours by heart.

But did that stop them from pulling up exactly at 5:30 at night? No, of course not.
However, because the front door and windows were visable from the private office, or the kitchen, many were the nights that I stood hiding, peeking around the corner or out the window as they knocked and banged at the front door as if it would then magically open.

However, on Sundays we were closed, ALL the clients are made aware of this, so, on Sundays when I would go in, there were times I would have to try to hide my car so they wouldn't see it from the road. They knew that someone had to be there on Sundays and after hours, however, we weren't about to help them out in knowing just when.

There were a few times they caught me though and tried giving me the sob stories...Ohhhh, I just HAVE to HAVE my puppy home tonight!!! I MISSED him SOOOOOO much!!! Then they'd break out in tears and act like they really gave that much of a darn when in fact we knew they boarded there dog with us more then keeping the pet at home.

But the days of peeking and playing hide and seek with them were sometimes to darn funny. However, for some of them, they'd pull the final card.."I'm just gonna call ***** (the owner) because were good friends and she will let me get my dog"

I REALLY hated those people then.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I always hate the people who waltz in just before closing and dawdle round the store... before leaving with nothing. I never thought people would do that in a supermarket, for frick's sake... but they do. Why oh why do people want to come in just to look at food?!