Closed As In No Longer Open

[TruthHurts]

We are closing up Saturday night and most everyone has left. Except for three ladies who came in 15 minutes before closing and were taking their dear sweet time. Doors are locked, most lights are off, covers pulled over the appropriate sections.

They pulled back the covers on the ice cream bin to grab ice cream. They stood and debated about whether they had everything. They just sauntered around oblivious to the obvious death stares coming from the counters.

One of the ladies approaches us and asks if the deli counter is closed. Yes, we say, the deli workers have gone home. She then tells us that we won't need to slice anything, they just need some sausages.

Whiskey! Tango! Foxtrot! We are closed, the deli is closed, get a clue. I think the deafening silence that followed her remark is what prompted her friends to quickly finish shopping and leave.

[candyshopgirl]

I think that there should be a law passed that says no one is allowed to stay in stores at closing time.Its a HUGE safety issue for the employees and customers.Think about it,least amount of employees and the most amount of money is in the store at that time.And what if one of the idiots get hurt during the non business hours.And if the moron managers violate the law then its a HUGE fine for the store.I bet we would all get to go home on time then.

[karma_gypsy]

Are you not allowed to tell customers that you are closed? Because usually they don't get it until you approach them and tell them, "we're closed for the evening, but we open at <whatever time> tomorrow morning ..."

That's what we have to do when we get after close stragglers ... and they usually get the message (most do, but some actually take a few more minutes and continue their shopping...)

[Calud]

The big store nearby closes at 20:30... but nobody can enter at 20:00.

[mattm04]

When I worked in the FE as a closer I would get that sometimes. Did you not notice the deli, bakeshop, meat, seafood are all dark.

Oh wait you did, but noticed that one or two lights in the are are still on. Why yes that is a emergency light. It is always on.

[XXDarrienX]

I know all about customers staying in stores after close. I usually close the POS Help Desk for a rather large clothing retail company. I am not allowed to leave till every store runs their EOD, our customers are not allowed to be told that the store is closed. So customers keeping the cashiers late also keep us there in corporate late heh.

[TruthHurts]

We start to tell the customers that we are closing 15 minutes before. However we have to wait about 15 minutes after we lock the door before we can tell them to check out or get out.

The ladies were near the 15 minute mark before they demanded their sausages. I think they got the point that they were pushing their luck with us and left quickly after.

[EricKei]

Is it just the grocery I used to work at, or do stores which forbid EE's from telling customers that they're closed tend to be the ones who really get on the managers' cases about "managing labor"/not keeping people there later than scheduled/closing up as quickly as possible...?

[mdog]

I think that there should be a law passed that says no one is allowed to stay in stores at closing time.Its a HUGE safety issue for the employees and customers.Think about it,least amount of employees and the most amount of money is in the store at that time.And what if one of the idiots get hurt during the non business hours.And if the moron managers violate the law then its a HUGE fine for the store.I bet we would all get to go home on time then.

Also, not only does my company have a very strict policy against unauthorized overtime, but some employees like myself don't drive and have to use public transportation to get home. That obviously means we have to rely on those schedules. We close at 9pm, and closers are usually scheduled to work until 9:30pm, allowing 30 minutes to close everything up. My commute usually takes me 1.5 hours as it is. If everything goes smoothly and I finish within my alloted time, I can make the 9:40pm light rail train and get home a little after 11pm. If I have straggling customers in the store that refuse to leave, and I can't close everything up in time to make the 9:40pm train; while the train runs every 15 minutes, at that time of night the bus I need to connect to runs only once an hour and I miss the connection, resulting in a 2.5 hour commute and getting me home well after midnight. Often times, straggling customers think I'm just being rude by kicking them out and not letting them shop around for just a little bit longer, but they probably drive their own cars and can take their own sweet time, and don't think about or even care about the fact that not all employees have that option.

[isileth]

I work in a law firm, but people, expecially rich ones, tend to think that an employee's sole purpose in life is serving them.
Once with had this client who always came very late and wanted to be updated about all and every file we were following for him, even though he wasn't the one who had to control.
When I was a bit in a hurry because I had to take a bus to go home, he always looked at me as if I was stealing my wages.
I really hated him.
But I also didn't llike that much a shop where I used to go where the people started to switch off the lights half an hour before closing, without telling to people who were already there that it was closing time.

[jjllbb]

My former store manager (who was fired recently) used to watch people come AT closing, just as we were locking the doors, and invite them in and say things like "take your time"! It made me sooooooooo mad.

Now that my assistant manager is running things we make announcements and approach the customers every five minutes after closing until they GTFO.

[Food Lady]

mdog, you just desribed exactly what I went through at the shoe store. But if I got out late, there were no more busses. One night people came in at 8:45 (we closed at 9:00) and stayed until 9:30. The store was full and we had to shut the lights off and vacuum around people. I ended up walking home. Left at 10:00 and got home around 11:30. I was soooo ticked, I think I was walking 3 miles an hour, out of anger.

[mdog]

... But I also didn't llike that much a shop where I used to go where the people started to switch off the lights half an hour before closing, without telling to people who were already there that it was closing time.

I think 30 minutes before closing is way too early. But also, with only one employee working the closing shift, if there are lots of people in the store, and especially if stuck at the register, it can be very hard to tell everyone that we're going to close. I will usually shut the CD player, the cooler lights, and the display case lights off 15 minutes before closing. About 10 minutes before closing, if there are just a few people in the store, I will tell them all that we're closing in 10 minutes. I then usually pull the display tables and the racks in. If possible, I stand near the doorway and tell people trying to come in that we will be closing in x minutes. About 5 minutes before, I lower the gate about halfway to give outside people (and hopefully inside people) a clue that it's almost time to close. If I'm not stuck at register at closing and there are a few people in the store, I politely ask them if I can quickly help them find what they are looking for and ring them up, since we are now closed. But if I'm stuck at the register and there are lots of people still shopping, I have no choice but to tell the person at register that I'll be right with them, and then go and shut all the lights off (except the safety ones that always stay on).

[mdog]

mdog, you just desribed exactly what I went through at the shoe store. But if I got out late, there were no more busses. One night people came in at 8:45 (we closed at 9:00) and stayed until 9:30. The store was full and we had to shut the lights off and vacuum around people. I ended up walking home. Left at 10:00 and got home around 11:30. I was soooo ticked, I think I was walking 3 miles an hour, out of anger.

And for me, walking home wouldn't even be an option. I work at the airport which is, I don't know, maybe about 7-10 miles away from downtown. My house is in a suburb about 10 miles from downtown. This would be a 17-20 mile walk! I'm thankful that at least I do have a few buses that run later (even if it costs me an extra hour in commute time), for if I didn't, I'd probably have to take a cab home, and at that distance it would be very expensive, and also considering my job is basically just minimum wage.

[MadMike]

My former store manager (who was fired recently) used to watch people come AT closing, just as we were locking the doors, and invite them in and say things like "take your time"! It made me sooooooooo mad.

The manager at the home improvements store would not only do that, but sometimes unlocked the door for people who showed up after we closed. Naturally, everyone hated him when he did that.

Luckily, the two managers below him didn't pull that crap. If either of them were running the store when someone showed up after closing, they were SOL. This one guy even threatened to kick his ass when he wouldn't let him in. Yeah, theatening someone is a sure-fire way to get them to let you in.