Get the Heck Out!

[flutes_and_fabric]

15 minutes before close announcement: Attention shoppers, the store will be closing in 15 minutes, please begin to make your final selections

10 minutes: attention shoppers, the store will be closing in 10 minutes. Please begin bringing all fabric up

5 minutes: Attention shoppers, the store will be closing in 5 minutes, please bring all fabric up at this time, this is the last call for fabric

2 minutes: attention shoppers, the store will be closing in 2 minutes. Please bring all items up to the register at this time for check out. Thank you and for your convenience we will re-open tomorrow at 9 am. Have a nice night

9 comes and there's still a lady in the store.

Me: Excuse me ma'am, the store is closing.
SC: ONE MINUTE!
Me: We gave several warnings
SC: Here, cut this! (tosses fabric at me, I'm thinking, fine, whatever)
Me: How much would you like
SC: 25 yeards of each
Me:...(fuck. I call up a CW for help and then check out the lady. I turn around to put her receipt away, and then look over and she's gone...but I never saw her go out the door...I walk back to where a CW is sweeping)
Me: Did you see a customer?
CW: There ain't better be no customers in here, uh uh. We's closed (A, CW, I effin love you, and that was sincere. Just then we hear a rustling coming from the Halloween isle)
Me: Is that *manager*
CW: No way, she never do no work. She's probably taking a nap in the back. (We creep up to the isle and peek around the corner. It's 9:20, we've been closed since 9. SC comes out of the isle with an armful of cheap by one get one crap.)
SC: I'm gonna get these too (Hands them to me. What, am I your pack mule or something)
Me: I'm sorry miss, we closed 20 minutes ago, the registers have been shut down. I thought you had already left.
SC: I didn't have any time to look at anything because you forced me to have my fabric cut!
Me: You can go look at the registers if you want, there's nothing in them and they're turned off. We didn't force you to come up, we were closing.
SC: I want to buy this! You're gonna turn a customer away!
CW: Listen stupid, closed means closed. You're gonna get outta here now, i don't give a crap weather it's willingly or not. I ain't gonna let no prissy snob cut into my bath time, uh uh. I'm leaving this store on time, you hear me! You was back there for two hours, you had plenty of time to get out of here.
SC: (Basically screams and runs off. Freaks out when she can't open the door.)
Me: It's locked...because we're closed (I open the door and point to the hours. She managed to stay in the store till half an hour past closing.)

Worst part was she only got tulle, so even though she got 50 yards, we only got 20 bucks out of her because of a sale and her teacher discount card.

[tropicsgoddess]

First time I've heard of anybody being this direct in telling an SC to GTFO after hours and getting away with it!

[Midorikawa]

Wow, that coworker rocks. I've wanted to tell customers to stfu and gtfo for years, but could never get away with it. mad props.

[fireheart]

I think I love your coworker.

Part of me is always wanting to go slowly after closing time, since after all, we're getting paid to stick around-they aren't.

[Android Kaeli]

Clone your coworker, PLEASE!

Even with all of the pages, some customers don't seem to take the hint that the store is, in fact, closing or is closed. I've had customers who've said that Random Craft Store has always closed at a later time and not at the time we're actually closed, never works for me because I've been working there for an odd number of years and know better.

[EvilEmpryss]

I'd verify that teacher's discount card... call the county education office or something. There's no way a teacher shouldn't know about following the rules and doing things on time. If you have the authority, you might want to get back at her by telling her she has to "renew" her teacher discount privileges by bringing in proof that she's still employed by a school. You know, purely a random check kind of thing because people have been abusing the cards (which they do).

If she is a teacher, then I say giving her a time out (of the store) might be a good start for the punishment.

[flutes_and_fabric]

I'd verify that teacher's discount card... call the county education office or something. There's no way a teacher shouldn't know about following the rules and doing things on time. If you have the authority, you might want to get back at her by telling her she has to "renew" her teacher discount privileges by bringing in proof that she's still employed by a school. You know, purely a random check kind of thing because people have been abusing the cards (which they do).

If she is a teacher, then I say giving her a time out (of the store) might be a good start for the punishment.

I usually check id's with them because we'll get women that certainly don't look like a stanly or vise versa. Then we get kids using them and I'm pretty sure they're not teachers. I had one woman who claimed her school hadn't gotten teacher cards yet, but I'm interning in a school in her county, and knew for a fact they were issued months before. In fact, she couldn't get around the building without one because they have card locks. I wanted to pull my school id out and be like "oh yeah."

Wow, that coworker rocks. I've wanted to tell customers to stfu and gtfo for years, but could never get away with it. mad props.

I think the reason we got away with it is because it's a stressful time and our managers are getting pissed too. Actually, one left and didn't show up for her shifts for 2 days. We found out on the 3rd day that she was never coming back. That was the 7th manager in 2 months that has come and gone. We have 2 right now who are kinda running shop, but one is a student and obviously can't be around all the time and the other is being forced to work 7 days a week, 11 hour shifts, and that's just too much. I can't believe she hasn't burned out yet. I don't mind when she doesn't wanna come out and work with customers. Who would after 10 hours. The one that closed that night was a very annoying temporary whatever. She's not a manager, but was given the authority to close and count the moola and such.