Hiding from Customer after hours

[volatile]

Ok, I guess this is my first official SC post. I worked at one of the major pizza places as an assitant manager. During the weekends we would almost always get some customers who would show up at the store anywhere between 15 minutes and an hour after we closed.

One night after a busy shift a customer showed up 30 minutes after we had closed for the night. This was a college town so we closed pretty late at 3 am. We had already shut off the ovens, cleared the makeline, settled the tills and deposits. I was in the middle of mopping the floors when a semi-drunk customer came to the door and started knocking on it. I talked to him through the glass door and proceded to inform him that we had closed over 30 minutes ago.

Me: "Sir, I'm sorry we closed over 30 minutes ago and am about to lock up and go home."

CS: "Dude, I'm sooooo hungry. Couldn't you just make a pizza real quick for me?"

Me: "Not that simple. The ovens would take 10-15 minutes to heat up. We'd have to get all the ingredients out. The pizza would then take 10 more minutes to make. Once it comes out we have to turn off the ovens and let it cool which takes about 20 minutes and clean the mess. So making a pizza could set us back another hour from going home. Besides, we settled the tills and I can't risk making another sale and screwing up my cash count."

CS: "But I'm so hungry. Just do me this favor! Don't you want to make money?"

(As if I directly pocket the store's earnings)

At that point I just stopped talking and finished my mopping. He just kept knocking on the glass trying to get my attention and appeal to me. Finally I got all my drivers up to the front of the store with me, turned out the lights and then stood behind the counter. When he looked at all three of us, we all just crouched down behind the counter and pretended like we were hiding from him (well I guess we weren't pretending). The customer banged harder on the window and we all just laughed at him. We stayed there until we heard tires screeching as he peeled out of the parking lot.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Don't you want to make money?"

as if his ten bucks is gonna break the bank for you

[ahanix1989]

"Sorry, my bank account is at $99,991. another $10 is gonna be a bad idea"

[blas]

I always used to hide from customers at the gas station after close. Too many people have it in their heads that EVERY station is 24/7. Well, after way too many last minute customers, I'd lock the doors, shut off the lights and start to count down. The pitch black store wasn't obvious enough, because people would still pull up and pull on the doors and bang on the windows and go "Yooo hooo!" and try to get gas.

Sometimes I'd count in the dark lol, without my night light, relying only on the light from the lotto machine hahahahaha.

People are stupid.

[ominousoat]

At the gas station I worked at our computers shut down at 11, we officially closed at 10. Anyhow, one night we were incredibly busy, a game had just finished up, and the whole world had to run in and "Get something really quick." Honest to goodness we were open for an additional hour after closing. About 5 minutes until 11 I finally just yelled "HEY! THE COMPUTERS ARE SHUTTING DOWN! LAST CALL!" Sure enough, everyone filtered out and I ran to shut off the lights (oddly enough, sometimes a better deterent than a locked door, for some reason a locked door means "SHAKE HARDER!" for some people. Of course there was always the people that lights didn't deter either...) but more people came in even though the lights were off. I explained we were supposed to close about an hour ago and we had just been busy, naturally they considered this unfair and begged for me to just set the money aside and have someone ring it up in the morning (policy says....no.) I declined and began mopping, hoping that would get them out. So they went to the bathroom, griped some more and finally left. I then locked the doors and hid in the back to count the money, I heard the door shake so many times that night, it was sad.

[Boozy]

Arrggh. This has got to be my biggest pet peeve.
When I worked at the wine store, we usually had no problems closing. We were dead for the last half hour anyway. The problem was holiday weekends and especially Christmas Eve. People would be banging on the door begging us to let them in. At six o clock on Xmas eve? No. I have a family to go home to, I've been here for twelve hours already. You should have planned ahead.
I explained this once to an extremely insistent customer who just wouldn't go away. They seemed genuinely surprised that I was exhausted and wanted to go spend the holidays with my family.
What? YOU have a family? YOU get tired? Are not all retail employees AUTOMATONS?! Are you not all on earth expressly to solve MY problems?

[Rapscallion]

I once saw someone shaking the door of a blatantly empty store. The hours were posted on the door - it was five minutes after closing, the lights were out, and the manager was watching with amusement from the bus stop a hundred yards away. Granted, it was five pm, but the shop had that sort of closed feeling you can sense when ... something's closed.

Rapscallion

[protege]

People like that suck. The camp store was like that. Since the dining hall food usually sucked, it wasn't a surprise that snacks (chips, candy, sodas) sold pretty well. Usually, I'd be open all day, and even into the night hours. I thought I might as well keep things open...rather than get assigned some bullshit "work project"

Anyway, no sooner as I'd close up, people would start pounding on the locked doors...simply because the lights were on. Most were understanding when I said I'd closed for the night. But a few, just pissed me off enough to cover the front windows with black paper after hours...just to get my cleaning and restocking done.

My favorite nights were Wednesdays. That was the weekly OA (Order of the Arrow...at one time it was an honorary thing, now it's just a huge popularity contest) ceremony. Since all of the kiddies were at that, I had about 3 hours to get my work done or goof off. Usually, I'd make a killing after one of those things

[Boggles]

My customers cannot seem to understand that Camelot turn off the Lotto machines at their end and it isn't up to us.

On a saturday night we announce each minute from 7:20pm until 7:30pm when the last ticket has to be done adn people still wander up and say "I didn't think theys topped until 8. Can't you just put mine through? i'm a very good customer"

And as for coming when we are shut. We have loads of people complain that they ring up to cancel papers the day before they leave at 9 and 10pm. We cannot get them to grasp that we are open for more than 95 hours a week so they have no excuse for not coming down then.

[Auto]

I always used to hide from customers at the gas station after close. Too many people have it in their heads that EVERY station is 24/7. Well, after way too many last minute customers, I'd lock the doors, shut off the lights and start to count down. The pitch black store wasn't obvious enough, because people would still pull up and pull on the doors and bang on the windows and go "Yooo hooo!" and try to get gas.

Sometimes I'd count in the dark lol, without my night light, relying only on the light from the lotto machine hahahahaha.

People are stupid.

Hey blas,

Why do gas stations with pumps that take credit cards need to close? Is it a safety thing?

I've tried to buy gas on holidays and I always pay with CC, I never really notice if there's an attendent on duty. I need a few failed attempts to get the machine to read my card before it dawns on me that the station is closed for Christmas.

Can't the pumps work without someone present?

[MrSunshineState]

We used to hide from the customers both before opening and after closing when I worked at the movie theatre!

I was normally a box office cashier and nothing pissed me off more than when I was sitting in the box office, all lights off, all doors locked, and a giant "CLOSED" sign up in the window, trying to count my money to make sure my bank balanced before opening and some customer would come up and BANG on the glass!! Keep in mind I sat less than a foot from the glass so it was LOUD! And it was always the same

SC: What time do you open?
Me: Approximately 12:30
SC: But my movie starts at 1:00!!!
Me:


Then after closing it was a nightmare too. We normally closed 30 minutes after our last movie started which was normally around 10:30. 11:00 rolls around and we lock the doors, turn off the lights, and yes, put up the "CLOSED" sign. Yet people would still come up and start knocking on the doors!!

SC: Are you open?
Me: Sorry, we actually closed 30 minutes ago
SC: Can't I still get a ticket?
Me: The latest movie is already 30 minutes in progress
SC: BUT THAT IS ALL PREVIEWS!! THE MOVIE IS JUST STARTING
Me: Um, previews last about 8-10 minutes, not 30. We are closed.
SC: *walks off in a huff*


Little afterthought for all those that have worked a closing shift.

What is it about the sight of an employee locking the doors that makes a customer think if they run fast enough and make it through before we lock the last door we will let them in?

It seemed like every time at the theatre I would be locking the doors (we had 8 total doors) somebody would see it and RUN to the door farthest from me, open it and say......YOU GUESSED IT.....

SC: Are you open?

[ShortTemperHatesStupidity]

Another thread that can use the rule:

A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

How fitting!

[volatile]

Or instead of closing...there'd be people being retarded when I try to open. I never understood the allure of pizza. Sure it's good but, I swear, it's like a drug to some people where they have to have it or die. I'd get into the store around 9 or a little earlier, depending on the projections for the day, and we'd open at 10. Well invariably there'd be people trying to come into the store like at 9:15 or so. I'd let them in so that they aren't out in the cold or heat but they couldn't understand I couldn't serve them quite yet. I'd tell them the preps had to be done, makeline has to be set up, ovens have to heat up, and most importantly I have to get the tills set and computers running. But they couldn't understand what a time consuming process this would be and they would start tapping their feet or demanding "Can't you hurry up?!".

[RentalRacer]

But they couldn't understand what a time consuming process this would be and they would start tapping their feet or demanding "Can't you hurry up?!".

Which is exactly why I'd make em' stay outside in the heat/cold until we were 100% open.

Sadly after all my years in customer service I operate by the mantra "No good deed goes unpunished".

[Boozy]

What is it about the sight of an employee locking the doors that makes a customer think if they run fast enough and make it through before we lock the last door we will let them in?

Oooh, yes - I hate that too. My dipwad manager used to make me keep the doors open until nine o'clock on the nose...but our liquor license only permitted us to sell until nine. So if I let someone in, by the time they selected a bottle and paid for it, the receipt would read 9:05....if the liquor board found out, not only would the store get fined, but ME PERSONALLY.
Once I had a guy see me closing the doors, and he and I made eye contact. Time stood still for a moment, and you could almost hear that "showdown at noon" music from old western movies. He started to run for it, I started yanking on the gates at hard as I could. And the bastard gets his foot in the prevent me from locking! He just stood there looking at me with this smirk on his face and said, "Beat ya! Now you have to sell me a bottle!" I just said, "No I don't", pushed his foot out with mine, and locked the door.
Mwahahahahaha!
He banged away at the door, cursing at me while I calmly counted the till. Thankfully, he gave up and left before I had to go home.