Off the clock means

[Food Lady]

Stop asking me questions about my job! I was on lunch sat at the cafe with a view of the front counter. This woman was several yards away, yelling across the whole area to me, asking if we sold hot dogs. Let me say I wasa sitting there with my phone, a giant lunch bag, and my purse. I immediately said "I'm off the clock." She asked "But do they sell hot dogs here?" She could've seen them from there, but I told her yes. Then she asked if I worked in the cafe, even though the conversation should've ended already. I said "Yes, but I'm off the clock." "Well, do you know if anyone is coming over here?," she persisted. Seriously?? I told her I didn't know and she stormed off. She should've gone to the service desk in the first place.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Silly Food Lady. Don't you know?

Off the clock means

that you're still working! All of us drones are expected to be available to the Sucktomers at all times, day or night, rain or shine, good or ill. We're not allowed to have personal lives!

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

That's why when I am off the clock but not done work I am either hiding in the back away from customer view or if I am in one of the guest areas, I am not wearing any uniform or anything that identifies me as an employee. I've never worked at a place that wouldn't allow me to change out of uniform for an off the clock break (usually a meal break).

Of course being out of uniform doesn't mean I'm not recognized and I am nice to people who ask me questions, usually by referring them to someone on the clock who can give them an answer.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

If you were a hot dog, would you eat yourself?

[Food Lady]

I'm not going to take off my uniform for a half hour. If I say I'm off the clock, that needs to be respected. Recently I had someone ask and I let her know I wasn't working. Her respone was, "OK, thanks anyway."

[Ironclad Alibi]

NSFW Here is one way to respond to being interrupted while on a lunch break. Not recommended for real life.

[downforit2008]

When I'm on one of my lunch breaks and getting my food to eat, I tend to ignore those that want to persist. One time a few months ago, I was getting some drinks for lunch when some snappy customer woman asked in an impatient tone, "Do you work here?" I wasn't wearing a vest or a nametag, so I wasn't obliged to answer her, so I just acted like I never saw her and walked down the aisle away from her. When I am off the clock, YOU DO NOT EXIST. I have an hour to get some peace of mind and you're invading my personal bubble of peace and serenity! I only deal with your snotty attitude because I'm getting paid to(and apparently not enough). If you ask me in a nice tone, I just MIGHT consider helping you by pointing out what item you want, but I am not obliged to and I would only do so because I DECIDED and not because you're "the customer" because while off the clock, I happen to be a customer too, only I'm a lot more damned nicer to the cashiers when they're ringing me up.

[Teefies2]

This happened to me tonight. I was on my lunch break, outside, smoking a cigarette. Unfortunately, I am wearing a shirt that has the name of my store on it about 15 times

A female - not even a customer yet - gets out of her car and limps toward me. I feel a little bit sorry, because I can see she's injured and has clearly just gotten out of the hospital ER. "Is your pharmacy open? Cause the hospital said it was."

"No" I said, "there are no pharmacies open in *my town* after 6pm on Saturday." She says "Well what about your *other town store*?" "No" I state "there is one in *town A, town B, and town C*" (none of which are more than 20 miles away).

She goes ballistic! "<name of my town> is a piece of s****!!!!!!!!! The hospital SAID your pharmacy was OPEN!!!!!!!!!" rantrantrantblargleblargleblargle. And off she goes, slamming the car door behind her.

I wish this was a unique event, but unfortunately, it isn't. My store has been open in this town for almost 2 years, and none of the other pharmacies in town are open after 6pm on Saturday either, but the hospital CONTINUES to tell people ours is open. <le sigh> I just wish I didn't have to deal with *off* the clock as well as *on* the clock

[wolfie]

My store has been open in this town for almost 2 years, and none of the other pharmacies in town are open after 6pm on Saturday either, but the hospital CONTINUES to tell people ours is open.

Has management at your store complained to the hospital about this? If they have (i.e. hospital is ignoring the complaints), can the store legally put some "teeth" into their complaint by refusing to fill ANY prescriptions issued by the hospital, and telling cutomers "I'm sorry, but until that hospital stops LYING about our operating hours, we don't accept any of their prescriptions"?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Don't jerk me around! It's just a simple question!

If you were a hot dog, would you eat yourself?

[Teefies2]

Has management at your store complained to the hospital about this? If they have (i.e. hospital is ignoring the complaints), can the store legally put some "teeth" into their complaint by refusing to fill ANY prescriptions issued by the hospital, and telling cutomers "I'm sorry, but until that hospital stops LYING about our operating hours, we don't accept any of their prescriptions"?

Management has complained to the hospital. However, this is the only hospital within a reasonable driving distance of my town of 20,000 people. It's not a good idea to refuse to fill prescriptions from them, as that would be a lot of business.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I used to have a lot of those when I worked at the garden centre. Cuz of there being no break room, if it was nice enough I'd go and sit outside and eat my lunch and have a cigarette afterwards. I had my walkie talkie with me in case of an urgent query, but to my mind, since I wasn't being paid for this hour, I wasn't moving. I lost count of the customers who, on finding me sitting on the kerb, took it upon themselves to bleat, "I need serving in the pet unit and I can't find anyone (translation: I haven't even bothered to look) so can you come and serve me?"

My reply was always, "I'm off the clock. I don't get paid for lunch, so I'm not going back inside til 1:30. If you go into Fish, one of the staff there will help you."

Sorry, but I don't work for free and I'm not working during my lunch break. Either you find someone else to help you, or you sit tight and wait til I'm back on the clock. Simples. The really annoying thing about this was that some of these idiots were repeat offenders who knew damn well that from 12:30 to 1:30 I was off the clock, but who still felt the need to come and bug me. The people who annoyed me the most were those who went, "Haha, ruined your lunch!" or "Haha, ruined your smoke break!" Nope, you haven't, cuz I'm not moving and you can't make me. Even the manager (hired due to Dilbert Principle) couldn't make people work on their lunch break; in any case, his lunch was at the same time as mine and he always left the building. XD

[PepperElf]

i had a coworker who refused to move until his break was over.

so sometimes i'd come up to ask something and he'd balk... until he looked at his clock and realized it was one minute past
funny thing is he caught me reading a book once and got mad... until I pointed out it was during break.

[Web_Pict]

That's why when I am off the clock but not done work I am either hiding in the back away from customer view or if I am in one of the guest areas, I am not wearing any uniform or anything that identifies me as an employee. I've never worked at a place that wouldn't allow me to change out of uniform for an off the clock break (usually a meal break).

Of course being out of uniform doesn't mean I'm not recognized and I am nice to people who ask me questions, usually by referring them to someone on the clock who can give them an answer.

Working in a small company of few people, you can't hide from customers other way than leaving the place for good.
But but. I have a half an hour drive at home and half an hour break = syntax impossible, so I rather eat in office. But that leaves me available to found, we have no backroom where to hide, closing the door only slows them... So many times I've been left in situation where I try to eat whilst someone stands nearby waiting to be served. And they regonize you weather you wear workclothes or your own.

[Lace Neil Singer]

A breakroom doesn't stop them, btw; it only slows them down. Back at the shire horse farm, the breakroom was up a flight of stairs; at the bottom of the stairs was a door with "no entry by unauthorised personel" "Staff Only" and a Hazardous Materials sticker that a worker had got from her dad. And we STILL got the bloody general public wandering up there at times.