You’d be surprised how necessary this can be. I worked a minimum wage job at an unnamed office supply store. We had a customer browse around for 30 minutes after close (after 3or so closing announcements) because management didn’t have the stones to tell them to get out and wouldn’t let us tell them to gtfo. Super smart, keep 16 staff an extra half our so some clown can spend $2.50 on cheap pens and a notepad. No wonder that place is doing so poorly.
Way back in highschool I worked as a cvs clerk for a time. One day after we closed the doors, myself and the manager were getting the store ready to close. Both of us had this feeling that we weren’t alone though. We just kept feeling like we so motion out of the corner of our eye, or would hear a noise we couldn’t explain.
Eventually 20 minutes after closing my manager yelled because she turned a corner and almost ran into a very kindly and extremely hard of hearing elderly gentleman. He evidently had not heard the repeated overhead announcements and had continued (extremely stealthily) shopping.
When I worked retail we turned off the registers because we had to count the money. People were pissed when they got to the front and couldn’t buy anything. Way more satisfying than nagging them that store is closing.
A lot of stores don’t allow employees to do this, and restaurants usually allow diners to take as long as they want even if they came in just before closing. It’s awful for employees.
Funny story about this: I worked for a while at a restaurant inside a mall. One time some employees from one of the mall shops got off work and came into our restaurant just before closing. The server that got stuck with them was pissed especially since she knew they were mall workers and should have known better. These girls took their time, ordered a bunch of stuff and even added dessert and stayed chatting for a bit after their meal was over. The server ended up having to stay almost 2 hrs later than usual, and they didn’t even tip that well. Later that week, my coworker got her revenge. On a night when those same girls were working the closing shift at their store, my coworker and a couple of her friends came into their store… just before they closed. They knew the store policy was the same as ours (customers that come in before closing have to be served and can’t be told to leave). So they stayed and shopped for like an hour after the closing time, trying on everything in sight and leaving a mountain of stuff in the fitting rooms. The girls were obviously super annoyed but they received commission on sales, so they still gave a lot of service and assistance. Then at the end, my coworker and her friends were like “whoops! Forgot our wallets. Guess we won’t be able to buy anything!” Ha, ha.
We page once at work, then a few minutes later turn off half the lights, it’s still more than light enough to safely walk around the store, but it makes people leave way more effectively than paging.
When I used to work retail at a small corner market, the registers automatically locked out transactions five minutes after closing. When we said the store was closed at 10, we meant it. Locals knew and were cool but occasionally we got an entitled idiot that would try to argue. We even had to have a few escorted out by police.
As long as there are people still walking around in the store even after the time it closes and even after they are told to come to the checkout this will be necessary. I work in retail and I would like to go home when my working time is over. I don’t care if you think you have to go to the store 5 minutes before it closes. And even if you have to, you have exactly 5 minutes.
I used to work at a Dollar tree when I was younger and had this shit. One particular woman came in 10 minutes before closing at least 3 times a week. At one point we just started locking the doors before she’d usually show up just to be safe.
I’ve had people come in, as the store closed and decided they should go shopping then. I told the cashier’s up front to close out and put the drawers away, and I shut the lights off like normal. They get up to the cash register a half hour after closing trying to check out. Most of their shopping was in partial darkness. They were pissed but they couldn’t buy anything.
I used to work closing shift at a home improvement store. There were always a few stragglers, but one time a lady refused to stop shopping more than 20 minutes after closing. The manager refused to confront her and made me get her to leave. I finally had to take her cart from her and bring it to the front end where a cashier had to stay late to wait for her, and this lady had the nerve to act like we were being rude when she was the one keeping multiple cashiers, salespeople, and the entire night crew from being able to do their jobs for over half an hour.
Due to lack of night employees ive had to close the store i work at from time to time, but since we dont really ha e a closing time i just have to take a customer and say alright thats the last one, ive had some pissed off people at me
Worked at a gas station, the amount of people banging on my doors when all the lights were off for me to open up or complaining that there were locks on the pumps and for me to come unlock it. Dude, we’re closed, take a hint.
It’s always the customers that show up 15 minutes before the store closes just to meander through the store and then act like where the ones being and considered by telling them we’re closing
I used to manage a furniture store that had a circular path through the fake room setups.
At closing time, if we had stragglers, I’d walk along behind them and shut off the lights as they left a section, forcing them to continue toward the exit.
Corporate very much frowned upon this, but fuck it. I had a store full of minimum wage staff who had families (and second jobs) to get to. You can look at discount sofas tomorrow.
This would actually be funny (ok, it is, but hear me out) if it wasn’t 100% real. I work in retail. We close at midnight, and make MULTIPLE intercom calls leading up to close for any latecomers to know. The number of people who come shopping 15-20 minutes before midnight and hear the calls but just wander around like they have all the time in the world. Sometimes we’re stuck STILL getting people out at 12:30 or 1 AM. Ridiculous.
We just don’t put up with it. You get warning calls before closing. Five minutes after closing we make the final call and “anyone wishing to make a purchase must get in line in the next one minute” After that we pull the final till and ask them to leave. We have lives as well, Fuck you.
When I worked at Target it was exactly like this. Every-single-day we had to comb through all the aisles and boot people out. We’d call store closing a thousand times and they’d just keep on meandering around shopping like it was supposed to apply to everyone except them. Ugh! Once in a blue moon we’d have someone rush in last minute needing tampons or medicine and were quick about it. For those we didn’t care. It was the lollygaggers that drove us the most nuts. It’s freaking midnight on Wednesday. Go home and watch tv on the couch in your pjs like regular people! lol
I have the opposite problem, if I hear the store is closing in 30 minutes I start rushing as if there’s 1 minute left and end up forgetting half my list even though I could easily get everything before closing.
I worked at target. The store closes at 10:00 pm. The amount of regulars that stay after 10:01 is insane. And they would argue with you too. “I’m trying to shop, go away or a speak to your manager”. Like I really cared.
I used to work at a terrible local bakery and was always the only one on shift. I did not get breaks.
The owners required me to get all the cleaning/dishes done on closing shift but did not pay me past closing time. They would leave a lot of dishes for me to do whenever they had opening shift, plus dishes that accumulated from people eating during my shift.
I started turning lights off and locking the doors five minutes before close so I could get all the cleaning done, because I don’t work for free. One day when I had a particularly large load of dishes to do, some asshole came by at two minutes to close and knocked. I did the “we’re closed” motion. He gestured to his watch. I did an exaggerated “sorry but we are closed” motion. This asshole called and left a voicemail claiming that I had closed *fifteen* minutes early and been rude to him. The owners docked my pay by half an hour.
The irony? When I quit, multiple times I would pass that bakery at peak hours and they would be closed because the owners didn’t want to work.
We closed ***45 minutes later*** once because, in spite of me giving the closing announcement ***in Spanish and English***, the last, Spanish speaking, family there refused to leave.
I had to go back and, in the same Spanish I gave during the closing announcement, explain to them that the store was closed (as of 45 minutes ago) and that we open up again at 9 or 10 in the morning (but they can feel free to come back never) if they need more time.
I worked retail, my wife has not. She insists on being this customer. I insist on running out of the shop as fast as possible when I go in near closing time. Yes we have arguments about this
I’m working in retail. Got a lot of this, the door is literally close someone forced it open and asked “are you guys close?”
Nah bruv, we just wanted to close the door for fun.
Worked fast food, lady trying to come in main door but it’s locked and is signaling me to open it. We’re told to ignore people who do this.
5-10 minutes later while I’m cleaning the lobby/eating area I look up cause I hear the side door open and she waltz in glaring at me. Manager/owner appearantly didn’t lock that door.
The inside is very obviously closed, Some people are just ridiculous
Did grandma forward this to me via email?
You’d be surprised how necessary this can be. I worked a minimum wage job at an unnamed office supply store. We had a customer browse around for 30 minutes after close (after 3or so closing announcements) because management didn’t have the stones to tell them to get out and wouldn’t let us tell them to gtfo. Super smart, keep 16 staff an extra half our so some clown can spend $2.50 on cheap pens and a notepad. No wonder that place is doing so poorly.
That’s too much pressure. You can’t just choose a label color on the spot like that.
You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here!
Way back in highschool I worked as a cvs clerk for a time. One day after we closed the doors, myself and the manager were getting the store ready to close. Both of us had this feeling that we weren’t alone though. We just kept feeling like we so motion out of the corner of our eye, or would hear a noise we couldn’t explain.
Eventually 20 minutes after closing my manager yelled because she turned a corner and almost ran into a very kindly and extremely hard of hearing elderly gentleman. He evidently had not heard the repeated overhead announcements and had continued (extremely stealthily) shopping.
When I worked retail we turned off the registers because we had to count the money. People were pissed when they got to the front and couldn’t buy anything. Way more satisfying than nagging them that store is closing.
Yesss
A lot of stores don’t allow employees to do this, and restaurants usually allow diners to take as long as they want even if they came in just before closing. It’s awful for employees.
Funny story about this: I worked for a while at a restaurant inside a mall. One time some employees from one of the mall shops got off work and came into our restaurant just before closing. The server that got stuck with them was pissed especially since she knew they were mall workers and should have known better. These girls took their time, ordered a bunch of stuff and even added dessert and stayed chatting for a bit after their meal was over. The server ended up having to stay almost 2 hrs later than usual, and they didn’t even tip that well. Later that week, my coworker got her revenge. On a night when those same girls were working the closing shift at their store, my coworker and a couple of her friends came into their store… just before they closed. They knew the store policy was the same as ours (customers that come in before closing have to be served and can’t be told to leave). So they stayed and shopped for like an hour after the closing time, trying on everything in sight and leaving a mountain of stuff in the fitting rooms. The girls were obviously super annoyed but they received commission on sales, so they still gave a lot of service and assistance. Then at the end, my coworker and her friends were like “whoops! Forgot our wallets. Guess we won’t be able to buy anything!” Ha, ha.
I wish I could sneak up on them with a bullhorn… I have had surprise customers before.
We page once at work, then a few minutes later turn off half the lights, it’s still more than light enough to safely walk around the store, but it makes people leave way more effectively than paging.
as someone who worked in retail before i feel so triggered. PTSD
When I used to work retail at a small corner market, the registers automatically locked out transactions five minutes after closing. When we said the store was closed at 10, we meant it. Locals knew and were cool but occasionally we got an entitled idiot that would try to argue. We even had to have a few escorted out by police.
Closing time, one last call for pesto sauce
So, finish your Shopping or Task.
As long as there are people still walking around in the store even after the time it closes and even after they are told to come to the checkout this will be necessary. I work in retail and I would like to go home when my working time is over. I don’t care if you think you have to go to the store 5 minutes before it closes. And even if you have to, you have exactly 5 minutes.
She is looking at Among us
I used to work at a Dollar tree when I was younger and had this shit. One particular woman came in 10 minutes before closing at least 3 times a week. At one point we just started locking the doors before she’d usually show up just to be safe.
There’s always that one customer who has a $300+ grocery order at closing time. It drives me up the wall.
You see a client enter
“We close in 10 mins”
“Oh i just need milk and bread, ill be quick”
*Take a cart*
I’ve had people come in, as the store closed and decided they should go shopping then. I told the cashier’s up front to close out and put the drawers away, and I shut the lights off like normal. They get up to the cash register a half hour after closing trying to check out. Most of their shopping was in partial darkness. They were pissed but they couldn’t buy anything.
I used to work closing shift at a home improvement store. There were always a few stragglers, but one time a lady refused to stop shopping more than 20 minutes after closing. The manager refused to confront her and made me get her to leave. I finally had to take her cart from her and bring it to the front end where a cashier had to stay late to wait for her, and this lady had the nerve to act like we were being rude when she was the one keeping multiple cashiers, salespeople, and the entire night crew from being able to do their jobs for over half an hour.
When I worked retail, I remembered a mom bringing their toddler into the store around 1045 when the store closed at 11.
They were still wandering around at 1130 and finally the manager screamed at her “lady, we want to go home!”
The lady was mad complaining as she left that now there was nothing to entertain her kid with.
Due to lack of night employees ive had to close the store i work at from time to time, but since we dont really ha e a closing time i just have to take a customer and say alright thats the last one, ive had some pissed off people at me
I dont care what your watch says, mine says we closed 2 minutes ago.
Worked at a gas station, the amount of people banging on my doors when all the lights were off for me to open up or complaining that there were locks on the pumps and for me to come unlock it. Dude, we’re closed, take a hint.
It’s always the customers that show up 15 minutes before the store closes just to meander through the store and then act like where the ones being and considered by telling them we’re closing
I used to manage a furniture store that had a circular path through the fake room setups.
At closing time, if we had stragglers, I’d walk along behind them and shut off the lights as they left a section, forcing them to continue toward the exit.
Corporate very much frowned upon this, but fuck it. I had a store full of minimum wage staff who had families (and second jobs) to get to. You can look at discount sofas tomorrow.
This would actually be funny (ok, it is, but hear me out) if it wasn’t 100% real. I work in retail. We close at midnight, and make MULTIPLE intercom calls leading up to close for any latecomers to know. The number of people who come shopping 15-20 minutes before midnight and hear the calls but just wander around like they have all the time in the world. Sometimes we’re stuck STILL getting people out at 12:30 or 1 AM. Ridiculous.
EXCUSE ME, THE STORE IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING.
We just don’t put up with it. You get warning calls before closing. Five minutes after closing we make the final call and “anyone wishing to make a purchase must get in line in the next one minute” After that we pull the final till and ask them to leave. We have lives as well, Fuck you.
When I worked at Target it was exactly like this. Every-single-day we had to comb through all the aisles and boot people out. We’d call store closing a thousand times and they’d just keep on meandering around shopping like it was supposed to apply to everyone except them. Ugh! Once in a blue moon we’d have someone rush in last minute needing tampons or medicine and were quick about it. For those we didn’t care. It was the lollygaggers that drove us the most nuts. It’s freaking midnight on Wednesday. Go home and watch tv on the couch in your pjs like regular people! lol
Me trying to close the shop while the assholes are still playing the slot machines…
15min warning, finish up please if you are.collecting any money, otherwise the safe will be locked .
1min to the hour, come up with a ticket for £500..
WTf did I say to you, suck a dick come back tomorrow.
I have the opposite problem, if I hear the store is closing in 30 minutes I start rushing as if there’s 1 minute left and end up forgetting half my list even though I could easily get everything before closing.
I worked at target. The store closes at 10:00 pm. The amount of regulars that stay after 10:01 is insane. And they would argue with you too. “I’m trying to shop, go away or a speak to your manager”. Like I really cared.
I used to work at a terrible local bakery and was always the only one on shift. I did not get breaks.
The owners required me to get all the cleaning/dishes done on closing shift but did not pay me past closing time. They would leave a lot of dishes for me to do whenever they had opening shift, plus dishes that accumulated from people eating during my shift.
I started turning lights off and locking the doors five minutes before close so I could get all the cleaning done, because I don’t work for free. One day when I had a particularly large load of dishes to do, some asshole came by at two minutes to close and knocked. I did the “we’re closed” motion. He gestured to his watch. I did an exaggerated “sorry but we are closed” motion. This asshole called and left a voicemail claiming that I had closed *fifteen* minutes early and been rude to him. The owners docked my pay by half an hour.
The irony? When I quit, multiple times I would pass that bakery at peak hours and they would be closed because the owners didn’t want to work.
I’m sorry, I love these comics. They really trigger the people that don’t understand them and have never worked retail. I come here for the comments.
We closed ***45 minutes later*** once because, in spite of me giving the closing announcement ***in Spanish and English***, the last, Spanish speaking, family there refused to leave.
I had to go back and, in the same Spanish I gave during the closing announcement, explain to them that the store was closed (as of 45 minutes ago) and that we open up again at 9 or 10 in the morning (but they can feel free to come back never) if they need more time.
I worked retail, my wife has not. She insists on being this customer. I insist on running out of the shop as fast as possible when I go in near closing time. Yes we have arguments about this
I’m working in retail. Got a lot of this, the door is literally close someone forced it open and asked “are you guys close?”
Nah bruv, we just wanted to close the door for fun.
“Sorry ma’am, the till is on an automatic timer and it will shut down in 2 minutes, would you like to complete the purchase?”
Worked fast food, lady trying to come in main door but it’s locked and is signaling me to open it. We’re told to ignore people who do this.
5-10 minutes later while I’m cleaning the lobby/eating area I look up cause I hear the side door open and she waltz in glaring at me. Manager/owner appearantly didn’t lock that door.
The inside is very obviously closed, Some people are just ridiculous