Minor vent - What does closed mean to you?

[kasar]

I worked retail for a while and I was absolutely amazed at some people. What are they thinking - that they're so special that everyone will just wait for them or do they not realize how stores work? I really hope it's the latter, but I'm afraid it's not.

Once I was working the Christmas rush (maybe two or three days before Xmas eve) at a nice department store and the line for the register was snaked around. One woman wanted me to call around to the other stores to see if they could hold a white turtleneck for her. A white turtleneck???? Like you can't find that in ANY OTHER store in the entire mall? I have very little patience for these people which could explain why that was my one and only retail experience.

 

[gdulaney]

When I worked in retail, we would do an annoucement and then send a "sweep team" to the back of the store....to "sweep" folks to front.

Ginny

 

[jennyl772003]

As far as resteraunts go...

I was a closing waitress. There is a lot of cleaning that needs to take place before we could leave. The problem comes when you realize that the majority of our income comes from tips, so if we stay for an hour after we close, we are really only making $2 something an hour for that time, so we would try to get as much done ahead of time as possible (I would never vacuum underneath you, unless you were yakking it up an hour after close)

The thing is, that you never know how long people are going to take to eat. Someone could come in an hour before closing and be out in an hour, or be pokey, chatty and not leave until an hour after closing.

The staff really would like you to be OUT by closing time. Although the management WILL seat you until closing.

 

[GoofItUp]

I am so confused by this thread. I always stay after close - there are fewer lines when I go to the front that way. And, after all, I always spend at least $10-15 at the store. Isn't my money important to you? Another thing...it's not like you really have to do anything after everyone leaves. You just lock the door and then the next day they unlock it. Really, people, you need to consider the customer's viewpoint!








As far as restaurants go, I was a waitress for several years in high school. Our policy was that people would be seated until the door is locked....which is right up until closing time. We would generally do all the clean up while the people were there except things that might be intrusive to them....like vacuuming! That was just done after the customers left.

 

[NMAmy]

Originally posted by GoofItUp
I am so confused by this thread. I always stay after close - there are fewer lines when I go to the front that way. And, after all, I always spend at least $10-15 at the store. Isn't my money important to you? Another thing...it's not like you really have to do anything after everyone leaves. You just lock the door and then the next day they unlock it. Really, people, you need to consider the customer's viewpoint!

Whoa. I haven't worked retail in a long time but I know there's quite a bit to do after the customers go home. Straightening up the mess everyone made all day, locking things up, checking the restrooms, etc for people, and counting cash drawers. Although the store closed at a certain time, we were always there at LEAST a half hour after the last one left. And what is the customer's viewpoint? There ARE stores that are open 24 hours if you have something you MUST have (the yellow washcloth is a GREAT example!) Why screw up the salespeople's night? Customer service is incredibly important but that doesn't give customers the right to abuse retail workers--they get a lot of abuse verbally all day long. How would those customers like it if they had to work late EVERY night and couldn't make any kind of plans because they weren't sure when theyd get home?

And what's with the whole Christmas eve thing? I always wanted to yell at those people, "PLAN AHEAD!"

Ok, rant over.

 

[katerkat]

I'm pretty sure GoofItUp is joking....Right?

I like our store - it's smaller and much easier to sweep customers out at the end of the night.

 

[piratesmate]

DH used to work for a small, local grocery chain. They used to start announcing at 30 min til closing. At 10 min til closing all workers not checking (including any of the night crew that was in early) would start helping customers get what they needed. But they never gave people a hard time....though they could have!

It was funny to watch 5 or more guys run back & forth with shampoo or milk or ice cream to help someone get out of the store. Most of the clerks hated being on "closing" because there were always people there late. Although with the help they got from the clerks, no one was there past 5 - 10 after.

 

[maci]

Oh my gosh this is my worst pet peeve EVER!
I have worked retail for 15 years now....and I literally have nightmares that it is like 2am, and people wont leave!! LOL!!!

 

[DisneyVillain]

Originally posted by katerkat
I'm pretty sure GoofItUp is joking....Right?

Admitting to satire is like explaining a joke. Let them wonder, GoofItUp!

 

[Maleficent13]

Used to work at TDSas a second job, and one night had a couple and their 4 yr. old daughter come in at 8:45pm (we closed at 9pm). Darling daughter was there to pick out something for her birthday. She was to have anything in the store she wanted and we were not rush her.

At 10:15 the mom looks at the pile of toys on the counter and says to the daughter, "Well, it's late and I'm tired. Let's just leave this and we'll keep looking for something tomorrow."

You have NO IDEA how hard it was for me to keep my mouth shut.

 

[dsnylvr]

And I always thought that "Customers we will be closing in 15 minutes" was the signal to go hide in the restroom!!!

J/K

 

[CourtasanSatine]

One night DBF and I pulled into a gas station right at close but we were still able to get gas(good thing or we would have ran out before I got home).I think you should be able to get things like that at closing if that's it

 

[dianeschlicht]

Originally posted by Serena
Our store will shut down 15 minutes after the store closes. We don't have any control over it. If a customer is still here we have to call St. Louis to have them turn things back on.
The registers and most of the lights get turned off automatically. We have to have our drawers closed up before it gets shut down.

I think that is an EXCELLENT policy!

 

[sha_lyn]

I worked for a Drycleaners for a few yrs. the last location Iwas at was the worst about having customers who would come in right at closing. One lady who worked at the bank next door would come in wiht a months worth of cleaning (2-3 hampers full of ladies suits) at one time.

The one that really stands out is the customer I hid from for abotu 20 min. I locked the door and turned out the lights right at closing (7PM I think). I closed out the register, made the deposit etc. Must have been in there for 20 min-30 min after the doors were locked. I went to the bathroom, and as I was walking up the hall I heard someone pounding on the door and screaming "I know someone is in there." I even tried to leave out the back door, but there was no way for me to lock it. I seriously thought of calling the police, but the phone was by the register right next to the door. I did not want them to see me in there. they finally stopped pounding, so I sneaked far enough to the door to watch them get into their car and leave.

 

[poohtown]

well although I don't think people need to be in a store 20 minutes after closing - I hate how employees will start cleaning up early. If the store/restaurant is open till 9 pm, then I should have until 9 pm to buy what I want. After I leave, then you can start packing up and vacuuming. I had this happen at a restaurant once also - very upsetting. The restaurant was supposed to close at 9. We went in at 8:30 and the people looked disgusted with us. All we wanted was some soup (we had been on a walk around town and were freezing). He told us everything was put away. So then we ordered some stupid easy appetizer - that wasn't even hot or what we wanted. All the staff started putting up chairs and spraying down the tables around us.

 

[angey77]

How about this one: You know EVERY YEAR what day Christmas falls on, so don't come running up to the store at close looking for "one more gift." Those people drive me nuts.
Also, if it is a mall, you know the mall hours, you have all day to shop. GET OUT!
whew, very therapeutic. I work part-time in retail just to help pay off some college debt, but those kinds of people make me wonder if its worth it!

 

[Rock'n Robin]

This reminds me of a job I quit because I was accused of bad customer service!
I had worked in a florist shop for over a year. I wasn't a designer, I just worked 4 nights a week and Sundays from 10AM to close, which was 2PM. I did mostly vacuuming at night, some bud vases, etc. It wasn't a bad job, nights were slow except at holidays, I substitute taught during the day. Once I had to deliver flowers to a funeral home on a Sunday but that was the worst of it.
One Sunday afternoon a little old lady came in at about 1:45. While she was browsing an old friend of mine from HS came in as well--he had just gotten out of the Army. I answered any question the woman had and chatted a small bit with my friend while she browsed. She was nice and reminded me of my grandmother.
At 1:58 she told me she had left her money at home, and could I wait 20 minutes so she could go get her purse at home. I explained that we closed in 2 minutes and I was unable to keep the store open that long. She left and my coworker and I closed up, then I talked to my friend in the parking lot for a while since I hadn't seen him in 4 years! We were standing outside the store by our cars. You know how it is when you start talking to someone and before you know it 1/2 hour goes by.
Well, the next night my manager is livid with me. Seems the old lady had watched me talk to my friend and had sent a nasty note in to the store(and a copy to the BBB!) about why the heck couldn't I keep the store open if I was just going to sit in the parking lot talking! I don't handle criticism well and was trying to stammer out a response (such as in all the time I had been there we never kept the store open past close for anyone) when my manager started to insinuate that my friend was something more than that. I had been married to DH for about 2 months at the time and THAT ticked me off. I had given notice for 2 weeks but at that point told my manager that the evening in question would be my last.
Would I have left the store open if I had known I would talk to my friend for so long? NO! There was no protocol for that. Now if she had stayed in the store I would not have been able to close, but she had to physically drive away from the building to go home! There was no precedent for me to sit and wait for her--what if she changed her mind? How long should I have stayed?
The whole thing just makes me mad thinking about it and this was in 1986!
Robin M.

 

[Jeanny]

Robin~ your store was CLOSED and the manager was livid with you?? That's just plain dumb! you were off the clock, you weren't being paid, so what's their malfunction??? Some things like that stick in your mind forever!

 

[DIZNYFAN]

When I worked at Best Buy our store hours were 10 AM to 9 PM but if there were cars coming into the parking lot the managers would leave the doors open. We would seriously have people shopping till 11 or 12 at night because the managers didn't want to miss that 1 biug sale just in case it walked in the door. If people were in the store we would stay until they were done shopping no pages stating we were closing etc the management just let them stay and shop.

 

[Chattyaholic]

I wish restaurants worked the way retail stores do, when it's "closing time" they MEAN it's "CLOSING TIME" and you need to take your purchases to the register, pay and leave, not continue on your merry way shopping throughout the store until you decide you're done.

Restaurants should be that way too! I have been a waitress for 8 years and I still hate the "latecomers" who sit and chat long after they are finished eating. Go HOME so the staff can clean up and go home too!!!!

We close at 8:00 and quite often someone will walk in at 2 minutes to 8 and ask "are we too late?" I WANT to tell them, "Yes, you're too late!" but of course we can't do that. We have to smile and tell them it's fine.

I never go into a restaurant unless it's a full hour before their "closing time." I know from experience that when it's "closing time" they are ready to clean up, go home and put their tired feet up!!!