What does "Closed" mean to you?

[Misfit Toy]

You must have missed the part where I stated repeatedly<snip>

No, I think you've made your opinions and intentions quite clear.

 

[SeerSGB]

You also seem to consider people who dare to do work for a living as low-class idiots who do not derserve an ounce of respect.

I'll serve someone if they need it after hours/at the end of the day. Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it or that that person was a selfish idiot for coming in at the last possible minute.

You must have missed the part where I stated repeatedly that no one deserves to be abused. If by "deserve respect" you mean people shouldn't engage in transactions as long as they are in the door before closing then I agree with you. They don't. You seem to be far more worried about your schedule than the schedule of the customer by the way. What if they just got out of work and this is the only time they have to shop?

So should store's Hours of Operation be "9:00 until...whenever you feel like it" The hours of opersation aren't just a suggestion; they're like an agreement with the customer that says "We will operate between these two times, and this is when you can come do business" Coming in at 5 minutes til closing is fine and within that agreement, but demanding that that agreement be extended to fit your personal schedule is incredibly selfish.

I look at it this way. We close at 8:30. You come in at 5:00...we still close at 8:30. You come in at 8:28 and want to do a 20 minute transaction...now you're forcing us to close at 8:50 whereas had you not come in, we'd still close at 8:30. I don't see why this is a hard concept to grasp.

Don't forget budget: Stores, especially these days, run on tight budgets. And a lot of times employee overtime is strictly forbidden, no excuses.

Case in point, my wife's manager just got a memo about them having transactions on Saturdays past closing-- people making last minute beer and snack runs. Company's saying "no more"; last transaction time is 9PM, no excuses, if there's customers in the store you tell them to leave that the store is closed, there is no budget for anyone past their scheduled time and there's no excuse for being over. If they caught ringing up customer after 9PM the cashier and supervisor on duty are in shit deep for it up to termination for more than 3 more offenses.

Now, what are they suppose to do? Put their jobs on the line cause someone need's a 6 pack or stick the rules and at 9PM pull the drawers-- regardless of if there's customers in there or not and get slammed with complaints about not serving the customer? Lose, lose situation.

 

[dave_R_treker]

I work in a supermarket in a relatively small town. Our normal hours are 7am to 9pm. I'm the manager that closes on tuesday nights and some holidays that we close early like Thanksgiving and Easter (on those holidays we close at 3). We have these hours posted. I always have those customers coming in the last minute. They always say oh I just need to grab one or two things. Most of the time they grab more, and are a little bit longer then they say they will be.
This past easter i had this customer (who was in the store 1/2 hour before we were to close, ok), but when it was time to close she was still taking her time shopping. Now she can't say she didn't know what time it is, I ALWAYS announce that we are closeing in like 5minute intervals, usually starting 20 minutes before we close. We didn't get her out of the store like between 15 to 20 minutes after our closing time.

 

[JimCasy]

Don't forge budget: Stores, especially these days, run on tight budgets. And a lot of times employee overtime is strictly forbidden, no excuses.

Case in point, my wife's manager just got a memo about them having transactions on Saturdays past closing-- people making last minute beer and snack runs. Company's saying "no more"; last transaction time is 9PM, no excuses, if there's customers in the store you tell them to leave that the store is closed, there is no budget for anyone past their scheduled time and there's no ecsue for being over. If they caught rigging up customer after 9PM the cashier and supervisor on duty are in shit deep for it up to termination for more than 3 more offenses.

Now, what are they suppose to do? Put their jobs on the line cause someone need's a 6 pack or stick the rules and at 9PM pull the drawers-- regardless of if there's customers in there or not and get slammed with complaints about not serving the customer? Lose, lose situation.

Exactly. Last time I worked retail, we only had x amount of hours to use per week. We always had to have two employees in the store, and were open from 9am-9pm. Had to be there an hour before opening, and were supposed to be out asap when we closed. There were a couple weeks when they didn't even give us enough hours to have two person coverage the entire time we were open, so we got in trouble from corporate for going over hours. And then customers would bitch to us because there weren't enough employees working. It was really awesome.

Also, the only person allowed to go into overtime was the salaried manager. And she was expected to work at least 60 hours a week. Go corporations!

 

[Aragorn]

A friend of mine works at a store where there was a hiring freeze... yet employees are working a ton of overtime hours every week. Never mind that regular hour pay for a couple peons would cost less than the same amount of hours paid going to overtime.

 

[RoJoHen]

Once we live in a 24-hour world this won't be a problem. I pray for the day that I can go to Best Buy at 3am!

 

[felyxz]

I used to be the night manager at a fast food place and stuff like this used to happen all the time. I actually had huge family groups come in 5 minutes before closing and order feasts. Well, we got sick of that pretty quick, and learned to lock the dining room doors at around 10 minutes before closing. Customers still inside could leave, but no new customers could come in. Then I'd turn off the outside floodlights a few minutes early so no new cars would pull into the drive-thru. After we started doing that, we almost always closed on time. So what did we do with the time we saved? We cleaned up real fast and sat out back for an hour drinking beer.

Is that even legal? Seems highly unethical.

Why? The job is done and they are off the clock.

 

[SicOne]

You must have missed the part where I stated repeatedly that no one deserves to be abused. If by "deserve respect" you mean people shouldn't engage in transactions as long as they are in the door before closing then I agree with you. They don't. You seem to be far more worried about your schedule than the schedule of the customer by the way. What if they just got out of work and this is the only time they have to shop?

So should store's Hours of Operation be "9:00 until...whenever you feel like it" The hours of opersation aren't just a suggestion; they're like an agreement with the customer that says "We will operate between these two times, and this is when you can come do business" Coming in at 5 minutes til closing is fine and within that agreement, but demanding that that agreement be extended to fit your personal schedule is incredibly selfish.

I look at it this way. We close at 8:30. You come in at 5:00...we still close at 8:30. You come in at 8:28 and want to do a 20 minute transaction...now you're forcing us to close at 8:50 whereas had you not come in, we'd still close at 8:30. I don't see why this is a hard concept to grasp.

Don't forget budget: Stores, especially these days, run on tight budgets. And a lot of times employee overtime is strictly forbidden, no excuses.

Case in point, my wife's manager just got a memo about them having transactions on Saturdays past closing-- people making last minute beer and snack runs. Company's saying "no more"; last transaction time is 9PM, no excuses, if there's customers in the store you tell them to leave that the store is closed, there is no budget for anyone past their scheduled time and there's no excuse for being over. If they caught ringing up customer after 9PM the cashier and supervisor on duty are in shit deep for it up to termination for more than 3 more offenses.

Now, what are they suppose to do? Put their jobs on the line cause someone need's a 6 pack or stick the rules and at 9PM pull the drawers-- regardless of if there's customers in there or not and get slammed with complaints about not serving the customer? Lose, lose situation.

I was in one of our local Borders bookstores at 10-til-close a few days back, debating which book to get, and the announcement caught my attention...

"Attention, Borders customers; it is now 9:50 PM and our registers will automatically close in ten minutes, after which no purchases will be able to be made until we reopen tomorrow at 10 AM. Please bring your purchases to the front of the store at this time. Thank you for shopping at Borders."

 

[Amaris]

So should store's Hours of Operation be "9:00 until...whenever you feel like it" The hours of opersation aren't just a suggestion; they're like an agreement with the customer that says "We will operate between these two times, and this is when you can come do business" Coming in at 5 minutes til closing is fine and within that agreement, but demanding that that agreement be extended to fit your personal schedule is incredibly selfish.

I look at it this way. We close at 8:30. You come in at 5:00...we still close at 8:30. You come in at 8:28 and want to do a 20 minute transaction...now you're forcing us to close at 8:50 whereas had you not come in, we'd still close at 8:30. I don't see why this is a hard concept to grasp.

Don't forget budget: Stores, especially these days, run on tight budgets. And a lot of times employee overtime is strictly forbidden, no excuses.

Case in point, my wife's manager just got a memo about them having transactions on Saturdays past closing-- people making last minute beer and snack runs. Company's saying "no more"; last transaction time is 9PM, no excuses, if there's customers in the store you tell them to leave that the store is closed, there is no budget for anyone past their scheduled time and there's no excuse for being over. If they caught ringing up customer after 9PM the cashier and supervisor on duty are in shit deep for it up to termination for more than 3 more offenses.

Now, what are they suppose to do? Put their jobs on the line cause someone need's a 6 pack or stick the rules and at 9PM pull the drawers-- regardless of if there's customers in there or not and get slammed with complaints about not serving the customer? Lose, lose situation.

I was in one of our local Borders bookstores at 10-til-close a few days back, debating which book to get, and the announcement caught my attention...

"Attention, Borders customers; it is now 9:50 PM and our registers will automatically close in ten minutes, after which no purchases will be able to be made until we reopen tomorrow at 10 AM. Please bring your purchases to the front of the store at this time. Thank you for shopping at Borders."

Seems like the best way to do it, in my opinion. It's fair for all.

J.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

We did that at my last job. It worked for some, but not all. We'd still end up with people wandering aimlessly through the aisles after we'd been closed.

 

[number6]

When you work in a service industry, there are just some things you have to suck up and deal with. I have always been friendly and efficient whenever I have had to deal with a last minute thing. If you close at 9 and someone comes in at 8:59, they still deserve to get your time and attention. Without the customer, you have no livelyhood and being rude because you want to go home is simply unforgivable if you want to hold onto your customer and keep them coming back. I realised that very quickly as I started my own business. I have customers that keep coming back and hiring me again and again because they are made to feel that I always give them the time and attention they need. When it affects your bottom line as directly as it does to me, you can't afford to be lazy and belligerent. Are the customers being ignorant?? Sure, sometimes they are and it doesn't hurt to politely explain the rules and the hours of business. If you treat them with patience and respect, they will come back. If you are whiney and bitchy, they won't. The math isn't too hard. If you choose to work in a service industry, or any company where you are dealing with customers, that's just the way it is. Don't like it?? The world can always use another ditch digger. You need to learn to choose your battles and look at the bigger picture.

 

[Amaris]

^ I think for some of us, it's the customers to whom you're polite and respectful who get angry and call for your Manager, when your Manager left an hour ago and the cash registers no longer accept transactions. I've had those before.


J.

 

[TGTheodore]

When you work in a service industry, there are just some things you have to suck up and deal with.

Likewise, being an ADULT there are some things you have to deal with. Like reading store hours signs on a front door and abiding by them. Suck up and deal with it. If you get there too late, tough.

--Ted

 

[number6]

^ I was referring to the OP, not to the whining after. If someone shows up a minute before closing they are entitled to the same kind of service they would get earlier in the day. They're not closed, they're still open. That's just how it is. I worked in a restaurant when I was in college and that was a rule. If someone wants food, technically we're still open when they walk in the door.

If you read the rest of my post, you'll notice that I would also politely inform the customer of the hours of operation and the rules. Obviously you missed that part. Sometimes adults read what they want to.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

^ I was referring to the OP, not to the whining after. If someone shows up a minute before closing they are entitled to the same kind of service they would get earlier in the day. They're not closed, they're still open. That's just how it is. I worked in a restaurant when I was in college and that was a rule. If someone wants food, technically we're still open when they walk in the door.

If you read the rest of my post, you'll notice that I would also politely inform the customer of the hours of operation and the rules. Obviously you missed that part. Sometimes adults read what they want to.

Yeah, we're open at 8:29. You can come in, we're still open. At 8:30, we're closed. Finish your shopping and get out.

Why do we have to stay open just for you? How self important and self involved can someone be to demand that people stay past their closing time to serve only them?

 

[Trekker4747]

Why do we have to stay open just for you? How self important and self involved can someone be to demand that people stay past their closing time to serve only them?

Because it's your job. You're expected to take in the ass for customers, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Why am I suddenly reminded of "Clerks" when people keep popping in to "Quick Stop" and asking Dante if he's open?

 

[number6]

Why do we have to stay open just for you? How self important and self involved can someone be to demand that people stay past their closing time to serve only them?

Because it's your job. You're expected to take in the ass for customers, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Why am I suddenly reminded of "Clerks" when people keep popping in to "Quick Stop" and asking Dante if he's open?

Providing good service to your customers isn't taking it in the ass. It's your job.

A customer that comes in at the last minute is still a customer.

Go back and read my original comment as the meaning of it has been twisted beyond its original intent.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

Here's an analogy. Say you're at a metro train station, Station A, and want to get to Station B. A train pulls up to Station A. This is it's last stop. It will go out of service at 12:00, and will not be making a return trip to Station B. The train stops and opens it doors to let out it's passengers. You get on at 11:59. Technically, the train is still in service for another minute.

Should the train operator have to go all the way back to Station B instead of shutting down the train and going home for the night? It IS his job to operate the train for you, right? You got on the train before it went out of service, right?

 

[RoJoHen]

^ I was referring to the OP, not to the whining after. If someone shows up a minute before closing they are entitled to the same kind of service they would get earlier in the day. They're not closed, they're still open. That's just how it is. I worked in a restaurant when I was in college and that was a rule. If someone wants food, technically we're still open when they walk in the door.

If you read the rest of my post, you'll notice that I would also politely inform the customer of the hours of operation and the rules. Obviously you missed that part. Sometimes adults read what they want to.

Restaurants are kind of a different thing because they rarely actually "close" based on the time on the door. That's usually an indication of what time their order needs to be in, so as long as they can order before the kitchen shuts everything off, everybody needs to stay and wait on them.

Retail stores don't necessarily operate that way. If "we close at 10pm" means "no more transactions after 10pm," you need to get your butt out the door.

 

[number6]

^ I was referring to the OP, not to the whining after. If someone shows up a minute before closing they are entitled to the same kind of service they would get earlier in the day. They're not closed, they're still open. That's just how it is. I worked in a restaurant when I was in college and that was a rule. If someone wants food, technically we're still open when they walk in the door.

If you read the rest of my post, you'll notice that I would also politely inform the customer of the hours of operation and the rules. Obviously you missed that part. Sometimes adults read what they want to.

Restaurants are kind of a different thing because they rarely actually "close" based on the time on the door. That's usually an indication of what time their order needs to be in, so as long as they can order before the kitchen shuts everything off, everybody needs to stay and wait on them.

Retail stores don't necessarily operate that way. If "we close at 10pm" means "no more transactions after 10pm," you need to get your butt out the door.

Not all restaurants and shops are like that. Certainly not the ones I have worked in or provided patronage.

The train analogy doesn't work here. I limo service would be a better analogy. If a limo was supposed to pick up someone and he is late, the limo waits. They may charge more money, they may not, but the client pays for the service and the value of the customer is greater than the provider having a thin skin to the quirks of the people that pay for the service.

There are certainly limits, but in general, smaller businesses and even a few chains certainly give a little latitude with their customers because they value thier support more getting bent out of shape over an occasional minor inconvenience. At least that's how it is as I have experienced.