You shall not pass!!!

[Lace Neil Singer]

Once again an SC running on Customer Standard Time is foiled by yours truly. The thing is, the closing time is set in stone. If we start letting just *one* person in after hours, then before we know it, ten million customers would turn up and scream, "But you let HIM in!", meaning that we'd never get to go home. And after spending an entire shift at the petrol station, I really don't want to stay there any longer than the time I am being paid.

The SC showed up at the entrance just as I was walking away, having put the cones across dead on closing time. "Excuse me, young lady, can you help me, please?" he said... sorry, I was hallucinating. What the SC actually said, or rather, bellowed, was, "Hey! You! Come over here!" I turned round to face the shouting SC. Below is an approximation of our conversation.

From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth...

SC: Why are you closing?
Me: Cuz we always close at ten pm.
SC: It's not ten pm.
Me: Yes, it is. I'm going by the clocks inside the kiosk, and they say it's ten.
SC: Oh. (pause) Well, can't you let me in, anyway?
Me: No, sorry.
SC: Why not? I'll only be five minutes.
Me: Cuz we are closed.
SC: That's bad customer service!
Me: I could get into trouble if I let people in after we close. We have to abide by trading laws.
SC: I don't care about that, I need petrol now! My tank is dry.
Me: I'm sorry, but we are closed.

That was when I walked away. There was no point in just standing there and talking to an SC who refuses to see sense and I had work to do. While I was locking up the pumps, the SC drove in thru the back. He said nothing to me, but instead went straight to a pump and tried to use it. My colleague Sarah who was inside cashing up her till refused to authorise it, and that's when the SC turned back to me.

Until at last I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountain side...

SC: Why isn't this pump working?
Me: Cuz we are closed, and the pumps go off when we close.
SC: That's stupid.
Me: I'm sorry, but we're closed now.

The SC put the pump back and got back into his car. He didn't leave, tho. I went inside after locking the last pump and told Sarah about the crazy SC outside. We finished locking everything up inside, locked the doors, set the alarm and walked over to the main store. When I came out again to go home, the SC was still there. I don't know how long he waited, and why he was waiting there in the first place instead of, you know, driving off to find a petrol station that was actually open.

[wolfie]

I wouldn't be surprised if, when the morning crew arrived, they found that the breakaways (in case someone is stupid enough to drive off with the nozzle in their tank) had been disconnected by the SC. After all, there must be at least a litre of fuel in each hose.

[Silent-Hunter]

If he was still waiting there after you all left, maybe he was out of gas?

[Lace Neil Singer]

I wouldn't be surprised if, when the morning crew arrived, they found that the breakaways (in case someone is stupid enough to drive off with the nozzle in their tank) had been disconnected by the SC. After all, there must be at least a litre of fuel in each hose.

We have locks on all the pumps that prevent that. I suppose he could have found the sand bin round the back and filtered the fuel soaked sand. XD

[Gilhelmi]

Note to Self:

If I ever become ruler, implement "trade laws" that protect employees right to go home at the end of the shift.

[Lace Neil Singer]

In England, there are weekly trading laws which retailers have to abide by. For example, back in the days of yore when most businesses were closed on Sundays, they could get a whopping big fine and possibly lose their license if they traded on a Sunday. Nowadays, most places are shut by either four, six or eight, depending on which license they have, with a few twenty four hour places. We are never going twenty four hours, cuz the powers that be, for once, have the common sense to realise that a petrol station in a small town would cost more than it would make to stay open all the time.

[Terza]

We're 24 hours, but we lock the doors between 11pm and 6am* and serve through a hatch. But we're about 15 miles from the next 24hr petrol station, so we pick up plenty of business.

Doesn't stop people banging on the door, or insisting that 'last week the doors were open all night' despite the fact they've been closed at night for over 2 years!


*As main night staff, I tend to open the doors a little earlier if the weather's really bad or our regulars turn up en masse, but most of our regulars belong to a local taxi firm, so there's less risk of robbery (or at least a lot more evidence of who they are/where they work!).
Technically, I'm not supposed to do that, but we've not had a robbery in over 20 years, plus we sell more stuff if people can come in a see what we've got!