Just go home.

[Wheels]

This is my first post in the main forum so here goes.

Now, in the UK shops over a certain size are limited to 6 hours of trading on a Sunday, by law. This can be seen as inconvenient to some, and often confuses tourists from abroad. Most people take it in their stride they didn't get to shop on time and head for convenience store and pay a small premium on their purchase.

However there are some (SC's) who don't like being told no we are closed, and please go away. Every excuse why they should be allowed in gets thrown about; "But I really need Brussel sprouts!", "I need some bread.", thus far they have been whiny but not violent or threatening.

We now move into a third class of late comer, the abusive SC:

It's now 5 minutes past closing time and I'm on the door stopping people from getting in when I spot Mr. SC strolling towards me. My thoughts in italics

Me: I'm sorry we're closed now.
SC keeps on walking
Me: We're closed now, we shut at X PM on a Sunday.
SC: Mumble.. Mumble.. Cigarettes.
Me: If you want cigarettes you can go to the garage, the kiosk is closed now*.
SC: Mumble..Wife.. Cigarette. Mumble

SC points towards the kiosk where a woman carrying a child is queuing.
Me: I'm sorry but you'll have to wait here, we're closed.
SC now squares up to me. What ugly scummy looking 'human'. He then proceeds to squeeze past me as I stepped aside for another customer to exit the store.

A few minutes pass, SC exits with wife and child. Well that's over I guess.

SC: You should learn to listen.
Without missing a beat.
Me: You should learn we shut at X PM.
SC turns back, squares up to me again.
SC: What time do you finish. Mumble see about it then.
Oh dear god, just why? I mean how old are you?
I quickly assemble a look of disgust on my face, then very calmly.
Me: Just go home.
SC: Mumble. GM's name. Other manager's name.

SC finally leaves.

*This is actually a lie but it works very well most of the time.

[SongsOfDragons]

-_- ... You'd have thought that everyone would know that shops don't open for long on Sundays. It's only been going on for ages!! And at least they're open a little bit, not shut all day like the used to be!!

Some mateys of mine who work in retail are very concerned about the lengthened Sunday hours for the Olympics. Some have already had hints that they'd be expected to work all the new hours, and that they'll keep the lengthened hours after the Olympics instead of going back...

[telecom_goddess]

I'm curious, why is that law in place?

[thehuckster]

Quoth telecom_goddess

I'm curious, why is that law in place?

It's probably a blue law. They're kind of present in the states, although it's really only passed based on municipality ordinances and not on the federal level. There are more and more stores now that open later on Sundays, especially big box stores.

In the "real" old days (1800s) it was illegal to do any work on the sabbath in New England, which included even gardening. I think the Amish continue that tradition today.

[Bunny the Veggie Slayer]

Quoth telecom_goddess

I'm curious, why is that law in place?

Under the old laws Sunday trade was highly restricted. Often on an item by item basis. For example you could buy whiskey but not milk. In 1984 new legislation was introduced replacing all the old laws. The one compromise made was that businesses over 3013 sq feet of floor space could only trade for 6 hours. It was done as a token gesture to the churches and campaigners worried about disruption to family life.

I have the same problems at my store. What's worse is that we have a large tourist trade, combined with some very entitled locals. The number of times I've had people pull the "but I'm local" card... As I've posted before, we now have a great excuse. In the drive towards energy efficiency, our tills are programmed to power down outside of scheduled opening times. Of course I don't mention the fact I can override that.

[vikingchyk]

Quoth thehuckster

It's probably a blue law. They're kind of present in the states, although it's really only passed based on municipality ordinances and not on the federal level. There are more and more stores now that open later on Sundays, especially big box stores.

That's what confused me when I first moved to Maryland in the 1980s. Having grown up in the midwest where there were no blue laws, it was a big adjustment to try and figure out what stores would be open on Sunday (the rules were based on number of employees or somesuch, so anything big was closed) My first Sunday at the local mall, I think the food court was mostly open, small stores did their own judgement call, and the large anchor stores were all closed.

Now that they've done away with {most|all} of those, I still don't bother going anywhere on Sunday. Too many people I hear they can open car dealerships in some counties, including my own, now - pity, that was a great time to go read stickers without having to beat salesmen away with a stick ;D

[thehuckster]

Quoth vikingchyk

I hear they can open car dealerships in some counties, including my own, now - pity, that was a great time to go read stickers without having to beat salesmen away with a stick ;D

Ugh, I know how you feel. Now you have to go in at 2am with a crowbar and a bag of dog food.

[EricKei]

Down here, even when we had Blue Laws, places would open on Sunday be closed Monday simply because of lack of business, especially barbers and restaurants. Local enforcement didn't care, as long as places that had to comply were closed on one of the two days.

Seafood places would usually be closed sun/open mon, simply because the overwhelming majority of fishermen deliver on a "by the crack of dawn on mon-wed-fri morning" schedule....Remember that the next time you feel like seafood on a Sunday night or the wee hours of Monday morning >_>

[Merriweather]

Quoth vikingchyk

That's what confused me when I first moved to Maryland in the 1980s. Having grown up in the midwest where there were no blue laws, it was a big adjustment to try and figure out what stores would be open on Sunday (the rules were based on number of employees or somesuch, so anything big was closed) My first Sunday at the local mall, I think the food court was mostly open, small stores did their own judgement call, and the large anchor stores were all closed.

I lived in a beach town in the 80's in a nearby state, the laws were so confusing no one understood them. There were exemptions for this, that and the other based on various patches to the laws over the years. The most common exemption was "souvenir" shops for tourists - some small stores just started putting "souvenir of ourtown" stickers on everything in the store and calling themselves a souvenir shop

Eventually the laws were challenged & the state supreme court declared them unconstitutional - not due to validity or non-validity of blue laws themselves, but just due to the uneven and possibly unfair way the laws were being interpreted & enforced. Things like, you couldn't go to a toy store (they had to be closed) to buy a game, but you could go to a "drug store" and buy the same game at twice the price. As far as I know, no one even tried to get them re-written in any way and re-instated.