What did you expect 5 minutes before closing?

[Food Lady]

So I'm checking out after work when a woman who walks up behind me asks the cashier--interrupting me, mind you--"Aren't they going to open any more registers for you??" I'm thinking, It's five minutes before closing. It's not going to be fully staffed. You decided to wait until the last minute to check out. My coworker handled it beautifully, though, making a joke that she had a "magic button" (the call-for-backup one) that "brings people to me."

[eltf177]

I'm shocked she didn't complain about the bad service - or the fact she couldn't find everything on her list and no one was willing to help...

[notalwaysright]

People get like that at closing at my store. Complaining about the line at the cutting counter and the register. Yet we have closing announcement for 30 minutes before we close, and I know these people weren't waiting that long, unless it's the week of Halloween or something. They turn it around on us, which is awesome. "If you really wanted to check all of us out before closing you should have more people!" If I could, I would say "no, if you had thought about it, you would have been in line before 8:59."

[flyonthewall]

Where I work it takes about 5-10 minutes to open(turn on) a register and every time it is done a report is sent to security who sends it to corporate. Corporate doesn't like seeing multiple openings for a register on one day. They start thinking someone is screwing with them and they get all hissy. So basically, we are not going to open a closed register until the next morning. Special snowflake isn't special enough. =(

People must think turning on a register is like turning on a TV.. BAHAHAHA. No. It's more like going through airport security.

[Dreamstalker]

I've been getting asked/told (when I clearly have nothing to do with the workings of the front end): "You need to open more registers!" A lot of times when this is said all the available registers are open...they expect me to hop on a register just because SCO isn't as slammed as the cashiers. Nope, can't do that even if there's a rush at quarter til close. At a certain time, the trays for currently-unused registers get swapped and once that swap happens NOBODY is allowed to sign on to the registers in question. At all.

[Lace Neil Singer]

We get this at work, too. At the end of the evening, half an hour before we close, the next to last till is cashed up. One colleague does closing stuff, the other stays on the till. We often get a massive rush of customers at quarter to closing, so there's a giant queue. And yes, there are moans of "Why don't you open another till?" Well, there's only two of us and the other person is doing all the stuff that has to be done before closing. Why don't you come in earlier?

[ADoyle]

I've been getting asked/told (when I clearly have nothing to do with the workings of the front end): "You need to open more registers!" A lot of times when this is said all the available registers are open...they expect me to hop on a register just because SCO isn't as slammed as the cashiers. Nope, can't do that even if there's a rush at quarter til close. At a certain time, the trays for currently-unused registers get swapped and once that swap happens NOBODY is allowed to sign on to the registers in question. At all.

That's also been my experience as well, and the only times I've been able to go to a register is if I was hired as a backup cashier, which wasn't always the case. Also, there might be a register that looks on, but it's really the time clock for the employees to clock in or out.

[Dreamstalker]

We've had SCs plop their crap on a closed register when FEM is doing a drawer swap. Nobody's tried to reach over and scan their stuff, but I'm waiting for that to happen (potential for epic verbal smackdown and boot out the door by a manager, maybe an actual altercation if SC wants to push it).

I'm of the belief that if someone is scheduled for SCO watch, their cashier numbers should be 'locked' from the system in such a way that either they can only be used on the paystation (not physically set up for orders over 2 or 3 items, so any transactions will be quick and SCO will still have eyes on it), or signing on to any register requires a manager override and signature. At my store if the lead is inconvenienced as well they'd be less likely to do something.