We're closed! Get out!

[Boozy]

The ladies wrote a nasty letter to our head office, and we got a note back from the CEO about it.

Its really easy for the CEO to sit in his cushy office chair and write letters, isn't it?

Because he's not the one who's standing around waiting for a couple of rude customers to leave. He's not the one who told their kids that they'd be home in time to read them a bedtime story and now can't keep that promise, or the one who has worked 10 hours on their feet and is so exhausted by closing time that they can barely stand up.

I think your head office is right to care about customer service, and if someone can't or won't provide good service during their scheduled hours, they are in the wrong line of work. But where do we draw the line? When did good customer service become the equivalent to "Do whatever the customer wants, no matter how rude or obnoxious, and regardless of obvious safety concerns."

[Seshat]

I think that retail/service establishments need to start doing what I've seen some places that serve food doing. Their closing times are listed as:

Kitchen closes at X:00.
Dining room closes X:30.

If you haven't finalised your order by quarter to X, the wait staff will take your complete order, save for drinks. Your appetiser, your main course, your dessert - whatever you haven't ordered that the kitchen does. Anything you haven't ordered by the waiter's last round is too bad - you can't have it.

So in a retail setting, it would be:
Sales floor closes at X:00
Cashiers close at X:15 (or X:30, or whatever)

For the spa, perhaps services complete at X:00 and the change rooms/jacuzzi/etc at X:30.

It's a lot more realistic, and it also provides head office and management with a built-in allowance for customer dallying for scheduling. Not to mention giving customers a firmer idea of the fact that 'closed' means the cashiers are closed, not just the sales floor.

Management (and head office) need to learn to manage customer expectations, not just to manage their staff. Tell the customers what you expect of THEM: they don't just magically know it.

[BookstoreEscapee]

At five minutes before closing, I flip a switch on our autmoatic doors that lets the door open for someone leaving but not for someone attempting to come in. Does a great job at keeping those last minute people out.

There's one grocery store near me that has 2 entrances/exits, one at either end...after a certain time, they lock both doors at one end, near the pharmacy (which is already closed) and they lock the entrance doors at the other end as well. The exit at that end is kept open, so you can only go in through the one exit. (And that is the exit closest to the express registers where there are likely to be more people.) Think they're trying to make a point?

Boozy, I totally agree...corporate should care about customer service, but they should care equally about the well-being of their employees. And routinely being made to stay late because they won't allow you to "inconvenience" the customer by actually enforcing the store hours is not conducive to employee well-being.

[Melmo]

We close at 11 Sun-Thur and 12 Fri & Sat. We have people walking in at two til and I quite happily tell them they have two minutes before we close and start shutting things down.

I usually give people until two minutes after closing to finish up. If they are not on their way to the register at that time I tell them the tills are shut down and I'm sorry but they'll have to come back in the morning.

Then of course you have the winners that bang on the door of the totally darkened video store and ask "Are you closed?"

No, we're just conserving energy, come right in. ...... morons.

[technical.angel]

This thread reminded me of one "customer" I had while at Claires.

The gate was closed. Most of the lights were off, the music was off (THANK GODS!!!), and the cash register (very visble from the gate) was covered in paper, with a till peeping out from the mess.

This lady comes rushing up to the gate. I ignored her.

She started shaking the gate.

"I'm sorry, we're closed."

"But, I have a RETURN!!" Like that's going to make a difference.

[blas]

This reminds me of the gates we used at the young lady's store at the mall.

When we'd close, we'd shut the gate, but it never failed that someone would try to sneak under or be waiting to be let in or beg to be let in.

Ree has a great suggestion. Find out where they work, especially if they are a lawyer or doctor or something, and go bother them at their job, especially on like their lunch break. Muahahahaha!

[Mark Healey]

The solution is easy.

Once the last employee has left and all the doors are locked fill the store with poison gas. To make this fair you have to put a sign stating what will hapen since all customers read signs.

[Rine]

These customers in my first post did in fact make a large purchase and I think had tons of questions for the salesguy. I heard they were upset that they couldn't take their TV home with them that day. Since it was 9:30 when the sale was finalized, the pick up guys had already gone home for the day.

The lights were already off. They turn off five minutes after closing.

I suppose the reason I didn't say anything to them was because I was sort of in awe of their rudeness...The security guy and I just stood there and watched them. You would think they would have gotten the idea!

[Becks]

You would think they would have gotten the idea!

SCs don't get a clue from anything less subtle than a train wreck. And even then it's iffy.

[Boozy]

SCs don't get a clue from anything less subtle than a train wreck.

"Why is this train not moving? I have a very important meeting and I can't be late! And where's the damn drink cart? I need a drink! This is ridiculous!"

[GingerBiscuit]

I want an announcment that goes out at 3 minutes to closing.
'please note, the store will be closing in three minutes. After store official closing hours, attack dogs will be released. These dogs are trained not to attack employees, and only tardy customers. You have been warned'

[TrainedChimp]

I want an announcment that goes out at 3 minutes to closing.
'please note, the store will be closing in three minutes. After store official closing hours, attack dogs will be released. These dogs are trained not to attack employees, and only tardy customers. You have been warned'

"They will also shoot bees out their mouths. These bees will have lasers attached to them. For your own safety please leave the premises."

[Daphne]

We had some idiot bang on the doors of my library almost 10 minutes after closing. He kept yelling that he just needed to print something out. When he was told there was no way he was coming in, he flipped off my coworker.

[katie kaboom]

He kept yelling that he just needed to print something out.

Why didn't the idiot just go to Kinko's or something? Can't you print stuff out there too? And to my understanding, most if not all of them, are open 24 hours.

[Becks]

"Why is this train not moving? I have a very important meeting and I can't be late! And where's the damn drink cart? I need a drink! This is ridiculous!"

Exactly.