EPIC "you closed early!" story

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

So I'm sitting in the foyer of a doctor's office the other day. This office, like many small doctors offices, closes for lunch between 12 and 1. The time was about 11:45. I was not there for an appointment, I was just waiting for someone.

So I'm there playing on my phone, killing time. I look up briefly when the receptionist puts the "closed for lunch" sign in the window and go back to my phone.

A minute or two later, a woman comes into the office and bangs on the glass.

"Hello!"

Then she sees the sign and looks at me.

"can you believe this? Their clocks must be fast! I cannot BELIEVE they closed early like that!"

Then she leaves. As soon as the door shut I glanced at the time: 11:59 am.

Yes, this woman actually thought that she could just show up and get a walk-in appointment at 11:59 am even though the place closes up from 12-1 for lunch.

Now, although this clinic does indeed take walk-ins (if time is available), I can't believe someone would show up and expect to get an appointment (which can often take as much as THIRTY minutes) at the very last second before the employees lunch break.

Other than being pissed off, she didn't seem overly concerned so I don't think this was any kind of emergency.

The sad part is I'm certain she's not the only person who's done this before...even at a doctor's office.

[bhskittykatt]

I saw this once...at the police station.

I was going in to fill out a statement in regards to an assault that I witnessed. The entire station apparently closes for lunch as well and the building gets locked up, but the detective opened the doors for me. I just had to call her cell, and she came down and let me in.

I was sitting in a little lobby area, filling out my statement, when I hear a "thud" at the doors. There are two sets of doors...the first one was unlocked, but the inner doors were locked. This guy is yanking hard on the doors, trying to open them. Then he starts pounding on the glass.

I'm the only one in the area, since the detective has gone off to munch on lunch/socialize with other officers/whatever else they do back there during lunch time. I'm not about to let him in to a secure building unsupervised (even more especially 'cause he looked kinda scary), so I try to ignore it and go back to filling out my statement. Meanwhile, it sounds like this guy's about to break the glass doors of the freakin' police department. He finally gave up and wandered off.

If it's an emergency, call 911. If not...the hours are posted right in front of your eyeballs. Come back later, or call the person you need to meet with so they can let you in (what I did). Sheesh!

[Catwoman2965]

At an old apt, I had a PO box, but the nice thing about that was they had just re-done the PO, and the boxes were in the lobby, and all box holders were given a card that would open the door to allow us to get our mail 24/7. Which meant I didn't have to try and make it there during the week before they closed.

But what would always happen is I'd stop say 9pm, and someone would always try and follow me in, THINKING the PO was open. Or bang on the door when they'd see me in there, wanting to be let in. Sorry, but no. The rest of the PO is CLOSED, and letting you in won't do you any good, unless you have a box. But that didn't stop them from trying and getting pissy about it!

[MoonCat]

When there was a Woolworth's downtown, we often saw people walk up to the doors after closing, yank on the handles, then squinch up their faces against the glass, peering inside...where the lights were off and nobody could be seen...then bang on the door and yank the handle some more. Unclear on the concept of "closed", I guess...

[fireheart]

When there was a Woolworth's downtown, we often saw people walk up to the doors after closing, yank on the handles, then squinch up their faces against the glass, peering inside...where the lights were off and nobody could be seen...then bang on the door and yank the handle some more. Unclear on the concept of "closed", I guess...

Happened at my old work as well.

What was worse was that despite the trading hours being clearly posted in several locations, my mother (who would pick me up on occasion) witnessed people rocking up to the doors of my work at 5:20-5:30 (when we were WELL closed)

[Kristev]

No, no, no, shoppers only read things that say "Free". They aren't interested in hours of operation.

[Phantasmagoria]

There's a strange power which draws people to anything which is closed, locked, or otherwise not for them.

At my previous retail job I've had people stick their HEAD between the automatic doors as I'm shutting them. They were broken, so I had to shut them manually, and they would always say "oh, are you closing?" ....no, we've just turned everything off for giggles! Then there were people when I worked in pubs who would wait a good quarter of an hour after the bell went to try to buy more drinks. At that point the till has been taken away to be counted, all the sparklers have come off, and I'm mopping the floor behind the bar. You can have tap water, or you can go home. I'd rather you went home.

The other day at my new job at the local museum, we had a signage problem (as in some fool had managed to put a sign for The Shiny New Display (not real name!) above the wrong door. In this situation I think it could be kind of understandable that people might try to go into the locked gallery thinking it was the Shiny New Display... if it wasn't for the fact they had to walk PAST the right door to get to the wrong one! This door was wide open, with lots of shiny new stuff inside and information posters all titled "Shiny New Stuff". I saw one woman yank the locked doors so hard she actually opened them. I have no idea how. Luckily there was a shutter pulled down behind them so I didn't have to chase her out, and, also luckily, with a bit of thumping on my part, the doors clicked back together and locked again. But, really? If the door is locked, pulling harder isn't going to make a magical and wonderful display of shiny things relocate itself from the room next door!

Sorry for the rant, I didn't mean to hijack the thread. "It's closed to everyone but me" is a phenomenon that's been driving me to distraction for years!

[PepperElf]

reminds me of the "WHY IS THE MALL CLOSED! WHY WHY WHY" guy.

[morgana]

reminds me of the "WHY IS THE MALL CLOSED! WHY WHY WHY" guy.

Oh, gods, when I saw that I swear my blood pressure doubled. That fool was lucky I wasn't there. I'd've given him "WHY?" with a blunt object.

Well, I'd have wanted to, at least. What I'd probably have actually done was get right in his face and say something like, "The mall is closed because the mall employees have lives. Unlike you."

Then the blunt object.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I didn't often run into that sort of problem at the wholesale club-- usually because we couldn't full-on close the main doors until most of the employees had left for the day. I've detailed some of my run-ins with the "just need one thing" folks before, so I won't do it again here.

But I also ran into the opposite issue-- the people who turn up early and pound on the doors asking to be let in. Granted, sometimes it was because it was "fall back" day and they'd forgotten to do so, so they thought we were supposed to have been open already.

But once the person pounding on the doors early was a co-irker, who didn't want to walk around to the back of the building to the "employee entrance" (which we only use before opening)...

CI: Let me in!
J2K: Go around back to the entrance there--
CI: I'm not gonna do that! I'll just wait until you open the doors.
J2K: ...okay. You'll get written up for being late.
CI: I'll just blame you for not letting me in.
J2K: Good luck with that.

They DID try to blame me, and it predictably didn't go anywhere.

[XCashier]

When there was a Woolworth's downtown, we often saw people walk up to the doors after closing, yank on the handles, then squinch up their faces against the glass, peering inside...where the lights were off and nobody could be seen...then bang on the door and yank the handle some more. Unclear on the concept of "closed", I guess...

They did the same thing when I worked at the coin and stamp shop. We were closed Sunday and Monday, but we'd be in the store Monday to do cleanup/inventory/mailing/whatever. Despite the fact that the store hours were very clearly posted next to the door in inch-high letters, and there were several "Closed" signs in sight, people would still come up and yank on the door, bang on it, yank the handle some more, peer inside, then start the whole cycle again. More than once the hinges got twisted and the magnetic lock had to be reset as well. Seriously, dumbass, if the door does not open easily, and there are signs saying "closed", isn't it blatantly obvious that the place is CLOSED?!

[EricKei]

There's a strange power which draws people to anything which is closed, locked, or otherwise not for them.

I think it's kinda how it works with cats...If they see an open door, "Meh. Nothing to see here"...But the second you close that door -- even if they had no desire to go through it, they HAVE TO know what's on the other side. Mine will sometimes flip a paw upside down to try and catch the underside of the door with their claws if they can't just "will" it open with their Kitty Jedi powers. They really love to do this when I'm in the bathroom >_<

[Lachrymose]

reminds me of the "WHY IS THE MALL CLOSED! WHY WHY WHY" guy.

The funniest part of that is apparently it was just that one entrance that was closed. While the guy is busy ranting, you can see another person being directed by someone inside to go around to the other entrance.

Also, the kid against the window is hilarious. '

ETA: Tangentially, does anyone else wonder how people like this guy are in their regular daily life? At their job? At home? Could they possibly be "normal" but when it comes to situations like this it sets them off? Are they insane all the time? And how do they manage to get through life if so?

Just something I think about sometimes. Haha.

[CatsLairArchives]

There's a strange power which draws people to anything which is closed, locked, or otherwise not for them.

You make them sound like KENDER

Though strong-willed, kender are not prone to consider all the possible results of their behavior. A kender may quickly and impulsively paint herself into a corner, then wait for someone else to come along and get her out of the jam. Sometimes this means that the kender's fellow adventurer's are painted into the same corner. ("I guess I shouldn't have opened that locked door with the warning signs on it, huh?") Experienced adventurer's quickly come to dread that most awful of kender sayings: "Oops!"

"Why insult a door's purpose by locking it?"

"Locks are like taunts, they can be useful sometimes, but insulting all the time."
"No matter which side of the door the kender is on, it's the wrong side."

"There is nothing more interesting than a closed door, unless it is a sleeping dragon."

"One kender is a nuisance. Two kenders are trouble. Three kenders are a full scale castrophe. Four kenders are an apocalpyse."

[emax4]

To remedy the issue of "is it open or closed" there should be thick window shades pulled down to block out light, even with "we're closed" printed on them facing the outside. Yes, we know they won't read it, but after yanking the doors they might open their eyes further.