For once, I'd like us to CLOSE on time...

[Dreamstalker]

Somehow I knew we weren't getting out 'on time' last night...it was busy all day but nothing nuts. Until, predictably, 8:59 (we close at 9 on Sundays).

A woman comes up with two WIC transactions, one regular and one fresh produce. The cashier I was bagging for wasn't completely trained on WIC, so I jumped in to show her. The milk and beans scan fine. Then...we get to the 36 ounces dry cereal.

WIC guidelines state that any boxes of dry cereal need to be 12.8 ounces or over (why is the total an even number, but individual items never are?). One was 12.8, one was 12, and one was 9. The last two didn't scan in. I knew we had larger sizes of those cereals, so explained to SC that she needed to get a larger size and that I would run the wrong ones back and pick out the right ones (would have taken me 30 seconds tops). She starts in "I mix them to get different kinds, I mix them, I mix them"...which is fine, but individual boxes need to be a certain size. Then manager AN shows up with the WIC booklet and tries to show her. She stabs at the pictures "That what I got!" Okay, but they have to be a certain size. We don't make the rules.

So already something that would have taken one minute to fix has turned into 5, and we're not even through with the first order.

SC takes all cereals back (even the one that went through) and vanishes. The register is in mid-transaction so we can't close it, and it can't be voided out as one of the items is no longer at the register.

Finally at 9:15 AN tells me to get the red card, clock out and leave, he'll handle the rest of it. Luckily SM was still around watching this.

I wasn't around for the produce transaction, but I knew she had more than $6 worth (at least 2 pounds of cherries plus other stuff, for some reason fresh potatoes aren't covered under our state's WIC so those wouldn't have gone through; she would be lucky if just the cherries did).

Bonus suck: When I left someone tried to sneak in through the exit doors, someone else was reefing on the entrance doors (which were actually turned off for once) and an SC I recognized from earlier in the day tried to grab my arm as I was crossing the driveway (manager DL--tall guy and built like a linebacker--stepped in and she fled).

Personally, I think the "store is CLOSED" announcement should be given at 8:55, so people can get their shit to the registers and we can close on time.

[Teskeria]

The store my daughter works at starts making the announcements 15 minutes early. One of her co-workers told me they love to have her do it, as she has the politest way of saying 'get the hell out of here' that they have heard.

[Raveni]

As much as I can bitch about my old Grocery Store, the one thing they did right was closing time. Half of the overhead lights, and ALL of the display lights turned off exactly at closing time.

Sorry folks, corporate controls the lights, and you can't shop here without all the lights on. You can buy your stuff now or leave it, but you can't stay...

[Merriweather]

Sure, it sucks to pop into a store for something, thnking they're open later, and realize they'er closing.

But it sucks a lot more for an employee to have to stay late for people who can't realize the above and come back - I have a hard time thinking of anything that can't wait til the next time you can manage to get to a store.

[PepperElf]

"That what I got!"

Well then... you'll have to pay out of pocket for the extras. If you don't want to change them.

[Dreamstalker]

Corporate controls the lights at our store, but not the registers. Our "store is now closed" announcement also includes the line "please bring purchases to the registers" which means that if there are any hitches at all (such as three cartfuls of crap or other SCness) we are not actually closing at 9, but whenever the last person is out of there. If the closing announcements start at 8:40, we have a good chance of getting out on time; that isn't consistent though.

If we did this we'd probably get yelled at, but one CW has said that he'd love to come on the intercom from the loading dock at 9 PM and say: "We're ready to let the guard dogs out" (accompanied by a recording of suitably-eager barking Dobermans).

[Peppergirl]

Sure, it sucks to pop into a store for something, thnking they're open later, and realize they'er closing.

True, but it's been my experience that most people who show up a minute before generally are just selfish assholes who don't care, rather than confused by the time. Very sad, indeed.

[pltkcelestial18]

I close 3 or 4 nights a week, although I'm sure they'd have me close 5 nights a week if it wasn't for the fact that they know I hate closing all the time.

We close at 1am every night, except for holidays, and I make an announcement at 12:30, 12:45, and 12:55. I also turn the doors off around the time of the last announcement so that I don't have people slipping in during those last 5-10 minutes. I also try to make people aware of how long they have when they walk in. I normally don't have many problems, but I occasionally get people that come in and get quite a few things. Not a buggy full but still enough to make me wait for 10 minutes because they don't know how to do self checkout. Usually at that point, I just go over and practically do it for them so they can leave. Also occasionally I'll get a couple of my regulars that come in a couple minutes before we close, but I know they're pretty quick.

[mosspack1]

I went to the local grocery store one Sunday night not realizing it closed 1 hour earlier on Sundays. The manager was standing outside the doors telling people they could not come in as the store was closing in 15 minutes. No problem, did not realize and wished him a good night. I was pretty impressed he did that. Guess he had too many "it will just take a minute" SCs so he decided to head them off.

[snugglegirl05]

Not closing a grocery store, but a parking garage

My co-worker worked at a parking garage every Saturday from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. cleaning up, dumping trash, & literally closing the garage at 10:30 p.m. There is a sign posted at the ticket machine at the entrance gate stating the garage hours...from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. There is no manager on duty on Saturday's.

One of the first things he has to do when he gets to work is to close the entrance gate. There are 2 exit gates...one at the cashier booth & the other on the other side of where the cashier booth is located.

The exit gate at the cashier booth closes at 10:15 p.m. The other gate closes at 10:30 p.m. The money has to be dropped at 10:30 p.m.

But...for the past 2 Saturday's several customers have left the garage after 10:30 p.m. The latest any customer has left so far is 11 p.m. That means he has to take the customer's money & make change if needed.

He is not patient when dealing with customers like this. Last Saturday he got frustrated with a customer who exited at 11:00 p.m. That customer wanted to speak to whoever was in charge. So my co-worker gave him the cell number of our immediate supervisor, who was at home sleeping.

Our immediate supervisor was not happy at what he heard from the customer. My co-workers hours have been changed to 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday's.

Someone else will close the garage on Saturday's.

[retailsweetie]

We turn our music off at 8:55 (or 6:55 if it's a Sunday) and pull the gate down enough so it's still visible but people can still come in. If it's a night where someone's working until the store closes, not through the closing procedures, that person makes a large-ish show of leaving and clocking out so the customers know they're being obnoxious. Doesn't work sometimes though.

[Zoom]

Legally my store can close whenever the manager wants to, but there's an impetus to still be able to sell groceries up to our official closing time at midnight.

WICs are always a pain after 11:30 because, even if the customer's mistakes can be rectified, it can cause longer lines. (Fortunately, self-checkouts have eased this burden a bit.)

I frequently put up the closed sign about ten minutes early, since I figure I'll be done with those already in line in about that time. For once it's good that we're understaffed; otherwise a manager would be there to tell me not to do this.

But hey, it's ridiculous to have WICs or buy alcohol at 11:55! (How could anyone take the chance that they can't get the booze rung up before it becomes illegal to do so, is beyond me.) Just as it's ridiculous to bring your 5-year-old shopping that late at night, or pack a cart full of groceries and expect it'll all get taken care of in two minutes.

Last week, I've seen a manager walk down the aisles trying to find an errant jouster with a full cart so she could tell her, "We're closing, and you need to bring your stuff up now." I think that quote is verbatim. She came up right away too.

Side note: My state's WICs just require 36 oz. total of cereal, and allow the 9 oz. boxes. Of course, this won't stop someone from attempting to finagle 3 12.8 oz. boxes. This is a serious breach of mathematics and should carry a harsh penalty, like to have a Post-It note superglued to your face that says "Do Not Remove This Tag Under Penalty of Law".

[Food Lady]

I make the most disgustingly cheerful closing announcements yu have heard, and the subtext is "get out." We start that at a quarter 'til.

[Dreamstalker]

One of my CW's tried that, and sadly the subtext is always lost on the people who most need the clue. I don't know whether the music can be controlled at the store level; there have been many suggestions to either shut it off at 8:45, or let an employee patch their MP3 player in ('goth' rock, metal, rap, techno/house...between any four of us I'm sure someone has something that's even worse than the normal Muzak. Taiko drums over the PA, anyone?)

[Argabarga]

Sorry folks, corporate controls the lights, and you can't shop here without all the lights on.

Except for that one guy I remember from when I worked grocery in high school. Despite half the lights and all the extraneous illumination being out, he came into the store anyway, walked AROUND the manager who was locking the doors, grabbed a cart and started shopping.

The manager just ordered the rest of the lights turned out so the entire sales floor went pitch black, only the lights above the office next to the also dark and closed registers was on..

Guy still kept right on shopping until the manager went into the gloom and told him to leave or they'd call the cops, we were closed............