Unfiltered Story #192196

(Our restaurant is located in a bridge over the highway. We share the building with several other restaurants. On the one side of the road is a gas station, on the other side a hotel. Our restaurant closes at 10 PM after which we do the clean-up. Usually, we are finished at 11 PM or 11:30 PM. Since people might want to cross the bridge or at least go to one of our neighbours, it’s still possible to walk through our restaurant. This time, we are finished, checking out and having some drinks like every night. Then a family walks in and moves through the buffet. Although most of the lights are turned off and the shutters are closed, they still grab some trays and start looking at the buffet. Only after some inspection, they seem to realise it is empty.)

Father: ‘You are closed?’

Me: ‘Yes, we are, sir.’

Father: ‘You’re not 24 hours opened?’

Me: ‘No, sir, I’m sorry, but we’re not. We close at 10 PM.’

Father: ‘The road sign says “24 hours opened”!’

(He obviously misinterpreted something, for it can’t possibly be right.)

Me: ‘If that is on the sign, it isn’t right, sir. [Restaurant] is never open for 24 hours. But maybe you can still go to one of the other restaurants in the building, like the ones next to us. Good night, sir.’

(I know even the restaurant next to us is only open from 6 AM until 2 PM, which makes me wonder what the 24 hour thing is about. Whatever it is, the would-be customers leave grumbling and muttering protests.)

Me: ‘They thought we would be opened for 24 hours.’

Colleague: ‘Interesting. If we did that, how would we ever manage to clean up and prevent the restaurant from becoming a health hazard?’

(Turns out later that the road sign said that the gas station and the hotel were open for 24 hours, but that the bridge-restaurant was open from 6 AM until 2 PM. Apparently they got confused. Maybe due to the late hour. Maybe due to having high expectations without thinking of logistics.)