Closing Up Will Lead To Closing Down

(While visiting a touristy part of town on a lake for our 20th anniversary, we wander into an artsy import shop, half hoping to find a new handbag. It’s off season and we are the only customers in the store. After browsing for a few minuets I see a display of embroidered bags in the back half of the store.)

Me: “Excuse me, but I can’t find a way into the back section. Is it closed?”

Employee: “Yeah, we just had a bunch of teenagers in here with backpacks. The owner was watching on the security camera and just called me and told me to close off that section.”

Me: “So… I can’t go back there to look at bags?”

Employee: “Well, if you know you’re going to buy something, I can let you back there, but it’s not worth having it open to sell 50 cents worth of stuff and have people steal twenty dollars worth of product.”

(My husband and I exchanged outraged looks and quickly left, not bothering to buy the sign he was eyeing.)