Customer Limits Put Customers At Their Limit

Because of the current health crisis, stores have a customer limit so it doesn’t get too crowded. My store is very small so we’ve had a limit of two customers at once. Not gonna lie; I love it because at five people it’s so full that customers have trouble walking around.

We have two signs on the floor and three more around the store entrance. Of course, barely anyone reads the signs, but the register is right at the entrance so people usually back off and wait when I tell them. This customer does not.

He rushes into the store. I tell him there’s a two-person limit and we’ve already reached it, so he should please wait outside. He doesn’t react, so I repeat myself louder. 

He’s walking along the counter so there are maybe six feet of distance between us, so he should hear me. He keeps walking. I start shouting, “Sir!” to get his attention while I walk off from behind the counter.

I think maybe he’s hard of hearing or deaf.

I finally get in front of him, way too close, but my back is against a wall and there’s nothing I can do. He scowls at me and barks out a “What?” so I tell him about the limit. 

He scoffs, gives me the finger, and prances out of the store. He comes back about an hour later and starts making rude comments about how stupid I am and how I could have just let him get his one item. He doesn’t seem to be hard of hearing after all. 

My boss has now bought a desk bell that we aggressively ring — it echoes wonderfully in the small store — whenever someone with selective hearing decides to come in and ignore us, be it about masks or the limit. 

It hurts my ears to use it, but with the number of people that stop taking the situation seriously because it’s been so long, it’s amazing to use!