He Also Blames Others When He Burns A Pie

I was working at a large toy store and was the closing manager on Christmas Eve. I always volunteered to work most holidays, since my family wasn’t nearby and I didn’t have kids. The extra money never hurt!

We had posted for weeks that the store would be closed at 6:00 pm on Christmas Eve so that we could partake in the holiday with our families. It was 6:00 pm and we were pretty fortunate that all the customers had wished us a happy holiday and left the store. We had actually very few issues that night! I locked the doors, dimmed the lights, and started to take the cash drawers while the rest of the staff cleaned up.

While I was in the back office, doing the cash drops in the safe, my Asset Protection guy knocked on the door.

Asset Protection: “Uh, hey. There is a guy banging at the front door and yelling that it is an emergency.”

Surprised and not knowing what was going on, I deposited the cash in the safe and headed to the front with [Asset Protection]. Halfway to the front, I heard the banging. At this point, the rest of the staff were starting to gather nearby to see what was going on and getting ready to leave for the night.

We had two sets of double doors. I unlocked the first door, opened it, and walked into the vestibule with [Asset Protection] behind me. The guy was still banging on the glass doors frantically, even though he could see me approaching.

I approached the door but didn’t open it. I raised my hand to motion for him to stop banging so I could talk. I wasn’t about to open the door.

Me: “Hi. Is something wrong?”

Man: “Yeah! I need to get my kid’s Christmas present!”

He yelled that at me, and I was stunned for a moment. I looked back at [Asset Protection] and then to my staff who were on the other side of the vestibule door, as if wondering if I’d heard him wrong. Before I could reply, he started slamming on the door again.

Man: “LET ME IN! I have to get presents!”

Me: “I’m sorry, sir. We closed at 6:00 and I have already removed all the registers.”

Man: “What the f*** does that have to do with me?! LET ME IN! I’ll be quick!”

Me: “I’m sorry, sir. There is nothing I can do.”

Man: “What the h***?! Just let me in right now! It won’t take long. You are wasting my time!”

Me: “I’m really sorry. Please come back during normal business hours.”

I motioned for [Asset Protection] to go back in and I turned to follow him. I heard the man start swearing at me and bang the door again.

Man: “YOU ARE GOING TO RUIN MY KID’S CHRISTMAS!”

I turned around once we were inside the store.

Me: “No, you are. You should have come earlier.”

I locked the door and turned out the lights, and we all left from the back door.

I did feel bad for the guy’s kid, but I had a responsibility to my staff. It wasn’t our fault he decided to do Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve after business hours.