If We Could Have Locked You Out We Would Have

The restaurant I work in closes at 8:00 pm, but if customers order before closing time, they can stay inside and eat their food. Some people come in and order at 7:50 pm, and they are still inside eating at 8:25 pm.

Legally, we cannot lock our doors while customers are inside. We have most of the chairs up, our open sign is turned off, and we have a sign on the door stating our hours. At 8:25 pm, a man walks inside the restaurant. 

Me: “Sorry, we closed at eight.”

The man puts his wristwatch up to his face, so close it’s almost touching his glasses, and then turns toward me.

Me: “Yes, we closed at eight.”

Customer: “Well, maybe you should lock your doors.”

Me: “We can’t lock the doors while customers are still inside.”

Coworker: “It’s illegal here; it’s a fire hazard.”

The man exited the restaurant while flipping us off.

The chairs were up and the open sign was off; that should have been the first sign that we were closed. Even so, we still do get people coming in to at least ask if they can still place an order since there are other people inside eating, but generally, when you tell someone it’s closed, they just leave without a fuss.

I don’t know what I expected, though; people usually seem incapable of reading signs.