I am working a night shift at a twenty-four-hour grocery store. At this time of night, I am not known for my patience with stupid questions.

Customer: “Why are they making you work at 3:00 am?”

Me: “Why are you shopping at 3:00 am?”

I work in a grocery store. It’s 6:15 on Christmas Eve, and we’ve just closed the store. As my coworkers and I are walking to our cars, two dudes in a pickup truck pull into the parking lot.

Dude #1: “Are you guys open?”

Me: “No, sir. We just closed.”

Dude #2: “But we want beer!”

Dude #1: “How dare you close early?! You’re ruining our Christmas!”

Because, you know, the [Convenience Store] across the street wasn’t classy enough for them, I guess.

It’s Christmas Eve and a Friday. Typically, Fridays are my late shift, working from 4:00 pm until 10:00 pm with the store shutting at midnight. We are shutting at 7:00 pm because of Christmas, so my shift is pulled forward to 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

It’s not very busy for the last hour, and I spend it doing numerous tannoy announcements to customers to remind them that we are shutting soon and to please bear this in mind as they shop. My colleagues and I also want to be out on time, so I go round at 6:55 pm and tell every customer in the store to go to the checkouts. I get to the chilled section, one of the first sections in the store, at 6:57 pm and encounter a mum and her daughter.

Me: “Hello! I just need you to go to the checkouts now as we shut in three minutes.”

They both stare at me with a look of mild confusion.

Mum: “You… you’re kidding right? You close at midnight on a Friday.”

Me: “Typically, we do, ma’am, but due to it being Christmas Eve, we’re shutting at 7:00 pm. It’s been this way for years. I do need you to go to a checkout, or, if you haven’t done any shopping yet, to please leave.”

I can tell from the bags in their trolley that they have barely picked anything up. Our security guard was helping a customer at 6:50 pm and couldn’t shut the doors quickly enough to stop people coming in, so they’ve evidently not been in the store long.

Daughter: “My mum only finished work at 6:30 pm. We need to do the rest of our Christmas shop for the fresh food tomorrow.”

Me: “Well, I’m sorry, but we cannot remain open any longer and you’ll have to go to the checkouts.”

I am called away by a manager for a moment. When I come back, they are lumping items into their trolley, desperately trying to get the bits they need.

Me: “I am insisting you go to a checkout now. If you don’t, I can’t serve you at a checkout.”

Mum: “Yes, yes, we’re heading that way now!”

They then spend the next five minutes putting their shopping through a till. My supervisor has to pull all the money from the tills and can’t leave, so we have to wait.

As they leave:

Mum: “You know, we didn’t realise you shut at 7:00 pm, but you haven’t been very accommodating.”

Me: “With all due respect, ma’am, we all have families to go home to. And your lack of organisation is not our problem. Have a lovely Christmas.”

We locked the door behind them and ran to lock the tills in the cash office and clock out. When I got home a little late and told my husband the story, he couldn’t believe that people have both the audacity to be rude to us for shutting early but also to leave their Christmas shopping so late. We had been open twenty-four-seven for the whole week leading up to Christmas.

This is my first year of retail after four years of fast food work. As a result, this is my first holiday season in retail specifically, but I am already used to people’s nasty attitudes during the holidays. My store is closing at four on Christmas Eve and has made it abundantly clear. My general manager even specified to shut the door in people’s faces if need be.

At 3:55, the closing manager for the evening stations me at the door to inform people coming in about when we close and to wish people a lovely evening as they leave, but mostly, I am to man the door after we close and inform folks that they can’t come in. As a stocky young lady with a voice good at projecting, I am the most intimidating choice. All is well until four hits and I power off the door so that I can manually let people out.

A lady tries to come in as I let a couple take their shopping out.

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we are closed.”

Customer: “When did you close? I just need to grab a cheesecake really quickly!”

Me: “I apologize, ma’am, but we closed at four. I can’t let you inside now.”

Customer: “But all of those people are checking out! My son is coming all the way from Virginia, and he loves your cheesecakes!”

Me: “They came in before four o’clock, ma’am, and they are finishing up now. Unfortunately, we sold out of our cheesecakes yesterday so we don’t even have one.”

Customer: “Oh, yes, you do. I just know you’re lying to me, young lady, and I don’t appreciate your tone! I might have to talk to your manager.”

Me: “I apologize, ma’am, but as we’ve already closed, I’ll have to shut the door. If you’d like to speak with the store manager, she’ll be back on Monday morning from open until five-thirty. She’ll be simply delighted to discuss your concerns then, once we’re all back.”

And then I shut and locked the door as everyone else had filtered out during our conversation. She stood there shocked as I walked away to help my coworkers finish up closing, but she did eventually leave. Sorry, lady, but you had all week to get your dessert!

I’m working in a grocery store on Christmas Eve. The store is open until 6:00 pm. We lock entry and staff the exit at exactly 6:00 pm, but we must work through all customers waiting to check out.

One man knocks on the locked entry window and tries to force his way into the store through the exit I’m guarding.

I refuse him entry.

Me: “Sir, it’s not personal, but if I allow you to pass, I must admit the other ten people staring at me from the parking lot.”

Man: “But I only need one item! It’s vital for a recipe and my wife forgot to buy it!”

Me: “I’m sorry, but we’re closed.”

Man: “But not making this dish will ruin Christmas Eve!”

Me: “My staff and I have manned this store for twelve hours on Christmas Eve, and we deserve a Christmas, too! Our Christmas will never start if I let even one person past me!”