The Boss Wins That Closing Argument

A woman grabs a basket and waltzes into our clothing store a minute before closing.

Me: “Ma’am, we’re closing.”

Customer: “I know! I always come at this time! I know you can’t tell me to leave, and you’re all so eager to get me out, you give me the most attentive service!” 

Shocked, I go and tell my manager what she said. My manager walks over to her and repeats that we’re closing, and she gives the same answer.

Manager: “So what you’re telling me is that we’ve allowed you to stay and shop after closing, gave you excellent service, and our reward for such behavior is you abusing that kindness again? On purpose?”

Customer: *Smiles.* “Your corporate office told me you can’t tell me to leave, so…” *Shrugs.*

Manager: “That is correct, but I am not obliged to serve you, either. The store officially closed one minute ago. You have thirty seconds to check out at our register, and after that, I’m not checking out anything at all, regardless of how long you choose to shop.”

Customer: *Smile fading.* “You can’t do that! I’m the customer!”

Manager: “Not after 8 PM, you’re not.”

The customer stubbornly refused to be rushed and continued to shop, shooting us angry looks whenever she saw us. Any attempt to get service from us resulted in a curt but polite:

Me: “Sorry, ma’am, I am currently busy with closing duties.”

We completed all our closing duties, and our manager, taking one for the team, offered to stay behind and let us all leave on time. He decided to start watching a movie on his phone before the customer realized she wasn’t going to win this one, tossed her (now full) basket to the ground, and stormed out. She stayed an hour and a half and only ended up wasting her own time.

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