This Guy’s Getting Nothing But Coal For Christmas For The Next Several Years

The small grocery store where I work is usually open from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm, and there is a sister store in the same town, about twenty minutes away, that is open twenty-four hours a day. However, this story takes place on Christmas Eve, which changes things slightly. Holiday opening hours have been posted for around a month. 

I am a supervisor and operating as the duty manager tonight. We closed at 9:00 pm, and I’m walking out at around 9:15 pm with my single cashier. We’re both females.

I have locked the door, and a man rushes up, clearly annoyed to see us closed.

Man: “I just need cigarettes and beer.”

Me: *Politely* “We have closed early for Christmas, sir.”

I indicate the sign in the window with opening hours.

Man: *Irritated* “Fine, I’ll just go to your twenty-four-hour location.”

In a foolish act of Christmas spirit and not wanting him to waste his time, I informed him that the twenty-four-hour location had also closed for the night. I was about to add that they would be open for several hours the next day when the man turned to me, shoved me backward into the wall, and grabbed my bag, where I had put the keys to the store.

My cashier tried to stop him, but he managed to push her away while operating the shutter and unlocking the door; it wasn’t a complicated key. The alarm was triggered, which spooked the man, and he dropped the key and ran away.

Or at least, so I’m told; my head had hit the wall and I’d lost consciousness. My cashier called 999, and the police and paramedics arrived soon after, followed by the store manager responding to the alarm. 

I spent Christmas in hospital with a minor skull fracture and concussion. Luckily, we had CCTV of the incident, and my boss knew the man, so he spent Christmas in a police cell and eventually pleaded guilty to assault and battery.

The following year, even though Christmas eve fell on a shift I’d normally work again, I was given the night off and they scheduled one of the burly men instead.