Unable To Contain Themselves

(My family owns and runs an Indian restaurant and grocery store. The restaurant is deli-style where we prepare the meals at the counter and take payment before handing over the meals to the customer. We usually close at 9:30 pm but because we are a family-owned restaurant, we have a little leeway in our closing times. We generally ask customers to take their food to go after 9:15pm. A couple walks in at 9:25 pm.)

Me: “Hi, how are you?”

Guy: “Good thanks; we would like to get two plates.”

Me: “Sure, is that going to be to go?”

Guy: “No, for here.”

Me: “Sorry, we close within five minutes and are only doing to go orders now.”

Guy: “Ok, that’s fine.”

(I prepare their meals in takeout containers and hand them over to the couple.)

Me: “Here you go; that’s going to be [total].”

Guy: “We have five minutes, right? Can we eat really quickly and I can pay after that.”

Me: “Okay, that’s fine.”

(I void out their transaction. I start closing up the registers and perform the end-day-transactions and accounting. I figure I’ll charge them when they are done. At about 9:45 pm, I’m done with the end-of-day transactions. The couple is done with their meals but are sitting around and chatting with each other. I start turning out the lights in the refrigerators and display cases.)

Guy: “Are you ready to close?”

Me: “Yes, sir.”

Guy: “Okay, let me pay you.”

(He pays up but then goes back and sits at the table with the lady to continue chatting. At this point, I’m the only one left in the restaurant and am waiting for the couple to leave before I can close up and go home. At about 10:00 pm, I start turning off lights in the sections of the restaurant away from the couple.)

Guy: “Are you closed already?”

Me: “Yes, sir, we closed at 9:30 pm.”

Guy: “Okay, we’re leaving.”

(They continue to chat about. I’ve turned off every light in the restaurant except the one that’s nearest to them. At about 10:15 pm, another customer walks into the restaurant.)

New Customer: “Hi, are you open?”

Me: “No, sir, we closed at 9:30 pm. Sorry about that.”

New Customer: “Okay, no problem.” *leaves*

Girl: *looking at new customer leaving* “Oh, are you closing up?”

Me: “Ma’am, we’ve been closed for the past 50 minutes, since 9:30 pm.”

Guy: “Oh, why didn’t you tell us before. We would have taken our food in to-go containers.”

Girl: “Yeah, we would hate to keep you from going home.”

Me: “…”