Very Closed Minded, Part 4
Our large store makes sure to announce our closing time every five minutes in the final half an hour before closing. Our manager insists on this, and she has zero tolerance for customers staying late.
A customer who is sloooowly browsing slowly fifteen minutes before close stops my manager one evening:
Customer: “All those announcements are so obnoxious!”
Manager: “Well, sadly there’s been a growing need for customers to relearn how to respect posted business hours.” *Stares and smiles.*
The customer sheepishly backs away as my manager practises her routine of going through the store fifteen minutes before closing and directly addressing each person or group and saying:
Manager: “We close at 10 PM, which is fifteen minutes from now. If you’re not standing in line to check out by closing time, you will not be making a purchase tonight.”
She took this very seriously. I once saw her turn down a sale that was over $500 for precisely that reason.
Why she was so strict? She had an hour-long drive home and three kids she was raising as a single mother with minimal help for babysitting who she had to get up and ready for school at 6 AM every weekday morning, by herself. The store closing at 10 PM still left her with another hour of work to get done.
Related:
Very Closed Minded, Part 3
Very Closed Minded, Part 2
Very Closed Minded
