Watch And Burn

(Although we are not supposed to lock the doors until exactly 9:00 pm, it had been a long, busy day and the manager and I were both tired, so I locked the doors at 8:58 pm. We closed down the last register and were both in the back office counting the till. At 9:05 pm we hear someone banging incessantly at the door, which is not unusual. Almost every night, we have customers banging on the door after close, hoping we’ll let them in. If it’s an emergency, and going to guarantee a large sale like a new car battery, we’ll let them in and help them. So, I go to the door to investigate.)

Me: “Sorry! We’re closed! We closed at 9:00 pm.”

Customer: “You locked the door before 9:00! I was here and I watched you!”

Me: “If you were here before 9:00, why didn’t you come in?”

Customer: “I was finishing my cigarette! I want to buy an air freshener!”