When Closing Time Takes A Pounding

A lady comes into our charity shop shortly before lunch and spends the princely sum of £2 on a battery-powered keyring that locates your keys, which came to the shop in the still-sealed original box.

She returns to the shop literally five minutes before it’s due to close. Staff are not allowed to kick customers out at closing time but are forced to stay open until they decide to leave. She’s back to complain that the keyring didn’t work and that she wants a refund. The only trouble is that she can’t find her receipt.

Knowing what the answer will be, I call my assistant manager down.

Manager: “Without the receipt, we can’t give you a refund, but you can select an item of equal value, instead.”

This lady then stays in the shop for more than FIFTEEN MINUTES, seemingly oblivious to me bringing in the shop sign from outside, closing the door, and calling out when the assistant manager calls down to ask if I could come down and mop the floor:

Me: “No, I’ve still got a customer in here.”

She finally comes up to the counter with a top she has picked up and put back down half a dozen times.

As if this isn’t enough, she then starts rummaging in her bag again.

Customer: “I’m sure I’ve got my receipt here somewhere.”

Visions of murder dancing in my head, I politely fold the top for her and thank her for her support.

Since staff/volunteers can’t cash up the till or mop the floor until all the customers have gone, the assistant manager and I are more than half an hour late leaving, and the assistant manager has clearly been reading my mind, because she looks at me after the customer has finally left and says:

Manager: “Over two pounds? Seriously?”

The customer still left her receipt behind.