To make a complaint about this shop?

[Passthebutterplease]

I wanted to quickly chose a new top to wear tomorrow and when I was finished work I rushed down to the high street and got to the shop (well known high street shop) at 5.20pm.

The sign on the window said that it closed at 5.30pm but the shop assistants had closed th door over. I opened the door and was told that I couldn't come in as I wouldn't have time to choose something. Does this sound reasonable of the shop assistant, or am right to be a bit pissed off by it?

[YouDoTheMath]

They were still open for another ten minutes, therefore they should have let you in.

But customer service doesn't work like that these days.

[pictish]

Yanbu! How annoying!

[SuchProspects]

Many shops stop letting in new customers a bit before their closing time. Otherwise the staff are left hanging on after the end of their shift. When I worked in a shop I used to hate when management would keep the doors open until dot on closing time. We would always be there for another 20 minutes (which we weren't paid for). As a shopper though it's annoying to be relying on a shop only to be turned away.

You could write to the head office and say you are disappointed and won't be shopping at their stores anymore, but they aren't obliged to let you into any shop at any time, so it's just a matter of you pointing out you were disappointed. You don't have a "right" to have been served.

[Passthebutterplease]

I guess their boss must have gone home early!

[KAZAMM]

It is annoying if you're all set to close and a customer comes in at the last minute. However if the shop doesn't close for another 10 minutes then the assistant was in the wrong for not letting you in.

Of course you can pick out a top and pay within that time so she was wrong to say you couldn't come in.

[Sirzy]

I agree with SuchProspect

I used to work in a shop and as we sold fresh produce by the time we officially closed at 5pm we had very little stock left on the shelves as we started clearing away around 4.30 in order to minimise the time we had to stay unpaid afterwards. We stayed open until closing time but without much for anyone to buy!

[suzikettles]

It is annoying, but my previous extensive experience as a shop assistant means that I know that people who pop in 10 minutes before the shop shut are always there 20 minutes after it's meant to have closed.

I'll bet you any money that she had somewhere important (to her) to be shortly after work and took a chance at closing the doors 10 mins early to make sure she got there.

Like I say, v annoying, however having been harangued in the past by people who would phone and couldn't understand why I wouldn't keep the shop open for them - "But I'm just parking the car fgs, I'll be there in 10 minutes.", I kind of have a little, teeny bit of illicit sympathy for her.

[Passthebutterplease]

didnt mention I had 2 kids with me so there was good chance of a lot of faff

[mummymccar]

5:20 is still open, they should have let you in and warned you that they were switching the tills off in 10 mins and then warned you again a couple of mins later. It's irritating when you have a customer that won't leave but refusing service for no reason when you are still open is gross misconduct and a sackable offence in most shops. You can make a complaint but just be aware that the member of staff will have formal disciplinary action taken against them at the least.
If you really want to complain, do it to the store manager and be vague about which member of staff it was (unless you want them in trouble).

[Passthebutterplease]

to be honest I dont want to get someone into trouble. I already feel better venting on here about it anyway!

[lololizzy]

Outrageous! Complain. They were being presumptuous to assume you couldn't choose that quick. Anyway, how did they know you didn't want to pick something and perhaps return tomorrow, if short of time.....
I work in a clothes shop and also am a clothesaholic so could definitely pick a garment in that time!
It's not my shop and i don't get paid overtime however given current economic climate i do let people in late and often stay late although of course you do hope they take one item to the changing room rather than an armful!
In your case- COMPLAIN !! Is this shop doing so well they can turn down customers!? also..they were closing early. end of!

[worraliberty]

I've worked in loads of shops over the years

If it says 5.30 on the door, then that's the time they should stop allowing customers in.

If there are already customers in there, the staff just hurry them up and remind them they're trying to close.

[Passthebutterplease]

If they had said the til would be cloed in 10 mins I would have chosen something really quickly. I promise I am not a huge pain in the arse customer!! But I wont really make a complaint, I just kind of wanted someone to agree with me that I anbu

[KAZAMM]

Ah well if you had two children with you then you probably knew you didn't have enough time to look and buy and the assistant had the same thought.

I have to be out the door 5.30 sharp to get to the nursery for 6 o clock to pick up my own child. If I'm late then I have to pay extra so sometimes I close 5 mins early. Maybe this assistant had to do something similar?

[CardyMow]

Working in retail, paid minimum wage, possibly needing to get their own dc from childcare - YABU. I would have let you in mind you, with a warningthat the tills would be turned off at 5.30, and the doors locked then. Most retail staff have to cash up after their shift. Unpaid. So most try to do it in the last 5-10 mins of their shift. If I went clothes shopping, I wouldn't go in the shop after 5.15pm. In order to make sure I had enough time for my purchase without making the staff stay on unpaid. But maybe that's because I have DONE that job in the past.

So, OP, I think YAB a bit U, she wouldn't have got paid for any time over her shift time (why I would always rather do an early than a late), and she may have NEEDED to leave on time, not 10 mins (unpaid) after, if she had dc to pick up.

Retail is SHIT.

[TheFeministsWife]

I used to hate people that would come in 10 minutes before closing when I was a sales assistant, but we had to let people in, as annoying as it was.

TBH I surprised a well known shop (I presume it was a chain?) is closing at 5.30pm! By me all high street shops are open till 8pm apart from Sundays.

[southeastastra]

it should stay open until closing surely! dp rushed to argos the other night for an emergency computer monitor - he had 8 minutes to get there until it closed. we would have been mightly peed off if they hadn't let him it when it was advertised as open.

[Icelollycraving]

Well I've worked in retail for 20 years. Clothes stores are the only ones I know that do this. Having worked opposite Zara & they stopped people entering well before closing time but there were always people milling about for a good half an hour to an hour after the advertised closing time. People always would bash on the door,giving you big puppy eyes then swearing when it got nowhere. The joy of saying sorry we reopen tomorrow at 9,tills are closed :o

[whackamole]

YABU, you have clearly never worked in a shop before. Sometimes people just want to get home!

[ElephantsAndMiasmas]

YANBU - It's not the fault of the shop assistant, but if shops are going to say they are open til 5.30 then that's the time they should stop letting people in. Knowing that people can't be in and out in 5 seconds, the employers should pay their staff for the time it takes to finish and tidy up after closing time FGS.

I've only worked in a couple of shops but loads of cafes etc, and if it says they are serving food til e.g. 10pm then people can order til 10, they don't refuse to allow orders after 9.30 because the chef won't have time to cook it before 10, it's madness. Instead the waiting staff and chefs are paid after closing time for clearing up, cleaning, etc etc etc. Should be the same with shops.