in thinking that if Clarks closes at 5.30...

[Amanderrr]

at 5.23 the doors shouldn't be locked?

Went to Richmond today for a mooch around the shops. DS3 (4yrs) kept complaining about his feet hurting so we headed over to Clarks. We wouldn't have taken long as I know his size and width and just wanted the brown version of the black pair we bought last week.

Got to the doors and they were locked. There was a customer inside still trying on shoes and staff milling around. Had a look at my watch and it was just after 5.20. Looked at the opening times and they should have been open until 5.30. Asked DP what the time was in case my watch was wrong and he said it was about 5.23.

This is happening more and more. In the last couple of weeks alone Boots wouldn't let me in with five minutes until they officially closed. Office the shoe shop was shut before the time stated. The security guard in Zara, which was due to close at 7pm, was telling me at 6.50 that the shop was now closed and could I head to the tills. I looked over and there was a long queue so it didn't really matter whether I carried on shopping or not and M&S turned most of the lights off after saying over the loud speaker that the store would be closing in ten minutes.

I know in the grand scheme of things this should just be a slight irritation but today just brought it to a head when I couldn't get a change of shoes for DS3 when I really needed them.

Am I alone in finding this frustrating and would it worth emailing the stores when this happens?

Writer, I was sympathising with Tyler's experience of not being able to spend £1500 near to closing time.

Have to say that sometimes they're just too polite in the US. We were having food in a diner one evening, we thought it a little strange that they'd starting pulling shutters down with over an hour until closing but nothing more. Forty five minutes later a young lad came over and pointed out they were actually meant to close 40 minutes earlier. We'd inadvertently crossed a timezone without realising

Ha, poltergeist except fewer people would survive retail.

God thinking back to how I was treated as a shop assistant makes my blood boil. Funnily enough when my ridiculously good exam results (I had just finished school at the time) made the local paper I was treated with a lot more respect. Also anyone with a suit got a lot more respect. People seem to think retail assistants are morons who just exist to serve them.

I work in an office now thankfully but I used to be checkout supervisor in a supermarket. I was salaried (poorly), not hourly-paid, and my hours were 9 - 5.30pm - opening hours. They got me for free before opening and after closing. The hourly-paid staff were paid for all the hours they worked so never had to stay after closing. At Christmas I would work up to 10 days without a day off, often until 8pm with no overtime, and yes, be back at work again on Boxing Day, and New Year's Day.

Staff costs are one of the main ways retailers keep costs down, and therefore prices. Office workers should remember this before saying retailers should pay staff for all the hours they work.

YANBU.

If a shop says it's open till 530, it should be open till 530.

They should timetable and pay their staff accordingly.

They don't, hence resentment - but it's not the customer's fault.

I've worked in retail too.

It's not about being stupid. Maybe once in a while you can't get there any earlier? If a call comes in to me at 5.15 then I have to deal with it, that's life. I don't get paid for it, I have a life to lead outside of work, but I still have to do it. I'm not saying the OP was right, but there is no need to get so narky about it. Most people are juggling everything. Do you think they say, fuck it, there are three minutes before the shop closes, think I'll wander along and buy some shoes...

Fair enough JFly. The way you were treated in that garage is super odd, did you make a fuss?

Imisssleeping This made me laugh
[I bet you're the sort of person who, when you have paid for your goods, puts your coins carefully back in your purse, then the notes, then folds the receipt up, zips your purse up, puts your purse in your bag, zips your bag up and then moves away so the next person can finally be served - aaargh.]

I hate this with a passion -specially when the person has packed every. single. item. very carefully into bags and stowed them safely in the trolley before starting the payment procedure.

I've worked in retail as well btw.

So assuming the till opens at 9, what would happen if all the staff pitched up at 9? Or put on their hats and coats at 5.30?

Exactly, Rockbat. If you are no longer serving customers after a certain point, then that should be made clear. Otherwise, why can't someone spend money (or browse, for that matter) in a shop up to closing time?

And when I hear comments about how "stupid", "selfish", etc. people are to want to shop during opening hours, it just reinforces my point about customer priority. I get that retail can be crappy and soul destroying work, but then if you don't like serving customers, why do it? Or if you do enjoy your job, make a fuss with employers to ensure you have time to serve people properly and close up the shop. But don't blame customers for being "kept late".

I imagine very few people dream of being in retail JFly. They do it because they need a job.

"Do you think they say, fuck it, there are three minutes before the shop closes, think I'll wander along and buy some shoes..."

Yes, Rockbat that's exactly what I think people think.

Who desperately needs a pair of shoes FFS? It's not like it was a prescription for asthma medication.

Oh and making a fuss to your employer really isn't going to make any difference. I imagine Clarks HQ doesn't listen to individual whinges from employees. I knew my employer personally and when I mentioned the extra time we put in cleaning every night he laughed in my face.

Having done the retail ladder from Saturday girl to Board Director, IMO this is about local store management; retail is about the balance of making sales and providing service; in the OP's example she knew exactly what she wanted and it was about finding it in the stockroom and putting through the till. That is a bit different from someone strolling in at 5.23 wanting measuring, choosing, fitting, etc etc.

A GOOD store manager will manage the store closing procedure to manage late customers (and potential sales OR future sales) AND the morale of the team; it should be perfectly possible to ascertain what sort of service is required for that late straggler and if neccessary get all the closing tasks underway without making the customer feel rushed.

Fair enough cashing up or hoovering the sales floor can't be done when customers still present, but everything else can. As the manager you have to manage your resources and get the best possible result - another sale in the till and staff who ARE prepared to stay a little later at times, and maybe allowed to leave a little earlier/come in later if this sort of thing is a regular occurrence.

Retail is nothing without sales and service; if you piss your customers off, they WILL go elsewhere. Then no shop at all... :(

yy writer.

As a young girl I thought "Oh, one day! one day I could work in a shop on minimum wage (actually this was before minimum wages, I used to get paid £1.40/hour in 1990.) and get treated like shit by not only the customers but by the management too WHOOP DEE DOO!"

"I get that retail can be crappy and soul destroying work, but then if you don't like serving customers, why do it?"

I don't like my job now, it's hard, it's boring and it is pretty poorly paid - why do I do it? I'm a bit weird in that I quite like eating and having a warm place to sleep.

As a mystery shopper I can state that stores are supposed to admit customers up until the closing time.

Of course whats happened in some places is that greedy management aren't paying their staff for all the time they are working which makes the staff resentful and and inclined to shut up shop before closing time.

I feel really sorry for retail workers. I nearly wet myself laughing at the person who said office work was harder than retail work but at least it made me smile. The targets retailers have to hit these days are really hard. Becoming a mystery shopper has really opened my eyes.

As for unpaid overtime - well - more fool anyone who does that. In fact,your just encouraging it.

I get what you're saying Jollster and in an ideal world that would happen, but unfortunately as so many retail assistants are poorly paid and are expected to work overtime for free there very often is negative morale in a shop. I know in our shop there was a very us and them mentality towards the management due to the way we were treated. Because the owner wouldn't acknowledge the extra time we put in for free we weren't prepared to do a minute more than the extra 20 minutes we already weren't being paid for.

Because retail is unskilled it's easy to replace people so workers aren't valued or listened to. There's very much a put up or shut up attitude.

Also, Jollster, do you think the manager so should be at the door quizzing everyone wanting to come in late to see how long they'll take? I'd say usually that's no feasible so closing that bit early is the only way to discourage the time wasters.

AFAIK bubble the closing early thing is policy for Clarks. The shop I used to go to in Ireland does the same thing.

Why work in retail? Why because I just lurve getting abuse and being looked down upon by some members of the public, it brightens up my day like nothing else. (thank you shirley for that one)
Absolutely nothing at all to do with the fact that I like to clothe and feed my children.

''I imagine very few people dream of being in retail JFly. They do it because they need a job.''

Erh why do you think that???? - very patronising to be honest - I love working in retail - I chose to work in retail despite having a more academic options. I like people and customer are people - just wish some were a bit more considerate :)

I have worked in a few shops. I didn't dislike serving people. I disliked being sworn at, generally verbally abused and on a few occaisions. A perfectly reasonable view imo.

It can go too far the other way. When I was a student one of the shop managers decided that the staff couldn't lock the door if there were customers in. Even if it was after closing time. Obviously with the shop still being open people kept coming in, especially as it was next to a big station. The staff were not allowed to mention closing time unless specifically asked by a customer. The staff regularly ended up there 4 hrs after their shift ended. He was not a popular manager, moral as you can imagine was very low.

Gotabook, if you look at the list of jobs children dream about doing retail doesn't tend to be one of them. It tends to be a job people fall into. Do you work for minimum wage?

Vampire yes these people seem surprised that they are going to be paying at all and wait until they are told the amount.. oh I'll start searching in my bag now for my purse shall I !! ?????

I get my purse, loyalty card etc out whilst I am waiting. When I've finished paying I keep hold of the money, receipt and move away to sort myself out !!!!

Selfish twunts, can you tell I get shop rage !

I think you're one of the few mentioned Gotabook.

I agree xwitch, I actually enjoyed retail a lot of the time. What I didn't like was some people's attitude, especially those who treated me like shit on their shoe. I found a lot of older men to be the worst actually - some used to literally throw the money for a newspaper at me while I was serving other people. One time it hit me in the face :( but another customer stopped the guy who did it (he was already turned away) and bollocked him which was fantastic!