So sick of rude customers!

[Patrickstarisabadbellend]

We were closing up yesterday when a last minute shopper appeared. I politely let her know that we were closing and that the store would be open from 9am the next day.

She wasn't happy with this. She asked me what time we shut, checked her watch and asked to speak to a manager.

My manager let her in! She browsed for a few minutes and kept smugly smirking at me. Eventually she bought some bleach and as I was serving her she laughed that the customer is always right.
As I was closing the door (over 15 mins late) she was reversing her car out of her space smirking and laughing at me. As she drove off she was glaring at me!

I felt totally undermined and like the manager/owner had made a fool of me. The manger/owner treated and spoke to me like a child being told off in front of the customer.

I'm due back in work on Monday but I'm serious pissed off. I've been job hunting all night too.

Why are some people such twats? Aibu?

completely and utterly agree OP-

shops have a closing time. that is the time when customers should be out of the shop, or queuing to pay.

and to those who say "well i work late and dont get paid"- its ridiculous that staff spend all day on their feet for minimum wage ususally and then do not get to get home on time.

boss should have said "i will serve, you go on home" if they were so concerned about 79p bleach.

Proclean, do you pay your staff extra wages for going the 'extra mile'? Because if you pay them that's not an 'extra mile' they are getting paid to do it

If you don't pay them and view any unpaid time as 'going the extra mile' then that's my point - many employers would view an expectation to be paid for every single minute or else you're out of there ('I do not do overtime') as a bad attitude.

Am I the only person that thinks if a shop shuts at say 5, then you should, as a customer, be out of the door by 5. Emergencies aside where you can state you are running in for one thing eg medicine and actually do it, that appearing at 4.58 is not on. My watch is usually accurate to plus/minus 2 minutes so the shop staff could reasonably be locking up if I only thought it was 4.56

Most places other than shops have a last admission time prior to the closing time. E.g my gym closes at 7 today, but the last time you can arrive is 6.15.

In my time in retail, I wasn't allowed to start 15 minutes late another day if is stayed on late for things like the OP, so I should be paid for that time. Otherwise companies will schedule staff on say 9-5, knowing full well they then have to lock up/cash up etc and get probably 2 hours a week free work out of each of them, which is plain wrong

I do pay for extra time but I do highly value good staff them as my best asset, they do not nickel and dime me for every 15 minutes extra but the culture of my business is based around fair play and the vast majority of the customers value that also and treat my staff well.

Any client that doesn't value my staffs' time is not a good match for our company I'm afraid. These values benefit both staff and clients as I am aiming for the best of both and to provide the best FOR both! :-)

My question for Proclean is; are you the owner of your company or the manager of a store for a bigger company?

I have worked for small companies, I have been treated well and therefore will work a bit later or swap my day off happily.
However when I have worked for bigger companies I have been treated like crap and therefore haven't been so willing to 'go the extra mile'. I'll do it for nice customers, but not for the company.

The manager is also the owner? This is not something like marks and spencer. If the owner wants to stay open and sell bleach they should tell the member of staff to finish their shift and they will deal with the customer..

My advice next time is to say to late customers that it is the managers discretion - and keep doing that.

It was obvious from your op that you were going to be undermined by the owner. So technically you set yourself up for the situation. I wouldn't care how hot it is, make sure the doors are shut.

I remember the days of trying to close the shutters of a shop and customers doing some commando roll from the movies under them.

Pipbin, I get the time off in lieu if I work extra. I just mention how long I worked and ask nicely when can I take it. I don't sweat a few minutes but any longer than 15 minutes and I will say. I always start a few minutes early but that's my choice I like to make sure I'm on time.

Kawliga, I can command £300 an hour because it is my own damn time! Outside of my contracted hours I can charge what ever I want! - as can anyone else!

No one wants to pay me £300 an hour because my job is not worth £300 an hour. Therefore I do not work past my contracted hours.

Years ago I worked for Safeway. We shut at 20:00. About 3 were paid til 20:15, 2 til 20:30 each day. If there were no customers (unusual - store closed at 20:00 and though katecomers were turned away, people in at 19:59 couldn't do a shop in 1 minute!) then you got off early.
I know some owners will say no - but if broach that. Even in a small shop, one hour extra pay per week to be used flexibly for times like this - but you get it whatever.

Pipbin - I am the owner of a small business, I do understand a larger companies are less likely to pay the same attention to both staff welfare and customer care that we do, but I really disagree with the way the OP was allowed to be completely disrespected by someone with a chip on their shoulder with no back up whatsoever from the manager/owner here!

My contract states my hours. It says nothing about having to work extra for free.

Why can my boss keep me late yet if I went early I would be breaking my contract.

Silver don't be ridiculous. If its REALLY hot doors have to be open I worked in a tv shop and it was sweltering.

You would soon complain if a shop assistant fainted because of the heat and fell on top of your child.

One Christmas we had a BIG banner across the shop window saying that if you want Sky installed in time for Xmas to order by 10th December. (the banner had been on the window since 1st November) We still had a couple of customers come in around 22nd December and kick off cos they couldn't get Sky installed in time for Xmas.

Same shop used to do these things called mega-events. The people from the despatch place used to get paid double time if they attended these events if these events ran past 5.30 which they often did by a good couple of hours. The shop workers had to do it for FREE after 5,30pm. I never had to do one of these events as the company went bust 9 months after I started working there.

When I worked for a different electrical retailer this drunk bloke came in and wanted to buy a washing machine on New Years Day and kept changing his mind and then changing it back again PITA

Darkest I doubt it was that hot! does that mean doors of shops should stay open 24hrs a day until the last member of staff leaves ? I seriously doubt that sales staff in other shops are falling on top of children? But if you are seeing this phenomenon then that is something to be worried about.

I haven't worked in a shop for a long time.

I will also add that if the shop is shut, then why would we worry about children being crushed by fainting staff? Doors have to be closed.

My boss has the door open. I cannot not control that. It's her shop.

And yet Pivot there are strict laws about the temperatures that cattle have to be transported in!!!!!!

When I worked in a shop, it was made clear that I was expected to work until half an hour after the shop closed to customers in order to cash up, clear things away, etc.. Obviously this isn't the case here, and you are only paid up until the shop closes.

But - shops aren't run for the benefit of the staff. I've been to shops where the shop assistants can't be bothered serving you - on one memorable occasion, going in at 5.10pm to a shop that closed at 6pm and told to come back at 6pm. Because obviously no customers have jobs themselves that they have to go to and have nothing better to do than attend at shops at times more convenient to the shop assistants should they get there a few minutes before the shop is actually closed.

I also find it highly improbable that a customer smirked and laughed at you over this and delayed you for 15 minutes with your manager looking on. You do admittedly portray yourself as some kind of paragon of saintly shop assistants so clearly this customer set about deliberately antagonising you. Which seems odd, but there you go.

Regardless of whether or not the manager decided to let her in, she behaved like a rude, ignorant prat who looks like every small opportunity to feel 'big'. Probably more to be pitied than blamed, but doesn't stop her being seriously irritating.

looks FOR every opportunity.......

The problem is the shop wants to maximise the opening hours and minimise the wages. The customers are not at fault. Wages should be paid up to half an hour or one hour after the stated closing time, to allow time for cashing up etc. That would count as official working time and there would be no need for staff to hate the last-minute shoppers.