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AIBU?

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Original poster

To expect to be able to make a purchase at closing time.

760 replies

NK493efc93X1277dd3d6d4 · 23/07/2017 01:27

I was in Laura Ashley today just before closing looking to buy a picture, The assistant showed me the display item which was still marked up at full price and then went over to the tills to check the sale price for me.

Yes I'd like to buy it I replied - only to be told that sorry you can't do that today as the tills are closed now. I checked my phone, bang on 6pm, closing time. I queried this as I have never come across this before. I have been in plenty of shops that advise customers to go to the tills at closing time, but none who refuse to make a sale on the dot of closing.

I said as much to the assistant who looked apologetic and consulted senior assistant. The tills close themselves down at 6pm she advised me. if you want to buy it you'll have to come back in the morning. Don't worry the sale is on until Monday.

Is it unreasonable to expect to complete a purchase when I am already in the shop at closing time?

OP posts:
Rufustherenegadereindeer1 · 23/07/2017 19:51

who

ortensia doesnt work in a shop

ortensia · 23/07/2017 19:53

Perhaps you need a change of career or at least an attitude adjustment 😄

Change of career? I mentioned having no connection to retail just up thread Wink I'm self employed (ex teacher).

Rufustherenegadereindeer1 · 23/07/2017 19:57

I dont get why if someone says that they find one aspect of their job annoying that they should get another job

I am in awe of all those people on the thread that love every single aspect of their jobs and never complain

(To be honest i think anyone who says this is a liar...everyone has a bad day)

Swynwraig · 23/07/2017 20:02

Yabu, OP - you don't state what you'd said to the shop assistant first of all. If you'd said 'can I check the price on this picture' and she'd gone to check on the till, you hadn't made it clear that you actually wanted to buy it. If it hadn't been at the sale price, you might not have wanted to buy it. If you then said you wanted to buy it - too late, it was closing time, so not her fault. She's not a mind reader...

notomatoes · 23/07/2017 20:08

I say this as someone who has worked in retail the majority of her adult life...

It is rude for the shop assistant to engage to that level with the OP and not at least warn her that the tills turn off at 6 precisely. The OP has done nothing wrong and was merely following the lead of the assistant. Some people in retail may really hate their jobs and their customers, personally I would and have stayed a couple of extra minutes to finish off serving people who I started to serve before my official finish time.

And to call the OP dim when she was following the lead of the assistant is a bit Hmm.

ReginaGeorgeinSheepsClothing · 23/07/2017 20:10

@faithinthesound I've heard that old Andy Bernard like some in this thread is a bit of a treble-maker.... (not quite right but you get me) Wink

Rufustherenegadereindeer1 · 23/07/2017 20:18

notomatoes

The vast amount of retail workers would have finished the transaction. I dont remember anyone saying that they wouldnt

Just a smidge difficult when the till has closed down

melj1213 · 23/07/2017 20:18

If the assistant had pointed out it was nearly closing time at the beginning then it would have been reasonable to close on the dot

It is never unreasonable for a shop to close at the advertised time. Just like it is never unreasonable for a train to leave on time or a film to start on time.

The fact that a customer cannot tell the time is not the fault of the store nor is it their responsibility. Perhaps the assistant could have spelt out the situation at the outset but they have no obligation to do so, especially if they thought this customer was just browsing and/or originally thought they would be done before 6pm.

MaisyPops · 23/07/2017 20:23

The OP would have been done by 6pm, if the shop had correctly priced the item in the first place and didn't require a price check running.

As far as I can see:

  1. Shops should give warning of how long the tills will be open (many manage this perfectly well)
  2. If price check and sale was pushing it close then the assistant in this situation just needed to tell the OP
  3. If a customer is a minute or so late because of an error/issue caused by the shop then the shop really should do some kind of manager override and make the sale.

Obviously, piss takers are the worst, but people acting like nobody should go in to a shop just before closing time are being silly.

whosafraidofabigduckfart · 23/07/2017 20:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

reuset · 23/07/2017 20:28

If the assistant had pointed out it was nearly closing time at the beginning then it would have been reasonable to close on the dot
The OP said herself it was nearly closing time on her way into the shop, so it didn't need pointing out. Not all shops will let you pay when they're closed so she took her chances I'm afraid.

Rufustherenegadereindeer1 · 23/07/2017 20:28

Agree with melj

whosafraidofabigduckfart · 23/07/2017 20:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mirime · 23/07/2017 20:31

Most other shops cajole customers to pay at closing time. Presumably they pay their staff to conduct transactions at this time.

ROFL. On occasion it took me half an hour to get off the shop floor after closing. Time I wasn't paid for and that I was never able to claim back as TOIL.

whosafraidofabigduckfart · 23/07/2017 20:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

reuset · 23/07/2017 20:40

I had no idea Laura Ashley sold pictures. Which print was it, OP? I think you had a lucky escape there, they're all a bit on the bland side though like the rest of LA to be fair.

Sallystyle · 23/07/2017 20:55

How condescending. I work in retail and I don't have a chip on my shoulder but that doesn't mean I have to just accept that I will be forced to stay late, unpaid, at the whim of a customer who can't tell the time and not get annoyed when they feel entitled to ignore the clearly posted opening hours.

Yeah I get that. Except the OP's situation is not quite the same as she was with a SA at the time and the only reason she was late to the tills is because of a pricing error.

onesimplemistake · 23/07/2017 21:01

Haven't read the whole 19 pages of comments on this - only the first couple of pages and I am surprised the OP is getting a bashing on those.

It is pretty reasonable to expect if an assistant is in the middle of talking to you personally about the price of a straightforward item like this then they will be able to sell it to you then. Basic customer service skills lacking here. All it takes is a bit of communication.

I do think it would be different if the OP had just been browsing, not talking to the assistant at all, and had then walked over with the item after the till closed. Or if there had been some obvious warning in the store like an announcement or something.

Sallystyle · 23/07/2017 21:08

n the last week I have had to stay an extra 3 hours over my contracted hours which is a fairly average amount of unpaid overtime for me to do in a week. If that happens every week for a year that's 156 hours extra I work for no pay.

It's shit. Blame the people who employ you who aren't paying you for 3 hours overtime. My new current company are great and I would claim overtime in your situation. I don't claim it for 10 minutes here and there as it often works both ways, but I certainly would if I had stayed three hours in one week. In my old job I wouldn't get paid for it and it is shit.

People's anger towards the OP is misplaced. She isn't the horrible customer and she isn't to blame for your shitty company not paying you.

The fault here is with the SA who didn't warn OP in advance that she couldn't put her order through. If a SA was in the middle of serving me and the tannoy or the SA hasn't told me in advance that I need to make my way to the till now I would assume all is fine.

It's not OPs fault you have shitty bosses and it's not her fault other customers can be arseholes.

melj1213 · 23/07/2017 21:09

Meij, if the sales assistant had mentioned it - it would have been good service, not to do so is bad customer service.

Just because it isn't great service doesn't make it bad service.

I work in a supermarket in customer services. I could spend my entire day explaining the ins and outs of how the system works to every customer before they ask, or I could do my job and bring up relevant information when asked/required. Sometimes I forget that customers don't know the ins and outs of our system like I do and find myself having to explain something that, to me (someone who knows the system inside out and backwards) seems obvious but to a customer is brand new information. Perhaps this assistant was just a victim of a similar situation, we'll never know.

Perhaps this shop assistant just didn't think to explain that the tills shut off at 18:00 on the dot? Perhaps they thought they had a couple of extra minutes and it wasn't going to be an issue? Perhaps they had never had this before and assumed they would be able to unlock the till after 18:00? Perhaps they were new and didn't know it was a system wide thing? Perhaps they didn't usually work the late shift so had never had the issue before?

The OP even admits the assistant went to someone higher up to see if there was anything they could do, which to me is the best customer service the assistant could offer under the circumstances.

The trains announce they are departing and many national ones close the entry gates before leaving - neither courtesy was offered to the OP.

Yes, a courtesy - it is not the train companies or the stations' obligation to announce train departures, they do so as a courtesy to travellers. As for doors closing, I've already explained up thread that shops often can't spare a body to stand at the door before closing time, but that doesn't mean customers can wander in and stay for 45 minutes browsing because "nobody stopped me coming in at 17:58 even thought they close at 18:00".

Perhaps a flight leaving on time would be a better analogy than a train - many airports do not announce departures or gate information for flights, it is the responsibility of the passenger to get to their gate on time for their plane. If they miss it, it's their fault as they have the flight time & gate information well in advance.

reuset · 23/07/2017 21:14

The delay was due to the OP wanting the price reduction she had seen online wasn't it, and it having to be checked? It was still marked full price in the shop. If this is true then it's probably not the sort of thing to be attempting just as you know the shop is about to close.

Guepe · 23/07/2017 21:19

If the OP asked the sales assistant to check the price at 5:59, then there really isn't much more than sales assistant could have practically done.

melj1213 · 23/07/2017 21:21

It's shit. Blame the people who employ you who aren't paying you for 3 hours overtime. My new current company are great and I would claim overtime in your situation. I don't claim it for 10 minutes here and there as it often works both ways, but I certainly would if I had stayed three hours in one week. In my old job I wouldn't get paid for it and it is shit.

The problem is the time adds up but as far as the company is concerned it's just the "odd few minutes here and there" that is balanced out by the "odd few minutes" in your favour when you're late clocking in/take slightly longer than your official break etc. Getting them to acknowledge that the "odd few minutes" we lose is much higher than the time we gain and it actually equates to a significant number of hours over the course of a month/year is an entirely different story.

notomatoes · 23/07/2017 21:28

or I could do my job and bring up relevant information when asked/required.

Relevant information like "I can look up the price but you won't be able to purchase this as the tills close at 6?" you mean?

The excuses you give could all be valid, but they are just that - excuses for poor service.

If, as you suggest the assistant gave "the best customer service the assistant could offer under the circumstances" why the need for the long list of excuses?

Rufus I know most would do it but there are a lot people complaining about this, I meant to add the word "happily".

I am confused how the odd 10-15 minutes here and there adds up to 2/3 hours a week. Working 12 days a week maybe? Anyway, that is definitely your employer's fault and not the OP's.

Rufustherenegadereindeer1 · 23/07/2017 21:32

notomatoes

To be fair i think a lot of people would do an extra few minutes (2/3) happily

Its the 10's of minutes that seem to be the problem Smile

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