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

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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?

I'm sorry, that wasn't pleasant of me and I apologise.

Oh thats very good of you to say coco

I can't be arsed to read the whole thread, but when I worked in a supermarket if closing time was 9:00, staffed were paid until 9:15, or 9:30 to allow for stragglers (or people who may have been queuing at 9:50ish) to pay for their order. I don't think the OP expects staff to stay behind unpaid, it does sound like a silly rule , if tills stop at 6:00, doors should shut at 5:50. If you were in a restaurant which shut at a certain time would you just obediently walk out if you had not finished your meal?

Why blame the people who give you a job and pay your wages

Ahh, here we go. And it only took 26 pages 😂😂😂

littleshirt

And opening hours means open until...so really it should be (as other posters have said) doors shut at 6pm ...anyone not at the till doesnt get served

LA?

Laura Ashley

duh me lol

user

Took me ages to work it out

Ever worked in retail? I have.. we were allowed 15 minutes from closing time to quickly tidy up, clock out, collect our bags and go. If a customer strolled in and expected service at a time it was clear the shop was shut, we had to wait, and wait, and wait, as they clearly thought they were SO important, and then eventually get out to our homes and families and LIVES late and unpaid for the extra time. Grow up, take yourself less seriously and get a life, sweetie. Yes YABU

Our doors shut

We stop getting paid

Grow up, take yourself less seriously and get a life, sweetie

Again the hatred of customers amongst many who work in retail comes out... its like an irrepressible torrent of bile! The OP was at the till in mid transaction, not swanning around 15 minutes after closing time!... but it seems the facts don't matter, any excuse to bash a customer....

I'd guess that the sales assistant really really wanted to complete the sale, as they were then left with the task of carrying the great monstrosity back to the display.

Did you see what she was attempting to buy in the last couple of minutes, Coconuttella? That was no small purchase.

Our doors shut. We stop getting paid

I underatand your frustration at that, but to fail to spend a few seconds completing the transaction as in the OPs can seems very petty.... Retailers should recognise that a super-strict and inflexible 6pm (or whatever closing time is) isn't conducive to good customer service and should pay staff accordingly. As the poster above stated, can you imagine being chucked out of a restaurant if you hadn't finished your meal? Or a policeman abandoning an arrest whilst a minute away from taking a suspect to the police station because his shift had ended, or an AA/RAC mechanic leaving the bonnet open after finishing a job and dashing off because the clock struck. No, of course not!

No customers. No business. No job. No money. coco agree with you.

That was no small purchase

Small or large, I don't see the relevance!.

Small or large, I don't see the relevance!

Why doesn't that surprise me.

"Grow up, take yourself less seriously and get a life, sweetie"

Again the hatred of customers amongst many who work in retail comes out... its like an irrepressible torrent of bile!

I think you exaggerate, Coconut. Irrepressible torrent of bile

I get paid for every minute i'm on the shop floor, plus we have staff that are there an hour after the store has closed so we can continue to recover the store, usually the till staff leave at closing time but if there is a large queue department staff go onto the tills too. I do feel sorry for OP if the store was still open by the time she got to the till and wasn't warned that the tills automatically close at 6 even during transaction then she is not being unreasonable at all.

I work in retail (large budget clothing store - any guesses?) and it seems like we have better policies than some - both for customer and staff. Our tills are shut down manually so customers can finish transactions. During summer we often have customers come at 6pm with several hundred pounds worth of items (40 or 50 things). We do make announcements on the tannoy at 5:55 and 6pm, and earlier if the store is busy, and have someone on the door.

We have a clocking in system, so we get paid for the hours we work, which is important, as it is a minimum wage job. If we worked the time unpaid it would be illegal, but I expect that some employers do expect their workers to work for below minimum wage due to unpaid overtime.

Mostly our late customers are teenage foreign language students who come from European countries, where there is a culture of shops opening much later. They often seem quite baffled that we are closing so early! It does seem illogical that shops shut at 6pm when we have a 9-5 (much later in practice) work culture. The best thing for retail workers my store does is have separate week day and weekend staff, meaning that non of their core staff have to work weekends or bank holidays (sorry for the derail)

the sooner these chain stores shut down with their sour-faced clock-watching pedants the better

What a vile comment. I give excellent service to my customers and will serve you 10 minutes after closing with a smile on my face and wish you a pleasant evening the same as if you came in at midday. I suggest you sort out your condescending attitude because you sound truly awful.

Also, if my employers put me in the position of being unable to serve a customer because they saw fit to shut the tills down the second we closed I would be letting them know exactly what I thought of that system. How ridiculous is that? Sometimes there's a queue because a customer had something more complex to deal with or because somebody had 6 returns and 10 purchases, shutting off my till would be beyond frustrating. Let me serve my customers and decide to do so as a grown adult capable of making that decision.

You're all working for shit companies if they do that to last minute customers and don't pay you every minute you're on the shop floor. No wonder you hate some customers so much as they are treating you and customers badly.

I always get paid for 30 mins after