Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
elfinpre · 23/07/2017 07:37

Good post, Lunar.

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 23/07/2017 07:43

But then I'd be an arse with this kind of thing and refuse to go back and give them any of my money on principle.

Be an "arse" all you want. What you're really doing is the employees a favour Grin

Lulu1083 · 23/07/2017 07:47

Peng - seeing as you wrote this:

The till assistant may have had jobs to do in that time, and I would argue it is perfectly obvious if you walk into a store in the last five minutes before closing, it might be too late to browse and then buy. I would always ask, "Excuse me, are you still serving?"

I assumed you hadn't understood it. The assistant was serving her. Why on earth would you need to ask if you can pay when they've gone to check the price for you? Something should have been said then.

KoalaDownUnder · 23/07/2017 07:48

What you're really doing is the employees a favour

Until they don't have jobs anymore, as everyone floods to online shopping.

I'd suggest that if you're working in retail even though you clearly hate it, you don't have a huge number of better options. Probably not advisable to bite the hand that feeds you.

Pengggwn · 23/07/2017 07:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

user1498911589 · 23/07/2017 07:54

I'm glad you aren't a customer where I work, you sound terrible.

KoalaDownUnder · 23/07/2017 07:57

That is a truly horrible attitude.

It's not an 'attitude', it is economic reality. I'm sorry you don't like it, but it has nothing to do with 'doffing caps' or whatever other silliness.

LittleBooInABox · 23/07/2017 07:58

YABU - I hate people that are still in the shop (where I used to work) at closing time. They were selfish entitled morons.

AwaywiththePixies27 · 23/07/2017 08:00

If the tills shut automatically at 6 on the dot then they should stop letting people in at say 5.50 and make it clear to anyone inside that they need to pay quickly.

They're not allowed to. If your trading hours say until 6pm. Then you trade until 6pm. If you don't want to be pratting about sorting stuff out at 6:30pm then change your trading hours to 5:30pm.

I know this because my train was late home one day when DD was a baby. We had to get her a special formula as she had reflux. The security guard of a certain chemist refused to let me in to buy her more at 5:30pm 'because they were busy closing up' (they didn't close until 6pm).

Granted a picture isn't as important as something like formula but the principle remains the same.

AwaywiththePixies27 · 23/07/2017 08:02

Be an "arse" all you want. What you're really doing is the employees a favour

You sound lovely. Hmm

I'm happy to be an arse thanks. Not sure how a shopworkers attitude resulting in them losing a big sale is 'me doing them a favour' yet here we are.

Yes some customers attitudes shitty. But so are some shopworkers.

SandyDenny · 23/07/2017 08:03

How does the op sound terrible, she sounds like a normal customer to me.

I don't believe that all of the posters getting wound up about this would happily shrug their shoulders and return the next day.

Of course the assistant should have warned about the tills closing but maybe she didn't realise the exact time.

YANBU op, some of the comments here are way OTT

Do you all work out exactly how long a particular shop is going to take before you get your trolley or only go into shops if you've got a cushion of time in case of delays, do you never get held up or need something at the last minute, either you're all perfect or talking nonsense.

Lots of shoppers do take the piss everyday but this instance is hardly one of them.

mummy2oneandtwo · 23/07/2017 08:07

Wow the responses on here!!! YANBU!

I used to work in retail when at Uni and at closing we would ask people to make their way to the till to pay.
Frustrating, yes....the worst kid of customer...no!

A store is open until its closing time and then should be able to process those last sales. I find it strange the system shuts the tills down bang on 6pm, I imagine they loose a lot of sales this way!

AwaywiththePixies27 · 23/07/2017 08:09

That is a truly horrible attitude

Not really. If you have a shitty attitude towards your customers. They're unlikely to come back. It's not called bending over backwards. It's called doing your job.

Before anyone says anything. Yes I've worked in retail.
I've saw some truly awful behaviour from some customers, only recently I remember standing there with my jaw on the floor at the way someone spoke to a shop worker, and yes I did say something. But don't act like all shop workers are pleasantry personified. Because they aren't.

Pengggwn · 23/07/2017 08:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DuchessofManchester · 23/07/2017 08:10

Yabu. I hate it when customers do this to me...even worse when they phone the shop at five mins to closing asking us to stay open for them as they're running late. I take great delight in telling them no.

Pengggwn · 23/07/2017 08:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LittleCandle · 23/07/2017 08:11

I work in retail and I think YABU. The staff are not responsible for the company's decision to close the tills down at 6pm or whenever. They just have to take the flack from the entitled twits who come in expecting to buy as they are closing. Our store does not have a PA system, so I make a point of telling customers that we are closing in a few minutes. Its amazing how many of them, at 5 minutes to closing, say they 'just want to try on' about 6 items. I had one woman throw a tantrum because it was 2 minutes to 8 and she had a handful of clothes she wanted to try. Couldn't I just stay an extra 20 minutes for her? When the answer was no, said politely by the manager, she threw the clothes on the floor, stomped on them for good measure and left. She was a mature woman, not a silly young thing! Charming.

We had someone on Friday night, at 9.05, knocking on the door demanding a refund. We close at 9. It says so on the door, it says so on the website. No, we are not opening the door for you to come in for a refund. She was not happy, giving us the finger and swearing and shouting. She promised she wouldn't be back, but if I had a pound for every time I heard that one, I wouldn't still be working in retail!

i do think everyone should have to work in retail for a period of several months so they understand how rude and entitled a lot of customers are. You can put up with the dickery during the day, but at closing time, the entitled idiot who thinks their purchase is much more important that our time really grinds our gears. Stop being so fucking selfish, OP, and do your shopping at a decent time.

Rant over, I am now off to face 8 hours of lovely customers - and no doubt that one who wants to buy half the shop five minutes before closing...

Pengggwn · 23/07/2017 08:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lemonssour · 23/07/2017 08:12

If a shop closes at 6 then it's closed! I can't stand customers who think they can brows for ages then when the shops announce they are closed, try to make a purchase Angry ffs have some consideration for the staff!

Itsaninlawsone · 23/07/2017 08:14

I think it's fairly rare in retail for staff to be paid beyond opening hours. In the 8 years I worked in retail I didn't come across it.

I've also never known the tills to shut down on a timer. We tended to have customers right up until the last moment and after and this could have caused all kinds of issues- not knowing whether card payments had gone through etc.

I was the store manager for most of my time in retail and if I thought a customer was doing too much faffing about/ taking the piss at or after closing time I would make an excuse and close the store so my staff could leave.

On other occasions if there was an urgent need (we worked in pharmacy so last minute prescriptions for antibiotics for example) I would always stay back (at times for 30 mins or more if complicated) and serve the customer.

I think on balance the OP may have been told a white lie about the tills as on a Saturday night, the staff wanted to get off promptly. But I don't think she was unreasonable in this instance if it was on the dot of closing and she simply wanted to pay and leave.

maddening · 23/07/2017 08:15

Online shopping is so much better than high street these days!

Runninglife · 23/07/2017 08:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TractorTedTed · 23/07/2017 08:17

What I think is strange here is that the assistant started serving, by going off to check the price. Surely, before she did that it would have been sensible to warn op that she could quickly check the price, but that the shop was closing and so she wouldn't be able to buy it. Going off to check the price AND THEN say 'but sorry I can't serve you now ' seems a bit strange.

CockacidalManiac · 23/07/2017 08:18

It's different in our shop. An announcement that 'the store is now closing, please make your way to the tills' is made at closing time; the customers usually get ten or so minutes to do so.
The irritation is on Sunday, when management seem to be happy to have customers wandering round the shop half an hour after we are supposed to close.

MaisyPops · 23/07/2017 08:18

Most shops I've been in put an announcement out saying 'this store is closing in 10 minutes. Please make your way to the cash desk'.Then when the tills go off its fair play.

Or, some shops say 'the store is now closed. Would remaining customers please got to the tills' and then they put a member of staff on the door to let people out/stop coming in.

If they've not said anything and then just said 'our tills are closed' then I'd be annoyed - especially when they've been accommodating enough to help with price checking etc. If the shop was 1 minute away from closing I'd rather they said 'we won't have time to put this through, we can hold for 24 hours for you though' .

Swipe left for the next trending thread