To think closing times shouldn’t be treated as an estimate? Disagreement with friend AIBU

[friendship1234]

i have been friends with this woman for about two months, met her at work as I recently started a new job.

so, we went out shopping today, to pick up stuff for the kids and just have a browse really. We had a really good time and it was about five to six and we were almost ready to head home. Friend says to me “oh let’s just go into xyz shop” (think discount store like b&m or something.)
I say okay, we go towards the door and I see on the sign they close at 6. I say to her “oh they’re closing in five minutes, do you want to come back another day?”

she goes “oh it’s okay, I only need a few bits” so I’m like okay and we go in. There’s a worker standing at the door telling people that they close soon.

Friend takes a trolley, that should have been my first clue. Im like, maybe she just wants a couple of larger items.
basically, she goes round the shop browsing each aisle as slow as humanly possible it seems like, grabbing stuff off the shelves, comparing prices, asking me whether or not she should buy xyz, etc etc.

well at 6 a staff member goes on the tannoy and does the close announcement, friend is still browsing without a care in the world. I say to her “oh they’re closing now, let’s go to the till” and she goes “well I haven’t finished shopping” in an almost confused voice.

I say to her “I know but the tills are closing and the staff probably want to go home”

her response? “I’m sure they have staff that stay later”

I’ve only known this woman 2 months and I’ve never really see this side of her before so I was a bit shocked really. Anyway, I’m kind of trying to walk faster in the hope that she’ll hurry up and go to the tills. 6.04 a staff member comes down the aisles and is like, we’re closed now so could you please make your way to the tills” my friend goes “oh, excuse me” and then starts asking him if they have any more of something out the back!!! I gave this guy an apologetic look and was like “they’re closed, you can come back another day and ask” and my “friend” goes “I came in the door before 6pm. I came in before closing time, so I’m entitled to be here” and gives me a dirty look I think for not backing her up.

im shellshocked at this point really and I didn’t say anything as I had no idea this is how she behaved and I was really in shock.

The (lovely) store employee basically tells her politely that the tills will be closing imminently so if she wants to buy her shopping, she needs to go and pay now.

Well she huffs, goes (slowly) towards the tills, and I’m just standing there waiting for her to pay so we can leave. I would have waited outside but they’d closed the doors at that point so we needed to wait to be let out!
At the till, friend:
-argues about prices (“the label on the shelf said xyz”
-decides she doesn’t want a few things after all and leaves them at the till
-decides she HAS to buy a bottle of gin which is in a locked cabinet by the tills (I don’t know how the staff were keeping a straight face by this point, I was staring at the floor in second hand embarrassment)

then she takes AGES to get her money out of her wallet, faffs around with small change when she could have just given a 20 and be done with it, decides she wants carrier bags which have to be put through seperately, and FINALLY leaves. At 21 minutes past closing time, all in all. I actually apologised to the staff on the way out.

so once we got out of the shop we got into an argument over this, I said to her I can’t believe you acted that way and she shrugs and says well if you go in the shop before closing time it’s fine, it’s just an estimate not an exact science. She said she was annoyed at me for apologising for her, which she said made her “feel like the bad guy” I was like yeah because you were acting entitled.

basically, wibu to distance myself from her from now on? She has form for being a bit self absorbed but this seemed like a new level of entitlement! I just feel bad for the poor shop staff really. “Friend” says that she used to work in retail and that it really wasn’t an issue and that I was being dramatic and holier than thou. Aibu??

I assume that on Sunday the tills get shut at 4/5/6pm precisely in bigger shops, full stop no ifs no buts otherwise it's a criminal offence.

How do those conversations go with CF customers? and do the staff find them liberating?

Exactly. Why do people think that they get to stay an extra 5/10/15 mins?! The shop closes at the time specified. The entitlement (and justification on this thread by a few) is ridiculous.

You know that everyone working in that store is going to be referring to your friend as a Karen, right?

Yes, it seems rather rushed, particularly as the OP’s reaction to this incident suggests she doesn’t in fact know this person she’s calling a ‘friend’ at all.

Only if they use misogynistic terms.

If it’s a man next time, they’ll be called Kevin.

YANBU

I’ve gone into shop five minutes before closing but I was in and out not faffing around, taking my sweet time. I’ve worked retail and we have allowed extra time if the queue is long, we’re helping someone or the sales numbers today are borderline for what is expected.

Oh come on stop with the "Karen" thing.. grow up already

YANBU dont give her any more of your time. She's shown you what she is and you will be on the receiving end of it shortly. Lose her. Dont apologise and dont explain.

No they won’t. Have you ever heard anyone use that term? No, this whole ‘Karen’ thing is aimed at women, never men.

This is a difficult one Imo. Shops are providing a customer service and it is staff’s role to serve and look after customers. If that requires staying a little late, so be it.

So people should work for free, miss their bus, nursery pick up etc because you can’t get into a shop during opening hours.

I would have been mortified too OP, how bloody rude! Don't go anywhere with this woman again.

Honestly what she did was a form of bullying to the staff. Not so much the trying to shop past 6 but being slow to pay, asking for things from the locked cabinet. Asking for bags that had to be paid for after the transaction. She was deliberately antagonising people who she had a form of power over. It shows a very nasty side to her as a person. I don't judge people easily but I do judge people on how they treat those they perceive as below them. She's a bully. I'd honestly point that out to her and then drop her.

Think we can work out a few entitled arseholes on here.
The shop shuts at 6, you leave by 6. Shop shuts at 5, you leave by 5 and so on.
Retail workers are not paid enough to put up with entitled twats and do unpaid work. If you can't organise yourselves to shop within opening hours you need to grow the fuck up and start acting like adults. Most shops are open 6/7 days a week often longer hours than a typical office day.
JFC!

Do you want to work for free? Shops provide a service during their opening times. It's absolutely entitled to expect them to work for free.

Are you for real!! I honestly can't believe people think that just because your a shop worker you deserve to wait hand and foot on anybody and everybody, regardless of the time and the inconvenience caused to the employees.

@PriamFarrl

Ideally management would arrange alternative transport if a member of staff has to work late but I’m sure there will be options available for the vast majority.

Of course if someone has to work very late, overtime or TOIL should be looked at, but the way I see it, staying the odd few minutes to assist a customer is part of the role and will come under normal pay.

Shops are providing a customer service and it is staff’s role to serve and look after customers. If that requires staying a little late, so be it

I take it you don’t work in a shop 🙄 Shops are retail businesses with paid staff on contracts, not slaves in thrall to twats like the OP’s friend. This woman purposely made no effort to hurry up and, in fact, purposely delayed when she eventually got to the till. When I worked in retail, we had someone do this in a major store and every single member of staff had to stay there waiting for this retired, uppity woman to finish. I missed my bus home as did many others.

Most retail staff already stay later than they are paid for once the shop has closed to customers, they don't need more time adding on to that. Sure that's in itself is the companies issue as they should pay staff for emptying the tills to take the cash to the safe etc; but customers lingering is a customer and an entitlement issue. If a shop shuts at x time then it should mean doors locked, no one left inside really. I used to hate this working in retail, we reached the point we'd shut the tills at closing time (plenty of warning for shoppers) and then people would be escorted out and not have their shopping.

No. It's their role to provide customer service when they are paid to do it. After 6pm, those staff wouldn't have been paid to provide any service. I don't want to work for free, I assume you don't either. Why would they?
OPs friend is an entitled arsehole. I would definitely distance myself from her.

This

What does she do for work? She sounds awful and I couldn't be friends with her
I work in retail and the way we are treated is worse than animals sometimes ! 🙄🙄

Think OPs new friend has arrived on the thread and still doesn't get the message.

I would have left them to it and waited outside.

I used to work in a shop and it was surprising how many people blatantly ignored all the announcements that the shop was closing/closed. Half of them weren't even buying anything!

I left tesco the other day about 10 min before closing time, a woman with a young boy was loitering outside the in-store barbers peering in, obviously hoping someone was still there. It was clear they had closed, presumably to stop customers turning up at 1 min before closing and requesting a haircut!