Retail Musings: Late Arrivals
Those of us who work in retail will all share a loathing of certain situations. None of us are especially enthused to see customers the moment our doors open, but the ones that grind our gears (well, they certainly grind this meerkat’s gears) are the ones who show up shortly before closing time. In some cases it can’t be helped, and I genuinely understand that. There are occasions where you have to nip out due to an emergency, or some other unexpected circumstance. These cases usually apply to places like a pharmacy, or a supermarket. They may also apply to office supplies, car parts, and various other forms of retail. These situations are often as frustrating for the customer as they are the retail worker.
There are other occasions where the late arrival to the store is late purely because they are disorganised. They stroll in with five minutes left, amble around, show zero awareness that staff are getting to leave, and act surprised when told it’s closing time. Sometimes you can tell them that we’re due to shut in 15 minutes, and instead of taking that as an incentive to get what they need (or cut short their browsing time), they languidly drift through the store, blissfully unaware that every single member of staff is shooting daggers at them behind their backs.
This problem is even worse when it’s a showroom rather than a retail store. In a showroom, there’s nothing to buy there and then. In my current line of work, designing a bathroom is a process that takes a few days, or even a few weeks. Sometimes customers tweak their choices over a span of months. It’s not normally the sort of environment where people come in and make quick decisions. It is therefore immensely annoying when people wander in shortly before closing time, since the showroom is very much a destination store, and that means the late arrivals have made a conscious decision to be late. The opening hours of any given store are easy to find out, so their decision to arrive late is an informed one.
People, this is disrespectful. Those of us working in shops and showrooms are often not paid to stay late to deal with disorganised customers. I am on a salary, so any time spent dealing with customers after closing time is both unpaid, and also my time. I have a life outside of the showroom. I have a family to get home to. It’s incredibly aggravating to be stuck at work, ushering people who are absent-minded into leaving. If you plan to go shopping for sofas, bathrooms, kitchens, cars, or any other form of big-ticket item, look up the opening hours of the shop! In this day and age all of the information you need is available via a quick search on your phone! If you are not sure, there’s usually a contact number on the company website, so you can call and check. Think about the process of ordering something like a sofa or kitchen too. It’s not a five-minute job. Plan your time better, and it will go easier for everyone.
