Menu
By:
Filters
What's new

Closing Time

Closing Time?

  • Whatever is posted, not a minute earlier or later.

    Votes: 7 53.8%

  • 30 minutes before they actually close.

    Votes: 3 23.1%

  • If you got the cash, we're always open!

    Votes: 3 23.1%
  • Total voters
    13
R

REDACTED

New member
This is an argument my husband and I used to get into all the time... when is it inappropriate to continue patronizing a business (restaurants mostly, but also grocery stores, retailers, etc.)?

If the hours are clearly stated as 9am to 11pm (or whatever), does that not mean the establishment is open during that period?

Or, is it inconsiderate to go in a few minutes before closing... or let's say even 30 minutes prior to close to shop, order, and spend your bucks?

As the employees of an establishment, where you see them prepping for close sometimes an hour early so they can get out 'on time', do you find it irritating or rude of people to come in close to punch out? If you do, then what is the window of courtesy time allowable to not piss you off?

My personal feeling is that it should be okay to still stop within the hours advertised for OPEN BUSINESS. Employers should account for that, and build in extra time for their staff to know they may be there a bit after those advertised hours. Even shutting down the kitchen to where only a partial menu is available is tolerable, but I still disagree with.

What do you think?
 
This is a tough one. I am riding a unicycle up and down this fence. I can see how a business will be pretty strict about work hours because that is the allotted time they give employees (granted, the store hours aren't the employees hours) Because if you work in fast food or worked at a movie theater (ME) you always worked about an hour or 2 after hours.

Now, this is me swaying to the other side. If your company is a business that sells goods and doesn't sell food or such with a high amount of upkeep then i can understand keeping the door open for a reasonable amount of time for the customer to look around and possibly make a purchase.

EDIT: I also came here expecting to see a video for the song.
 
Definitely a good song. And I mostly get frustrated by food establishments. If you go in to Target at one-minute before they close, well don't plan to shop... just get in, get your item, and get out.

Then if you go in to a restaurant you have to worry about being rushed out. I don't know... it's just a gray area that bugs me on occasion. Wondered what other people thought.
 
Well, mixed views. Retailers I can see staying open if you make it quick. Restaurants have a long process that they need to go through in order to close and stay within health regulations. I would never have a problem letting someone come in for a quick item or two near closing time when I worked at the store, usually mothers that need to grab milk/bread/cereal/eggs for the next morning, but I wouldn't let people order food at a restaurant near closing time. It's all about the time. needed. Not worth it, and the customer should know better than arrive at closing time.
 
But then why have a closing time posted at all if that is the case? I think if they want to be out by 11pm they should make closing time 10pm.
 
Here's the thing. In a restaurant, they won't be out at 11. They'll finish at midnight at best.

I work in retail, and our products take about 30mins to sell. So if you come in 15 mins before closing time, we make you an appointment to come in another time. Because we stop getting paid once our time is up. And I have no interest working for free.

To add an extra point: who goes out to eat at 10:30 at night? That's kind of harsh on the staff. If a restaurant closes at 11, their last booking slot was probably 9:30, and coming in at 10:30 is pretty harsh, because those poor bastards have been working since about 5pm.
 
The whole reason I was thinking of this today, was last night I went to Publix (grocery store) to grab a sub for dinner. The store closes at 10pm and the Deli closes at 9pm. So I got there some time after 8:30pm and when I went up to the counter the three people working there were shooting the shit and all of the prep foods were cleared from the counter. I asked is it too late to get a sub? One of the people said 'no', and the other said 'well we are closing in a few minutes. A few minutes?! Since when is 30 or even 20 a few? (Unless I'm doing my hair and makeup... that is not a few! :p)

So I got my sub, but I also got some sighs and unappreciative looks. It just pissed me off, probably because I'm under the weather, but I didn't think I was rude at all. Anyway... hence my beef. I want to be considerate, but I do think businesses need to decide what the rules are, and have their employees abide by them -- graciously. Is that too much to expect?[DOUBLEPOST=1362778127,1362777966][/DOUBLEPOST]Psi, if I work in the corporate world and put in long hours... just like wait staff... and a client calls me 1 minute before my shift ends... I do not hang up or say call back or act fussy. I service the customer. Now I know that is apples to oranges... and actually a lot of people in America are late night eaters... probably what contributes to our obesity rates, but that's another rant :).

I just think better planning would help these businesses... even a sign that says, "We close at eleven but last seating is at 10:30pm" or something.
 
Corporate policy figures into this too. Large companies or franchises are going to be more strict about closing times, managing employee schedules, ect.

For restaurants, there comes a point where they turn off the ovens and it becomes difficult to serve more customers. A small, family owned place is more likely to have the flexibility and willingness to accommodate your party of 15 that comes in 5 minutes til close, because the people serving you and cooking the food are the owners. As a patron, I think coming in no closer than 45 minutes to close is the polite thing to do.

For retail, my feeling is if I have cash in hand and I'm asking to buy a specific item, they should help me if I walk in 1 minute to close, even if it takes 30 minutes to make the sale. If I'm "just looking" or not ready to buy right then, it's justified that they'd want to get me out the door so they can vacuum.
 
My sales involve contracts and exhaustive paperwork.

And if something doesn't work, I won't be able to fix it until the following day. And if that happens to be a weekend day, then your phone doesn't start working till monday. And guess what? It's MY fault, despite the fact you have come into the store when all of our support systems are unavailable. I don't rush my service with customers, and I'd much rather serve them at such a time as I can ensure everything is working, and they're leaving satisfied (I work for a telecommunications company selling mobile phones and home internet, etc). Add to the fact it then put out the time needed to close the store, as there are entire processes that cannot be started, let alone finished, until all contracts are signed and completed and put through the system. Which means everything suddenly takes a lot longer. And that's stuff people aren't getting paid for.

I make a little more than minimum wage. I do not get paid to stay back and serve a customer. Once I'm in my chosen profession (teaching), I will work MUCH longer hours and go above and beyond. You know why? Because I get paid.

Which is what it comes down to. You want to use your hard-earned cash, and the people you're expecting to serve you are probably on minimum wage, and don't get paid to be open one second more than the alotted time. I can't speak for anyone else, but that kind of attitude frustrates me. EVERYONE ELSE managed to make it in before closing time, and you bothered to walk in at 4:55pm? Sorry, but you're not going to get the same quality service everyone else gets.
 
Teaching definitely involves long, exhausting and unaccounted for hours. Sometimes I think being salaried is worse than hourly, because you can work 100 hours a week and still get the same pay.

But my feeling is a job is a job. Whether you make minimum wage or a 6 figure salary, you should do your job to the best of your ability. I just want businesses to be clear about what their standards are or make adjustments so the customer doesn't have to guess, assume or determine the 'window of courtesy'. Other people who work shifts may not be able to get in earlier than 4:55pm (in this case), and I would be ok (using your situation) if you said, "Hey could you come back tomorrow because our systems are not available, or we need more time to process your contracts." I'm not unreasonable. But if it is merely, "Hey can you get out of here so I can jet in a few minutes... that's the lack of 'courtesy to the customer' that I find rather frustrating." Remember, it is the consumer that pays that salary of yours.
 
A store/restaurant is open until it closes. If that store doesn't want people ordering past a certain time, they should close earlier. It's not up to the employees to decide when they stop taking orders. They stop when they close. If they have issues with their hours or how they're being paid then that's between them and the managers/owners, not the customers.
 
One of the bars I used to frequent had a great policy. Bar was open to 1AM, last call for drinks was at 12:30, and the kitchen last call was 9:59 PM, so as long as the order went through before then, you would get your food when it came out. The kitchen staff all knew there was a rush at 9:59, but they were ok with it because they still knew they would get out by 11 typically. Everyone was understanding of everyones situation.... Ahh, I miss that place.
 
Gyoin said:
One of the bars I used to frequent had a great policy. Bar was open to 1AM, last call for drinks was at 12:30, and the kitchen last call was 9:59 PM, so as long as the order went through before then, you would get your food when it came out. The kitchen staff all knew there was a rush at 9:59, but they were ok with it because they still knew they would get out by 11 typically. Everyone was understanding of everyones situation.... Ahh, I miss that place.
Click to expand...

This sounds like every bar on the east coast my man :p
 
tr1age said:
This sounds like every bar on the east coast my man :p
Click to expand...
Well, there's a difference between urban and suburban bars/restaurants. Right now all the bars I can get to are a bit more about the few extra bucks than about the personal experience, when before I would go into certain bars and everyone knew my name. I miss those days.
 
Gyoin said:
Well, there's a difference between urban and suburban bars/restaurants. Right now all the bars I can get to are a bit more about the few extra bucks than about the personal experience, when before I would go into certain bars and everyone knew my name. I miss those days.
Click to expand...

 
I like to think of closing times as a gentleman's agreement - the establishment should provide their services between the advertised hours, but if a consumer turns up at the last moment without a good reason, he should probably realise he needs to give a big tip or get a frosty reception from staff. It's not the done thing.

I may have an excessively English viewpoint on this topic.
 
Culturally it may be different Dire, and I hope I don't seem like an ass for feeling the way that I do about it. I really don't want to create more work for people or be inconsiderate, but I also don't like the attitude from workers who seem to forget that without customers there would be no job, and/or business.

I really liked Gyoin's mention of the bar that had clear hours for closing, dining, last call on drinks, etc.
 
I'm a stranger in a strange land as it is - the worldviews I learned growing up are often challenged in Australia, but not always in a good way. I just wish these lazy bastards would turn up on time XD
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom