Recently having transferred from a 24-hour store to one that closes at 10 pm, it reminded me of the many times I’ve had to wait for a last-minute customer before closing the store.  I remember one in particular that ALWAYS came in 10 minutes before closing and then took her sweet time making decisions about which toothpaste to buy and usually kept us an extra 15 minutes or so.   Back in the day, the lights were set to dim and we could make “We’re closing soon! Get the hell out!” announcements, but a lot of companies forbid you to do such things as they fear losing another $5.00 in sales.

Attention last-minute customers–the people who are working the closing shift most likely have been there for 8 hours or more and are eager to get home to their families.  If you absolutely need something at 9:50 pm, it must be important so please go directly to it and bring it up front to the register.  At least have enough consideration to not make people work overtime so that you can select the perfect greeting card, I doubt many places will be picking up mail that late anyway.  It can wait until tomorrow.   That is all.