Cashier Reveals How He Got Revenge On Customer Who Continued Shopping 35 Minutes After The Store Closed

If you’ve ever worked in retail, you know how frustrating it can be when you’re about to close for the night and one person decides to stroll in and take their time shopping in the vacant store. 

One cashier decided to inconvenience a customer just as they’d inconvenienced him after they remained in the store far past closing time and expected staff to wait for them. 

The customer walked into the store just before closing time and remained there shopping for 35 minutes. 

Benjamin Harre revealed that he has worked in retail for most of his adult life. The one thing he hates about his job is customers who think it is acceptable to walk into a store right before it is about to close and take their time shopping while the staff is ready to go home. 

In a TikTok video that has been viewed over 6,000 times, Harre recalled a time when he was working an evening shift. Just five minutes before the store was set to close, a customer walked in. 

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“I walked up to him and in my best customer service voice, very polite, and said, ‘Sir, we’re closing in five minutes just so you know,’” Harre said. “I’m not joking with you one bit, this dude looked at me straight in my face and said, ‘You will close when I’m done shopping.’” 

Harre decided to take the man’s word and refused to lock up the store until he was done shopping. Although that didn’t mean that the customer would end up purchasing any of his items. 

Harre closed the cash registers right when the store closed so that the customer would not be able to buy anything after that. 

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Abiding by the motto, “The customer is always right,” Harre decided not to physically lock up and close the store until the customer was done shopping. Although, this didn’t mean that he couldn’t get started on his closing tasks, which included shutting down the cash registers to prevent the customer from buying anything. 

“I went about my business, did all of my closing routines,” he said. “This man shops for an additional 35 minutes after we close and then rolls up to my register with a smug grin on his face.” 

“He goes, ‘I’m ready to check out now,’ and I said, ‘Well, it sucks to be you because we closed 35 minutes ago and I’ve already shut down all the registers,” Harre said. “He was big mad, but I’m petty enough to waste your time and my time.” 

Harre’s video sparked a debate about whether or not customers had the right to remain in stores after closing time, and if they should even bother entering just before a store is about to close. 

Some people, mostly those who work in retail or the food industry, sympathized with Harre, noting just how frustrating it is for staff when customers arrive just before a store closes. 

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“As a 30-year ex-Walmart associate I APPROVE this level of petty,” one TikTok user commented. “I have worked at an urgent care center that closes at 8 and have literally had patients come one minute until close and it wasn’t urgent,” another user shared. 

Most retail and food service employees pointed out that the closing process (cleaning, counting up the registers, re-stocking) begins around 30 minutes before the actual closing time, and that customers who come in at the last minute are setting them back even further from getting their jobs done. 

However, other people believe that as long as a store is open, customers have a right to go in even if it is just about to close. 

“I HATE it when they close before the posted time and expect me to be okay, I drove there based on that time,” one user wrote. “If I have to come in right before close I’m hustling and it’s usually something I need and can’t wait til tomorrow and I just got off work too,” another user shared. 

Some customers also may simply be unaware of what time a store closes. So, before making a late-night run to a store or restaurant, it's best to check the posted hours of the establishment to avoid wasting both your time and the time of the staff. 

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Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.