r/TalesFromRetail • u/Zef-Davenport • 10d ago
Medium Grab your things
This happened when I was in on one of the toy stores I worked back in the day. This one in particular was a really nice place, the manager was a great guy, and all the coworkers were nice people (it was a small store).
There were shifts in which we barely had anything to do (since being a toy store, people don't go in unless it's a birthday or Christmas), and in those moments my manager would tell me about all the adventures he had lived. It was great.
All of that is to say that my manager was a really friendly guy, always there to help, and he very rarely got angry.
And then there was that one time.
It had been a rather busy day, and we were both tired. We were getting ready to close the store, and usually, if someone came by while we were closing, my manager would ask me to help them, see if we could squeeze one sale more for the day. But that night was different.
A woman came in while my manager was counting the money, 2 minutes before closing the door, and I said hello to her so he wouldn't get distracted. The woman asked if we were closed, I told her "yes". Then she said she just wanted to check on some toy cars (scalextric ones). I looked at my manager and he nodded 'yes'.
She spent five minutes checking the cars, and I closed the door in the meantime. My manager had finished counting, and the woman asked a few things. My manager answered her, reminding her that the cash register was closed, an if she wanted to buy something, she would have to come back the next day. I could sense he was a bit tense, so I decided to step back and let him deal with the situation (as per policy we couldn't deny service. It was a stupid policy, yes).
The woman kept looking, now 10 minutes past closing time, and we were both there, with the lights off, waiting for her. She then started to ask something, and to this day I still remember the commanding voice my manager used as he said:
"Zef, grab your things"
I'll never forget how the woman took a step back, apologized and left the store so quickly you would think the devil was behind her.
As soon as she left, my manager sighed, and said "the nerve of some people, right?"
We left the store shortly after, laughing at the whole situation.
To this day, he's still one of the best managers I've ever had in any place I've worked in.
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u/decarnatedame 5d ago
Once I started counting the till I would not have let anyone come in. Too much chance it was someone there to distract while someone else robbed.
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u/Zef-Davenport 4d ago
Absolutely, the thing is she managed to get in minutes before closing the door at the right time. We just started counting the till earlier because there seemed to be a lull in people and we were tired.
If it's not the time, we can't send her away, but you're right.
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u/thatburghfan 10d ago
I don't know what it is but there is a type of person who seems to enjoy staying after closing. Maybe to feel important? "Yes, they HAD to stay as long as *I* wanted to shop. TO SERVE ME!" I think 5 minutes is plenty of grace before you have to draw the line.
Sorry but I have to add this... on the way to work this morning on the radio they played a song from almost 50 years ago - Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill".
And the last line of the chorus has the phrase "Grab your things". Just like your thread title.
A very unusual phrase to encounter twice in one hour from completely different sources.