Those store closing announcements aren't just for funsies

Our store closes at midnight on the dot. The closing manager sweeps the aisles looking for stragglers before locking the front doors. The registers stay open until 12:30 for the night crew to make purchases.

And all of this is preceeded by announcements over the intercom every ten minutes starting at 11:30 that the store will be closing.

Last night a customer got missed. I'm not sure if he looked like a member of the remodel crew or one of us or what, but the manager missed him.

This man came up to me at 1 am, with a cart full of meat and other perishables, and snippily asked where all the cashiers were at and could I hurry and ring him up.

I explained that the store was closed and the registers were shut down for the night. Most of the night crew don't even have register log-ins, so it's not like we could just jump on a register either.

That was not good enough for Mr. Oblivious. So I went and got the shift lead, who told him the same thing.

This man threw a full-blown tantrum because he'd been shopping for two hours comparing prices and couldn't ring up. We're talking stomping feet, yelling, the gnashing of teeth and beating of breasts type tantrum.

The shift lead escorted him out and locked the door behind him. When he swung back by the aisle I was stocking he just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"How the hell did he miss all the closing announcements? Did they just... not apply to him?"

Customers, please go home when we're closing. Please. You are not a special snowflake.