Closing Time

Over the past decade or so I've worked in retail for about half of that time and there's one thing I've come to realize with respect to customers is that there are two basic customer types when you're trying to close up shop. The ones that respect the fact that the establishment is closing and do their best to leave before the shop closes up. Then there's the ones that don't care who you are as a human being and try to linger there as long as humanly possible. I never really understood why this second group of people exist. What makes them think that closing time is just a suggestion and they can disregard our store hours because they want to shop? The people I'm talking about always come in 5 minutes before the store is about to close then stay upwards of 15-20 minutes past closing time, even when we tell them that the store is closed. There are even some that have the audacity to come after we close and say "we'll be quick". Are we enabling them when we allow them to stay so long, as if to reinforce the idea that they're entitled to stay and leisurely shop as if we as workers have no place else to go. I understand their desire to shop for things they may want, but at the same time, most of these people don't usually end up buying very much. Do people inherently see retail workers as people who are at a lower class than they are? I work specifically in a gift shop where parents seem to feel that the toy store is daycare center where they can leave their children to wreak havoc in the store, throwing things around and leaving everything wherever they feel like it. But back to my main point which is that people feel entitled to linger around a store to "shop". While I know there are some people who genuinely enjoy purchasing souvenirs at tourist attraction, a majority of people just waste time as if they have no where better to be. I often wonder why it is that people do this. Do they not want to go home? Do they feel as if their day will be more fulfilling when they shop? I really don't know what it is, but I feel that people should be required to work a year of retail before entering in to the world for whatever they do so that they can get a better appreciation for people in the service industry. Whether it be in retail, food service, or other, people should just treat each other with the same respect that individuals deserve to be treated with. I guess that's the underlying theme in my rant today. Is that people need to learn how to treat others with love and respect. But that's a different story for another time.