Canva

Closing-time customers possess a special talent for transforming simple purchases into puzzles that keep an entire staff waiting.

One shopper finally reached the register after hours in the store, pushing a cart overflowing with nearly $300 in small items.

When the cashier reached two unmarked plumbing adapters, his explanation revealed a creative interpretation of how packaged merchandise should be sold.

See what he had done.

That’s not how it works, sir

I work at a hardware store, and tonight a gentleman who had been in the store for hours finally came to the register 5 minutes after close with a cart full of smaller items.

Trying to put aside my annoyance, I started trying to scan the items as quickly as possible since everyone else was waiting on him and on me.

But this customer wasn’t going to make things easy.

The last two items I came across were adapters from the plumbing section. They did not have barcodes or any type of identification on them.

Knowing how our adapters are typically sold, the following conversation occurs:

The cashier tries to get to the bottom of the issue.

Me: “Sir, were these in a package?”

Customer: “Yes.”

Me: “Well, where is the package? I can’t scan them or ring them up without it.”

The customer reveals their bad behavior.

Customer: “It’s in the aisle. I only wanted two of them. They’re in bigger packs, so I took them out.”

Me: “…Sir, that’s not how this works. If they’re in a package, they have to be sold in that package. We can’t take them out, you have to buy them all together.”

Customer: “Well, are there any sold individually in this size? I didn’t see any over there.”

The manager tries to get it straightened out, but the customer is being more stubborn than ever.

One of my managers went over to the aisle to check on the item.

She found the bag he took them out of and came back with it, telling us that we only have the packs of 10 and they are not sold individually at our store.

Customer: “Well, how much is it for the 10-pack? If it’s too much I don’t want it.”

Finally the conversation reaches its infuriating conclusion.

I scan the item to check and let him know it is $36.99 for the pack.

He says it’s too much, and I’m finally able to finish the transaction.

He said no to $36.99 for a 10-pack, but his total still came out to almost $300 exactly just on small items — that was how much he bought right at closing.

Some people really fail to see the irony of their behavior.

Redditors chime in.

This commenter has seen this episode before.

Maybe some customers need it spelled out for them.

It’s time to use some common sense.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who cleverly shuts down customer arguments about closing time.

Some customers just don’t care about anyone else but themselves.

The customer had opened a package in the aisle and removed two adapters, assuming the store would sell them separately.

After rejecting the $36.99 ten-pack as too expensive, he completed his almost $300 purchase while everyone waited past closing.

He spent hours filling a cart, then introduced the revolutionary idea that factory packaging was merely a serving suggestion.