Essay/Term paper: Why do convenient stores have locks on their doors if they are always open?

Essay, term paper, research paper:  College Essays

Why Do Convenient Stores Have Locks On Their Doors If They Are Always Open?

Bob Eaton

At 1:30 in the morning you are driving down Walton Road when you pass
the 7-11. You decide to stop in and treat yourself to a nice big slurpee. As
you pull in the parking lot you notice that the sign says, "We're open 24 hr's,
7 days a week, 365 days a year." However, when you reach the door you notice
that they have locks on the doors and you think to yourself, why do convenient
stores have locks on their doors if they're going to be open 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, and 365 days a year? If they're never going to close then they
have no need for locks on the doors. This will only cause an inconvenience for
employees and customers.

The idea of adding locks onto the doors is only going to cost the store
more money. Also, it would give the managers one extra key on their already
big key chain that they really have no use for. Since they are open every
second of the year, they never need to lock the doors between shifts. When one
person's shift is over then the next person will come in and take over. It's
not like most stores where at night when the store closes they lock the doors
and go home. Then, in the morning whoever is going to be opening comes in and
unlocks the store and gets it ready for the first customers of the day. This
situation would never happen at a store that is open all the time because there
always has to be someone working.

On a rare occasion, the store might need to the lock the doors if
someone outside is causing trouble. However, if they locked the doors and
wouldn't let any customers in they would be lying saying that they're open 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Doing this would cause the
store to lose money because no one could then get into the store.

By adding locks onto the doors would also make people think that
sometimes they do close, like on holidays. On almost all national holidays
like Thanksgiving and Christmas, stores will be closed to allow their valued
employees time off to spend with family. If this was the case then some people
might avoid shopping there on holidays in fear that when they get there they
will be closed. Then they would have to drive all the way to another store
that sold the same type of merchandise or service. Some people might think the
locks were for security reasons. If they thought this they might be afraid to
come back because it might suggest the location of the store is bad or that
they have problems with people living in the vicinity of the store.

The sign saying they're always open can be misleading to customers.
What if the store burned down or needed remodeled. Then they would have to
lock the doors. So the sign should say "We're Almost Always Open" instead of
"We're open 24 hr's, 7 days a week, 365 days a year." This new sign would
clear up any confusion that the old sign had caused.

Stores that are open all the time and have locks on the doors need to
realize the trouble's they could be causing to their employees and their
customers. They need to take the locks off the doors if they never plan on
closing. On the other hand, they need to change their sign if they plan on
closing once or twice a year for holidays or for any other reason they may have.
.