You might get away with it, but here’s the part that really sucks: you’d be stuck in the shed until they opened the next day. No riding a bike down the aisles, not even any trips to the bathroom. The alarm system likely has motion sensors, and the cops are called automatically when the alarm goes off.
I used to work at Costco in loss prevention (for real) - yes you'd be found instantly. However, rather than calling the cops, the store would autonomously release the intruder bot 3000, which would deal with the problem and clean it up prior to store open. It's really cool what AI can do nowadays.
Yeah, we check those at closing time. As well as behind the mattresses, the bathrooms and anywhere else someone might reasonably hide. There are generally people stocking stuff for 3-4 hours after the store closes and from 5 hours before the store opens in the morning.
There's a small window when the place is completely empty, but it's only from about midnight to 4am.
Not Costco but I walked into Walgreens last night about 10 minutes before close (paycheck didn't come through until fuckin' 9:45) to get some smokes and while I was standing at the register, they shut off the lights and only noticed me when someone came to lock the front door.
I get the feeling nobody is gonna be looking in the display shed for you. The only thing on their mind is closing out and going home. lol
If your a supervisor at a drug store, unless it's stocking day, you have yourself and a cashier, maybe another for some overlapping hours who is tasked with re-stocking/facing. The techs and pharmacist pretend like they aren't associated with the rest of the store and just walk right out without a care in the world. So at the end of the night, it's up to one individual to ensure the pharmacy drawers are removed, the pharmacist locked properly, and the store is clear.
I love how you used pharmacist as both a location and a person in the same paragraph, and now I'm picturing them locking the pharmacist in a little cage after someone chases after to catch them when they just walk out.
It's possible. It happened frequently enough at IKEA that it became an internet meme/challenge and they had to start prosecuting people who did it.
The general store employees have a big "not my job" attitude about it. If it's time to clock out, it's your problem that you're still in the store after closing. Not likely to confront you about it unless you are wandering the aisles.
Cleaning staff will probably tell someone if they find you hiding out.
Security guards will be actively looking for you and also search in obvious places like tents and sheds that are set up indoors, as well as behind shelving units, in the backrooms, etc.
It's funny the amount of people thinking this is a hardware store, I would recognize those aisles and ceilings anywhere. That's a Costco (the particular style of price plate also gives it away)