I originally thought about someone not knowing the store is closed and being confused, and then it just doesn’t hurt to clarify. Of course if they were aware that the place is closed, then this is pretty ridiculous (especially such a one star review is just awful). I personally also had situations where I was confused because a store closed an hour earlier than it said on the door and online, and I was thankful for the clarification.

Maybe this is also a cultural thing (I’m not from the US), but it seems like many customers there are… worse. I personally always see the service worker as a human and try to be as respectful and appreciating as possible, and would assume most do the same. If I were knocking (because I am confused or didn’t see the signs), I’d just say something like “Oh thanks, I’m sorry I didn’t know” (honestly, them doing nothing also tells it, I’d just find it a bit rude), but never in my mind think about trying to talk them into doing something for me. Apparently some here assume people in the US would do that.

But honestly, I still think that not acknowledging the customer is not the best idea, although for a different reason. I once lost a wallet in a restaurant and also had to knock. Luckily the staff there was really nice and they let me in to get it, but I’d felt pretty awful if they didn’t.