additional 5 dollars to add a digital clock to my sign? Have this sign on the inside of the store window facing out.

If/when they call to complain, the message will be time-stamped like all other messages and I can evaluate on case-by-case because here’s the big secret: I don’t really care if my employee let’s someone in at 9:34, they can err on that side 5 minutes. I build that into the time I expect them to stay after closing.

The sign is really there to
1) give the employee cover if it’s really past closing time, while...
2) giving the customer a feeling of fairness that they sure don’t get when the store is closed early, or when they feel like the employee changed the rules arbitrarily.

I do care if customers are pissed off because they came to my establishment when I said we would be open, and they feel screwed.

I feel like these problems are easier to solve then you guys are making them sound.