Caught on Vid: Shoppers Launch Tirade at Walmart Manager Who 'Closes' Early on Christmas Eve

If you've ever worked retail, you might side with the manager in this video. If you've ever had to do some very last-minute Christmas shopping, you might sympathize with the shoppers.

Either way, here's what we know. On Christmas Eve, a few shoppers tried to get some last-minute shopping done at a local Walmart. They arrived at the store about 20 minutes until closing. However, instead of dashing down the aisles, the shoppers were greeted at the doors by a defiant assistant manager who said he would not allow them to enter the store because it was too late. That didn't sit well with the would-be patrons:

Shopper: Can I come in?

Manager: No.

Shopper: It's 7:40, I can't come in? So you're telling me you're closed, right?

Manager: Right.

Shopper: Posted hours are 8 o'clock, right?

Manager: Yeah.

[...]

Shopper: Why can't I come in? Why can't I come in? There's people in there shopping right now.

Manager: Because they got her before 7:30.

Shopper: Where does it say that? Where does it say that you got to be in before 7:30?

The argument goes back-and-forth, and the manager eventually admits that the 7:30 mandate isn't posted anywhere. It then turns nasty when one of the angry shoppers asks, "Did you not have enough Mexicans working for you, you gotta pay white people more money or something?"

The video, which has a few curious edits and jumps, ends with one shopper trying to enter but being blocked and one man threatening the manager's job (note: there may be cause for a language warning, but it's hard to tell what exactly some of the shoppers are saying in the background):

The video has sparked a lot of dissenting opinions, not only in the comments on YouTube, but also where it has been posted.

"I don’t know what the circumstances are for these people since it’s not explained, but they decided to shop at the very last minute on Christmas eve," MPViral.com writes. "In my personal opinion, you can’t blame either side…the assistant manager or the people trying to shop. My only hope is that someone learned something for next year so this doesn’t happen again."

"Nobody's right, here," writes another blogger. "It's just fun to watch a Christmas Grinch take on some irate procrastinators who suddenly fancy themselves legal scholars."

What do you think? Is the manager right to have done what he did? Or, are the shoppers correct to be angry?