I am a 30f retail employee, and our store has a regular customer who comes in to chat with me during my shift (probably 50m). I don't dislike him, I wouldn't mind making small talk with him if he could keep it to like 2 minutes like everyone else, but he usually hangs around for HOURS, offering me help, asking me questions about myself, etc. It's super uncomfortable, and I've even tried walking around the store trying to make myself busy - he will follow me. If I stop to help another customer, he will wait patiently nearby until I am done and then resume talking to me.

Today he had been at the store for around 2 hours, I was purposefully hiding from him, giving him completely uninterested monosyllabic answers and hoping he would get the hint and leave me alone. Instead, he opted to break a long period of silence by asking if I had a boyfriend. I immediately lied and said yes, and he fucking PULLS OUT A BOOK ON COUPLES COMMUNICATION AND GIFTS IT TO ME AND THEN LEAVES. I cannot make this shit up. It was so weird and uncomfortable.

I made my manager aware, and she wasn't super happy - she said she's going to talk to him the next time he comes in and tell him that from now on he needs to make his purchases and leave. It makes me feel awkward and bad because I don't think he intends to be annoying and he seems like a really nice guy, and I'd hate for him to feel embarrassed by this, but it just seems absolutely unacceptable to show up at someone's workplace where they can't leave or tell you off without getting in trouble.

I've seen a lot of guys express confusion about why they shouldn't hit on women at the gym, or in college classes, so let me spell this one out for you: do NOT corner someone at their place of employment and flirt with them. It leaves the other person in an extremely tricky situation, because being pleasant and kind is my JOB in that moment, not an invitation to romantic attention. A girl smiling at you and asking you about your day at the bar is 100% different than a girl in a retail uniform smiling at you and asking you about your day. I'm just in it for the $15 an hour, and you're setting yourself up for a really awkward conversation with a manager.