Mall Madness: Why Do They Stay Open During Hazardous Weather?

[LightbulbSun]

On Thursday afternoon, we got heavy snow all afternoon and into the night. We got about 7 inches of snow, but the roads were completely snow covered. Cars on the highway were only going as fast as 18 mph and they were sliding all over the place. What does the mall do? Stay open despite there being five people in the mall. Several stores including JCPenney closed early, but overall the mall stayed open.

Tonight and into Monday morning we're going to have a winter storm that's worse than the one we got on Thursday. Actually it's being classified as a Nor Easter. 5-10" of snow, plus a quarter to a half inch of ice on top of it. And don't forget heavy winds too. Will the mall be smart and close before it opens? Or will they be idiots, open, see one person roam the mall all day and wait until it's damn near impossible to drive before closing? Actually by the time morning rolls around it will already be damn near impossible to drive anywhere. But I doubt that will stop them.

Why are the people that run malls so stupid when it comes to hazardous weather?

Last year on Valentines Day we had the worst snow storm of the year. Over a foot of snow with city buses even getting stuck on the snowy roads. Did the malls decide to close before opening? Nope, in fact they stayed open until 2PM when all the employee cars were pretty much buried in snow.

I understand it's the holiday season and they need to make money, but when there's hazardous weather nobody is going to drive to the mall! If it was a ghost town on Thursday afternoon can you imagine what it's going to be like tomorrow?

And besides, the mall was so packed it was like a second version of Black Friday today. Nobody is going to go out tomorrow. Please someone explain any hint of rationale behind opening the mall regardless.

 

[Cyrus]

Do you work at this mall?

 

[LightbulbSun]

Do you work at this mall?

Yes. And it irritates me to no end that I have to risk my life driving in this kind of weather just so they can stay open for the two people that decide to roam the mall.

 

[Moonbear]

Call in sick when it gets that bad? I guess as long as there are stores in the mall that want to remain open, they have to stay open for them? You're right, it seems futile to stay open when going to the mall is the last thing anyone is going to do in bad weather. Maybe if it was Christmas Eve and you know there will be people out who are that desperate to go shopping for last minute gifts, but otherwise, people just stay home.

 

[out of whack]

What's the penalty in your case if you are unable to show for work due to road conditions?

...because in general, it's much easier to be forgiven for not showing up than to get permission not to show up beforehand...

 

[LightbulbSun]

Well our manager minimizes everything. She minimized how bad the road conditions were on Thursday afternoon. Tomorrow is going to be a piece of cake in her distorted world view. The other mall stores get a hefty fine ranging from $200-$400 if they close early. However, if two of the main stores (JCPenney and Macy's) both close then there's no fine to closing early.

I just want to know what would have to happen weather wise before they decide to close. Cause if the Valentines Day storm as I mentioned above didn't phase them then what will?

 

[Cyrus]

Wow $400. Thats nothing. Boo hoo hoo. Tell her to shove off.

 

[Moonbear]

Yeah, to a store, $200-$400 is nothing. I'd just call in on your cell phone from the comfort of home and tell them you're stuck on the road in a snow drift and waiting for the tow truck so won't be able to get in. What can they do about it? The worst that happens is you lose your job...it's not like you can't get another job...not worth risking your life for a mall to stay open.

 

[LightbulbSun]

Wow $400. Thats nothing. Boo hoo hoo. Tell her to shove off.

It really is nothing. Yet they make a big deal about that stupid fine all the time.

 

[LightbulbSun]

Yeah, to a store, $200-$400 is nothing. I'd just call in on your cell phone from the comfort of home and tell them you're stuck on the road in a snow drift and waiting for the tow truck so won't be able to get in. What can they do about it? The worst that happens is you lose your job...it's not like you can't get another job...not worth risking your life for a mall to stay open.

I'm going to call in. I honestly don't care if I get fired or not.

 

[Four]

Tell them you had bad stomach ache

 

[NeoDevin]

Call in well, tell them how great it feels to not go to work today.

 

[ahmadmz]

I worked in a mall for one year also, and yes it does not matter if the world is coming to an end, they will keep open. December timings are like 12 sometimes 13 hours a day. I myself have worked 12-13 hours a day last year :P Now my dad has to work there. Even if the sale is very bad, there are 2 customers in the mall it will open at 9 am and close at 10pm for whatever reason >_>.

 

[NeoDevin]

Over here we have West Edmonton Mall, I think it's now the second biggest mall in the world (I heard they built a bigger one in asia somewhere). The mall itself stays open 24/7/365 (366 on leap years). There is a hotel in there, as well as a couple of bars, and so the mall can't close, even though all the stores are closed.

Edit: On the mall's website they are still claiming to be the largest, so maybe not. Or maybe they just haven't gotten around to updating the website yet.

Edit2: A quick google search turned up http://www.easternct.edu/depts/amerst/MallsWorld.htm" , which says we are now third...

 

[Moonbear]

At least with a hotel, if you get stuck there, you can spend the night.

 

[NeoDevin]

I live within walking distance, so it's not a big deal for me.

 

[Huckleberry]

Last year here in the Portland area there was a few inches of snow on the ground that was left unplowed for a day or two. Within hours it had been packed down by vehicles into a sheet of ice that covered the roads. Even people with tire chains were sliding around. I went for a walk to the store and saw three accidents along the way, one of which involved 3 cars. People just don't know when they shouldn't be on the roads.

Here's some video of that snowstorm. I don't remember this sort of thing happening in New England, where the plows are running before the snow stops falling, and the roads are salted thoroughly.

 

[hypatia]

Hmmm today is my first day off in 10 days, and I half to go Christmas shopping. Oh yea, and we got 8 inches of snow last night.

 

[BobG]

Here's some video of that snowstorm. I don't remember this sort of thing happening in New England, where the plows are running before the snow stops falling, and the roads are salted thoroughly.

I'm not sure what town this is in, but it's a classic. "Bail Out! Bail Out!"

I watched something similar in Akron. I was having trouble getting up the hill. The roads were so slick that curb bumping up the hill wasn't working very well so I pulled into each lunch at a fast food restaraunt and watched the cars going down the hill for lunchtime entertainment. It was like lemmings. A car would stop at the top of the hill, look at the carnage halfway down the hill, and decide to join the string of cars collected along the curb. The only thing people could do was to get out of their cars and watch their car slowly be demolished with each car that joined the string. You should have seen the look on their faces when the Pepsi truck came over the top of the hill.

 

[LightbulbSun]

Well I practically got only four hours of sleep last night. I wake up and it's a light wintry mix outside and the roads look like ****. Did it close? Nope, cause they're expecting a big shopping day today! Oh yeah! And on top of that the second low is taking forever to form so we get a nice dry patch. Alright! That oughta help the spirits of those shoppers today guys. This commute shall be fun. I ****ing hate malls. Remind me to boycott it forever, and ever.

 

[LightbulbSun]

Heh even the churches are smarter than the mall people. They planned ahead and canceled all Sunday masses and Sunday school. But they're expecting a great shopping day of five people.

 

[LightbulbSun]

Actually scratch that. I heard another mall in the area is already busy. People bought into the propaganda, a couple died sliding off the road along the way, but that's ok guys we retained 60% of our great shoppers.

 

[hypatia]

Roads are already being plowed and salted, they actually have been at it all night. But I'll wait another few hours befor I venture out. Looks like we got about 10 inches, glad I got a great snowblower.

 

[LightbulbSun]

The sleet and freezing rain is coming within the next couple of hours.

 

[rewebster]

It looks like 5 or 6 inches that fell here.


---------------

At least there's some football on today

 

[LightbulbSun]

It looks like 5 or 6 inches that fell here.


---------------

At least there's some football on today

Nice picture. I think we got 6-7" of snow and a little coating of ice. However with the sleet and freezing rain coming this afternoon the power lines, trees and roads will have a nice coating of ice on them. It should be fun to drive in later on.

 

[rewebster]

Poor OK., NE., and MO.--and some of IL.----my--no power to a lot still

---
that's the back yard, and the two story garage (with a 2nd story deck) I built a few years back--the upstairs is a painting/framing work space.

 

[Moonbear]

Heh even the churches are smarter than the mall people. They planned ahead and canceled all Sunday masses and Sunday school. But they're expecting a great shopping day of five people.

Actually scratch that. I heard another mall in the area is already busy. People bought into the propaganda, a couple died sliding off the road along the way, but that's ok guys we retained 60% of our great shoppers.

The Christmas shoppers can make it to the mall but not church?

 

[LightbulbSun]

The Christmas shoppers can make it to the mall but not church?

Apparently.

 

[LightbulbSun]

It's getting bad here again. It's freezing rain at a steady rate. I tried heading into work, and first off my car already had a sheet of ice formed on it so it's been freezing rain quite a bit. Then I tried driving on the roads and my car was sliding even at 25 mph. So I said forget it, it's suppose to be freezing rain/sleet all afternoon and into the evening. I'm not going to risk it.

So I go to call in for work. Now it's my fault that I called with such a late notice, but it's like pulling teeth with my manager. No reason ever suffices. I tell her it's freezing rain here pretty good and the roads are slippery, but nope you can't call in due to weather if the mall is open. Well the mall never closes for anything! And then she's telling me about how everyone else got in today. Great, they got in. Ice is forming on the roads and my car is sliding. If I got into a car accident from my car sliding would my efforts be good enough? Probably not.

What the hell is everyone smoking today? The holiday pipe? Do these idiots not understand the concept of HAZARDOUS WEATHER?! Hazardous weather does not mean fair weather by any stretch of the imagination. I hate my workplace. They're so anal about everything. Once the holidays are over, I'm putting in my notice and leaving. It's so ridiculious. It isn't going to taper off folks. Otherwise NOAA would expire the Winter Storm Warning. But nope, ice is good. Cars and people can go through ice like it's nothing.

 

[rewebster]

call a cab---they'll drive in anything

 

[Moonbear]

So I go to call in for work. Now it's my fault that I called with such a late notice, but it's like pulling teeth with my manager. No reason ever suffices. I tell her it's freezing rain here pretty good and the roads are slippery, but nope you can't call in due to weather if the mall is open. Well the mall never closes for anything! And then she's telling me about how everyone else got in today. Great, they got in. Ice is forming on the roads and my car is sliding. If I got into a car accident from my car sliding would my efforts be good enough? Probably not.

I'd have probably already lost the job with the response that would come to my tongue talking to someone like that. I'd have probably had to tell her that if I could afford a good enough car to handle the bad road conditions, I wouldn't be working a crappy mall job.

Wait until they all leave to go home today and realize how bad the storm got since they arrived. And, if everyone else made it in, then there's no problem with you not being there...they have enough people to cover for you.

 

[Huckleberry]

I'm not sure what town this is in, but it's a classic. "Bail Out! Bail Out!"

I watched something similar in Akron. I was having trouble getting up the hill. The roads were so slick that curb bumping up the hill wasn't working very well so I pulled into each lunch at a fast food restaraunt and watched the cars going down the hill for lunchtime entertainment. It was like lemmings. A car would stop at the top of the hill, look at the carnage halfway down the hill, and decide to join the string of cars collected along the curb. The only thing people could do was to get out of their cars and watch their car slowly be demolished with each car that joined the string. You should have seen the look on their faces when the Pepsi truck came over the top of the hill.

Did they have tire chains on, or blindfolds? So what happened to the Pepsi truck?

This reminds me of a time in Arizona during a heavy rain. The wash right near the house was flowing across the road. There was a VW bug on the other side who wanted to cross and decided to risk crossing. He made it halfway across before he started floating away on the current.

 

[LightbulbSun]

I'd have probably already lost the job with the response that would come to my tongue talking to someone like that. I'd have probably had to tell her that if I could afford a good enough car to handle the bad road conditions, I wouldn't be working a crappy mall job.

Wait until they all leave to go home today and realize how bad the storm got since they arrived. And, if everyone else made it in, then there's no problem with you not being there...they have enough people to cover for you.

They don't know what's coming. It's a really really light mix right now, but the more moderate and heavy batches are about 20 miles away from me. That's when the ice is going to really start accumulating. NOAA says anywhere from 0.2 to 0.4 of an inch of ice. That's a lot of ice. If my car was sliding to the ice buildup so far then can you imagine what it would of been like for me tonight? And besides when she picked up the phone I didn't hear any background noise which means the place is probably dead. My manager is suicidal.

Me: There's a tornado warning for my area.
Manager: Everyone else got in today.
Me: You don't understand, there's a tornado.
Manager: Big deal, that's just wind. I've walked outside on windy days before.
Me: But...
Manager: You really can't call in due to hazardous weather.

 

[LightbulbSun]

For my area:

.NOW...
LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE OR SLEET WILL CONTINUE TO FALL ACROSS THE
GREATER CAPITAL REGION UNTIL ABOUT 2 PM...WHEN PRECIPITATION
INTENSITY WILL INCREASE...WITH MAINLY SLEET EXPECTED TO FALL
BETWEEN 2 AND 3 PM. UP TO ONE HALF INCH OF SLEET MAY ACCUMULATE
DURING THIS TIME. SLEET IS EXPECTED TO CHANGE TO SNOW LATER THIS
AFTERNOON...WITH ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATION AFTER 3 PM.

I'm glad I didn't go into work.

 

[gravenewworld]

On Thursday afternoon, we got heavy snow all afternoon and into the night. We got about 7 inches of snow, but the roads were completely snow covered. Cars on the highway were only going as fast as 18 mph and they were sliding all over the place. What does the mall do? Stay open despite there being five people in the mall. Several stores including JCPenney closed early, but overall the mall stayed open.

Tonight and into Monday morning we're going to have a winter storm that's worse than the one we got on Thursday. Actually it's being classified as a Nor Easter. 5-10" of snow, plus a quarter to a half inch of ice on top of it. And don't forget heavy winds too. Will the mall be smart and close before it opens? Or will they be idiots, open, see one person roam the mall all day and wait until it's damn near impossible to drive before closing? Actually by the time morning rolls around it will already be damn near impossible to drive anywhere. But I doubt that will stop them.

Why are the people that run malls so stupid when it comes to hazardous weather?

Last year on Valentines Day we had the worst snow storm of the year. Over a foot of snow with city buses even getting stuck on the snowy roads. Did the malls decide to close before opening? Nope, in fact they stayed open until 2PM when all the employee cars were pretty much buried in snow.

I understand it's the holiday season and they need to make money, but when there's hazardous weather nobody is going to drive to the mall! If it was a ghost town on Thursday afternoon can you imagine what it's going to be like tomorrow?

And besides, the mall was so packed it was like a second version of Black Friday today. Nobody is going to go out tomorrow. Please someone explain any hint of rationale behind opening the mall regardless.

welcome to the corporate world. my company NEVER gives off for snow even when PA declared a state of emergency and said that only people going to and from hospitals and emergency vehicles were allowed on the road. everyone has to use a vacation day in order to avoid driving in the snow.

 

[BobG]

Did they have tire chains on, or blindfolds? So what happened to the Pepsi truck?

This reminds me of a time in Arizona during a heavy rain. The wash right near the house was flowing across the road. There was a VW bug on the other side who wanted to cross and decided to risk crossing. He made it halfway across before he started floating away on the current.

The Pepsi truck? Just like a Newton's cradle. Except cars compress so it was more like an accordion. The string compresses, then expands, then compresses again before the Pepsi truck's momentum can be completely stopped. But everyone winds up a lot further down the hill making room for more cars to try.

 

[JasonRox]

What?

I went shopping today near Toronto with like 10 inches of snow atleast and lots of people were at the mall. The roads were no wear near plowed, but everyone is still driving around.

I went out for lunch and diner and chilled. Then I drove home like an hour drive but more like 2 today.

 

[NeoDevin]

Yep, here in edmonton it's the same way, the city doesn't stop no matter how much snow is on the ground.

Then there are places like Vancouver where the whole city shuts down after any snow at all.

 

[LightbulbSun]

What?

I went shopping today near Toronto with like 10 inches of snow atleast and lots of people were at the mall. The roads were no wear near plowed, but everyone is still driving around.

I went out for lunch and diner and chilled. Then I drove home like an hour drive but more like 2 today.

Do you drive a large pickup truck?

 

[LightbulbSun]

I just think it's futile that malls open during hazardous winter weather. I've heard from people today that nobody was in the mall. It'd be one thing if people were willing to risk their lives and flock to the mall. But it's another if you open, have no one show up and risk the lives of the employees. It wasn't just snow, there was ice mixed with it too and that makes driving conditions even more hazardous. I know businesses need to make profit on a daily basis, but I don't think they should risk lives in the process either.

 

[mgb_phys]

Then there are places like Vancouver where the whole city shuts down after any snow at all.

Do you mind - there was 1-2 cm! Do you know what that does to a Smart Car?
I had to brush snow of the driveway, and it was nearly to the top of my Tevas!

 

[Huckleberry]

Yep, here in edmonton it's the same way, the city doesn't stop no matter how much snow is on the ground.

Then there are places like Vancouver where the whole city shuts down after any snow at all.

Road conditions will vary from place to place depending on how that road is maintained. If snow comes unexpectedly then it will have time to accumulate before the plows can remove it. If the roads are not salted then, depending on weather conditions, the snow can be compacted into a sheet of ice over the roads. So the difference in road conditions between a place like Massachusetts, where snow is fairly common, and a place like Oregon, where it isn't expected at lower elevations so much, can vary quite a bit. It's not the 10th inch of snow that makes the road dangerous. It's the 1st one that sticks to it. Before I moved to Oregon I felt confident about my ability to drive in snow, but after coming here I feel that road maintenance and good planning are more important than driver experience. Sometimes staying off the road is the best idea.

 

[scorpa]

Over here we have West Edmonton Mall, I think it's now the second biggest mall in the world (I heard they built a bigger one in asia somewhere). The mall itself stays open 24/7/365 (366 on leap years). There is a hotel in there, as well as a couple of bars, and so the mall can't close, even though all the stores are closed.

Edit: On the mall's website they are still claiming to be the largest, so maybe not. Or maybe they just haven't gotten around to updating the website yet.

Edit2: A quick google search turned up http://www.easternct.edu/depts/amerst/MallsWorld.htm" , which says we are now third...

Yuck I have nothing but hatred for that mall, especially during christmas time...it is hell! And yet I still go there :( And yeah I don't think it has been the biggest for a few years now.

 

[Moonbear]

Road conditions will vary from place to place depending on how that road is maintained. If snow comes unexpectedly then it will have time to accumulate before the plows can remove it. If the roads are not salted then, depending on weather conditions, the snow can be compacted into a sheet of ice over the roads. So the difference in road conditions between a place like Massachusetts, where snow is fairly common, and a place like Oregon, where it isn't expected at lower elevations so much, can vary quite a bit. It's not the 10th inch of snow that makes the road dangerous. It's the 1st one that sticks to it. Before I moved to Oregon I felt confident about my ability to drive in snow, but after coming here I feel that road maintenance and good planning are more important than driver experience. Sometimes staying off the road is the best idea.

The amount of hills or mountains also matters. A light dusting of snow here makes the roads nearly impassable (they also don't use salt much here, just coal ash to try to add traction, but does nothing on ice) because of how steep the road grades are. In contrast, when I lived in MI, there seemed to be another inch of snow every day for about a month, with the occasional heavy snowstorm, and none of that really bothered me at all, because the roads were really flat and straight. Even if they didn't clear the roads right away, it wasn't a big deal there. And when I lived in NJ, while the main roads weren't bad, I could never get out of my neighborhood when it snowed because there were two steep hills either of the two directions I could go to get from my house to the main roads. Those hills became impassable with very little snow on them, and there was no way to get a running start at them.

 

[NeoDevin]

Yuck I have nothing but hatred for that mall, especially during christmas time...it is hell! And yet I still go there :( And yeah I don't think it has been the biggest for a few years now.

Really? I love the place. As long as I leave the wife and baby at home, I can squeeze through the crowds pretty good, get in and out of the stores quickly with whatever I need. And I can get everything in one place. There's not too much that you can't find there. More recently we bought the attractions passes, and so every weekend we go swimming, and go on the slides, it's lots of fun, good way to unwind at the end of the week.

 

[DaveC426913]

What?

I went shopping today near Toronto with like 10 inches of snow atleast and lots of people were at the mall. The roads were no wear near plowed, but everyone is still driving around.

I went out for lunch and diner and chilled. Then I drove home like an hour drive but more like 2 today.

Do you drive a large pickup truck?

Yeah, I think I saw him too!

 

[LightbulbSun]

Yeah, I think I saw him too!

He was all smug in his big, bad truck. How dare he?!

 

[LightbulbSun]

The snow was compacted into a sheet of ice on my road and on my driveway. The streets are a mess. Schools in my area were delayed for a couple of hours because of it.

 

[scorpa]

Really? I love the place. As long as I leave the wife and baby at home, I can squeeze through the crowds pretty good, get in and out of the stores quickly with whatever I need. And I can get everything in one place. There's not too much that you can't find there. More recently we bought the attractions passes, and so every weekend we go swimming, and go on the slides, it's lots of fun, good way to unwind at the end of the week.

Ugh I went there ONCE during Christmas and it was it's own little Christmas hell. I usually end up going there vs. the other malls though just because it does have EVERYTHING. If you can't find it at that mall you probably don't need it. But I still don't like it. I have an attraction pass to the place that let's me get into to two places free like galaxyland and the waterpark that I got like 4 months ago and still need to use.