Hurricane Coming? Close Your Store, For F)ck's Sake.
Stop risking people's lives
I got a DM from someone recently.
Hey, can I send you a very long message? I need some advice right now.
I messaged back, Sure!
It turns out, this store leader was in the path of Hurricane Helene. They decided to keep their store closed for a day or two to protect people - the employees and the surrounding community.
But they were getting the side eye from some of their peers.
The vibe was:
So, you're gonna close, huh? Well, if your business isn't the top priority, go ahead, loser.
Damn, really?
This leader wanted a gut check - had they made the right decision? Were they really dedicated even though they'd decided to be closed for a day or two?
You may be able to guess what my reaction was.
HELL YES. CLOSE YOUR STORE.
Who cares what your peers think? Honestly, our number one job as store leaders is to protect the health and well-being of the humans on our team (number one) and our customers (number two).
If you remain open, you are threatening people's safety.
I've led stores through California wildfires and COVID. If there ever was any danger to us working in the store - SEE YA.
Now you clearly know where I stand, I have a bone to pick with corporate leaders who force their stores to stay open and mandate that people must come to work amid natural disasters.
Impact Plastics
Impact Plastics is a factory in rural Tennessee. Last week, the people who work in the factory were allegedly not allowed to leave as Hurricane Helene came barreling at them.
Employees were mandated to stay at work as the nearby river began to swell. Eventually, the parking lot became submerged, and the factory lost power, so managers sent employees home.
But it was too late.
The following is from an AP article:
The raging waters swept 11 people away, and only five were rescued. Two of them are confirmed dead. Four others from the factory are still missing since they were washed away Friday.
I'm sorry, but what the actual fuck?
Whatever happened to better to be safe than sorry?
I guess that's not a thing anymore.
When employees asked if they should leave after they received they got a flash flood warning, the company said something to the effect of, "Nah. It's not that bad yet. Just keep working."
Now, several of the employees of the factory have lost their lives. All because the factory didn't want to lose the day of productivity.
I watched the CEO read a statement about the hurricane and the loss of life, and it sounded like he was reading off the ingredients for a recipe. He noted that the company gave the employees time to evacuate - "45 minutes" before the factory flooded. But if you've ever experienced a hurricane, you know that when a storm like that is on top of you, you no longer have time to get out safely.
As a leader, the rage that wells up in me as I read these reports and listen to this garbage statement is palpable.
What is going on? How could you not protect the people who work in your building at all costs? Because that's really what it comes down to, right? Cost. Money. The cost of doing business was literally these people's lives, and the company is now like, "Oops. Our bad."
The AP went on to report that the -
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Leslie Earhart said Wednesday that the agency is investigating allegations involving Impact Plastics at the direction of the local prosecutor.
District Attorney Steven R. Finney said in a statement that he asked the bureau to look into any potential criminal violations related to the "occurrences" on Friday.
Impact Plastics may be investigated. Maybe they will be fined. Maybe they will be held accountable.
In the meantime, the families of the employees who were killed by the storm due to the negligence of the company are trying to raise money via Go Fund Me for funeral costs.
At the very least, Impact Plastics should cover all funeral costs and provide whatever they can for the families who lost someone. Like, the bare minimum. The fact that they haven't stepped up to do this already tells me everything I need to know about their ethics and priorities as a company.
Let me make this very clear - most companies do not care about your life.
Here's your proof.
If your bosses are making you work during a natural disaster but they are not coming in to work themselves, do not go. Call out sick. Do whatever you have to do, but protect your life and the lives of your loved ones. Clearly, the only thing corporations want to protect is money.
If you are in charge of a building and need to close for safety - close.
We must let go of this "it will probably be fine" attitude. Storms are growing increasingly more fierce. What may have been a heavy rainstorm in the past is now a category-five hurricane that is leveling towns and killing hundreds of people.
Do not ever take a chance with the lives of your employees in exchange for a day of work. It's super despicable.
Shoutout to the leader who sent me that message about Hurricane Helene and decided to close up shop and protect the people in the store and the community. We need more leaders like you. The world would be better.
Stay safe out there and take care of each other.
Kit Campoy is an author and retail expert with two decades of experience leading retail teams. Today, she writes for world-class SaaS Retail Tech companies.
A thousand times YES! This is an awful, egregious act of negligence. And in this century and in this country? Needs to be called out and they need to be held accountable.
How tragic. Didn’t need to happen. My family are in WNC thankfully all safe.