There Snow Reason To Stay

(I work in a retail store in the tourist town of Gatlinburg. My coworker and I both live up on the mountain and this winter has been extremely eventful with snow. Several times we have been snowed in. This night, the forecast is wrong and towards the end of the shift it starts to snow heavily. I get my boss’s permission to close early but can’t do so until the last two customers leave. My coworker and I decide to start going through the process of closing hoping they get the hint. Sure enough:)

Man: “Hey, are you closing?”

Me: “Yes, we need to get home because it is snowing.”

Woman: “Really? But it is so pretty out!”

Me: “Yes, but we both live up on the mountain. The roads can get covered in snow fast and since they are so steep, it can be impossible to get home if we don’t leave soon.”

Man: “Oh, man, that sounds bad.”

(The customer’s proceeded to go around the store, looking at everything and asking us questions, ensuring us that they would be leaving “soon.” Twenty minutes late they FINALLY left. It took us another twenty minutes for us to close up. By the time we got out, the roads were covered in snow. I barely made it home, sliding at one point. My coworker was not so lucky; she had to turn around and spend the night in a hotel. I wish we could track those customers down and make them pay. Hope they enjoyed the “pretty night.”)