Who would have thought electricity was essential?! *sighs*

[bainsidhe]

I used to work in a hotel kitchen, where the nearest window was halfway across the hotel. The kitchen was closed off, so when we lost power the kitchen was DARK. And dangerous. Everyone froze in place because we couldn't risk slipping or tripping against something that could stab you or boil your skin.

[wolfie]

Anyways, due to the refrigeration loss, we had amassed quite a bunch of deli/frozen food/dairy/fresh meat items that even though we had tried to save some of those by storing them on a reefer trailer (NOT that kind of reefer, get yer minds outta the gutter) they had been compromised due to the power loss.

Were they compromised because the reefer trailer couldn't keep them at the proper temperature, or was it assumed that even though you made your best effort, that anything from a "down" cooler/freezer was bad? If the latter, what's the point of even trying to save it?

I know some chains have a policy that if their other stores in the area are open, that they must remain open. Also that if you're in a mall and a certain percentage of the largest anchor retailers are open, you must also stay open.

But if the other stores in the area are not affected (e.g. power down is localized so only one store affected), or the "anchor" stores in the mall have their own generators (but the mall doesn't have generators to keep power up at the small stores), how are you supposed to stay open with no power?

[TimmyHate]

This may sound like a dumb question, but in instances like this, where power goes out, and there is the possibility of foods and medicines and whatnot going bad, is there some kind of insurance that would cover that loss?

I've done some brief time in commercial insurance and normally this would be.

[crazylegs]

No power = no lights = dangerous work environment. Everyone out. Am very glad every company I worked for had that policy.

[customersruinmylife]

I also forgot to add this gem to the list of SC's.

SC: You know, you could just go out and buy a barbecue you know!

The three cooks literally burst out laughing, prompting the SC to storm out, proclaiming they had humiliated him.

[Ghel]

Here at the bank, it is policy to usher customers out and lock the doors when we lose power. Although our main computer system and primary security system have battery backups, our cameras and teller machines don't. So to spare the liability, we lock the doors. Luckily, we've had very few people complain that we weren't open when the power was out.

[telecom_goddess]

Not a dumb question at all . . . I know grocery chains carry insurance and they can file a claim for loss due to extended power outages.

awesome thanks for answering that

[wolfie]

The three cooks literally burst out laughing, prompting the SC to storm out, proclaiming they had humiliated him.

Too bad the cooks couldn't tell him "No, we're not trying to make you look like an idiot - you're doing a good job on your own, and we didn't think you needed our help."

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Were they compromised because the reefer trailer couldn't keep them at the proper temperature, or was it assumed that even though you made your best effort, that anything from a "down" cooler/freezer was bad? If the latter, what's the point of even trying to save it?

IMO I think it was a little from Column A and a little from Column B. We also had to rope off our wall freezers in the frozen food department and cover up the row of bunker freezers that ran down the middle of the aisle to keep customers from trying to buy those items (and you can imagine how well that worked and how many times one of us lowly employees would have to tell the customer "no you can't buy that today")

And the reason everything was either roped off or covered up was b/c we simply didn't have the manpower on hand (or the hours allotted) to empty out the entire department (not at least until we got approval for OT hours from the DM, who in turn had to get special permission from Corporate for the extra hours.)

[Sapphire Silk]

This may sound like a dumb question, but in instances like this, where power goes out, and there is the possibility of foods and medicines and whatnot going bad, is there some kind of insurance that would cover that loss?

You can actually get the loss covered on your homeowner insurance if it happens at home. However, you have to document everything that was in your freezer. The loss usually isn't enough to cover the deductible, and so it's generally not worth it.

No place I have worked at would remain open in a power failure. No power = no cameras.
Store closed.

Wally World stayed open during our last ice storm. It was quite busy. They had limited power via emergency generators; not something a small business probably has access to.

I also forgot to add this gem to the list of SC's.

SC: You know, you could just go out and buy a barbecue you know!

The three cooks literally burst out laughing, prompting the SC to storm out, proclaiming they had humiliated him.

He humiliated himself. No one told him to say something so stupid.

[MaseMan]

Boss Lady should have closed the bar down. Way too much liability on hand. Someone could have tripped in the dark and sued or something.

[midnightaurora]

When I still worked at GameStore, official policy was no power = escort all customers out of the store and lock the door.

My store was in a location where, if the wind blew too hard, we lost power, so everyone was familiar with the policy.

Once, a guy had called us if we had an item and to hold it to him while he drove the couple hours to get to us. Only, it started a horrible thunderstorm. We had no power when he got here, and I had to explain to him that no, I couldn't even sell the item if he had cash.

...That was a fun day....

[mhkohne]

And even if that wasn't the case, the kitchen was pitch dark. Apparently, the SCs thought that it wasn't necessary for the cooks to actually see what they were doing.

I suspect thatnthe lack of proper ventilation was as big or bigger a worry. Kitchen venting systems are usually pretty powerful - lose the vent hoods and you can have a serious problem on your hands in very short order.

[registerrodeo]

Loss of electricity makes people just lose their minds. I worked at a convenience store when there was an underground explosion (blew a man hole cover 8 blocks away!!) and once we realized power was not coming back immediately, I had to close. No registers, coolers had to be kept shut to keep as much cold air in them as possible, but did that matter to the custys? Oh nooooo...banging on the door because they needed pop or chips or smokes. I am sitting in the dark, waiting for boss (he was coming to pick up money due to no alarms) and it was like gangs storming the store, screaming through the doors. I gave up, pointed to the sign taped to the door that said 'closed due to power outtage' and ate my bag of chips.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I would have suggested to the customers that unless they want to go outside and start gathering wood for a fire, there's no way we could cook their meals.

People are way too spoiled by modern convenience.