Although I blogged about how the Bookstore began cutting hours a few weeks ago (at the demand of Corporate), something apparently changed: I guess maybe “they” woke up and realized, “Oh, right, Christmas.” Most likely, the return of our General Manager meant we had an effective advocate who could say, “Hey, this store makes a buckload of cash when we’re staffed — give me hours!”

So lately, it’s been, “Oh, good, you’re here — want to clock in now?” and “Hey, got any days off this week? Want to work?”

And, because I like working, and like hours, and like being paid, I’ve been pretty accommodating. I agreed earlier in the week to come in on Saturday, to work on various merchandising projects at the store. I called this morning and agreed to come in between 11 and noon. I actually walked in the door at about a quarter of noon, having had a remarkably easy time: the sidewalks had been shoveled, there wasn’t much traffic, and a train was pulling into the station as I got onto the platform.

The store was actually pretty dead. There were no customers at the Front of Store area, and only a handful in the Cafe, and a few around other sections. The phones were ringing pretty steadily, most of them: “Are you open?” And at that point, we’d already gotten the word from our district manager, so we told people we would be open until two p.m.

But there wasn’t any time for projects: shortly after arriving, Metro announced that they were pulling the plug on service to outdoor stations, and half our staff needed to depart for home immediately, or risk being stranded. We made a page, and lots of customers began flowing from the store.

And then Metro announced they were stopping Metrobus service, and at a quarter of one, we amended what we’d been saying: “We’re closing in fifteen minutes,” we announced, and we explained why.

And, y’know: most people understood why the decision was made. People who had purchases to make came to the registers and those who tried to come in were told that we were closing in just a few minutes. We killed the line, ran through the store looking for anyone who’d missed the announcements, and bolted for the back room for our scarves and hats and coats, and we hurried out of the store.

There was a woman in a green coat standing in the vestibule, angrily exchanging words with our GM, who was letting us out.

“I called half an hour ago and you said you’d be open until two. I got bundled up and walked down here.”

“The weather has worsened,” the GM said, apologizing. “We had to change our plans to ensure our employees could get home safely.”

“You’re telling me in half an hour the situation has changed that much?”

And since Metrobus had shut down, the GM replied: “Yes, it has.”

“Everything is closed. I’m from Michigan. This is ridiculous.”

“That your opinion,” the GM said. But by this time I’d completed my bag check and set out for Farragut North.

And look, it’s not that I don’t understand why folks from snowier climes are frustrated by the mid-Atlantic region’s inability to deal with a “little” bit of snow.

Nevermind that this storm is going to bring one to two feet of snow here, and WTOP is calling it a possible record breaker. Nevermind that this is probably the biggest snow storm we’ve had since that big storm in March of 2003 that, speaking for myself, snowed me in from Sunday until the following Tuesday or Wednesday.

Look, let’s break it down: I’m glad you’re from Michigan. I bet the buses run great in Detroit in the middle of the largest snowfall in six and a half damn years. But you know? I bet Detroit’s got a much larger snow-clearing infrastructure: y’know, like plows?

Base line: it doesn’t make sense not to shut DC down in the face of such a storm. Buses can’t operate — see the above link — and even the Metro can’t operate when the third rail is covered in snow.

And getting angry because a store’s manager wants to make sure her employees get home safely? Not going to win you any points with anybody.

As it was, it took forty minutes to get from Farragut North to Woodley Park via the Metro.

Video via DCist.