A Texas woman dealing with the recent blast of winter weather notes that she had to come into work during a snowstorm—even though no other store around hers was open.
The video documenting this situation comes from Yesenia Portillo (@yessiyesno), who is based in or near Tyler, Texas given some of her Tyler-adjacent social media posts. Her TikTok, posted on Tuesday when roads in the region were covered with snow and ice, has drawn more than 859,000 views in detailing her predicament.
Using a trope that’s making the rounds on TikTok—identifying your occupation, followed by an observation about what makes that occupation distinctive—Portillo highlighted the folly of having to open up a retail store on a day when their wares were unlikely to be perused.
“I work in retail,” she says, with snow visible in the background, “where they’re still going to ask me to come in, even though it’s snowing outside, and nobody else is open.”
She then adds, “I work in retail, where I have to put my car in danger, my life in danger … all because we might sell one item of clothing.”
Commenters to the piece marveled that she had to go in despite the winter weather conditions.
@yessiyesno I work in retail #retail #retailproblems #iworkinretail #snow #texas #snowstorm #retailgirlies ♬ original sound – Yesenia Portillo
One offered, “I work in retail where the first person will say awww they made you come in when the weather is this bad!”
Someone else added, “I work in retail during a snow storm – we will have that one customer who says ‘omg i can’t believe you’re opened!’”
Another asserted, “I work in retail. And I am a team lead. I tell them it’s not worth going in with a company that will replace [you] tomorrow if something happens to you.”
Another commenter, who implies they met the same fate, said, “There’s literally no reason for somebody to be shopping for furniture during a blizzard but I have to go in anyway.”
Someone else observed, “My favorite part of retail is when they would have us drive to the store in dangerous conditions only to then decide we’re not gonna open and send us all home.”
A few commenters, though, pointed out that some are determined to shop no matter what the conditions, including one who said, “The craziest part is people still be coming in.”
That led Portillo, who the Daily Dot has reached out to via Instagram direct message, to reply, “Thiiiiissss.”
