A quick errand at Walmart turned into an overnight adventure for dozens of shoppers across southern Ontario when conditions that impaired road visibility kept them from leaving the store. The employees installed inflatable mattresses and set up a buffet for these unexpected guests.
“The cars were in ditches. Some of them broke down in the middle of the road. No one could get through,” Heather Nickoli said of conditions in Chatham-Kent, Ont., Friday afternoon.
Mme Nickoli and her boyfriend were en route from Ohio to Peterborough, Ont., to spend Christmas with her spouse’s family when deteriorating weather forced the closure of the 401 freeway.
The couple booked a room in Chatham-Kent and decided to stop by Walmart on the way, but they didn’t get far after shopping.
The police turned them away, telling them they wouldn’t even make it to their hotel and that they would have to spend the night in the Walmart.
“We walked into the Walmart and there were probably 100 people there with nowhere to go. They were residents who could not return home,” said Mr.me Nickoli.
@Walmart Your manager, Judy Lagasse, and her staff in Chatham-Kent, Ontario are rockstars!!! They ALL deserve a major bonus for stepping up. Heard about this on CBC and had to do a shout out… pic.twitter.com/GKHM5nYdSn
— MB Gibbons (@TheAcneMask) December 25, 2022
Randy Morton and his wife, meanwhile, lived just a mile away and ventured to Walmart because they ran out of food for their cat. Boxes in hand, they too left the store to be turned away.
“I told the officer I just needed to go to the next corner and I’m home. He said: It doesn’t matter. Turn around and go back to Walmart.”
Walmart said in a statement that about 50 customers spent the night in the store, including young children, and staff removed games from shelves to keep customers and their children calm and entertained.
The team in charge of the buffet, meanwhile, served a hot meal.
The statement said there was even an impromptu employee birthday party at midnight, complete with cake and candles.
Customers started singing Christmas melodies to keep their spirits up, the statement said.
Another Walmart in Fort Erie, Ont., also took in a family that got stranded on Friday night.
Everyone was allowed to leave on Saturday morning. Mme Nickoli and her boyfriend ditched their trip to Peterborough and headed back to Ohio, while Mr Morton and his wife returned home.
According to Mme Nickoli, everyone was initially in shock when they arrived there, but they adapted to the situation. As for Mr Morton, he said his ‘faith in humanity has been restored by the associates who work at Walmart in Chatham’.