ARTICULATED

A few years ago on a slow summer afternoon, I was browsing a DSW Shoes retail store when I heard and felt a deep rumble above me. When I turned my head up to the high ceiling, what I discovered was a startling example of gravity at work. The entire HVAC system directly overhead, compressor the size of a sofa and all associated ductwork, had broken free of its suspension mechanism and was on its way to the floor.

In an instant I bounded 6 feet to the right. I felt the stiff breeze as the structure, probably 30 feet long and weighing easily a ton, rocketed past me. When it crashed to the floor, it shook the strip mall to its foundation. It missed me by a millimeter.

Left in the dust were crushed shoes, destroyed shelving, various rubble, and a crew of hysterical employees. The staff ran around the store, literally screaming. (I knew instantly no one had been hurt because I had been the most likely candidate to be crushed.) The specter of it all was one of the more otherworldly things I’ve beheld in my life.

There were a number of other customers in the store, including some elderly people who had been close to striking distance. Thankfully they were not hit. But with the store’s employees in DEFCON 5 meltdown, it was clear to me that they were not remotely equipped to handle what had transpired. Had anyone been struck by the HVAC system, the situation would have been far, far worse.

I sometimes develop crisis preparedness plans for organizations, helping predict what could go wrong, craft a plan for handling it, and making sure people are ready to implement that plan. It was clear to me that no one had prepared the staff at this particular DSW Shoes for the unexpected. I hope the company learned from the experience and put such a plan in place. More importantly, I hope the company made sure that the HVAC systems in all its stores would stay where they belong.

One thing is for certain: I’ve scarcely walked into a retail store since without giving a careful inspection to what is above me.