Snow removal sucks

Basically as the title says. It’s a thankless, underpaid, and overworked industry. My company has been such a dumpster fire lately, and bystanders on site make it even worse. With large amounts of accumulation and non stop snow, it’s essentially impossible to make the sidewalks 100%. Even with the heaviest, thickest, salt available, plastering it on the sidewalks doesn’t work. I get sass from pedestrians when I am simply just doing my job. I don’t want to be there when you are either. Moving out of my way is seemingly impossible and they seem to think they have the right of way, and the clients who hire us think the same. The whole point of my being there is to reduce slip & falls and help you avoid a lawsuit from Karen, who decided to wear flip-flops in a barren taiga wasteland. I can’t get three feet on my brush without customers slamming their carts into me, or plow the parking lot without entitled cars slipping into my blind spot to get .3rd of a second out of their commute. Common sense is thrown out the window when you cut off a 924 with your shitty Toyota Camry. The pless on the loader probably weighs more than your car, and your mom combined, let alone the weight and force of the cat itself. It’s like some of these people are asking for a death sentence. Could you imagine the turmoil you put an operator through if that happened? Just because you were too impatient?

My feet are soaked and freezing, even with three layers of socks, I’m starving because I need to meet budget times (have no time for breaks) and decided to prioritize sleep the day prior (not packing a lunch), I’ve skidded on icy road conditions and given myself at least four heart attacks on the way in, and I’ve been out in negative temperatures before most people even get cozy in their beds.

Personally, would just appreciate a simple “thank you” from pedestrians. I understand it’s an inconvenience, but where you see a guy with a shovel in your way, I see someone who goes above and beyond in a career that is gruelling. And stay out of the way of heavy machinery!