A lot of store/shift managers that make a dollar or two over the employees they supervise are still living paycheck to paycheck. They don't want to be at the store anymore than their employees do but if they had decided to close the store and cancel shifts they would've gotten their asses handed to them if the storm turned out not to be as terrible as it was. That's really what it comes down to, out of touch higher-ups that don't live in the area, or that don't have to leave their houses, thinking that it'll blow over like all the other storms that are forecasted to be catastrophic. You see it with hurricanes all the time which is part of why people don't evacuate.