Northern lights tour employee instructed to guarantee if auroras will happen or not following customer complaints: 'Tours didn't go out... tourists are leaving 1-star reviews'

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Nov 11, 2025 11:00 AM EST

Tree branches with stripes of green and red Northern lights across starry sky in Tromsø, Norway

 

When the bosses keep insisting you do the impossible — like trying to predict if the Northern Lights will appear or not — what else can a worker do but comply? 

That's exactly the ridiculous situation this employee found themself in! 

The Northern Lights of Tromsø, Norway, are a beautiful natural phenomenon. Even if you've never seen them in person, chances are you've seen photos of the colorful phenomenon, like the one above. Created from magnetic field particles changing temperature, auroras are only found at the Earth's 2 poles. Tourists pour in from all over the world to witness the splendor for themselves and snap tons of once-in-a-lifetime photos. 

But, much like trying to predict the weather, or the signs notifying tourists when Yellowstone's geysers are supposed to erupt, the predictions aren't always 100% correct. Sometimes they're wrong, because nature is unpredictable. Even the most intelligent meteorologists don't get it right all the time. All they can do is give their most informed estimation. 

However, tourists get irate if they show up to see the Northern Lights and the lights don't materialize that night. Apparently, there's a percentage chance each night — if it's a high chance that the lights will appear, tours go out, and if the chances are low, they won't risk having a tour full of disappointed guests. Unfortunately for this boss, his employee maliciously complied with his directives, and that left a lot more tourists furious with the outcomes of their aurora-seeking journeys. 

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  • 01
    Green Northern Lights above brightly lit town with snowy mountains in background
    via DANTE FABILLAR on Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

     

  • 02
    I analyze atmospheric data for a Northern Lights tour company in Tromsø. My job is forecasting aurora probability so tours know when to go out.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 03
    Aurora forecasting isn't exact. I give percentages - 65% chance tonight, 40% tomorrow. Solar wind is unpredictable, clouds move fast up here, conditions change.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 04
    That's just how it works. Owner started getting complaints that tourists booked tours on "maybe" nights and saw nothing.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 05
    He decided I needed to give "definitive predictions" - yes aurora tonight or no aurora tonight.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 06
    No percentages. I said that's not how atmospheric science works. He said customers want certainty and I need to provide it or he'd find someone who would.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 07
    Okay. I started giving binary predictions. Yes or no. Based on whether conditions were above 50% probability or below it.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 08
    First week, I said "yes" for Tuesday. Clouds rolled in at the last second, no visibility.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 09
    Forty angry tourists, all demanding refunds because | "promised" aurora. Thursday I said "no." Tours didn't go out.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 10
    Aurora showed up - massive display, best of the month. Social media exploded with people posting photos from the fjord while our customers sat in hotels.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 11
    I predicted "yes" for Saturday. Weak aurora, barely visible. Not the dramatic show people expected from a "definitive yes." More complaints.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 12
    Owner said I'm doing it wrong. I said I'm doing exactly what he asked - giving definitive predictions instead of probabilities.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 13
    He said I should use "judgment." I said judgment is literally what the percentages were. Three tour cancellations this month.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 14
    He's trying to blame my forecasting. I've got emails where he specifically demanded yes/no answers only.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 15
    Weather doesn't work in certainties. I tried to tell him that. Now tourists are leaving one-star reviews and he's talking about hiring a "more confident" analyst.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 16
    I miss giving probabilities.
    via u/Artistic_Finding_721
  • 17
    Tree branches with stripes of green and red Northern lights across starry sky in Tromsø, Norway
    via Ludovic Charlet on Unsplash+

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reviews aurora borealis northern lights boss workplace-stories jobs lights job malicious compliance bosses work malicious-compliance-reddit tourism workplace malicious compliance reddit aurora
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