Black Thursday/ Friday, my annual plea

[TheBeak]

Good morning and happy Thanksgiving.

Those that know me know that I am a retail professional, and have been for some years. Many of you that have known me for a while have seen a post like this before; I make an effort to do this every year to keep the message out there. This is my one post – my one annual rant on this subject.

Tomorrow is Black Friday (now an official term, not just what “we” call It.), and many stores are opening tonight (Black Thursday?).
Here it is, my annual request:

Should you, or someone you know, decide to venture out to the stores tonight or tomorrow, please remember to be nice. That’s it. That’s my whole request. Please be nice.

Be nice to your fellow shoppers of course, but please make a specific effort to be nice to the retail folks you will interact with over the next few days. Though it seems obvious, those helpful people with the name tags pinned to their shirts are not just there to sell you the thing you came out to buy - they are people, and deserve some respect for what they do. We have worked hard for months to make the experience smooth and safe as it can be for you, and I would ask that you respond by respecting our teams and our stores while you visit. Please be nice.

Some of us have seen the rush before, and we are ready – but a whole lot of folks behind the counter are there for their first time, and it can be a little scary. This part is important. For some of these folks, this is not only their first Black Friday experience, it is also just a few weeks into their first jobs period. Please be sensitive to this. Imagine if it were your sons or daughters facing the rush for their first time. How would you like them to be treated? Please be nice, especially to them. Yell at me if you must if we have run out of your desired item, but please, PLEASE, be nice to my team, especially my first timers.

That’s it. That’s another year’s rant. Thanks for reading this far. Please feel free to spread this message to anyone you know that plans to shop sometime during the rush over the next few days. We are there to help. Please be nice.

 

[vintage68]

+1. My girlfriend works at Macy's and I feel bad enough for people that work in retail, let alone those forced to come in ON Thanksgiving at 5pm just to feed some corporation's greed.

 

[nick123]

At my old store we opened at 4 or 5 am. That feeling we had when we could see the people eyeing us outside like hungry animals before we opened is not one I'd like to relive. We had no problems, and I learned quite a few one liners I still use today via wording on the rears of sweatpants.

 

[Stearmen]

I can't for the life of me, understand why any one in this day and age would bother to do Black Friday! Every one should know, the best deals are closer to Christmas. And the super good deals are in the first of the New Year.

 

[Edward]

If you think that's bad, thanks to several US owned chains, Black Friday is becoming a Thing in the UK...and we don't even have Thanksgiving.

 

[Sloan1874]

It's fast replacing the New Year/Boxing Day sales.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The local paper weighed almost six pounds yesterday when I brought it inside, almost all of that weight being "Black Friday" circulars.

I intend to buy *nothing* today, except a dozen eggs and a flea comb. Let's see the Boys exploit that.

 

[scotrace]

Today's DOORBUSTER!

Buy One Flea Comb, get a FREE bottle of Avon Skin So Soft!​

 

[TimeWarpWife]

I remember going shopping the day after Thanksgiving with my mom, grandmother, and cousin back in the 70s when I was a teenager. However, I don't ever remember the kind of insanity that goes on now days. Yes, there were more than the normal number of people shopping, but they weren't running each other over trying to get into the store or assaulting each other trying to rip whatever-the-latest-thing-is out of each others hands. People were more polite and civilized back then. I always enjoyed shopping, having lunch, shopping some more, and then going home and taking a well-deserved nap. You couldn't pay me to shop on "Black Friday" now. Sadly, the true meanings of Thanksgiving and Christmas are pretty much lost now days and they're nothing more than consumerism run amok. No thank you.

 

[Harp]

The local paper weighed almost six pounds yesterday when I brought it inside, almost all of that weight being "Black Friday" circulars.

I intend to buy *nothing* today, except a dozen eggs and a flea comb.

Ditto the dozen eggs and Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Idea; Vol II, which is shelved at my favorite used books shop. shhhhhhhh

 

[LuvMyMan]

If you think that's bad, thanks to several US owned chains, Black Friday is becoming a Thing in the UK...and we don't even have Thanksgiving.

Geez...Edward...we could have shipped you a Turkey....lol!

 

[LuvMyMan]

Nothing ongoing in our camp for black friday....just another hoo humm day for us....lol!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

The local paper weighed almost six pounds yesterday when I brought it inside, almost all of that weight being "Black Friday" circulars.

I intend to buy *nothing* today, except a dozen eggs and a flea comb. Let's see the Boys exploit that.

Introducing the Fleaminator Extreme Smartcomb!

 

[Gregg Axley]

Introducing the Fleaminator Extreme Smartcomb!

From Dyson, with a pivoting ball for the best coverage.
Actually we have the Furminator for the Heeler, and it really does remove the winter coat in time for spring, so there is less shedding.

I haven't set foot in a store on black Friday in a long time. I hate crowds, so I shop online and have it sent to me.
Those pulling the stock are already working, and even if they weren't, my items would be pulled and shipped the next business day.
No pushing, no shoving, no coughing, no sneezing, no fighting for a parking spot, and many retailers apply the same discounts online.
So why set foot in the store?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I actually had to go to Walmart to find the flea comb I needed -- and it was far less of a mess than I expected. There was a congestion of slack-jawed gapers in the electronics department looking at marked-down 60-inch TV sets, but in general the people who were actually buying looked like they were buying everyday goods for their own use -- I didn't see a lot of carts piled with shiny Christmas junk. I didn't even have trouble finding a parking space.

Maybe the "Buy Nothing Friday" movement is picking up steam or maybe people are just sick of it all. Either way, I think that's a good thing.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I went to my very first Black Friday at one of the local malls with my housemates on T-Day. While crowded and busy, there really wasn't the feeding frenzy atmosphere that I half-expected to see. We were just looking for stuff for the house and picked up a griddle, a toaster and some other kitchenware.

 

[dh66]

I actually had to go to Walmart to find the flea comb I needed -- and it was far less of a mess than I expected. There was a congestion of slack-jawed gapers in the electronics department looking at marked-down 60-inch TV sets, but in general the people who were actually buying looked like they were buying everyday goods for their own use -- I didn't see a lot of carts piled with shiny Christmas junk. I didn't even have trouble finding a parking space.

Maybe the "Buy Nothing Friday" movement is picking up steam or maybe people are just sick of it all. Either way, I think that's a good thing.

While I managed to miss walmart this year, I have found myself needing to go there in the past on 'black Friday'. I have always been surprised at how not busy they were. I suppose the craziness hit the night before, when they opened the doors at midnight or whenever, and by that afternoon it was all done. Either that, or the economy hasn't recovered as much as we've been led to believe.

 

[ChiTownScion]

Should you, or someone you know, decide to venture out to the stores tonight or tomorrow, please remember to be nice. That’s it. That’s my whole request. Please be nice.

Be nice to your fellow shoppers of course, but please make a specific effort to be nice to the retail folks you will interact with over the next few days. Though it seems obvious, those helpful people with the name tags pinned to their shirts are not just there to sell you the thing you came out to buy - they are people, and deserve some respect for what they do. We have worked hard for months to make the experience smooth and safe as it can be for you, and I would ask that you respond by respecting our teams and our stores while you visit. Please be nice.

Some of us have seen the rush before, and we are ready – but a whole lot of folks behind the counter are there for their first time, and it can be a little scary. This part is important. For some of these folks, this is not only their first Black Friday experience, it is also just a few weeks into their first jobs period. Please be sensitive to this. Imagine if it were your sons or daughters facing the rush for their first time. How would you like them to be treated? Please be nice, especially to them. Yell at me if you must if we have run out of your desired item, but please, PLEASE, be nice to my team, especially my first timers.

...

Nothing galls me more than some More Important Than Thou type berating some underpaid sales associate or wait-person. My kid sister told me of an episode where she put a fellow shopper in her place for doing just that.

The woman wanted a cash refund, and it was store policy not to offer same without a sales receipt. The woman got very abusive, berating the sales lady, hollering, pulling the "Do you know who I AM??" schtick, "MY husband is a LAWYER !!" schtick, etc. The line at the counter grew longer with customers, all watching the diatribe. Finally, my little sister could stand it no more, and chimed in with a line that I had taught her.

"Ma'am? May I say something to you? You clearly have a lot of class.

Pause.... and a smile from the irate woman.

Then she continued.

"Unfortunately, all of it is low."

Everyone around began laughing, the sales clerk smiled, and the irate woman was left sputtering, but disarmed.

Happy holidays, Rich.

 

[nick123]

At least the associate didn't have a shoe box thrown at them.

 

[skydog757]

TheBeak,

I would hardly call your posting a "rant". It is a pity that you have to request simple civility for your staff. Unfortunately, the commercialism of Christmas has now reached out and basically gutted Thanksgiving as a stand-alone holiday. Being thankful has been supplanted by feeling entitled. This is not true for everyone, of course, but as a whole we seem to be pretty far removed from what Thanksgiving "used" to be about.