Are you one of those people who get up in the middle of the night and head out shopping on Black Friday? I have to admit I've never done it. I used to work retail, though thankfully we didn't open until 8am on Black Friday. It was a chain jewelry store, and we all had to be there at 7:30 to put the jewelry in the cases. And then we all, every last one of us, worked from open to close (which was 10PM). That's MORE than 12 hours. When you factor in getting dressed, driving to work, driving home, and unwinding before hitting the sack, it was a very, very long day.
My boss, who wasn't all that much older than I was, would get these huge swollen ankles as the day went on. And then he worked open to close every single day from Black Friday to Christmas Eve. His kids cried because Daddy wasn't home. His wife had to keep the home fires burning alone — she had to do all the decorating, the shopping, the socializing, the kids' parties, etc. It's a wonder the man never had a heart attack. But he had to do it. It was his job, he was the breadwinner, and retail jobs aren't exactly known for their humanitarianism. Retailers don't care how hard they work you, or how many employees they go through. By and large.
My store didn't, nor did the one I worked for before them. I'm soooo glad I gave that life up and did other things. I may consider getting up early on Friday to go to the mall (though I've always been reluctant because I know what it looks like from the opposite side of the counter), but I'd never again want to have to be there.
So please remember, if you go and the lines are huge, try to have some sympathy for the sales people. It's not the most wonderful job in the world, and it most certainly isn't friendly to anyone over thirty. The person waiting on you may just be more weary than you can imagine, and yet he or she has to smile and be polite anyway. And will probably have to do it for days on end without a day off.
Do you go shopping on Black Friday? Are the lines bad? Are the deals really worth it? What's parking like? (Can you tell I'm thinking about it?) What's the best deal you ever got?
Do I go shopping on Black Friday? Not no, but HELL no! There’s no bargain on earth good enough for me to battle those crowds and the early hour.
I too worked retail — Christmases during college and then the DH was co-owner of a retail software store back in the 80’s. I remember tired feet and swollen ankles and surly customers who held you personally responsible that there were no crock pots left on earth.
Unless a sales clerk is deliberately rude (and I don’t care how tired you are, there’s no call for rudeness), I try to make sure at least one customer smiled at them that day — me.
Listen carefully — you’ll have to park in the lower forty unless you get to the store at shortly after midnight; the other shoppers will be mean and use profanity; if you manage to find what you want and not have it snatched from your grasp by some incredibly thoughtless person, you will then stand in a horrendous check-out line.
Stay home and stimulate the economy from the comfort of your desk chair. You won’t regret it.
I’ve gone shopping on Black Friday for the last several years, though I won’t be able to this year because I’ll have family in town. And I’ve never had any problems. Of course, I avoid Best Buy and Walmart, those seem to be the worst. The only place I’ve had to wait in a long line for was the toy store, and all the people there were pretty nice. I’ve never had the bad experiences like PM talks about.
I plan out ahead of time where I need to go, according to what I really want. But I go with the attitude that, if I get it, great; if not, oh well, no biggie. I’ve rarely missed anything I really needed, though like I said, I’m not fighting for huge electronics, etc.
I’ve found some really good deals, especially on toys and computer games.
Angel
I see PM’s HELL NO and raise her a HELL F**KING NO. I don’t like crowds much to begin with. There’s no present on earth I need that badly. (Sorry, DG, Guitar Hero World Tour will have to wait until after the Xmas rush.)
My dad managed a large retail store while I was growing up. I often got pulled in to help bag and such during the holiday rush (what child labor laws?). The whole thing still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Internet shopping is the best thing ever!
Hey, PM! You’re right about rudeness. No excuse for that, no matter how much the feet hurt or how tired the sales person is. It’s his or her job to be there, so be there and be polite they must.
Oh yes, I do recall those rude customers however. We didn’t have as much of that in jewelry, but it happened. I think there have been studies done that show people by and large treat those in servile positions with less dignity than we would otherwise. Especially food staff.
Well, my shopping trip (planned, not decided on for sure) is to one store for one specific item. And I’m not going at midnight for anyone!!!!
::groan::
Angel, how did you know that one particular item that hubby wants is at Best Buy!? It’s not really a present in the sense he won’t know about it — he’s going too. And we’ll be in Florida, so maybe we’ll be more spry than the others waiting in line? *g*
Maybe he’ll have to wait to get it — though the savings is nearly half. 🙁
PC, I hear you! It’s generally the way I feel about holiday shopping too. But there’s that deep discount on that one thing. *sigh* Though FL is an hour ahead of us, and the store opens at 5, which means it’s really 4 our time — and I don’t see much hope of us actually hauling ourselves out of bed that early.
Nope. Not gonna do it.
And you’re right — retail is not kind to anyone over 30. My mom’s been doing retail, and having just heard some of her legitimate concerns for the last month, I can heartily agree about what a pain it is.
I just noticed Amazon.com is having a Black Friday sale this year. It will probably be a nightmare for the packers, shippers, and site updaters, but we’re not likely to see it. That might be a clever idea, but, really, if I wasn’t going to buy it anyway, I doubt I’ll get it.
I’ve gone every year for the past 10 years and loved every minute of it. The excitement, the thrill of the chase, finding that special deal… The girls have gone with me most of that time. It’s been fun, tiring, but fun. I don’t really recall there ever being rudeness involved. Most often, people are very considerate and filled with joy that christmas is coming. At least, that’s been my experience.
I probably won’t be going anywhere this year unless my DIL wants to. I’m actually looking forward to my first restful Black Friday.
I’m off to Nebraska tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving, Lynn and all!
I have done the Black Friday bit and it can be fun, as Kathy says the Thrill of the Chase and all that. I also agree with Angel that planning ahead is best if you are going several places, but in this case it shouldn’t be a problem for you. 🙂
For me, the idea was always to have fun while “bagging” the biggest deals! I once got a $200 TV for $75. That’s probably my best hunting story.
Stephanie
After swearing I’d never do it, I’ve gone the last two years–which is how long I’ve had my iPod. If I throw on a podcast or a book or just some blingin’ Christmas tunes, I can ignore the madness and have a good time. Though this year, I got up in the wee hours to get my wife a new laptop and the little old lady in front of my snapped up the last one…
Bah, humbug.
Hi, Jean! I didn’t even think about Amazon having a Black Friday. Interesting. I knew about Cyber Monday, though. 🙂
Kathy, wow, you go often! I did go, and it wasn’t bad. But I doubt I’d want to do it every year. And I did NOT go at 5 AM. Nope, slept in, had coffee, got dressed, and headed out. Hit the store around 11.
Stephanie, that’s a great deal!!! Hubby and I got what he wanted, which was a receiver — regularly $315, on sale for $199. 🙂
Jamie, oh my, LOL, skunked by a little old lady. Great idea about having an audio book! Hubby and I drove to Florida for the holiday — and we listened to books there and back. Quite fun! Hope you find another great laptop deal for your wife, though…