"Black Friday" shopping

[1 of the 7]

I wouldn't be caught dead near a retail store on Black Friday (but then, I detest shopping for anything, any time of the year). I always have had to work at my regular job that day anyway. Of course, I could hit the midnight/3am sales before going to work, but, um, no.

[Mara]

QUOTE (iluvgeddy05 @ Nov 24 2010, 02:09 PM)

As for the woman camped out at Best Buy, just watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA0TtJPt_lQ...player_embedded Between the whole "firstness" issue and bashing a traditional Thanksgiving of time spent with family over a well earned, hard-cooked meal, this woman troubles me...

That is just wrong.

 

Yeah, screw actually spending time with your family. Just buy them stuff - that's a much better way to show you love them.

I can't believe the store rewarded this behavior. I'd have had her ass arrested for trespassing - I thought "urban camping" wasn't legal?

[Natch]

I agree with wanting to give the employees the day off to spend time with family, but in this economy, some businesses can't afford to be closed. The retail sector is so competitive right now, that they're doing everything they can think of to beat the competition. It began with stores opening at midnight on the eve of Black Friday, now the stores are opening on Thanksgiving. It was only a matter of time.

 

I hope that those who work on Thanksgiving are properly compensated for it.

 

I used to work for an international bank, and we were open on Thanksgiving. Since it was a US holiday, I was given two comp days for working that day. And, I was allowed to leave at 3pm. So, I was usually home in time for dinner.

 

 

[Mara]

QUOTE (Natch @ Nov 26 2010, 10:31 AM)

I agree with wanting to give the employees the day off to spend time with family, but in this economy, some businesses can't afford to be closed. The retail sector is so competitive right now, that they're doing everything they can think of to beat the competition. It began with stores opening at midnight on the eve of Black Friday, now the stores are opening on Thanksgiving. It was only a matter of time. I hope that those who work on Thanksgiving are properly compensated for it. I used to work for an international bank, and we were open on Thanksgiving. Since it was a US holiday, I was given two comp days for working that day. And, I was allowed to leave at 3pm. So, I was usually home in time for dinner.

I was in the fitness industry (gym management, not the crooked cheesy sales side) for a few years. We were open on Thanksgiving until 2, Christmas Eve until 5, closed Christmas Day.

 

Inevitably there would be one or two dickheads who pushed the envelope of closing - dashing into the shower two minutes before so we all had to wait for them to get dressed, or just flat refusing to get off the treadmill.

 

The third or fourth time it happened my GM had had enough. He went into the electrical room and killed the power! GET. OUT!!!!

 

*edited, as usual, for typos, which I can't stand.

Edited November 26, 2010 by Mara

[troutman]

QUOTE (Mara @ Nov 26 2010, 06:15 AM)

QUOTE (iluvgeddy05 @ Nov 24 2010, 02:09 PM) As for the woman camped out at Best Buy, just watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA0TtJPt_lQ...player_embedded Between the whole "firstness" issue and bashing a traditional Thanksgiving of time spent with family over a well earned, hard-cooked meal, this woman troubles me... That is just wrong.   Yeah, screw actually spending time with your family. Just buy them stuff - that's a much better way to show you love them. I can't believe the store rewarded this behavior. I'd have had her ass arrested for trespassing - I thought "urban camping" wasn't legal?   She needs some serious help!!

[troutman]

And the horror stories are starting to surface!

 

 

 

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/buffalo/Craze...le-up-at-Target

[troutman]

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/201011...-rush-Toys-R-Us

[troutman]

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/cri...1cc4c002e0.html

 

 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010...f-gunshots.html

[CMWriter]

I had a wonderful time this morning..

..sleeping in and waking up to have a cup of coffee at 10 AM. x3

Besides, everyone who was out shopping missed a great "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" I mean, geez, it was way better sitting on the couch sipping joe instead of standing in the cold waiting to get a single item.

Some people get into it.. Not me!

 

Besides, if it's so vitally important you get something really big for your s.o./child/friend/other family member or whatever, maybe you need to re-think your priorities. I have a friend that gives me drawings for my birthday and Christmas, and to be honest, it means so much more to me than something that's bought. I know she made it just for me, instead of taking an easy way out. Shows she really cares.

Of course, store-bought gifts are wonderful, too. It still takes time and effort.. But it's also important to remember that some people have never had a Christmas tree or a present wrapped up on the morning of December 25. It's so vital to remember what Christmas is really about, and that we should think of everyone.

 

(End rant. Sorry.)

[troutman]

http://www.indystar.com/article/20101126/N...ted-for-arguing

 

 

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/ma...de-1074340.html

[Mara]

My mom related an interesting and ironic tale of one of her co-workers, who was planning to "go nuts" (her words) this morning at Best Buy. On her list were a big screen HDTV and a new laptop. Now, this woman lives paycheck to paycheck by her own admission. Mom couldn't resist asking her if she'd saved cash for all these "great deals".

 

Of course not. She couldn't afford it, so she had opened three new credit cards to pay. Mom's not one to mince words - she told the woman, "Do you REALIZE that will negate all of the bargains and the great savings you think you're getting? That all of that money saved will be instead going towards the interest on the cards?" Because of course she is planning to pay the cards off over time.

 

I wonder how many people do the same thing? A hefty percentage, I bet.

[LakesideMaiden]

QUOTE (tick @ Nov 23 2010, 02:15 PM)

Aside from Black Friday I just want to say that it blows Wallmart and Sears are both open all day on Thanksgiving. That is bogus and totally unnecessary. Give the people who work so hard for you a day to be with family. Its just disgusting to me.

Thanks Richie...yeah, Walmart is supposed to be a Family oriented company. Family Oriented my f***ing arse.

 

I was scheduled to be there from 8:00pm to 12:30am last night. This is how Walmart works. If you're scheduled to work 4.5 hours, you don't get a meal break. If you work 5+ hours you do. If you don't clock out before 5 hours, you get a meal violation which equals a coaching (verbal warning). The cash register will lock you out 15 minutes before you reach the 5 hour mark so you have enough time to get to the time clock to avoid this from happening.

 

Well, we had 12:01 deals. I, even though I'm a Service Desk associate, was put on a cash register last night. Fine, I'm actually okay with that - I knew it was going to be busy. So Jamie - my Ass of a boss (who, for the record, is going to be leaving the company on Monday) puts me on the very first Express Lanes. I started to remind the Customer Service Managers and the new Zone Supervisor (the one who is taking over for said Ass) at 12:15 that I was scheduled to leave at 12:30, that I would Violate at 1:00 and that I would Lock Out at 12:45. They basically didn't care. The new ZS came over and shut off my light at 12:25...yeah, that does no good. Customers ignore that. We might as well not even have those lights. One of the Customer Service Managers told me Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it. And then, when my friend came up (the other Customer Service Manager who was on) and said, I guess I'm taking over for you (good, I thought, about time! it was 12:40 at that point), Jamie wants you to go help out at the Service Desk. I just gave her this drop jawed incredulous look, and said, I lock out in 5 minutes. There's no way I can help out at the Service Desk. So she sighs and says hold on a sec. Walks away, comes back and says, I guess I'm just taking over for you so you can go home...

 

I felt bad, but what could I do? I didn't want to pass the hassle onto her, but it wasn't my problem that they didn't schedule accordingly. So now I'm REALLY not looking forward to going in tonight (in a half hour), because I know I'm going to get dirty looks from management and probably get shit from them too....

 

Sorry, just had to vent....

[Natch]

QUOTE (LakesideMaiden @ Nov 26 2010, 03:13 PM)

QUOTE (tick @ Nov 23 2010, 02:15 PM) Aside from Black Friday I just want to say that it blows Wallmart and Sears are both open all day on Thanksgiving. That is bogus and totally unnecessary. Give the people who work so hard for you a day to be with family. Its just disgusting to me. Thanks Richie...yeah, Walmart is supposed to be a Family oriented company. Family Oriented my f***ing arse.   I was scheduled to be there from 8:00pm to 12:30am last night. This is how Walmart works. If you're scheduled to work 4.5 hours, you don't get a meal break. If you work 5+ hours you do. If you don't clock out before 5 hours, you get a meal violation which equals a coaching (verbal warning). The cash register will lock you out 15 minutes before you reach the 5 hour mark so you have enough time to get to the time clock to avoid this from happening.   Well, we had 12:01 deals. I, even though I'm a Service Desk associate, was put on a cash register last night. Fine, I'm actually okay with that - I knew it was going to be busy. So Jamie - my Ass of a boss (who, for the record, is going to be leaving the company on Monday) puts me on the very first Express Lanes. I started to remind the Customer Service Managers and the new Zone Supervisor (the one who is taking over for said Ass) at 12:15 that I was scheduled to leave at 12:30, that I would Violate at 1:00 and that I would Lock Out at 12:45. They basically didn't care. The new ZS came over and shut off my light at 12:25...yeah, that does no good. Customers ignore that. We might as well not even have those lights. One of the Customer Service Managers told me Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it. And then, when my friend came up (the other Customer Service Manager who was on) and said, I guess I'm taking over for you (good, I thought, about time! it was 12:40 at that point), Jamie wants you to go help out at the Service Desk. I just gave her this drop jawed incredulous look, and said, I lock out in 5 minutes. There's no way I can help out at the Service Desk. So she sighs and says hold on a sec. Walks away, comes back and says, I guess I'm just taking over for you so you can go home...   I felt bad, but what could I do? I didn't want to pass the hassle onto her, but it wasn't my problem that they didn't schedule accordingly. So now I'm REALLY not looking forward to going in tonight (in a half hour), because I know I'm going to get dirty looks from management and probably get shit from them too....   Sorry, just had to vent.... Hey LSM...   Your disappointment with Walmart is understandable. It's unfortunate the way many retailers treat their staff. It's all about numbers. They don't really care if you are treated well because if you quit, there's someone else to step right in and fill the void. The morale is low because the company doesn't have to provide incentives for you to work harder. Just by the sheer number of people that are out of work, they get enough hungry people to pick up the slack.   These companies love to advertise about how they're so family oriented and are environmentally friendly, etc etc etc...   It's all crap. It's all about making money. That's the bottome line.   Sorry to hear that you had a rough night. It's a shame that most customers don't appreciate the hard work that you guys put in.   Did anyone at least say thank you?   Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I always thank the staff. I know how hard you guys have it.   Hope you had a better day today...

[Mara]

Hang in there, Kath!

 

And for what it's worth, I NEVER ignore the light. I've worked retail before (and would probably turn to prostitution before doing it again) and I try to keep in mind that the staff are people with lives outside of the store. I may be their customer, but they are NOT my servants.

[LakesideMaiden]

QUOTE (Natch @ Nov 26 2010, 04:06 PM)

QUOTE (LakesideMaiden @ Nov 26 2010, 03:13 PM) QUOTE (tick @ Nov 23 2010, 02:15 PM) Aside from Black Friday I just want to say that it blows Wallmart and Sears are both open all day on Thanksgiving. That is bogus and totally unnecessary. Give the people who work so hard for you a day to be with family. Its just disgusting to me. Thanks Richie...yeah, Walmart is supposed to be a Family oriented company. Family Oriented my f***ing arse.   I was scheduled to be there from 8:00pm to 12:30am last night. This is how Walmart works. If you're scheduled to work 4.5 hours, you don't get a meal break. If you work 5+ hours you do. If you don't clock out before 5 hours, you get a meal violation which equals a coaching (verbal warning). The cash register will lock you out 15 minutes before you reach the 5 hour mark so you have enough time to get to the time clock to avoid this from happening.   Well, we had 12:01 deals. I, even though I'm a Service Desk associate, was put on a cash register last night. Fine, I'm actually okay with that - I knew it was going to be busy. So Jamie - my Ass of a boss (who, for the record, is going to be leaving the company on Monday) puts me on the very first Express Lanes. I started to remind the Customer Service Managers and the new Zone Supervisor (the one who is taking over for said Ass) at 12:15 that I was scheduled to leave at 12:30, that I would Violate at 1:00 and that I would Lock Out at 12:45. They basically didn't care. The new ZS came over and shut off my light at 12:25...yeah, that does no good. Customers ignore that. We might as well not even have those lights. One of the Customer Service Managers told me Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it. And then, when my friend came up (the other Customer Service Manager who was on) and said, I guess I'm taking over for you (good, I thought, about time! it was 12:40 at that point), Jamie wants you to go help out at the Service Desk. I just gave her this drop jawed incredulous look, and said, I lock out in 5 minutes. There's no way I can help out at the Service Desk. So she sighs and says hold on a sec. Walks away, comes back and says, I guess I'm just taking over for you so you can go home...   I felt bad, but what could I do? I didn't want to pass the hassle onto her, but it wasn't my problem that they didn't schedule accordingly. So now I'm REALLY not looking forward to going in tonight (in a half hour), because I know I'm going to get dirty looks from management and probably get shit from them too....   Sorry, just had to vent.... Hey LSM...   Your disappointment with Walmart is understandable. It's unfortunate the way many retailers treat their staff. It's all about numbers. They don't really care if you are treated well because if you quit, there's someone else to step right in and fill the void. The morale is low because the company doesn't have to provide incentives for you to work harder. Just by the sheer number of people that are out of work, they get enough hungry people to pick up the slack.   These companies love to advertise about how they're so family oriented and are environmentally friendly, etc etc etc...   It's all crap. It's all about making money. That's the bottome line.   Sorry to hear that you had a rough night. It's a shame that most customers don't appreciate the hard work that you guys put in.   Did anyone at least say thank you?   Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I always thank the staff. I know how hard you guys have it.   Hope you had a better day today... Thanks Natch Yeah, the customers with only a couple items seemed very sympathetic and were very nice, and yes, I did get a couple of thank you's and I hope you can get out of here soon, etc. The ones who had ridiculous amounts and wanted to be out of there yesterday were bitchy and unsympathetic. They could care less. And of course looked up when the light was shut off like, are you kidding me?? Then promptly ignored it.

[LakesideMaiden]

QUOTE (Mara @ Nov 26 2010, 04:20 PM)

Hang in there, Kath! And for what it's worth, I NEVER ignore the light. I've worked retail before (and would probably turn to prostitution before doing it again) and I try to keep in mind that the staff are people with lives outside of the store. I may be their customer, but they are NOT my servants.

Thanks Mara - yeah there are a select few who ask if I'm still open when the light is off...those people I might still help if I'm not on the verge of locking out, or have to go cover someone elses break, etc. Its just those who blatantly ignore it, avert their eyes, etc that bug the crap out of me. Its common courtesy. I've asked that we have the "This Lane is Closed" signs for our registers when we have to close up so that customers will get the point and we don't have to be forceful about it.

[furie]

i usually don't. but i did go shopping at costco on friday to buy some tires. while i was there i bought a gps. i needed one and it was $30 off that day only.

 

the place was a madhouse. A MADHOUSE!

[Ancient Ways]

QUOTE (LakesideMaiden @ Nov 26 2010, 04:13 PM)

QUOTE (tick @ Nov 23 2010, 02:15 PM) Aside from Black Friday I just want to say that it blows Wallmart and Sears are both open all day on Thanksgiving. That is bogus and totally unnecessary. Give the people who work so hard for you a day to be with family. Its just disgusting to me. Thanks Richie...yeah, Walmart is supposed to be a Family oriented company. Family Oriented my f***ing arse.   I was scheduled to be there from 8:00pm to 12:30am last night. This is how Walmart works. If you're scheduled to work 4.5 hours, you don't get a meal break. If you work 5+ hours you do. If you don't clock out before 5 hours, you get a meal violation which equals a coaching (verbal warning). The cash register will lock you out 15 minutes before you reach the 5 hour mark so you have enough time to get to the time clock to avoid this from happening.   Well, we had 12:01 deals. I, even though I'm a Service Desk associate, was put on a cash register last night. Fine, I'm actually okay with that - I knew it was going to be busy. So Jamie - my Ass of a boss (who, for the record, is going to be leaving the company on Monday) puts me on the very first Express Lanes. I started to remind the Customer Service Managers and the new Zone Supervisor (the one who is taking over for said Ass) at 12:15 that I was scheduled to leave at 12:30, that I would Violate at 1:00 and that I would Lock Out at 12:45. They basically didn't care. The new ZS came over and shut off my light at 12:25...yeah, that does no good. Customers ignore that. We might as well not even have those lights. One of the Customer Service Managers told me Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it. And then, when my friend came up (the other Customer Service Manager who was on) and said, I guess I'm taking over for you (good, I thought, about time! it was 12:40 at that point), Jamie wants you to go help out at the Service Desk. I just gave her this drop jawed incredulous look, and said, I lock out in 5 minutes. There's no way I can help out at the Service Desk. So she sighs and says hold on a sec. Walks away, comes back and says, I guess I'm just taking over for you so you can go home...   I felt bad, but what could I do? I didn't want to pass the hassle onto her, but it wasn't my problem that they didn't schedule accordingly. So now I'm REALLY not looking forward to going in tonight (in a half hour), because I know I'm going to get dirty looks from management and probably get shit from them too....   Sorry, just had to vent.... Make sure no one at work knows you post here and be careful about your Facebook. They can Fire you for what you post on the net....

[vital signz]

I'd rather fall out of a boat in a river full of piranha........

[LakesideMaiden]

QUOTE (Ancient Ways @ Nov 28 2010, 03:25 PM)

QUOTE (LakesideMaiden @ Nov 26 2010, 04:13 PM) QUOTE (tick @ Nov 23 2010, 02:15 PM) Aside from Black Friday I just want to say that it blows Wallmart and Sears are both open all day on Thanksgiving. That is bogus and totally unnecessary. Give the people who work so hard for you a day to be with family. Its just disgusting to me. Thanks Richie...yeah, Walmart is supposed to be a Family oriented company. Family Oriented my f***ing arse.   I was scheduled to be there from 8:00pm to 12:30am last night. This is how Walmart works. If you're scheduled to work 4.5 hours, you don't get a meal break. If you work 5+ hours you do. If you don't clock out before 5 hours, you get a meal violation which equals a coaching (verbal warning). The cash register will lock you out 15 minutes before you reach the 5 hour mark so you have enough time to get to the time clock to avoid this from happening.   Well, we had 12:01 deals. I, even though I'm a Service Desk associate, was put on a cash register last night. Fine, I'm actually okay with that - I knew it was going to be busy. So Jamie - my Ass of a boss (who, for the record, is going to be leaving the company on Monday) puts me on the very first Express Lanes. I started to remind the Customer Service Managers and the new Zone Supervisor (the one who is taking over for said Ass) at 12:15 that I was scheduled to leave at 12:30, that I would Violate at 1:00 and that I would Lock Out at 12:45. They basically didn't care. The new ZS came over and shut off my light at 12:25...yeah, that does no good. Customers ignore that. We might as well not even have those lights. One of the Customer Service Managers told me Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it. And then, when my friend came up (the other Customer Service Manager who was on) and said, I guess I'm taking over for you (good, I thought, about time! it was 12:40 at that point), Jamie wants you to go help out at the Service Desk. I just gave her this drop jawed incredulous look, and said, I lock out in 5 minutes. There's no way I can help out at the Service Desk. So she sighs and says hold on a sec. Walks away, comes back and says, I guess I'm just taking over for you so you can go home...   I felt bad, but what could I do? I didn't want to pass the hassle onto her, but it wasn't my problem that they didn't schedule accordingly. So now I'm REALLY not looking forward to going in tonight (in a half hour), because I know I'm going to get dirty looks from management and probably get shit from them too....   Sorry, just had to vent.... Make sure no one at work knows you post here and be careful about your Facebook. They can Fire you for what you post on the net.... That's why I posted here as opposed to Facebook. Most of the people I work with, while they know I'm a Rush fan, have no clue what TRF is. I've never mentioned it, and I don't have a link to it on my profile at all.

[Kid_Gloves]

I've never done it, and probably never will. The only exception would be if someday my child REALLY wanted something and that was the only way I could get it.

 

Otherwise, I'd rather be home sleeping. Kthanks.

 

Anyway, I tend to get my shopping done rather early.

[workingcinderellaman]

[barney_rebel]

Puts me in the spirit: