Black Friday Showdown

[Amusement Gal]

Never worked on a Black Friday, but this year I will be. I know it'll be crazy, and that I've been cross-trained on registers as well, but I'll still be on the Floor that day. Part of me is running away with my imagination of how rabid the populace will be, and the other half is hoping that all I have to do is zone.

Fellow workers, how crazy has your Black Fridays been, and which position do you think is easiest to avoid getting trampled by crazies?

Feel free to regale past horrors, too. I need some motivation to survive.

[customersruinmylife]

This year will be the first Black Friday I haven't worked since 2003. I cannot wait.

Black Friday in pubs is very different to working in retail. Everyone has finished work for the holidays, all the stores are closed, so there is nothing better to do but go to the pub! The pubs are normally packed so full with people that you cannot move an inch. Everyone is impatient, and everyone needs to be served their drink RIGHT AWAY.

I always remember this lovely quote a friend told me. A customer didn't like waiting to be served, and went into a huge tirade, shouting, swearing and insulting. My friend told the gentleman that he would not be getting served due to his terrible attitude. The customer responded with:

"It's Christmas! You should expect to be fucking shouted at!!"

Yeah, that's the kind of mentality you deal with on Black Friday in a pub.

I also remember a fight breaking out. And as one man tried to break it up and calm it all down, someone, obviously filled with Christmas Spirit, smashed a glass into his face.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Are you opening, closing, or working sometime in between? If you're worried about being trampled, that would only happen when the doors open in the morning and everybody comes stampeding through. And the people at greatest risk would be the people opening the doors and the people on the floor. Cashiers have a counter between themselves and the masses.

And even then it depends on a lot of things like what the great deals are, what kind of people showed up to get them, and so on. I don't think I'd ever have to worry about being trampled by the hordes at my store--the people make their way inside quickly but generally orderly. The impression I get from a lot of them is they get off on the craziness and excitement of the whole thing and aren't cranky that they dragged themselves out of bed to get to the store so early, although those types are out also.

But meanwhile every year I seem to hear stories about fights at the Maul Mart down the road.

If my store is any indication, your store will probably be packed until the doorbusters are all gone or the best deals are over, then the rest of the day is like a very busy Saturday. If you're working later you'll probably be spending your time cleaning up. Personally I never liked working later on Black Friday--very boring compared to the morning.

As for horror stories--I don't really have them, just more of the same general crap I get. Although there was the one year where the manager closing Thanksgiving Day forgot to lock up and turn the alarms on when he left for the night, and got fired shortly after he showed up the next day for work.

[Amusement Gal]

Are you opening, closing, or working sometime in between? If you're worried about being trampled, that would only happen when the doors open in the morning and everybody comes stampeding through. And the people at greatest risk would be the people opening the doors and the people on the floor. Cashiers have a counter between themselves and the masses.

I'm going in a little bit before noon, so I think most of the goodies will be gone by then. I'll be on the floor though, so I guess I will be mostly picking up after the (possible) carnage.

[bainsidhe]

Speaking as one of the idiots who drag themselves out of bed to get in on the doorbusters (please forgive me?), you'll also deal with people wandering around confused and not knowing where anything is, people demanding your undivided attention even though you're already talking to 4 other customers, people grousing about missing the gotta-have-it-gift-o-the-season because they waited until *gasp* 6am to do their shopping, and people who will then demand they get something else for the same price as the out-of-stock doorbuster. A brand-name down comforter for the same price as a $5 fleece blanket, for example. My own peeve is customers who don't get in and stay in line in an orderly fashion. I become like a kindergartner when I see people budging, but of course lack of sleep will do that to a person.

I've cashiered before during Black Friday and haven't had the pleasure of being a floor person, thank gourd. My advice is to stay calm and keep an even pace. Your instinct will be to rush along, because by noontime a lot of folks will have been up since 3am and cranky. Rushing leads to mistakes and burnout, just stay calm and take it easy. You'll be fine.

[Chromatix]

I'm *so* glad we don't have Black Friday on this side of the Pond.

[Mytical]

Well there are studies out that say Black Fridays are NOT the busiest time of year. That is the good news.

I can only offer my own experience, but that was with a Wally World, and we all know that they can have some of the worst SC's and EW's.

Emotions run high for some reason on this day. People lose their minds. They will push, pull, trample, yell, scream, fight, and be ten times worse then normal. However, they can also be the most charming, helpful, etc also. Too bad the later is rare compared to the former. So here is what I suggest. Plenty of rest the day before, a smile that is chiseled onto your face, and to stay out of the customers way as much as possible.

All over the US this day goes by without things getting TOO bad, so you might get lucky and it be boring.

[Amusement Gal]

Speaking as one of the idiots who drag themselves out of bed to get in on the doorbusters (please forgive me?), -snip-

I've cashiered before during Black Friday and haven't had the pleasure of being a floor person, thank gourd. My advice is to stay calm and keep an even pace. Your instinct will be to rush along, because by noontime a lot of folks will have been up since 3am and cranky. Rushing leads to mistakes and burnout, just stay calm and take it easy. You'll be fine.

You're forgiven. Nothing wrong with being frugal, unless you're being a frugal HULK. Thanks for the advice! I hear that supposedly we have a SF person for each isle, but since I'll be here after everything starts, I'm going to miss most of the action. Sloppy seconds by mostly looking for items already sold out? I can fake it. After all, if I make a mistake, I'm still 'new'.

Let's hope it's just boring though, Mytical. Then it'd be like any other day.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Well there are studies out that say Black Fridays are NOT the busiest time of year. That is the good news.

In terms of total dollars spent, that's probably true. The Saturday before Christmas is. This isn't the case at the swamp though, but it is one of the very busiest days.

The difference is on Black Friday you have the big crush of people in the morning and then it gradually gets less busy. The Saturday before Christmas is an all-day crazy busy that doesn't let up.

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

I have to insist that the truth is that people are kind and helpful--or leave you alone--at a MUCH greater rate than mean and violent people. The term is "confirmation bias:" if you see a few horrible people, or read about them on here, you might think that good people are a dying breed.

But that's just not true. You gotta count the good ones, the bad ones, and the neutral ones for control, so that you realize that the bad ones are simply louder and stay in your mind. Who remembers customers like a lot of us who stay quiet, smile once (or just keep to themselves) and go on our merry way?

I think it's important to stay sane and calm and remember that the world isn't out to get us on that day, even though you can look down the aisle and see hoards of pitchforked villagers.

I am cashiering again for NOT the first time, though I've worked floor. It's cold, and I can't go to the bathroom when I want to. I can't easily get something to eat (I'm a diabetic), or even have a bottle of water at hand. I'm a little stressed out that the new 2-ton coupon printers will fall off and I won't be able to change my tape because we won't have anyone to hold the coupon printers up when we change it. I open, 3:45 am to 1 pm. I rarely check out. But I also don't have to run around a lot and try to dive through crowds of customers who all want a piece of me to get that all-important 5 dollar play-doh. I will do my time, bring plenty of noshy low sugar and carb snacks (and try to stay away from the pizza) and fill my pockets with contraband ibu and naproxin. I don't know how I'll handle the bathroom thing. The public one--I can't get my OCD self inside it during Black F.

I have a little social anxiety, but I have experience with throngs--in short spurts. My blood sugar problems (I can't take any drugs right now due to not having access to insurance) are such that it triggers dizziness and confusion. I'm going to have to have a talk about having a bottle of water and a little bag of nuts.

[king4aday]

The mall I work in opens at midnight, and is open til 9pm on Friday. We initially get a huge wave of customers at midnight but we dont get trampled because most of us will prop our doors open 10-15 minutes before scheduled open time. We are an outdoor outlet mall so it kind of helps that people are just kind of wandering until stores start opening.

The initial wave of customers lasts until about 3-3:30am. between 3:30am and about 7am we use the time to restock the floor and straighten (we dont worry about this at all during rushes). at about 7 it gets crazy busy again and lasts until about 2-2:30pm and it gradually dies down to being like a graveyard around 6pm. Again between 6-9pm we restock and straighten.

Honestly at the mall I work at we dont get a lot of upset customers, fights, or stampeding. The mall staff actually has A LOT of fun working on Black Friday. I am really looking forward to it this year. Call me crazy......

[MoonCat]

I've heard that Dec 23 is actually the busiest day...or, depending on who you ask, Dec. 24.

I've never been shopping on Black Friday. I have been at the mall until closing on Dec. 24. I don't do that anymore. Haven't even been to a mall for a couple of years now.

I started my shopping online this year. Don't need to get much anyway.