Merry @#$%ing Christmas - long

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I probably would've tried another mall but then again, it might not have made much difference.

Living in the middle of East Podunk I was damn lucky that we were large enough to support a mall. The only other thing was Walmart or Sams Club

I shop online and then go to the shops to have a quiet coffee and watch the carnage. Call me sadistic, but its fun to do.

Go and watch stores that will be selling the PS3 this year. It's overpriced, and I'll lay you even money that it's going to be in short supply and will be on e-bay for 4 grand come December 15th.

Should be a laugh.

[Anakah]

Okay I just realized you already said online shopping... Wow, I didn't read the bottom did I? lol How embarassing... Kind of funny though.

[Zombi]

Tho, my main problem with going to town to shop tends to be the sales... which are a downfall for me. The years I worked elsewhere and had to go to town to Christmas shop, I would invaribly start out with all good intentions and leave with no presents, but some nice boots or clothes for me, culled from the sales.

LOL, me too. I'm such a loser, I buy myself presents and wrap them up for Christmas. Of course I buy things for other people, too - I just have a shopping system which goes "One for me, one for you, one for me, one for you!"
It's great - makes Christmas shopping so much more enjoyable.

[Spiffy McMoron]

Amusingly, the day after Thanksgiving is not Black Friday to me, but one of my Holy Days.

That's one thing that I've always wondered about on Black Friday in the States: is it an official day off? I mean, is there an officially recognized, government sanctioned holiday? Or do people wake up at 4 in the morning, line up for a $20 DVD player, punch an old lady, and head of to work at 7:30?

[shenzee]

That's one thing that I've always wondered about on Black Friday in the States: is it an official day off? I mean, is there an officially recognized, government sanctioned holiday? Or do people wake up at 4 in the morning, line up for a $20 DVD player, punch an old lady, and head of to work at 7:30?

I can't speak for other companies, but with mine, we get the four day weekend. Nice perk of working for a small family owned company. When I worked at cracker barrel, we had to work Thanksgiving day and Black Friday.

[DesignFox]

Thanksgiving day is the only government sanctioned holiday. Black Friday just has it's name because it is considered the WORST day of the year for holiday shopping- it is also the quasi-official start of the holiday season. So, no, these people don't all necessarily have off of work, they really ARE just nutjobs.

[CrazedClerk]

Black Friday is similar to Boxing Day for you Canadian folks.

People lining up uber early just to take advantage of insane deals and rock bottom prices (Future Shop anyone?)

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

That's one thing that I've always wondered about on Black Friday in the States: is it an official day off? I mean, is there an officially recognized, government sanctioned holiday? Or do people wake up at 4 in the morning, line up for a $20 DVD player, punch an old lady, and head of to work at 7:30?

For the most part it's hit or miss if the company you work for will give you the day off or not. Some do, others don't. As for it's status as a Holiday...it's not. It's just the name we give the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally starts off the Christmas shopping season.

In short, the beginning of the hell we in retail have to suffer every year.

And no people don't line up for a $20 DVD player. They wake up at 4am, stand in line for whatever is the 'must have toy' of the season (Tickle Me Elmo X, PS3, whatever) and mug the bus load of nuns who were thinking of buying one for charity to ensure that they get one.

Then they go to work.

M

[ArenaBoy]

I refuse to shop in a mall at all in December. It'll be a VERY cold day in hell when I actually shop at a mall in December. As for crowds, I am a tall person 6'0 but I weigh in at 155, so I'm quite skinny. However, I have very good balance and so if anyone tries to knock me over they are in for a surprise.

[XCashier]

Black Friday just has it's name because it is considered the WORST day of the year for holiday shopping- it is also the quasi-official start of the holiday season.

I thought it was called that because the stores would be "in the black" (turn a profit) on that day. Still, it is the Bane of All Front Line Retail Employees. Maybe store managers should start issuing body armor and football padding to their employees the week before?

[RhythmAngel]

Well here's where I met my first SC of the day. This woman comes out of nowhere and snatches the copy from my hand and screams "I saw it first!" Irregardless of the fact that I was standing there with it for a full 5 minutes. I snatch it back from her hands and point out the huge display unit with another 100 copies of the same movie on it behind me. I point this out to her and she snatches it back a second time and runs up to the cashier and checks out.

Holy shit, do you live in New York or something? If they did that here in the Portland/Vancouver area the hospitals would be extremely busy. Moreso than they already are.

Now my Christmas spirit is on a downward spiral. I'm off to the music store to get the latest Mannheim Steamroller CD. The Christmas stuff was next to the Rap/Hiphop section and so I was over there looking at the new CD when some woman comes along, body checks me (I'm on the floor again), grabs something from the rap section 3 feet from where I was standing, glares at me and storms off to the cashier.

I woulda grabbed her by the leg and sent her pathetic ass to the floor, with ass chewing to follow.

So anyone else have any stories of "The Christmas from Hell!"?

I would say my worst Christmas from hell story was from about 5 years ago. I was trying to buy a game for my 10 year old nephew and when I got it off the shelf and brought it up to the counter to purchase, some wackjob bitch stormed up to me and practically screamed that was her game and to give it back to her. Forget the fact that she had come into the store 15 minutes after I had and wasn't even remotely looking in the same section as I had been just prior to this. She looked normal enough when I first saw her in the store. I apologized (because I'm a chronic apologiesiac), but told her I was sure there were other copies in the store that she could get from the shelf. She shook her head and yelled she wanted that one in my hand. The clerk and I looked at each other incredulously and then I very firmly told her I was sorry, but she would just have to pick another one since they were the same exact game in each box. The clerk confirmed this and told her there were plenty of copies and that he would be happy to get one for her. She then proceeded to go off on both me and the clerk, bitching about how she had looked around the whole city for that game and that this was the only store that seemed to have it. She never gave a reason as to why the one in my hand was so important, but finally stormed out after telling us she hoped we would each die of AIDS. (WTF?!)

Once she was gone the clerk said he would make sure she never was allowed back into the store again, and that he had never seen anything like that in the 2 years he had worked there. She must have had a mental problem or something, but that's definitely the weirdest and worst Christmas purchase experience I had ever encountered.

[Jester]

That's one thing that I've always wondered about on Black Friday in the States: is it an official day off? I mean, is there an officially recognized, government sanctioned holiday? Or do people wake up at 4 in the morning, line up for a $20 DVD player, punch an old lady, and head of to work at 7:30?

I do believe a lot of companies give their employees off on both Thanksgiving and Happy Friday (for me due to football) or Black Friday (for the wackos who consider it a shopping day). The reasoning is simple...their employees have the weekend off, they have Thursday off....many of them are just not going to bother coming in Friday anyway, so might as well make it one of the paid company holidays. Though I am sure there are people who actually do go shopping early and then to work....why in the gods' name they do this, I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.

Now, that applies to people who work in "real" jobs. You know, company, desk, 9 to 5, Monday to Friday...that kind of insanity that you would never catch me working at.....EVER. Those of you in retail know that there is very little chance of you getting that day off.

The Christmas season is one that I am infinitely thankful I am in food service and not in retail. People don’t get as crazy trying to get beers or burgers from me, and most of them are thrilled to have some chow and some booze after/during the holiday shopping or holiday vacationing (as I see down here in the tropics), and frankly, the tips are pretty good, as many people “pity” me working on those holidays. Amusingly, I volunteer to work Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, in order to get Black Friday (football), New Year’s Eve (partying) and New Year’s Day (recovering from New Year’s Eve, and more partying) off. So, in essence, I am getting sympathy tips for being forced to work on a day I volunteered to work on. Cheers!

[DesignFox]

I thought it was called that because the stores would be "in the black" (turn a profit) on that day. Still, it is the Bane of All Front Line Retail Employees. Maybe store managers should start issuing body armor and football padding to their employees the week before?

Your answer is probably the real one. I just always considered it "black" as in hellish.