Black Thursday/Friday Debriefing Thread 2012

[ExArtShopSlave]

Firstly, I will be thinking of all of you that will be working and herding the crowds on BF. I wish you all the best of luck! Here's some cookies and beer!

It looks like we Canadians are jumping on the Black Friday bandwagon. While shopping at the mall near my house last week, there was a sign displaying the names of the stores that would be participating in BF sales. I don't think the mall is opening any earlier, but there are supposed to be some big sales.

I also just saw an ad on TV for Toys R Us. This is a US station, so they were talking about BF. The store opens at 8pm Thanksgiving night.... Isn't that earlier than normal? Are there other stores opening that early with their doorbusters?

-ExArtShopSlave

[Simbacat]

Wallyworld opens at 8 AM on Thanksgiving.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Oh I pity my store manager at the games store this year.

In a rather pitiful attempt to save on hours, corporate has implemented the following schedule for Black Friday:

Open Midnight to 3 am
CLOSE 3 am to 7 am
RE-Open 7 am



I am a bit miffed that this silly move means I probably won't get any hours black friday this year (hours have been tight for months, I've been looking for whatever I can get. BF is usually a lock but...no more).

But on the other hand I'm very thankful to be working for a company that actually gives a shit about its workers. At my full time they actually rearranged the schedule so practically my whole department has Thanksgiving off (we were supposed to be working it originally).

I still have work BF there, but this is a non-retail job so that's fine with me. I think I've put in my share of hours on the Black Friday front lines for now.

[ralerin]

I also just saw an ad on TV for Toys R Us. This is a US station, so they were talking about BF. The store opens at 8pm Thanksgiving night.... Isn't that earlier than normal? Are there other stores opening that early with their doorbusters?

-ExArtShopSlave

Yes it is.

I am working Thanksgiving Night (by choice but I got 7 hours instead of the 4 I wanted ), but I am not working Black Friday. Best Friend is and I promised to show up with double chocolate chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter M&M's on her shift, which is noon to midnight. If the sales are any good I will shop the mall; else I plan to only give her the cookies and GTFO.

[Eddie The 'Ead]

Off tomorrow, and working 12-4 on Friday. At our store (grocery store) Black Friday is pretty slow, so it should be a chill shift. It's today that I'm afraid of

[snugglegirl05]

I have to work this Thanksgiving as a parking attendant at one of the parking lots for the Thanksgiving parade from 6 a.m. until 11 a.m. or 12 p.m.

Then I have to work at the garage in this post http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=94699 this Friday and Saturday because the *dept. store* is having their holiday sales. I really hope I do not have to deal with too many customers like him.

[Jay 2K Winger]

What is best in life?

To crush their Christmases, to see them whine before you, to hear the lamentations of their children.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Hey, get a load of what corporate wanted us to do with our TVs.

They want them floor-stacked in the aisle. Big 32-inch TVs. They originally wanted all of them there but relented when we demonstrated how hard it would be to lift a 50-inch flatscreen TV into a shopping cart.

32-inch ones are no easier but corporate isn't budging on those. They say this is because our TV sales, which normally are quite robust, were down last year. THis probably was due to:

1). Walmart offering their electronics at the same time we opened,
2). Walmart having better prices on better TVs, and
3). Walmart lying to customers telling them we didn't get the truck that had our TVs on it.

But never mind, our sales were down because people couldn't physically pick up the TVs.

We also have large, fully-assembled gun cabinets on the floor for a Black Friday deal. Those will be coming off and going on pull tag instead. There are also large-ish smokers and gas grills but it's too late to build displays for those. They will probably have to stay and an employee will need to be stationed nearby to load them into people's carts.

[klhanson]

i'm a cashier on mart of wal's front lines this year.. meep!! i work 7:30 pm to 12:30 am thanksgiving night when wal-mart starts black friday at 8 pm thursday and then i work 8:30 am to who knows when friday.

[Opalin]

this is going to be my first black Friday working mall (Kinda? the area I work has all the stores you'd expect in a high end mall in the typical layout, but as blocks of stores, with streets and sidewalks along them) retail. My manager is calm about this, but 13 hours in at GameStore should be a pretty good test of if I'm ready to swing back into retail. I am waiting up tonight to give the poor newspaper carrier brownies and a mt dew though. I ran that last year and /shudder if it wasn't for my cousins I don't know how I'd have gotten through on even remote time.

[Mike Taylor]

I'm working 11p to 11a at the Big Yellow Price Tag.

It's not even Thanksgiving Day yet and my customers have annoyed me so much I went to the ABC store and bought a six pack of beer-- for after work tonight!

[Android Kaeli]

I worked today at The Warehouse, first time working there pre-Thanksgiving, went in early to help out 'cause it's a few extra hours. And although I did stay a bit over my scheduled time to be off, it was pretty much like any other day -- but it was a good day overall. Not looking forwards to Friday, though -- glad The Warehouse is closed tommorrow.

[bhskittykatt]

this is going to be my first black Friday working mall (Kinda? the area I work has all the stores you'd expect in a high end mall in the typical layout, but as blocks of stores, with streets and sidewalks along them) retail. My manager is calm about this, but 13 hours in at GameStore should be a pretty good test of if I'm ready to swing back into retail. I am waiting up tonight to give the poor newspaper carrier brownies and a mt dew though. I ran that last year and /shudder if it wasn't for my cousins I don't know how I'd have gotten through on even remote time.

Can I be your paper carrier? Woke up late as it is. Drinking coffee, and heading out the door to do the ginormous Turkey Day papers starting....now!

[Simbacat]

Hey kl, what is the word on a picketing at your mart of wal?

Went to work last night and three people were camped out in front of Big Yellow Price Tag. I wonder if they will still be there when I go to work this afternoon? What could they be camping out for?

[Rainman]

I've been doing the Black Friday thing for about four years now, and despite the hellish conditions, retail employees seem to accept it with a smile. Last year when the stores opened earlier (midnight instead of whatever AM) I noticed a difference. So to all my retail friends here on the interwebs, when Black Friday shopping this year, I am bringing a Santa Claus sized bag of peanut butter cups and giving some to any employee I see.