Shopping on Black Friday is completely unnecessary.
I’ll say it again: shopping on Black Friday is completely unnecessary. The deals you think you’re getting on this one magical day can be obtained in other days if you shop smartly in the time leading up to the Christmas or Hanukkah or whatever holiday you celebrate.
>>> Why I Don’t Mind Working Retail Thanksgiving Day
My opinion comes from working six years in retail, all in management. Four of those years were in a big-box retailer, while the other two were in a medium-sized specialty shop.
When a Black Friday ad comes out, it has about 30 to 50 items that are marked at attention-getting prices. However, if you look at those same exact items throughout the year, you may find them at the same price. Sometimes even lower.
And while your attention is focused on those lower prices, you’re not seeing that the other “must haves” on everyone’s shopping lists are actually more expensive than usual, causing you to break even—not save.
So think about that—and ask why you’re pushing to extend Black Friday to include Thanksgiving—or as I call it, Miserable Thursday—as well.
On Miserable Thursday, employees have to cancel plans of spending time with family so that they can come and open the store so you can come and get some of those “savings.”
People line up to be the first into Target for Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales. (Photo: DJLicious/Creative Commons)
Last year, our specialty store was open on Thanksgiving from 6 p.m. to midnight. As store manager I had to arrive before 5 p.m., complete final prep, let employees in and prepare the store for opening.
Madness ensued at 6 p.m. and lasted until midnight. The last customers were out of the store around 12:30 a.m. Did I get to leave then? Nope, and neither did my employees, as we had to make the store presentable for the next morning when we opened at 6 a.m.
We also had to change price signs, take down sale signs no longer in effect, etc. All so that customers could save the few percentage points that were also available all year long. I left at 1:30 a.m.—and arrived back at the store around 5 the next morning.
Happy Thanksgiving to me.
“But the employees get holiday pay!” Nope, not always. Only one person on our payroll receives holiday pay and it’s not me. Nor is it the hard working employees working just over minimum wage. Nor did we receive bonuses, even though our store performed above expectations.
My recommendation for customers: start planning your holiday shopping ahead. Watch for savings throughout the year. Look at online retailers like eBay and Amazon. Better deals can be obtained if you just shopped smarter: you don’t need to force stores to be open on Thanksgiving day.
It’s time for customers to wise up and realize that the torture they put on themselves and store employees is not worth it. It’s completely unnecessary.
