When I was a kid growing up in eastern PA, my family never went out shopping on Black Friday. I recall many Thanksgivings where we'd have our big turkey dinner with all the usual side dishes, and then spend the evening watching TV together. The commercials were always entertaining, since retail stores would promote their Black Friday sale specials, and my dad and I would check out the deals for big screen TVs on big discounts. They heavily mentioned they'd open their doors at 5 a.m. but we never went out shopping. My family was smart enough to know that if the sun wasn't awake, nobody else should be.
Still, I'd always turn on CNN the next day, and they would have reports from retail stores all over the country and show video of early morning shoppers trying to be the first to get the big ticket items everybody wanted. The sad reality is that the onset of Christmas shopping always managed to bring out the worst in people, as video would show fights break out at stores like Wal-Mart for toys and electronics. I often wondered what it would be like to be there as a store had opened its doors to let its first customers in to be part of the first round of shoppers, but I never went.
Two years ago was my first ever experience going out shopping with the looney toons in the wee early hours of Black Friday. By this time, many retail stores were opening their doors at midnight, some even at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. I had a couple big ticket items I had wanted to buy, so I figured since the opportunity had presented itself, I chose to go out. By 4 a.m. or so I had enough, and went home to get some sleep.
Last year was my second straight midnight shopping experience on Thanksgiving into Black Friday. Many stores were following others' suits from the previous year, and opened up by 9 p.m. Thanksgiving night. I stood outside a local Kohl's, and made small talk with some other people in line who had already been to Target and Wal-Mart that night. I got what I had wanted, and did some other shopping throughout the night before heading back home.
Other people in my family, namely my father, don't like dealing with Christmas shopping in general. The crowds in malls and stores can certainly be stressful all season long as everyone is on a mission, and I can understand that much. There are always one or two people on my shopping list every year who I have no idea what to get them, and that's tough when dealing with thousands of other people roaming around. I always managed to have fun every year in shopping for my family and other people on my list because I enjoy finding the perfect gift for everyone. I tend to make a list with specific gift ideas that help shorten my trips, so I know exactly what to get and where to get it.
My point is that I'm once again planning on going out shopping in the wee hours of Black Friday morning this year. I've put together a list of who I need to buy for and what I would like to get them, and which stores will likely have what I want. I'm going to the Ravens/Steelers game that night so I won't be starting my shopping till well after midnight, but I've noticed many major retail stores like Target, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Toys R Us are opening their doors much earlier than even last year.
You may ask, "How early?"
Try 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. Toys R Us is actually opening its doors at 5 p.m. Thanksgiving night.
This to me is insane. There are many families who are still having dinner at 5:00 on Thanksgiving and probably watching football while they eat. Now with stores opening as early as they are, families won't be together since either a.) they're going to line up to shop for those big ticket TVs and appliances, or b.) one or more family members will have to leave early because they have to work that night at one of these stores.
Ten years ago I was fresh out of college and took a part time job working a holiday shopping season at Best Buy for some extra income. I had to work the night of Black Friday, and the parking lot was absolutely insane with cars and shoppers coming and going. Employees had to work a minimum of 6 hours that day unless they were dying (not exaggerating - we had a store meeting a couple weeks prior to Black Friday and they were dead serious that everybody had to work unless there was some dire medical reason). Management had even ordered pizza and soda for all the staff so they wouldn't have to leave the parking lot, which actually made a lot of sense since we had to deal with the public in just getting into the store.
I say all that because even though retail shopping has evolved in many ways in the last ten years, I understand why retailers are so focused on the Christmas shopping season. Most companies don't see true profits until they get to the Christmas season, so they want to be in the black as quickly as possible, hence the term "Black Friday". I also know what it's like to work with people who had to leave their family by midnight on Thanksgiving since the store opened up Black Friday morning around 4 a.m. That isn't fun but it's the nature of the beast. Now imagine if Joe Schmoe works at Best Buy and has to be at his store at least two hours before the store opens at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving night. Either he will have to have a super early dinner with his family, or leave in the middle of dinner and not get to relax and watch football the rest of the night. On top of all that, most retail stores extend their operating hours as the calendar gets closer to Christmas, so instead of stores closing at 9 p.m., they could be open as late as 11 p.m., even on Sundays.
How did we get to this position? You'd think that with so many people doing their Christmas shopping online, there would be less need for overworking retail employees like this. I realize that I'm perpetuating the problem somewhat since I started this entire post talking about my habit of shopping on Black Friday now, but I wouldn't sacrifice the holiday being around my family in the name of buying a big screen TV at a huge discount. Considering I know the kind of mark up TVs have, I can tell you retailers are still making huge profits off them even with those discounts anyway.
Fortunately there are at least a few major retailers who still value their employees enough that they won't open their doors until sometime on Black Friday. Costco, Nordstrom, Home Depot, and Lowe's are a few notable companies who will allow their employees to stay home with their families on Thanksgiving. Hopefully this list won't keep shrinking in future years.
No comments:
Post a Comment