I’m not even sure why most stores opened Thanksgiving night at either 9 or midnight. Did they think perhaps it would be less chaotic than opening at 4am? My brother and his friend hit Wal-Mart at 10. My cousin and her annual group headed out at 11. Me?! I traveled to our area Wally World about 8am to a half-full store. While there, I was even able to chat with a few of my former co-workers. It seems that the store was the place to be earlier. No less than 18 shoppers had to be escorted out. A co-manager stated that next year it would be necessary to rethink some of the procedures and have lines around more of the doorbusters. Seriously, it is Not at all worth rushing, clamoring, and FIGHTING to get that 32″ LCD tv for $200 (or whatever the deal was). I was able to find gifts for all but two people on my list (Cyber Monday sounds nice to me) and spend less than $60 total after getting a decent night’s sleep. I even picked up the All-Star Superman DVD for $1.98. Perhaps it would be fun to go in and watch the lunatics have a free-for-all making every effort to get that last Tickle Me Elmo doll (ok… that was SO 20 years ago) but not to go in and see 18 people be escorted out. That is lunacy at it’s worst and this is SMALL TOWN U.S.A. “Peace on Earth, good will toward men” and Black Friday shoppers.
I found out about the madness when Hubby went to pick up some bread for our leftover turkey sandwiches – the bread aisle was roped off. Sounded like the action was in electronics though, so who knows what the problem was in grocery. Just a shame that people won’t be respectful of others as they trample each other to spend their money – sounds absurd when you think of it that way. How many years of this madness before it gets old for the stores and the customers?
It’s funny. Growing up, I don’t remember hearing of people throwing rocks through windows, mace-ing a clear in the face, or other seemingly ridiculous things in order to get that”must have” item. Either I did not pay much attention or the season really is becoming “too commercial” for many.
That should be “mace-ing a clerk in the face…”