Black Friday becomes a dangerous holiday
Rachel Weatherford
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Forum
The best experience of my shopping life happened on Black Friday. Actually, it was probably equally the best and the worst. After that Black Friday experience, my mom and I were watching Jingle All the Way when my mom said, "Before Wal-Mart in Arkansas, I would never have believed that this movie and what's happening to the father was true. Now, I totally believe the movie!" I agreed one hundred percent. That was because my mom, my aunt, my sister, and I woke up at 5 am one Black Friday down in Arkansas. We were visiting my grandparents for Thanksgiving and the store had awesome sales. I was the instigator for the trip. I wanted a DVD player and my sister wanted a coat and no one trusted me to make it to town on my own, so they decided to tag along.
We got there. The salespeople didn't seem scared, just annoyed. People just walked into the store at 5am, not even waiting for the doors to open. Wal-Mart is the biggest store in that town. They gathered around the DVD player section, and I somehow eased myself into the front.
They pulled down the tarps and the madness begun. One lady literally growled at everyone if they came near her cart, and she had at least twenty portable DVD players in her cart. I wondered what she was going to do with all of them. I got mine, went for a bag, and got my face crushed between two people. It was disgusting, but I wanted that DVD player enough that I didn't care, just like everyone else there.
My mother stood near the cart, chuckling. She explained she used to be like those other people, but then she decided it just wasn't worth it and stopped shopping. I feel the sorriest for the salespeople at big chain stores, where everyone shops. They see so many people before noon, pushy, rude people. When cameras, laptops, and Wiis are practically 75% off or more, people are going to come. Plus, nearly everyone is off work and school and need to go somewhere.
I'm hardly condemning it for people who love to shop and get excellent deals. After all, it's probably the only day someone gets a Wii for about $200 for their kid. I like the thought of Black Friday. I don't necessarily like the way it plays out, though. Maybe because my first - and only - experience with Black Friday was so awful that I couldn't bear to repeat it and so condemn the holiday. Maybe the stores secretly know that Black Friday is probably one of their biggest money making days of the year and play that part up. Whatever the reason, Black Friday is probably my least favorite holiday, one I never want to participate in again, and one that I will probably never forget. Unfortunately.
We got there. The salespeople didn't seem scared, just annoyed. People just walked into the store at 5am, not even waiting for the doors to open. Wal-Mart is the biggest store in that town. They gathered around the DVD player section, and I somehow eased myself into the front.
They pulled down the tarps and the madness begun. One lady literally growled at everyone if they came near her cart, and she had at least twenty portable DVD players in her cart. I wondered what she was going to do with all of them. I got mine, went for a bag, and got my face crushed between two people. It was disgusting, but I wanted that DVD player enough that I didn't care, just like everyone else there.
My mother stood near the cart, chuckling. She explained she used to be like those other people, but then she decided it just wasn't worth it and stopped shopping. I feel the sorriest for the salespeople at big chain stores, where everyone shops. They see so many people before noon, pushy, rude people. When cameras, laptops, and Wiis are practically 75% off or more, people are going to come. Plus, nearly everyone is off work and school and need to go somewhere.
I'm hardly condemning it for people who love to shop and get excellent deals. After all, it's probably the only day someone gets a Wii for about $200 for their kid. I like the thought of Black Friday. I don't necessarily like the way it plays out, though. Maybe because my first - and only - experience with Black Friday was so awful that I couldn't bear to repeat it and so condemn the holiday. Maybe the stores secretly know that Black Friday is probably one of their biggest money making days of the year and play that part up. Whatever the reason, Black Friday is probably my least favorite holiday, one I never want to participate in again, and one that I will probably never forget. Unfortunately.
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