I Mourn Black Friday

To most people, the phrase “Black Anything” would represent a time to mourn. For some unlucky shoppers it has been a sad occasion as they have often times been injured as they trampled over one another trying to get to the deals. Having worked in retail several different Black Fridays (BF),  I can say that there is nothing that turns me away from the Christmas spirit faster than seeing the way people behave. Is it the deals they are getting or the competition they seek? I wonder.

One year in particular I was managing a snack bar for a major retail chain. We had a plan that sounded fool proof….. When the doors open promptly at 6am, the shoppers would casually stroll by a table full of tree ornaments, and as they passed the little red haired stock boy would smile, hand each one of the first 100 shoppers an ornament, and say “Merry Christmas”.  It was such a simple plan, what could go wrong? Count down…. 3….2….1…. unlatch the doors! 

Two minutes and 17 seconds later I looked over at the little red haired stock boy and seriously considered calling 9-1-1. There he stood behind the empty table with a twilight zone look on his face and one empty palm out stretched as though it were holding something invisible. All he could manage to say was “Wha….. Wha….. What happened?” I am sure he was traumatized and scarred for life.

So who started all this mess anyway?

According to Time.com it was “tied to accounting balance sheets where black ink would represent a profit. Many see Black Friday as the day retailers go into the black or show a profit for the first time in a given year. The term stuck and spread, and by the 1990s Black Friday became an unofficial retail holiday nationwide. Since 2002, Black Friday has been the season's biggest shopping day each year except 2004, according to market-research firm ShopperTrak.”

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1942935,00.html#ixzz1eXE8sX5c

Okay, I get that it’s cool to save some money and get some great deals for our friends and family, and maybe even ourselves. But do we have to act like we are looters following a riot? Can’t we walk calmly into the store, let the little red haired boy hand us a complimentary ornament and wish us Merry Christmas without making him feel as though he has just been violated? It is just an ornament for crying out loud, not a gold coin!

I will not be participating in BF events this year, but I have but one request of the BF shoppers out there…. Please behave in a civilized manner like your momma taught you and be gentle with the little red haired boy!