Black Friday

Are you one of those people that go crazy on Black Friday?

Do you put yourself through a whole day of bliss torture? Shopping carts run into the backs of your ankles, baby strollers being used as ram-rods to get through the crowds, hours and hours of long check-out lines, and the possibility of getting hurt with merchandise (or maybe another shopper)?

My daughter asked me to go with her a couple years ago. I don't do well with crowds and my very first reaction was to say "no". But my daughter is a persistent one. "Please mom, all you have to do is stand by the cart and I will throw stuff in." Throw stuff in?? Are you serious? The very first store that we went to, I did just that. I stood by the cart while she threw stuff in. And in my amazed, disbelief, awe, I wanted it to be a mental rejection (this is not happening type of thing), I witnessed merchandise being thrown over innocent bystanders' heads. And do you know what that merchandise was? Great big boxes of the battery powered cars (jeeps) for kids. Oh Lord, I wanted to exit that store, and exit it NOW (I am having a panic attack). The next store that we went to (3 hours later) I found the nearest bench and sat there till my daughter was done shopping (I really hope this bench is bolted down, because when I get the urge to sprint out of the store, I might just take it with me).

I ran across an article from Salt Lake City's Target and Best Buy stores. If you love to shop Black Friday, they make it possible for you to gobble down your turkey dinner and then head out for shopping. The doors will open and the crowds will charge. CHARGE!

Did you know that these two stores start planning their Black Friday sales in July? That is almost four months of planning. And it's not just planning the items that they want to mark for sale, those four months are used for training too. The stores provide in-store seminars and classes to teach the employees the ins and outs of handling large crowds. And the number one concern on Black Friday is customer safety. A public shopping facility being trained on customer safety.....does that tell you something? Every employee is assigned a position. This is kind of sounding like a set up for the president to arrive (they have snipers at every entrance and exit. Security in every department. And a walkie-talkie system just in case there is trouble, like a stampede, fist fights, or hair pulling....). Best buy will have an extra 25 employees on hand; Target will have nearly 175 staffers throughout the day.

One fun fact for you: Americans are expected (statistics, gotta love'm) to spend about $450 billion in sales over the holiday season this year.

Me, I am going to stay home on Black Friday with my doors and windows bolted.....The one day of the year I stay home. Okay, two days a year, I don't go anywhere on New Year's Eve either. I will stay home and say a prayer for the people that put themselves through torture.