Rate your retailer, Black Friday edition

[kydisneyfans]

Based on the Wal Mart story in New York, how would you rate how each store handled the crowds and the availability of items in the ad today?

Kohls-very organized, great in stock position, easy to shop. Thumbs up.

Wal Mart-a zoo is an understatement. Seemed to have items in stock, but it made no sense where the product was placed. PJs were in front of electronics, TVs were by the bananas. Will stay away like the plague. Thumbs down.

Sears-out of stock, long lines in electronics. Sale items not marked. Thumbs down.

Macys-good in stock position, all registers open, too many exclusions on the coupons. Still a thumbs up.

New York and Company-nice ad, only 3 out of 6 registers open-lines of 30 minutes plus. Thumbs down.

Family Christian-ad confusing, too many different dates in 1 book. Great sale prices though. Thumbs up.

The winner here is Kohls, the loser here is Wal Mart.

 

[OK!]

I only had time to go to 1 store before work (will prob hit a couple more after I get off this afternoon), but I give my GameStop a big thumbs-up. About 15 minutes before they opened, the manager stuck his head out and asked how many of us were there for Wii Fits (I was) and once he found out, went into the back and made sure to bring enough up to the front to hold behind the register so they could get people in and out as quickly as possible. They actually even ended up letting us in about 5 minutes early, which I thought was very nice, and though it was a tiny little store and (comparatively) packed with people, everybody was nice and calm and efficient.

This was my first Black Friday early-a.m. experience and overall, I was quite impressed.

 

[Free4Life11]

Target -- I got my Guitar Hero, so big thumbs up!

Best Buy -- got what I wanted, quick lines, very organized, thumbs up!

Walmart -- what a dump, disorganized, not enough cashiers, thumbs down!

 

[mickeym96]

I have to give our Wal-Mart a thumbs up Everything was well organized and easy to find, near the department that they should be. There were lines at the registers shortly after they opened but every register was open. They did run out of carts, but that was only because everyone that they had was being used by customers. And the employees were very helpful, as they always are in this store.

 

[adkkev]

I have to give our Wal-Mart a thumbs up Everything was well organized and easy to find, near the department that they should be. There were lines at the registers shortly after they opened but every register was open. They did run out of carts, but that was only because everyone that they had was being used by customers. And the employees were very helpful, as they always are in this store.

Were you really in a WalMart? Did you check to make sure? Clearly the manager of this store is deviating from company policy and is sure to be terminated!!

 

[Angelhalo]

Target,, Circuit, City, Kohl's, and Best Buy were AWESOME! Heck really they were all awesome except Wal-Mart.

The problem is this: our Walmart is open 24 hours. So the really great sales ad items are left on the palettes that they arrived in, wrapped in plastic and placed in the main aisles throughout the store. Since the store never closes, they allow people to come in all night, but they can't get any of those items on the palettes until 5am. The problem then becomes that the people who get there at 2 and 3am are hovering over the palettes of what they want just waiting for the employees to rip the plastic off of the palettes at 5am. So unless you're there at 2am you have NO chance of getting anything. On top of that, many people weren't waiting for the employees to pull the plastic off and instead decided to start ripping it off themselves. Another problem was that employees began pulling plastic off the palettes about 15 minutes before 5. It was mass chaos.

All the other stores had police officers watching over everything, line systems in place, etc etc. We decided we won't go back to Wal-Mart on Black Friday next year.

 

[koolaidmoms]

Sears-out of stock, long lines in electronics. Sale items not marked. Thumbs down.

This was the only store I went to as we wanted something very specific (a washer & dryer). They had none in stock and did not know when they would be delivered so we got a "rain check" of sorts. There were many other people there too at 5:15 am to buy the same item. Some left with nothing not even the rain check as they were mad. I was extremely disappointed. For a store that seems to be trying to save itself I think they made some huge mistakes today.

 

[Chicago526]

I went to Target and Kohl's.

I was at Kohl's for the 4 AM opening. The crowd all proceeded in orderly, there weren't any carts by the time I got in, but I didn't need one so that was fine. They had the one door buster item I wanted plus another item I wanted that was on sale. Checkout was quick.

I got to Target about 1 hour 15 minutes prior to open and waited outside the whole time. I was 7th in line at that point. About 45 min. prior to open some employees came out and put carts around the line to keep us all in order and to prevent late arrivals from line jumping as the doors opened. Then they handed out store maps that listed the locations of all the door busters, and cheerfully answered questions about anything not on the map/list. About 15 minutes prior to open, they handed out small Starbucks samples (mint moca with whip cream and chocolate syrup! ). They opend about 2 minutes early, again it was very orderly and this time I got a cart (they had plent up front and stacks of about a dozen placed throughout the store). I got all the items I wanted, and got into line. Lines were long already but they opened up three lanes while I was there, so they were trying to keep lines to a minimum. I was in my car and on the way home by about 6:20!

In short, Target was fantastic!!!!!

 

[wardfamily1]

I went to Walmart and Target this morning. Walmart was a zoo wrapped in a tornado. You could barely walk through the store, not because of the customers, but because there was too much merchandise on the floors. Someone should have called the fire marshall on them. Target was very organized. Aisles were tidy and easy to get through.

I'm not ripping on Walmart because I shop there every week, but why can't they be more organized like Target? They pay the same so it isn't like they can blame it on the workers, I put the blame on management.


Oh yeah, I went to Walgreens too. They were very organized and ready for customers.

 

[blu3d3vil]

BIG Thumbs down to Sears. Their website was crushed and they weren't prepared. Haven't been able to order all morning and apparently they won't honor the doorbuster deals that they had posted online.

 

[friendofgusgus]

My Kohls get a big FAIL.

All of the problems previous posters described were at my Kohl's this morning - long, long lines to check out, merchandise squeezed so tightly that you could not pass through the racks, discarded merchandise thrown everywhere, kitchen small appliances in the boys' department, you name it - they had it.

Totally ruined my Black Friday mojo - I left with nothing.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

WalMart was a disaster. I wouldn't have gone, but the kids jackets and jeans were too good, and I had to be to work at 8am. Stuff was piled in the aisles, the employees had no idea where anything was, people were just pushing other people out of the way.

Super Shoes, on the other hand, was awesome! Everyone was wicked helpfulk, stuff was easy to find, all the shoppers were friendly.

 

[Alice28]

I only went to two stores. Target and World Market.

Target- INCREDIBLY organized- kudos to them. It was MOBBED with people, but it was orderly, organized, and I got the 1 thing my son wanted. The checkout process was very good and fast considering how long the line was. I only wish I looked at the movies but I just wanted out.

World Market- well.....my only BEEF is that I was one of the first 100 in line. And I had a ticket for my free coupon book and ornament. I get to the front of the 'freebie' line with my ticket and they RAN OUT OF THE ORNAMENTS? I don't get it? 100 tickets = 100 ornaments. I didn't make a stink about it, but I was irritated after I thought about it. They did have great sales and I love their merchandise.

 

[NotAmused]

Target-Very organized. Passed out maps and carts plus they had cops blocking the line as people decided to start forming a second line on the other side of the door. Cops and employees ensured those people waited until the real line was inside. We got what we wanted and were immediately checked out. No waits. In fact, the employees were waiting in front for customers.

Old Navy-Also very organized. About 5 minutes before they opened, they came out and gave the first 50 people wrist bands to get a free MP3 players. Lots of staff and no lines to check out.

Sports Authority-We went about an hour after opening. Each department had employees waiting to answer questions and very short lines to check out.

Wal-Mart-Didn't hit Walmart until about 6:30 and it wasn't too crowded. No lines either.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Christmas Tree Shop: Opened at 6, I was the first person to arrive, around 5:25. Another vehicle pulled in right after me; others showed up intermittently over the next twenty minutes but it was COLD out, so we all stayed in the cars until about ten of. I got to be first in line

I got everything (well, both things) I went for, plus, naturally, a bunch of stuff on which I hadn't planned. Got in 'line' at the register, where there was actually only one person ahead of me, almost done with her transaction. I have NEVER gotten out of that store that fast or that easily. Then I went to CVS, and now I'm not going to any more stores (except maybe this coming Monday after work - which is reported to be the slowest time of the entire shopping season).

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

Target was great. Very organized, staff everywhere restocking, offering assistance, smiling and having fun with the craziness, no wait to checkout. The past 3 years I have had great BF shopping experiences with them and they will continue to be on my list. They did a great job.

Toys R Us on the other hand was terrible. The line went around the store, and when I tried to go look in the electronics section, they told me to get in line... to shop. Uh, yeah right. This at 10 am after the store had been open for 5 hours. Especially when Target managed to make a much smaller video game section accessible to a much larger number of people without waiting just to see if they had the game in stock still. Every staff person I saw had their arms crossed and sour looks on their faces, Many shelves were empty with no restocking going on. Lots of people were walking out empty handed and telling others not to bother going in.

Other places were fine. Old Navy was working hard to keep people happy and having contests etc in line. Target was by far the standout though.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I have to agree on Wal-Mart being a zoo. I waited in line forever in electronics--everyone was in one line, waiting for different things, that were all behind the register. It was cramped and messy and disorganized. But I must say, the clerks were friendly and knowledgable.

Wal-Mart took so long, we missed the 6 am opening at Target. So, first we hit Michael's--very fast there, just a couple things I wanted and they were right by the front.

Target was really simple. Again, I was looking for electronics, but there were about 3 people in line and they had what I needed right there. Paid there, grabbed a couple other things on my way out, it took 2 minutes to get through the front register. I think generally, though, Target has wider aisles and less clutter, so it's easier to navigate.

This was the first time DD13 accompanied me for Black Friday--she made a few amateurish mistakes, but lived to tell about it, so no harm done.

I also went to JoAnn Fabrics later in the morning--they had a good price on fleece, among other things. It was ~10:30 am, and there were people and bolts of fabric everywhere. More messy than anything, and it wasn't such a zoo like Wal-Mart. Probably it looked worse than it was, due to people needing fabric cut? So, you would wait in a line for cutting, then a line for checking out. The fabric is a 2-day sale, so I'll go back today and see what I like.

 

[Darcy03231]

Kohls - Great. Everything was well organized, all registers were open and lots of employees on hand to direct you to where everything was.

Target - Great. Again, very well organized, all registers were open and lots of employees to help out.

Walmart - OK. It was very crowded and pretty disorganized. Lines were long. Aisles were crowded with merchandise and people. I will say all the shoppers in there were in a good mood and polite. People were helping other people find things and there were some employees in the toy section to let you know where everything was.

Bobs - Well this was fantastic for me, there was hardly anyone in there. Lots of parking, lots of carts, plenty of merchandise and all registers were open.

AC Moore - Another great store. More crowded than Bobs, but not crazy busy. Employees were helpful and all registers were open.

Christmas Tree Shops - Another OK store. Lots of people in there, hardly any employees on the floor and it was hard to find some stuff. Again, shoppers were helping other shoppers out in finding things. All of the registers were open so once you got what you wanted you could get out fairly quickly.

After these stores I hit the mall, which was much quieter than I thought it would be. This was around 10 am. I had no trouble finding a parking space at all. All of the stores I went to in the mall were fine. No different than any other day, other than the Disney Store where I had about a 5 min wait to get in. I went to JC Penney, Borders, Victoria's Secret, Hollister, Ambercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, Claire's, Bath & Body Works, Disney Store, Macy's, Coach, and Lindt Chocolate.

So, all in all none of the stores were a total thumbs down but Walmart and Christmas Tree Shops definitely had room for improvement.

 

[MoniqueU]

I didn't hit any of the big box retailers I only went to the mall. My mom went to Kohls and the lines to check out were wrapped down around the aisles and she got there about opening. She had to buy some earrings in fine jewelry to be able to get home in time for us to get to the mall at opening. I am sure they had all their registers open but they don't have many registers to start with. I would just say a nuetral for there for her.

Got to the mall after they opened, front row parking.
Macys, thumbs up. the most crowded of the stores i went into but fabulous prices, lots of people to help out and quic checkout. Thumbs up.

Pac Sun a big thumbs up. Very helpful staff, I was the only one in line and even though they were a little confused on how to use my non store gift certificate and then my debit card it was worked out right away.

Tillys thumbs up, got help right away. got a dressing room right away and I was the only person in line with all registers open.

Gap thumbs up but scarey, I was the only customer in the store, so how could they get that wrong. Not the greatest prices and not that good of a selection of merchandise. Do they only sell jeans now or what?

Thumbs down to LTD2. I got there about 45 minutes after the mall opened. Even with the BOGO the prices werent good on what I bought. I was 4th in line but there was only ONE register open, the lights were on so bright and hot I thought I was a hamburger under a heat lamp at Mcdonalds and this poor woman trying to pay cash couldn't even do it as they didn't have change. HUH? Finally a few employees strolled in and they opened all the registers or I would still be there.

All in all our mall was pretty quiet. I have been there on the weekends before and had much longer waits in line then I did yesterday. Not a good sign for our local economy but maybe it picked up later in the day, I don't know. I was home a bit after 10.

 

[SydneyBristow]

We went to Walmart in the afternoon and our store looked great. Lots of items available, things organized, lots of registers open and the employees were helpful as usual. My DH went over Thanksgiving night just to get a few things and they had a marked line for people waiting for electronic black Friday deals, inside the store (we have a 24 hour one) he said it was very well organized. We have a really nice Walmart.