Shopping Web Site Woes.

[OhMari]

I'm technically not shopping in the stores, but I am online.

But, this is like being in the stores and trying to check out. The wait is taking forever. I've been trying to check out with Levi.com, they have 40% off today, and my purchase does not want to go through.

 

[akcire]

I feel your pain. I had a long list for Macy's. Items kept selling out while in my cart.

I finally resorted to checking out each time I hit the free shipping threshold. I was doing a lot of ordering for family (my mom works there and doesn't know how to use a computer). All told I placed 7 orders, and missed out on a dozen things on the list.

Still better than going there. My Medicare eligible mother has to report for work at 7 pm tonight Thanksgiving. Oy! I can't wait until her tales from tomorrow about all her co-workers calling off. I'm secretly hoping people just rob the store blind so they will put an end to this idea. If this goes well I see them opening on Christmas Day too.

 

[kaytieeldr]

If this goes well I see them opening on Christmas Day too.

I don't see why. The earlier openings are consumer-driven. If shoppers weren't waiting outside the stores hours before Black Friday opening (4 AM when it was 9; midnight when it was 6; 6 PM Thusday whaen it was 12:01 - not even counting the people camp out days early.)

Stores aren't going to open on Christmas. It's a non-issue.

 

[akcire]

Stores aren't going to open on Christmas. It's a non-issue.

Five or ten years ago you could have said the same about Thanksgiving Day.

 

[kkandaj]

Shopping online is no different than shopping in the stores on Thanksgiving/Black Friday if your stance is you don't want people to have to be away from their families. Who do you think is making sure websites don't go down, making sure prices are correct online, online customer service reps answering people's questions? I work in IT so know how many people it takes to run huge websites and to make sure they can handle the load. So all of those people are also away from their families as we shop from our phones or sitting on our couches with our laptops. One type of shopping is no better than the other on the holidays. And every company will still have IT staff working on Christmas so everyone can shop.

 

[akcire]

Shopping online is no different than shopping in the stores on Thanksgiving/Black Friday if your stance is you don't want people to have to be away from their families. Who do you think is making sure websites don't go down, making sure prices are correct online, online customer service reps answering people's questions? I work in IT so know how many people it takes to run huge websites and to make sure they can handle the load. So all of those people are also away from their families as we shop from our phones or sitting on our couches with our laptops. One type of shopping is no better than the other on the holidays. And every company will still have IT staff working on Christmas so everyone can shop.

I'm well aware. I used to set up banking call centers, including 365/24 credit card divisions. It was not uncommon for me to work 12-16 hour shifts on Holidays. We all rotated. That said, I had a professional level job and many of the first contact staff were in countries that didn't celebrate the same holidays. My father was a police officer my whole life, I was in high school before he had enough seniority to have Christmas day off. At that point I think he had like 30 years of service.

So I get working on holidays, but I just think that a $10 hour retail job should come with a little less expectation; and frankly when I managed a retail store I can tell you people just called off. They didn't even have to work Thanksgiving. They'd call off for the day before or after or the whole weekend; mysterious incapacitating illnesses. Some because they wanted to be with their families, some because they didn't want to deal with the "drama" of the sales. My husband drove to pick up my mom this morning at 7 am. There were already a half dozen people in line at Best Buy on Thanksgiving Day at 7 am.

If we are going to keep stores open Thanksgiving and Christmas why not keep them all open all the time. I was talking to a friend who works at my local Walmart. They are building a new Walmart, as a replacement, about a mile away. The new store is being built without exterior door locks. From what she has said is it will always be open or staffed with security. Curious concept.

There's a big difference between a website and a physical store open on a holiday. I just hope the retailers new to being open on Thanksgiving remembered to reprogram their lights. If I was going out to shop today, I'd bring a flashlight.

 

[kaytieeldr]

and frankly when I managed a retail store I can tell you people just called off. They didn't even have to work Thanksgiving. They'd call off for the day before or after or the whole weekend; mysterious incapacitating illnesses. Some because they wanted to be with their families, some because they didn't want to deal with the "drama" of the sales.

It's ultimately the employer's responsibility for not having consequences for these actions. One company for which i worked (not retail) had a policy that if you took off unauthorized time before or after a holiday, you didn't get paid for the holiday. One coworker came in both days, but went home sick ate the day after the holiday. They were serious about the policy. She didn't get holiday pay.

Way back when I did work in retail - back before Black Friday was the event it is now - EVERYBODY worked Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. If you didn't work, you didn't have a job Monday.

I just hope the retailers new to being open on Thanksgiving remembered to reprogram their lights. If I was going out to shop today, I'd bring a flashlight.

Given that the lights arent programmed by calendar, this isn't an issue. Anyone responsible for opening the store knows to turn on the lights - just like the other 51 or so Thursdays of the year.

 

[akcire]

[QUOTE="kaytieeldr;50171700"
Given that the lights arent programmed by calendar, this isn't an issue. Anyone responsible for opening the store knows to turn on the lights - just like the other 51 or so Thursdays of the year.[/QUOTE]

Actually most large stores have the lights programmed by corporate. They go on and off at prescribed times. Same with heating and cooling. Having spent my college years as a retail employee I can say there were many frantic calls to corporate to get them to fix the lights during holiday hours. We could not just turn the selling floor lights on or off. This was true for both the best buy and toysrus.

At best buy I was a key holder. I knew the security alarm codes and the safe codes. I also took the deposit to the bank. If the lights were not programmed correctly it took me at least 10 minutes of phone calling to get corrected. Now that was 1995. Things may have changed but I was in a Target a few weeks ago and the sale floor lights, heat, and music turned off. They came on the loud speaker and about 5 minutes later full lights were back. So I can only surmise it still happens.