Talk about corporate greed!

leahjade

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
2,092
First time I went out at midnight on black Friday, and I've never seen anything like it! People pushing and shoving for small appliances and dvds! At our Walmart, an ambulance had to be called for someone who was trampled and ended up with a broken leg. Carts were overflowing with junk (3 and 4 of some items) and this is a bad economy! I wonder how long it will take some of these people to pay off all this stuff and if its worth it? The language was atrocious - what an example for all the young children who were there. The store had many employees who were trying to keep order and help things stay peaceful but it was an ugly mob scene all for $2 waffle irons and $1.96 dvds.
 
First time I went out at midnight on black Friday, and I've never seen anything like it! People pushing and shoving for small appliances and dvds! At our Walmart, an ambulance had to be called for someone who was trampled and ended up with a broken leg. Carts were overflowing with junk (3 and 4 of some items) and this is a bad economy! I wonder how long it will take some of these people to pay off all this stuff and if its worth it? The language was atrocious - what an example for all the young children who were there. The store had many employees who were trying to keep order and help things stay peaceful but it was an ugly mob scene all for $2 waffle irons and $1.96 dvds.

I don't know about corporate greed-that sounds to me more like adults behaving badly.
 
I don't know about corporate greed-that sounds to me more like adults behaving badly.

:thumbsup2
Stores only offer things if people attend them..People are the ones being greedy, selfish and thoughtless during these things.
 
First time I went out at midnight on black Friday, and I've never seen anything like it! People pushing and shoving for small appliances and dvds! At our Walmart, an ambulance had to be called for someone who was trampled and ended up with a broken leg. Carts were overflowing with junk (3 and 4 of some items) and this is a bad economy! I wonder how long it will take some of these people to pay off all this stuff and if its worth it? The language was atrocious - what an example for all the young children who were there. The store had many employees who were trying to keep order and help things stay peaceful but it was an ugly mob scene all for $2 waffle irons and $1.96 dvds.

I really don't see how this is corporate greed. It speaks more to the choices people made and their behavior. What some consider junk others consider a gift they can afford. I am not in any way condoning the behavior or the language, but this is one of the reasons I avoid places like Walmart and Best Buy on black friday. There is nothing they have that is worth staying awake for or getting up early for to fight people so eager to get something on sale that they will do anything necessary to get it.

In this bad economy our family is fortunate enough to not have to worry about our finances, but there are many who do and corporate America is playing to this.
 

I decided not to go out in the midnight madness hoping people stayed home and it wouldn't pay off for the companies. But from all the reports I read, it was more crowded than ever! I was hoping they would go back to the old way next year, but I doubt it now.

I went out in the morning and it was pretty peaceful and I got everything on my list between online and the morning shopping. Except one cheap video game (Infamous 2) that I wasn't willing to brave Walmart for at 10 pm.

Maggie
 
Not sure why this is corporate greed, it sounds more like consumer greed.
 
/
While I agree people should act like humans- instead of animals- Stores build this "Black friday" thing up so much with these loss leaders and then corral everyone into a situation that builds excitement. then when they set people loose there is bound to be trouble. If they had reasonable hours and enough stock this would not happen. Stores do not make any money on these items- they make money on the items that they hope you pick up along the way or while waiting in line. That is their profit.
I have never heard so many people say that there was no way they would get in those lines- drives people to buy online instead.
 
I was watching the news reports this morning on yesterdays crowds and incidences. I was glad I stayed home and decorated the house. I was feeling claustrophobic watching it on tv.

We bought one thing online yesterday. BIL asked for something very specific and supplied the link and there was free shipping.

We're going out today to one store and going out to lunch.
 
Check ebay you will find a lot of small appliances there probably. That is where they ended up last year. A lot buy the stuff to resell. Just because people are buying more than one of something does not mean the economy is not bad either. Well some behave badly I have not found it to be the norm. At least not where I live. Most people I have encountered at Walmart on black friday are friendly.Of course the news reports the worst of the worst but overall it is not that bad. You also have to use common sense and if you feel a situation is not safe remove yourself from it. If someone wants the item that badly I will just move aside and let them have it. It is not worth fighting over.
 
First time I went out at midnight on black Friday, and I've never seen anything like it! People pushing and shoving for small appliances and dvds! At our Walmart, an ambulance had to be called for someone who was trampled and ended up with a broken leg. Carts were overflowing with junk (3 and 4 of some items) and this is a bad economy! I wonder how long it will take some of these people to pay off all this stuff and if its worth it? The language was atrocious - what an example for all the young children who were there. The store had many employees who were trying to keep order and help things stay peaceful but it was an ugly mob scene all for $2 waffle irons and $1.96 dvds.

I think Walmart needs to change the way they sell things. These 10pm and 12am door busters are just a bad idea. Of course people are going to go into them early if they are standing around waiting for hours beforehand. Walmart needs to enforce lines and have everything ready to sell when they open. I think it would make a big difference in people's behavior... Things look better when you can't have them. Target (where I went) was incredibly organized and calm. I honestly was impressed with how well they handled it, despite the largest BF crowd I've ever seen.
 
I didn't go out to the 10:00 pm or midnight sales, but I have the impression that's where the trouble/crowding was.

I did go out around 8:00 am on Friday, and I didn't encounter crowds at all -- at Target I was able to walk straight to a register, and at Dick's Sporting Goods I only had to wait for one person before it was my turn. I saw LOTS of employees just standing around, so I think the stores were suprised by the lack of shoppers on Friday.

The last time I went to Walmart on Black Friday was yeeeears ago -- my girls were still small, maybe the youngest wasn't even in school yet. I saw two women get into a fist fight over the last bicycle, and while they were fighting, someone else took the bike. So not worth it.
 
Our Walmart was jammed packed, they even ran out of parking spaces and people were parking all over the medians and grass, but I thought it was pretty well organized. The big ticket items all had numbered spaces for people to wait in line for and that went really well. The pallets were a little crazy, but everyone was kind and friendly around me and even helped each other out. There was some kind of incident between 2 people by the trampolines that a cop was handling, but they seemed to have it under control. Overall I thought Walmart did a great job and I had a fun night. :)
 
I think corporate greed can be assigned to rolling Black Friday over into the Thanksgiving Holiday. Other than that, I don't think there is a useful argument to be made for corporate greed. BF is the traditional start of Xmas shopping season, has been for years. And Xmas shopping is all about material things. I think people who have 2 or 3 or 5 of the same thing in their basket are buying for family and friends, to save others the lousy ordeal.

Soon, I see stores being open regularly all day on Thanksgiving. Same for Xmas day. That seems to be something that has been trending for a decade or so. This idea of opening at midnight, or 10 pm on Thanksgiving day, is just the beginning of getting people used to the idea of taking over the whole day. Too bad for families who work retail.
 
I think corporate greed can be assigned to rolling Black Friday over into the Thanksgiving Holiday. Other than that, I don't think there is a useful argument to be made for corporate greed. BF is the traditional start of Xmas shopping season, has been for years. And Xmas shopping is all about material things. I think people who have 2 or 3 or 5 of the same thing in their basket are buying for family and friends, to save others the lousy ordeal.

Soon, I see stores being open regularly all day on Thanksgiving. Same for Xmas day. That seems to be something that has been trending for a decade or so. This idea of opening at midnight, or 10 pm on Thanksgiving day, is just the beginning of getting people used to the idea of taking over the whole day. Too bad for families who work retail.

:thumbsup2

opening time is getting worst each year.. I got home from work at 7am Thanksgiving morning and was back before 8 Thanksgiving night because we opened at 9pm. I ended up sleeping through Thanksgiving dinner.

The really have to start drawing the line somewhere..


OP you mentioned kids being out.. I so would not take young kids out that night or even next morning. I cant tell you how many kids I saw shopping. Even had a lady in around 2am with 2 sleeping toddlers in a side by side stroller?? People have a hard enough time getting a shopping cart around that night let along a double stroller.
 

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