Talk about corporate greed!

[richmond282]

I think some of the stores border on criminal with the way they handle the day, letting hundreds of people line up starting hours or even a full day ahead of time and then just opening the floodgates to let them all stampede to the "3 per store" loss leaders! Walmart and a few others don't even seem to make an effort at an orderly, safe experience. It is as though the hype from the tramplings and pepper sprayings is part of the strategy to build buzz for next year.

I don't think you should totally blame the stores. First, I don't think stores "let" hundreds of people line up. What exactly are they supposed to do? Put up barricades along to sidewalk? Close the parking lot?

Secondly, don't lump all Walmarts into one category. Our store was crowded for the BF deals, but there were Walmart employees and police EVERYWHERE in our store. Everyone was very polite and orderly. Employees were obviously very well trained as to what to expect and what to do. They had seperate lines designated for the big ticket items. These lines were all over the store not in one area. They had up ropes for the lines to wait in and handed out tickets. I was in line for the Xbox bundle. I arrived at the store, asked an employee where I was supposed to line up, I was given a ticket and ushered into the line. When 10 o'clock rolled around, our line had to go to the automotives registers to be rung up. They had all the Xboxes and Playstations behind the counter. You handed them your ticket and had to pay right there (presumably to activate the gift cards we got with the deal.) There was no pushing, shoving, or line jumping.

 

[sydneysmom]

Corporate greed ?? I'm pretty sure that the "animal" dressed as a person that pepper sprayed 10 people for an X-Box is more to blame than Wal-Mart. I'm going w/ everyone else in saying it's "consumer greed".

Gone are the days where people held doors for each other, said good morning, wished each other Merry Christmas.... to me, that's a sad commentary on our world today. Now it's RUSH RUSH RUSH and get the heck out of my way.....

Let's all make a choice.... when we're out shopping, smile at someone...anyone. Be grateful...for something. Wish someone a Merry Christmas. Thank a clerk. Fold back up that sweater you just looked at. It might just spread...this crazy concept called JOY and CHRISTMAS SPIRIT !

 

[leahjade]

You're making a lot of assumptions about the finacial situation that those shoppers are in

Just heard on the news this morning that 33% of Americans are having trouble making their mortgage payment so common sense says that 1 out of 3 families in that Walmart store can't afford to be filling their carts with junk!

 

[leahjade]

Corporate greed ??

Already explained once that I was being IRONIC and SARCASTIC due to all the press about protesters picketing Wall Street for corporate greed. I know after witnessing that Walmart spectacle that worst greed in this country is INDIVIDUAL!

 

[tasha99]

Just heard on the news this morning that 33% of Americans are having trouble making their mortgage payment so common sense says that 1 out of 3 families in that Walmart store can't afford to be filling their carts with junk!

No, that's not common sense at all. It MAY be true, but I would not assume that the people shopping match the group of mortgage payers. It could be that a high percentage of people having trouble stayed home.

 

[Colleen27]

I don't think you should totally blame the stores. First, I don't think stores "let" hundreds of people line up. What exactly are they supposed to do? Put up barricades along to sidewalk? Close the parking lot?

Why not? They have security and can request local police enforcement of loitering statutes - malls did it all the time back in the "camp out at Ticketmaster" for hot concert tickets days. Camping out on private property is only as legal as the property owner wants it to be.

I know there are good and bad Walmarts to some degree, but I also don't think it is coincidence that every year the most sensational Black Friday incidents, the sort of thing that goes viral or makes national headlines, always come from Walmarts. Now some of that has to do with the shoppers, and I know it isn't PC to say but I do think that while most Walmart shoppers are normal people they are more attractive to that trashy/hostile low class demographic than most of their competitors. Which is all the more reason stores should be proactive in their security measures.

 

[*Seanaci*]

While I agree with those saying that her post is more of an adults acting badly...I can kind of see where it COULD be corporate greed. They offer SUPER low prices on big ticket items just to LURE people into their stores to spend their money in the store.

 

[Tistal]

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.

That's adults behaving badly; I avoid WalMart on black Friday at all costs. That's the only place I've seen people out and out act like animals on BF.

Also, I've never personally really felt like parents taking children out on BF was really a responsible decision. It's always crowded, strollers are always in the way, and shouldn't they be in bed at midnight, three in the morning, four in the morning etc?

 

[luvmy3]

While I agree with those saying that her post is more of an adults acting badly...I can kind of see where it COULD be corporate greed. They offer SUPER low prices on big ticket items just to LURE people into their stores to spend their money in the store.

That isn't really greed, they are in business to make money, as much money as they can. I'm not sure why people see that as a bad thing If we were talking about some local mom and pop store, would be so quick to call them greedy? I like corpoartions, I like when they make money. When they make money, it trickles down to keeping prices low and offering sales to us, the consumer. It allows them to open new stores and create new jobs. If we as a society are going to act like animals and savages in order to save $5 on towels I can't blame anyone other than those acting that way

 

[Planogirl]

I don't see how anyone can blame the stores. People make the choices. They can choose to act civilized or to act like idiots. Wal-Mart or Target or whoever don't force these people to act like this.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Black Friday gets more ridiculous every year. I don't begrudge anyone the opportunity to stretch their "holiday shopping dollars", but the whole experience has gotten completely out of control. There were "incidents" in nine separate states yesterday. From shootings in parking lots, to pepper spraying morons to complete frenzies over waffle irons and hand towels. Really?

Because the stores open as early as midnight on Friday or even stay open on Thanksgiving itself, people are now altering their Thanksgiving plans around the store hours for Black Friday. It's insane.

Daily in all 50 states there is likely to be an incident.

All these incidents just get special status for being on Black Friday and trying to depict it as something that would only occur on Black Friday. But incidents such as these happen all across the country. People get shot, folks are greedy, crap happens.

It is the choice of the individuals and the greater the crowds, the more likely the incidents will occur. However, where I shopped and back at home--I really didn't hear any unusual peeps.

People get excited and while their behavior may not be appropriate, it isn't fair to blame the retailers for it. Should they not have crazy sales because people behave like animals?

I am pleased for what I got, but the indignant smug attitudes of folks who wish to paint the entire BF consumer base and greedy people who only want cheap stuff is getting silly.

We do BF because it is fun for us and we like to get most of our shopping done well before Christmas. I would be shopping regardless, and compressing it to a few days inclusive of Black Friday doesn't make one greedy.

And just because there are idiots out there, there are idiots on any given day in any given city across the country. The super majority of BF shoppers aren't packing pepper spray to cut in line for a game system. But it made for great news.

*and DVCGirl, I am not calling you specifically smug or anything, it is just the overall general consensus that people feel comfortable to judge those who shop on BF and paint everyone with a broad brush and then cite the few major examples of idiocy as demonstrative of any shopper on BF.

 

[MrsMork]

I don't think you should totally blame the stores. First, I don't think stores "let" hundreds of people line up. What exactly are they supposed to do? Put up barricades along to sidewalk? Close the parking lot?

Secondly, don't lump all Walmarts into one category. Our store was crowded for the BF deals, but there were Walmart employees and police EVERYWHERE in our store. Everyone was very polite and orderly. Employees were obviously very well trained as to what to expect and what to do. They had seperate lines designated for the big ticket items. These lines were all over the store not in one area. They had up ropes for the lines to wait in and handed out tickets. I was in line for the Xbox bundle. I arrived at the store, asked an employee where I was supposed to line up, I was given a ticket and ushered into the line. When 10 o'clock rolled around, our line had to go to the automotives registers to be rung up. They had all the Xboxes and Playstations behind the counter. You handed them your ticket and had to pay right there (presumably to activate the gift cards we got with the deal.) There was no pushing, shoving, or line jumping.

Agree with your post. Our WM was exactly as you described here.

 

[dbmarie]

I went to Walmart, Best Buy, Macy's, Old Navy and Target. The only issue we had was at Target. The lines went through over 25 aisles and we were about 15 aisles in which took over an hour so of course I was talking to the people around me and we had gotten to know each other. After turning a corner a women tried cutting in line and myself and people around politely said the line starts back there. She refused to leave insisting that she had been there the whole time. I couldn't believe it she just kept walking and would not go to the end of the line. I have had people do that at disney as well so I just think it's adults behaving badly.

 

[Anjelica]

I do think Wal-Mart needs a better system.....

I wonder if any of those $2.88 waffle makers are on ebay ->

http://www.twitvid.com/QM7T7

 

[MSSANDRA]

This was the first time I had gone out during the night. We always go 4-5 am. Yes, Wal-mart was crazy. I expect that. Yes the lines were CRAZY long. Target, though much better organized had two hour lines within less than a hour of opening. Yes, we did see a FEW really rude people and a FEW crazy ones (protesting Christmas outside the mall) BUT we saw lots of friendly, happy people just trying to save a little bit of money. Many people were helping each other find a color or size they needed, telling each other where an item was, watching each others carts, saying excuse me and sorry. A local church was giving out muffins and water and VERY few people would even stop long enough to see what was going on. We did, yummy.

I do not think I will go out all night again. I was really tired and after a few hours sleep, headed back out about 8:00am and found just as good a deals

Only thing that bothered me were the little tired sleep children that were miserable and some of them being fussed at by grumpy parents! Would NEVER take a child out on that crazy night!

 

[tasha99]

The only horrible thing I witnessed was a mother telling her son to shut the f up, they were only f'ing shoes (insert whole f word in for the f's). Poor baby--the least of his problems was that mom and dad took him to Walmart at 10 pm on Thanksgiving.

I heard someone threw a punch in the store, but didn't witness that.

 

[ajh88]

Here's the main difference I've seen between the stores...

Walmart. Store is open, large amount of shoppers are wandering about the store. They are with their group of people and once in the store other shoppers are seen as competition. The few electronic big ticket items are on pallets in an area where a line can form, but the actual product is in sight. To me this is like putting a steak just out of reach from a hungry dog. If you hold that steak in front of that dog long enough, they will do anything to get to it once it's officially available. Not to compare people to dogs, but when you act like an animal it becomes on of those if the shoe fits moments.


Target. You are in line outside of the store. No actual merchandise is in your eyesight. After awhile you start a conversation with the people around you and find out they aren't going for the same thing you are. You don't make friends with them and start planning dinners together or anything, but you aren't all ready to beat them to their item. You remain calm and usually cold. By being cold your body is concentrating on keeping warm, and not fully focused on scoring an item that is not a need. All aisles are clear and the merchandise has been placed off to the side w/ an employee standing there keeping watch. Clothing and other items that are not on sale are pushed back to create room for the big ticket and other sale items. Leaving plenty of room to move around, and get to merchandise from multiple sides. You are not being shoved, pushed and manhandled by other shoppers trying to grab into the same small space as yourself. The crowd is dispersed throughout the store, and there is room to move. The few people who just cannot follow rules and act like adults and humans can easily be spotted by other shoppers as being abnormal and the herd mentality does not kick in.

I know what store I'd rather be in.

IDK, not to start an entire raging Target/Wal-Mart thing (because I've been in the midst of craziness at both places). My Wal-Mart experience was not one where big ticket items were placed out, like tantalizing steaks. In fact, the big ticket items had lines formed throughout the store and line tickets were handed out about an hour before sale time (so you knew if you would get the item you were wanting). The actual product was not brought out until sale time and was then distributed to those in line. Perhaps this is the result of a good store manager or perhaps this is how it is supposed to be done everywhere and just isn't.

Yes, smaller ticket items are placed on the floor because logistically I can't see how they can wheel out all of the pallets right at 10 pm (when the store is open 24 hours). They did also push back most of the clothing at the front of the store to clear the space directly in front of the registers - great idea and I can't believe it took them this long to come up with it!

Also in my experience, there were FAR fewer people at the midnight sale vs. the 10 pm sale. There was PLENTY of merchandise, at least on the smaller ticket electronics stuff. We got in line about 12:45 am (following the midnight deals), and no one ever got in line behind us. We were out of the store by 1:10 (and our check out took a little while).

And while Target does clear their aisles and the people can be quite lovely, I often get trapped in the toy section with no where to go. I wish that they would put more prominent displays of sale items out so I didn't have to venture into no-man's-land to grab something off a shelf. Of course, maybe they do have displays but they are just picked empty by the time I get to them. One of your reasons for preferring Target is one of the reasons I don't - that they move all of the "not all sale" stuff "out of the way". I understand that it isn't what most people are there for - but it is also super annoying when you actually DO want something that isn't part of the sale.

I think it is all about the attitude and approach - we aren't cut-throat and we approach BF with a smile and energy. It is one day a year that we are a little crazy and slap-happy at the store and we have a kind of "all in the same boat" comaradarie with many fellow shoppers (not all, but many).

And ITA with the PP who said that incidents happen every day at a variety of locations - several of the incidences of violence cited in the articles I read were actually muggings in parking lots. Not sure what specifically that had to do with BF, other than crimes of that nature seem to increase during the holiday shopping season (I guess because robbers think people will have more cash on them).

 

[lucas43068]

ive worked the last 12 years in retail. and every black friday since.
ive been spit on, hit, run over by carts cursed out i dont know how many times. its my favorite day of the year.
nothing surprises me. NOTHING. some people are ridiculous.
i do take that back, this year i wasnt there for the midnight sale. i did some black friday shopping in my PJs while drinking a beer. it was wonderful. i did have to go in early on friday though.

 

[nunzia]

That isn't really greed, they are in business to make money, as much money as they can. I'm not sure why people see that as a bad thing If we were talking about some local mom and pop store, would be so quick to call them greedy? I like corpoartions, I like when they make money. When they make money, it trickles down to keeping prices low and offering sales to us, the consumer. It allows them to open new stores and create new jobs. If we as a society are going to act like animals and savages in order to save $5 on towels I can't blame anyone other than those acting that way

 

[Colleen27]

I don't see how anyone can blame the stores. People make the choices. They can choose to act civilized or to act like idiots. Wal-Mart or Target or whoever don't force these people to act like this.

But they do set up a situation that invites it, by deliberately stocking far, far, far less than they need to meet demand. They know they're going to have hundreds of people lining up before they even open, all trying for the 3 TVs and 10 video game systems that are in stock for the sale's headline bargains. That mismatch between supply and demand is where the conflict starts, and that is deliberately engineered by the stores in hopes that the people who got shut out of the $200 discounted offer will just pick up the $300 item instead of watching for another sale.

ETA: To me, it is like leaving a car running in a parking lot. Sure, it is the thief's decision to break the law but that doesn't mean the owner/driver is blameless for his role in setting up the situation. And that isn't without precedence in law. I can't have a pool or trampoline in my yard because even with a fence it is considered an attractive nuisance (corner lot, city code prohibits solid or tall fencing along the front side of the property) and I would be liable for the consequences of someone else's decision to trespass onto my property should something happen. Why should stores be any less accountable for the near-riots they court with "teaser" items and poor crowd management?