Target employee starts online petition protesting Target's BF hours

[HunnyPots]

Thirty years ago, I worked in a local discount store similar to a non-super Wal Mart. We were open every day of the year except Christmas day. Yes, that includes Thanksgiving. This is not a new thing. I never thought it was that big of a deal and I certainly would have never bad-mouthed my employer to the media and expected to have a job the next day. What's the old saying about not biting the hand that feeds you?

 

[LBIJim]

You feel bad for NFL players? Please, talk about greed! I refuse to contribute to that whole NFL franchise, or any sport for that matter. Why do these people deserve millions and millions of dollars because they can throw a ball? Because companies pay them, so we can watch them endorse products, and spend more money!

Really. Feeling bad for the NFL players?? Gimme a break. How about the stadium ticket takers, maintenance and concession workers and others who have to work, for about 1/10,000 or less than the salary the players make.

Well, at least the National Hockey League players still have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, even when they happen to fall on weekends, like this year. It's been that way for at least 35 years.

Jim

P.S. After posting, saw the clarification from the original poster concerning NFL stadium workers. My apologies.

 

[LBIJim]

I wouldn't consider boycotting Target for springing this early opening on its employees at such a late date.

But I'm definitely boycotting Target because of its stupid TV commercials with the annoying spastic lady who literally hasn't slept for days.

In general I've cut back on shopping at Target over the past five years or so. They're no longer Tar-ge' and haven't been for a long time. Just another run of the mill store.

Jim

 

[tammymacb]

I'm having a little bit of a hard time mustering sympathy.

While he's not working - apparently he's not actually scheduled, I'll be working from 11AM to 11PM in a a downtown ER Thursday. Then, I'll turn around go to bed and be back up at 0530 Friday morning to go back to work at 7AM for another 12 hours. I'll do the same Saturday and Sunday.

It's going to be a long and crappy weekend. No body's crying for me. I guess you shouldn't. They still pay me to show up.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I would just love to be paid a little extra that day. I work at TRU and I am working overnight wed 10 to 6am thursday than have to be back 8pm thursday to 6am friday. I need my sleep lol so we will be mising out on visiting some family members.

 

[C.Ann]

Get over it and go to work or quit QUOTE]

I agree - which is why I only did it for one season.. But it's not just empoyees that are signing the petition - it's consumers as well.. Right here on this thread many consumers also feel the same way..

I won't be giving any retailer my dollars either with their early opening on Thanksgiving Day or "Black Friday" either. Greed and hunger for money is obscuring the true meaning and origins of these holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) and I for one, will NOT be supporting it.

ETA: What happened to the quote function? That's weird..

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

I wouldn't consider boycotting Target for springing this early opening on its employees at such a late date.

But I'm definitely boycotting Target because of its stupid TV commercials with the annoying spastic lady who literally hasn't slept for days.

In general I've cut back on shopping at Target over the past five years or so. They're no longer Tar-ge' and haven't been for a long time. Just another run of the mill store.

Jim

I totally agree about the annoying woman in the commercials - I'm not sure who came up with that one but it doesn't make me want to shop at Target in fact it does the opposite.

 

[luvmy3]

There is no way anyone here can compare emergency personnel; police officers; nurses; doctors; the military; and other vital personnel having to work on Thanksgiving with greedy stores who lure people in with advertised items they don't have and crazy customers that will literally crush you to death because they want one of those "5 tv's"..

That's not even comparing apples and oranges.. That's comparing life & death with flat out greed..

No, this isn't overly dramatic at all
These jobs can be compared to eachother in the sense that when you enter a certain profession (and yes retail is a profession) you have to expect certain things. Being scheduled to work late Thanksgiving night before the (traditionally) biggest shopping day of the year shouldn't come as a surprise to ANYONE that works in retail, whether it is a stock clerk, cashier, security or manager. Just as it isn't a surprise to a Police Officer, Doctor, Nurse, Fireman when they have to work.

If there are people who want to sign the petition, great, exercise your right. However lets not get overly dramatic. First of all its not flat out greed, its called keepibg up with the demand of the consumer. I'm not greedy because I want to save $100 on an item, heck in this economy its a necessity. Stores are not greedy because they want to "get themselves out of the red" so that they can continue to operate and pay their employees. And lets not forget that not everyone celebrates the Holidays the same, some people do not need to spend the 24 hours of Thursday visiting every single member of their family. Some people are thankful for employment and more than happy to work whatever shift is available or given to them. And there are those who normally avoid BF like the plague (like me) who would be more than willing to go out at 9 Pm or midnight to save myself the trouble of going out Friday. In the end, I guess we will see what happens next year, but I have a feeling we will be seeing this all over again. Times are changing, this is the new tradition. Don't like it, by all means don't participate. And certainly don't enter the field of retail if you ever find yourself searching for a job.

 

[mrodgers]

If there are people who want to sign the petition, great, exercise your right. However lets not get overly dramatic. First of all its not flat out greed, its called keepibg up with the demand of the consumer. I'm not greedy because I want to save $100 on an item, heck in this economy its a necessity.

Nope, no problem with you or anyone else wanting to save money on their Christmas shopping. I have a problem with all the "demands of the consumer" stuff everyone is spouting though.

It isn't the demands of the consumer. It is the other way around. The consumer has traditionally started the Christmas shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving as was said, many people have off that day. That was what Black Friday was all about. It was "Black Friday" because it was a bad thing for the workers in retail with how busy working was. "Black Friday" as the name in the sense of the "Black Plague" name.

The "Black Friday" meaning the store's sales move from the red to the black is just a recent thing. That's not what it meant in the past.

It is the stores and greed that is driving the times earlier and earlier into Thanksgiving. The consumers are following the stores, not the stores following the consumers. They market all this cheap junk electronic stuff like crazy causing the consumers to fall for it and ignore the "junk" part and want to save money with the "cheap" part.

 

[C.Ann]

Nope, no problem with you or anyone else wanting to save money on their Christmas shopping. I have a problem with all the "demands of the consumer" stuff everyone is spouting though.

It isn't the demands of the consumer. It is the other way around. The consumer has traditionally started the Christmas shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving as was said, many people have off that day. That was what Black Friday was all about. It was "Black Friday" because it was a bad thing for the workers in retail with how busy working was. "Black Friday" as the name in the sense of the "Black Plague" name.

The "Black Friday" meaning the store's sales move from the red to the black is just a recent thing. That's not what it meant in the past.

It is the stores and greed that is driving the times earlier and earlier into Thanksgiving. The consumers are following the stores, not the stores following the consumers. They market all this cheap junk electronic stuff like crazy causing the consumers to fall for it and ignore the "junk" part and want to save money with the "cheap" part.

I agree.. I also worked retail for one holiday season long before it got as crazy as it is now and that was enough for me.. Never again..

As for saving $100 or whatever - there's no reason they can't have that same item, at the same price, during normal hours - rather than the middle of the night (or in this case having their employees come in on Thanksgiving).. The retailers are simply trying to squeeze in as many days - and hours - of selling time that they possibly can and more often than not, don't even have the items they lure the customers into the store with - or only have "5" - which causes the insanity of people being physically injured (employees and consumers alike) because everyone is there for the same thing.. There's something very wrong with selling & shopping when people end up injured or dead.. There's no need for that - none at all.. Greed causes that type of behavior..

 

[Planogirl]

This might be all about greed for the stores. The stores will adjust accordingly if the public dislikes this move though.

I don't get why it would be only about greed though. The stores will have to pay their employees more since they will work longer hours as a result of this. I also assume that energy costs and so on will rise.

If it's not about greed though, I don't really understand why they would start on Thanksgiving. I don't have a problem with arriving at a store at midnight even though I sympathize with the employees. I'm a night owl anyway and hated getting up so early.

 

[RitaE]

This might be all about greed for the stores. The stores will adjust accordingly if the public dislikes this move though.

I don't get why it would be only about greed though. The stores will have to pay their employees more since they will work longer hours as a result of this. I also assume that energy costs and so on will rise.

If it's not about greed though, I don't really understand why they would start on Thanksgiving. I don't have a problem with arriving at a store at midnight even though I sympathize with the employees. I'm a night owl anyway and hated getting up so early.

I don't know if I would call it greed because I think it is rather disingenuous to accuse a retailer of evil motivations for wanting to maximize their profits. It is about maximizing profit.

I can't remember the exact numbers but all the statisticians have come up with reports that a really high percentage (60 to 80% or somewhere in there) of a holiday shoppers spending will be spent at the FIRST store they visit. If Target lets WalMart or Toys R Us get them jump on them, then they will lose valuable revenue. That's why they all go mad trying to convince you to show up at their store first. It is such a frenzied atmosphere with the cash and credit cards spending like mad. Some people actually show physical symptoms such as out of control gamblers etc.

As for the whole Black Friday that starts on Thursday thing - anybody having to work retail this time of year has my sympathy, or at least my empathy. It sucks.

 

[maxiesmom]

Nope, no problem with you or anyone else wanting to save money on their Christmas shopping. I have a problem with all the "demands of the consumer" stuff everyone is spouting though.

It isn't the demands of the consumer. It is the other way around. The consumer has traditionally started the Christmas shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving as was said, many people have off that day. That was what Black Friday was all about. It was "Black Friday" because it was a bad thing for the workers in retail with how busy working was. "Black Friday" as the name in the sense of the "Black Plague" name.

The "Black Friday" meaning the store's sales move from the red to the black is just a recent thing. That's not what it meant in the past.

It is the stores and greed that is driving the times earlier and earlier into Thanksgiving. The consumers are following the stores, not the stores following the consumers. They market all this cheap junk electronic stuff like crazy causing the consumers to fall for it and ignore the "junk" part and want to save money with the "cheap" part.

You have it so wrong. As someone who has worked retail for 25+ years I can tell you we are following the demands of the customer. Heck, even though the store I work for is now opening earlier for the holidays, we still have customers calling before store opening looking for items, and waiting at the door for us to open. And I know from people who work the closing shift that they are having to persuade customers to leave when they are trying to close at night.

One thing that has really changed is that as a whole we don't all follow a 9-5 schedule. People are up at all hours, and you can really see the difference when you are out driving in the wee hours of the morning. Lifestyles have changed and the retailors are just trying to keep up with it.

Not to mention Black Friday has always meant the day retail stores go into the black. I have never ever heard it as meaning it was the Black Plague of days to work. Never. And my dad worked retail from before I was born.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

This might be all about greed for the stores. The stores will adjust accordingly if the public dislikes this move though.
I don't get why it would be only about greed though. The stores will have to pay their employees more since they will work longer hours as a result of this. I also assume that energy costs and so on will rise.

We have a case where if one store does it, it's good for the store to get a jump on the others. The problem is, once one does it, the rest start doing it too. So in the long run, they all make themselves worse off than if none of them did it. All they end up doing is paying higher labor and utilities costs on the day for the extra hours they are open and shift some revenue they would be getting at other times of the day to the new hours.

Originally Posted by luvmy3 View Post
If there are people who want to sign the petition, great, exercise your right. However lets not get overly dramatic. First of all its not flat out greed, its called keepibg up with the demand of the consumer. I'm not greedy because I want to save $100 on an item, heck in this economy its a necessity.

But it isn't consumers demanding these places open at midnight. Heck. You'd go at 8 am to save that $100 or at noon if you could right? You're only there at midnight because that's when they open.

Originally Posted by C.Ann View Post
There is no way anyone here can compare emergency personnel; police officers; nurses; doctors; the military; and other vital personnel having to work on Thanksgiving with greedy stores who lure people in with advertised items they don't have and crazy customers that will literally crush you to death because they want one of those "5 tv's"..

I hate the 5 at this price deals. You have to spend Thanksgiving on the front steps to get it. By the time you read the flyer, in the morning thanksgiving paper, it might already be too late to get one. The ones that end up with people trampled are the stacks of cheap (Then DVD) players when the store opens. Ironically, because these players are garbage, they tend to have enough of these for everyone that walks in the door at opening. Customers go running back there and if someone goes down in the way, they just step all over em.

 

[luvmy3]

Nope, no problem with you or anyone else wanting to save money on their Christmas shopping. I have a problem with all the "demands of the consumer" stuff everyone is spouting though.

It isn't the demands of the consumer. It is the other way around. The consumer has traditionally started the Christmas shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving as was said, many people have off that day. That was what Black Friday was all about. It was "Black Friday" because it was a bad thing for the workers in retail with how busy working was. "Black Friday" as the name in the sense of the "Black Plague" name.

The "Black Friday" meaning the store's sales move from the red to the black is just a recent thing. That's not what it meant in the past.

It is the stores and greed that is driving the times earlier and earlier into Thanksgiving. The consumers are following the stores, not the stores following the consumers. They market all this cheap junk electronic stuff like crazy causing the consumers to fall for it and ignore the "junk" part and want to save money with the "cheap" part.

It has changed due to consumer demand or at least what customers are willing to do.
Retailers will do what their customers want, at the same time maximizing their profits. If it isn't worth it ($$) they aren't going to do it.So while it may not be "demand" in the forceful sense, it is about the willingness of the consumer.

I don't know if I would call it greed because I think it is rather disingenuous to accuse a retailer of evil motivations for wanting to maximize their profits. It is about maximizing profit.

I can't remember the exact numbers but all the statisticians have come up with reports that a really high percentage (60 to 80% or somewhere in there) of a holiday shoppers spending will be spent at the FIRST store they visit. If Target let's WalMart or Toys R Us get them jump on them, then they will lose valuable revenue. That's why they all go mad trying to convince you to show up at their store first. It is such a frenzied atmosphere with the cash and credit cards spending like mad. Some people actually show physical symptoms such as out of control gamblers etc.

As for the whole Black Friday that starts on Thursday thing - anybody having to work retail this time of year has my sympathy, or at least my empathy. It sucks.

You have it so wrong. As someone who has worked retail for 25+ years I can tell you we are following the demands of the customer. Heck, even though the store I work for is now opening earlier for the holidays, we still have customers calling before store opening looking for items, and waiting at the door for us to open. And I know from people who work the closing shift that they are having to persuade customers to leave when they are trying to close at night.

One thing that has really changed is that as a whole we don't all follow a 9-5 schedule. People are up at all hours, and you can really see the difference when you are out driving in the wee hours of the morning. Lifestyles have changed and the retailors are just trying to keep up with it.

Not to mention Black Friday has always meant the day retail stores go into the black. I have never ever heard it as meaning it was the Black Plague of days to work. Never. And my dad worked retail from before I was born.

I looked it up and it does state that it was traditionally called BF because of all the car and foot traffic around a particular area (Philly) the day after Thanksgiving. However soon after it adopted its Into the Black meaning, and we are talking 40 years ago, so its not all that recent.
Interestingly the Friday after Thanksgiving was the start of Holiday shopping (although not called BF then) back in 1924 thanks to Macy's and their Thanksgiving Day parade. I wonder if people protested their greed, since it was Macy's way to get customers to shop in their store the next day?
BF has evolved, because of the "demands" of the consumer and the needs of the retailers.

To the pp who asked, no I wouldn't go out on Friday morning to save $100 on a TV, but I would go out late Thanksgiving night. And it is consumers demanding the stores open up Thanksgiving night, have you seen the people camped out in front of those stores ON Thanksgiving afternoon? The stores are answering to the willingness of those customers, they are there why not open the store anyway.

Some of us are willing to shop or work Thanksgiving evening. If you aren't, then don't however why the need to make it so nobody can? You have your choice to not participate, leave the rest of us to make our own.

 

[Planogirl]

I agree that to some extent retailers will do what will cause customers to spend the most money at their store. If people don't show up at a certain time they will certainly change their hours.

I can see that some people will feel forced to go too though. If they want that deal or just like the whole BF thing then they will need to play along. So the crowds will likely still be there no matter how anyone feels about this.

 

[Anjelica]

These jobs can be compared to eachother in the sense that when you enter a certain profession (and yes retail is a profession) you have to expect certain things. Being scheduled to work late Thanksgiving night before the (traditionally) biggest shopping day of the year shouldn't come as a surprise to ANYONE that works in retail, whether it is a stock clerk, cashier, security or manager. Just as it isn't a surprise to a Police Officer, Doctor, Nurse, Fireman when they have to work.

If there are people who want to sign the petition, great, exercise your right. However lets not get overly dramatic. First of all its not flat out greed, its called keepibg up with the demand of the consumer. I'm not greedy because I want to save $100 on an item, heck in this economy its a necessity. Stores are not greedy because they want to "get themselves out of the red" so that they can continue to operate and pay their employees. And lets not forget that not everyone celebrates the Holidays the same, some people do not need to spend the 24 hours of Thursday visiting every single member of their family. Some people are thankful for employment and more than happy to work whatever shift is available or given to them. And there are those who normally avoid BF like the plague (like me) who would be more than willing to go out at 9 Pm or midnight to save myself the trouble of going out Friday. In the end, I guess we will see what happens next year, but I have a feeling we will be seeing this all over again. Times are changing, this is the new tradition. Don't like it, by all means don't participate. And certainly don't enter the field of retail if you ever find yourself searching for a job.

Agreed!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Not to mention Black Friday has always meant the day retail stores go into the black

The first instance of referring to the day after Thanksgiving as black Friday that was written was by the Philadelphia Police Dept and it referred to the disruptive volume of pedestrian and vehicular traffic seen that day. Retail employees then coined the phrase as an inside joke. Moreover, the usage regarding stores going into the black that day is false. The day stores go into the black for the year, if they indeed do for that year, varies by store and by year.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

The person who started the petition needs to suck it up or find another line of work. Our K-Marts were always open Thanksgiving day. I spent many Thanksgivings eating my dinner in the breakroom back in the early 90's.

 

[luvthemouse71]

good for them. i know i am going to get flamed for this but as someone who used to work in retail people can be pretty heartless. the entire reason black friday exists is traditionally many people have off of work that day and can go out and shop. i really don't think its that much for the employees to ask to have a normal thanksgiving, after all most stores only close that day and christmas.

also what people don't take into account is it can be dangerous. the employees normally don't do night shifts so many will not get good rest before going in. they then work a long shift and have to drive home exhausted. i had a co-worker who was badly hurt in a car accident because they fell asleep at the wheel after doing one of these crazy hour shifts. there is also those black friday stampedes, i remember seeing on the news that someone died in one.

i can only imagine what other countries think. Americans create holidays to celebrate their freedoms and then spend it knocking each other over for cheap tvs and free electronics.

I agree with you. People who work in these places have families and lives too. Black Friday is very overrated IMO. It brings out the ugliness in human behavior. All so some idiot can get a flatscreen TV or some toy that their kid will forget about or break within 2 weeks.