Black Friday and the War on Thanksgiving

[luv n tpa]

I've worked in one of the worst arenas of Black Friday: an outlet mall. I have pretty strong feelings on the subject, but I won't get into that.

What I will touch on is that there is nothing black about Black Friday anymore. Every retailer I've worked for never pulled themselves out of the red that weekend. Some experienced even more loss.

The sales in the outlets now are most likely better than what they will be Black Friday (at least that has been the trend for the past few years). They just market differently and reprice stickers to make you think you're getting a better deal during "Midnight Madness". Don't fall for it! (Usually electronics are excluded from this.)

[33girl]

This was on my FB feed.

https://www.facebook.com/boycottblac...002230/?type=1

Can someone explain to me how having to get up at the butt crack of dawn to be at work at 7 am is so much better than having to work the night before? I mean, people are going to be exhausted from the holiday and/or have to spend less time with their families to get home and to bed at a reasonable hour.

[AGDee]

I think it is way better to be able to go to bed at 10 or 11 pm, get up at 5:30 or 6 and be at work at 7 than it would be to leave your family's Thanksgiving dinner to be at work at 6 pm. Also, you could still have a couple beers or glasses of wine if you're not working until the next morning. If you're working that night, having any alcohol would be risky.

Yes, there are some service areas where you know that you'll have to work holidays. I don't think retail should be one of them.

[SWTXBelle]

YES. Especially since retail workers will be entering the period when they usually can get no time off, have to work weekends and extended hours, and deal with holiday-stressed shoppers.

[Smile_Awhile]

Originally Posted by AGDee

I think it is way better to be able to go to bed at 10 or 11 pm, get up at 5:30 or 6 and be at work at 7 than it would be to leave your family's Thanksgiving dinner to be at work at 6 pm. Also, you could still have a couple beers or glasses of wine if you're not working until the next morning. If you're working that night, having any alcohol would be risky.

Yes, there are some service areas where you know that you'll have to work holidays. I don't think retail should be one of them.

This. I worked a Black Friday two years ago where I was due in at 11 PM or 12 AM, to stay through 8 AM. This required my husband and I driving back from Thanksgiving dinner around 7:30 PM from his family (1.5 hours from home), me changing clothes, and then headed to work. Your body clock gets thrown off, people are just rude, and the deals aren't even that great.

Maybe it's just the way my body functions, but I'd much rather sleep at a semi-normalish hour (the late PM hours) and get up crazy early (3 AM or 4) in order to be at work by 6 or 7 AM. Particularly if my schedule is going to be hell for the next few weeks (and in retail, it is always hell in December). I'd rather have a day with a closer to my natural circadian rhythm than pull an all-nighter and still work a 40 hour weekend.

[ChioLu]

I work in Sports Television, so I can't remember when I DON'T work on a holiday!
But I knew that going in to this line of work ...

[Kevin]

Capitalism at its finest.

Having worked retail all through HS and undergrad, I can attest that this time of year is miserable. Long hours, shitty customers, holiday music on a loop... It's bad stuff.

I'll never shop or support a black friday.. nope. Don't care what the doorbusters are.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Capitalism at its finest.

Having worked retail all through HS and undergrad, I can attest that this time of year is miserable. Long hours, shitty customers, holiday music on a loop... It's bad stuff.

I'll never shop or support a black friday.. nope. Don't care what the doorbusters are.

After I worked my first (and only) Black Friday, I promised myself I'd never put myself through that again.

Years ago, I worked in the pharmacy at Wal-Mart, and because the pharmacy is closed on Black Friday, we weren't required to work. Then my manager came at me with these big, sad puppy-dog eyes, saying that they were going to be short-staffed that day. I caved and agreed to work at 4 or 5am. I can't remember the time exactly - all I know is it was too damn early to deal with all the BS I had to deal with.

I was pushed, shoved, and called a "dumb broad" when I didn't know where a toy was (that we only carried in the store that ONE day). No one listened when I tried to organize the check-out lines, and people looked at me like I was worthless. I've never been so disrespected and so disgusted with people before. It was awful.

Maybe that's why Christmas is my least favorite holiday… because it seems to be the time of year when many people are so mean to each other, all because there's a sweater on sale.

No thanks!

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

After I worked my first (and only) Black Friday, I promised myself I'd never put myself through that again.

Years ago, I worked in the pharmacy at Wal-Mart, and because the pharmacy is closed on Black Friday, we weren't required to work. Then my manager came at me with these big, sad puppy-dog eyes, saying that they were going to be short-staffed that day. I caved and agreed to work at 4 or 5am. I can't remember the time exactly - all I know is it was too damn early to deal with all the BS I had to deal with.

I was pushed, shoved, and called a "dumb broad" when I didn't know where a toy was (that we only carried in the store that ONE day). No one listened when I tried to organize the check-out lines, and people looked at me like I was worthless. I've never been so disrespected and so disgusted with people before. It was awful.

Maybe that's why Christmas is my least favorite holiday… because it seems to be the time of year when many people are so mean to each other, all because there's a sweater on sale.

No thanks!

My favorite was the folks who came in still drunk/high from the night before who vomited on our floor. Every.single.year. Thank God for temp workers, right?

And then, of course, the company, in all of its wisdom, would roll out Black Friday promotions which would tie an employee up with a customer who opted in for about 15 minutes.

It's obvious that many of the decisions which make Black Friday so effing miserable for all involved are made by individuals who haven't ever tried to run just one store.. it's a very different skillset than running a region or country full of stores and those executives really could learn a lot.

Companies like Wal-Mart.. well really, just Wal-Mart specifically, allow really dangerous scenes to be created by these doorbusters. These sales have major quality of life implications for employees, and in the end, with all of the loss leaders they sell on Black Friday, it's not even all that profitable.

One might even argue it's degrading to the customers, most of whom are low wage earners to be herded into the store, forced into dangerous, sometimes violent confrontations with other customers and made to miss quality family time because this is the only day they can afford to shop on.

[StealthMode]

Originally Posted by shellylou

The working overnight shifts (& if you work Thanksgiving night it is a 10-12 hr overnight) are usually picked up my the younger folk! I am busy on Thanksgiving with my 4 kids & have put in my time with those crazy shifts!

Not aimed at you but this reminded me of another gripe I have. At each job I've had up to this point, I was always automatically expected to work the holidays to free up the people "who have families." It is irritating to no end to hear, "Well, she should get the time off because she has a family." Ummmm what am I, a vagabond? I may not have kids but I do have a family and lots of loved ones who I will miss and will miss me if I am not home for the holiday, too. (For the record, I totally understand why priority would be given to people with small children. My issue is with the insinuation that me not having children makes my personal time less valuable.)

/rant

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by StealthMode

Not aimed at you but this reminded me of another gripe I have. At each job I've had up to this point, I was always automatically expected to work the holidays to free up the people "who have families." It is irritating to no end to hear, "Well, she should get the time off because she has a family." Ummmm what am I, a vagabond? I may not have kids but I do have a family and lots of loved ones who I will miss and will miss me if I am not home for the holiday, too. (For the record, I totally understand why priority would be given to people with small children. My issue is with the insinuation that me not having children makes my personal time less valuable.)

/rant

Thank you!

I've been told at many jobs, "Well, you have to understand.. Cindy needs the time off because she has 2 kids." Um, ok.. but I don't see why her time with her family is any more valuable than my time with my family.

[SoCalGirl]

I don't understand why priority would be given to someone with small children. Or, women with families versus men with families.

Priority should be set based on work related criteria. Such as seniority, for one.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl

I don't understand why priority would be given to someone with small children. Or, women with families versus men with families.

Priority should be set based on work related criteria. Such as seniority, for one.

I don't understand, either. Unfortunately, this is pretty common...


http://www.cnbc.com/id/101172788

http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/06/chil...lance-too.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-mothers.html

[ComradesTrue]

Originally Posted by StealthMode

Not aimed at you but this reminded me of another gripe I have. At each job I've had up to this point, I was always automatically expected to work the holidays to free up the people "who have families." It is irritating to no end to hear, "Well, she should get the time off because she has a family." Ummmm what am I, a vagabond? I may not have kids but I do have a family and lots of loved ones who I will miss and will miss me if I am not home for the holiday, too. (For the record, I totally understand why priority would be given to people with small children. My issue is with the insinuation that me not having children makes my personal time less valuable.)

/rant

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Thank you!

I've been told at many jobs, "Well, you have to understand.. Cindy needs the time off because she has 2 kids." Um, ok.. but I don't see why her time with her family is any more valuable than my time with my family.

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl

I don't understand why priority would be given to someone with small children. Or, women with families versus men with families.

YES YES YES.

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl

Priority should be set based on work related criteria. Such as seniority, for one.

Well, for one, but that is only a start. I would add "a healthy dose of common sense and fairness."

In my (single, childless) 20s I worked at a job where either my co-worker or I had to be at work any time the department was open. The department closed at noon Christmas Eve and all day Christmas but we were expected back 8am 12/26. Co-worker had seniority over me, and also had 3 kids. No matter what day of the week Christmas fell on, she would request off Dec 22-29. Every. Damn. Year.

Her entire extended family lived in the town where we worked. My entire family was 15 hours away, with no direct flight. So, with only 1.5 days off it was virtually impossible.

I proposed a deal to her where one of us could take the week leading up to Christmas Day and the other would take the week after. We would each get a full week PLUS the 1.5 days off. She could choose first, since she had seniority. Nope. *whiney voice, head cocked sideways* "Oh my kids need me at the holidays."

Two years of that and I got a new job.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by ComradesTrue

No matter what day of the week Christmas fell on, she would request off Dec 22-29. Every. Damn. Year.

I loved working those days when I was in corporate America...nobody in the office, nothing to do, long lunch, maybe an afternoon workout...

Of course, I have no kids and my family was local and I'm a Jew, so I'm pretty much the perfect storm of not needing Christmastime off.