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45 Unhinged Black Friday Stories From Employees That Make It Seem Like It’s Really Not Worth It
Anyone who has ever worked stressful retail jobs can assure you, no, the customer is most certainly not always right. The entitlement and toxicity you sometimes see among consumers close to the holidays is mind-boggling. And it’s likely to make you lose the remaining smidgen of faith you still had in humanity.
To prepare for this year’s run-up to the Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping season, we’re featuring some of the most horrifying and nightmarish things that retail workers had to deal with on Black Friday. Scroll down for a crash course on how no sane human being should ever behave.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I really appreciated what the store manager said to us Best Buy customers waiting in line to get in the store. First of all they handed out coupon type things to those in line, offering each item to the front of the line first and then walking to the back and so on. So it was like you had your item in hand before you ever went into the store as long as no one stole it. Anyway, the manager makes an announcement via megaphone:
"Alright. So we all know it's Black Friday. And we have some really great deals here at Best Buy. But this will NOT be one of those crazy stores you hear about on the news. We are going to be civil adults here. And if you aren't acting like a civil adult, my staff has been instructed to have you removed for the safety of all customers. They know that I am absolutely serious about this request.
We will be letting you into the store 5 at a time. If you try to get pushy, you will be asked to leave the line. We will let you in in the order you are standing. There's no reason to be pushy here. You will all be let into the store in a timely fashion.
Once again. We're civil adults, and this store is NOT going to be one of those places where people get trampled or injured."
I really, really respected how blunt the guy was, and I thought it was the easiest BF experience I have had to this day.
Brian Droste 3 weeks ago (edited)
That is the way it should be at all stores. They should only open one door with two or three employees at the entrance to make sure no one tries to cut the line or cause trouble.
Sara Frazer 3 weeks ago
Can this guy please be the new president of the US??? I can already tell he's way more competent
SchadenFreudian Psychology 3 weeks ago
What an awesome store manager. Why can’t they all be like this? Can that guy train all the others?
LookASquirrel 3 weeks ago
I've worked fast food, retail, waitress, bartended, telemarketer... I would never work retail especially on Black Friday again. I worked one around 2007 and that wasn't even as crazy as most places. I won't even shop that day. I always volunteer to work so others can spend time with family. That's why i won't work retail, You guys are insane!
RomanceRadish 3 weeks ago
This was a great announcement. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone understood this was implied, with no need for an announcement!
Huddo's sister 3 weeks ago
I have been to stores on Boxing Day (Australia's version of black friday, until we imported that too) and although they were crowded, I never saw anyone get pushy or anything. Mind you, I don't like crows, so unless I was buying a specific thing that was cheaper in store, I wouldn't go again.
Rodriquez 3 weeks ago
This is a TWELVE YEAR old Reddit post that was copied here. You are not going to get the answers from Reddit screenshots. Read and understand where they get their content from.
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Crystalwitch60 3 weeks ago
OH THE BEAUTY OF ONLY EVER SHOPPING ONLINE !! bliss no low lives no s c u m no one BLISS I do not miss going shopping cos of things like this !!
RELATED:
#2
I worked at a shoe store for 6 years. Honestly, it was seeing the huge mound of empty (stolen) shoeboxes pile and pile up in the back. I hate shoplifting with a passion, and seeing box after box that we didn't catch just pissed me off royally.
And I hated that every year we opened earlier and earlier, to compete with the other retail stores. Many coworkers had family hours away, and they had to turn around *on Thanksgiving* to drive back to be there that night when the store opened.
I don't work retail anymore but I refuse to go anywhere on Thanksgiving night. Those workers have families too, and they deserve to have ONE day to themselves. You can wait until 5am on Black Friday, don't try to be selfish and push it back to having the store open at 10pm thanksgiving night. Give me a break and have some respect for your fellow human.
KatWitch57 3 weeks ago
I so agree. During lockdown we had customers coming in 10 mins before closing (some of them every single night) because it was 'nice' to be the last one in the store, and 'fun' to be the last one out, even if that meant staff couldn't go home. On sale days they would come in with their entire family and gleefully say that 'well if you can't tell who has taken something, you don't know who to blame'. Folks, if you see shoplifting, say something, because that's putting prices up.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 3 weeks ago
That’s one reason I disapprove of every freaking store being open on holidays. Unless it’s a pharmacy or a gas station (those places serve people having an emergency), why? If the grocery store is closed and Kyle or Karen forgot to buy stuffing for the turkey—too bad! Kyle or Karen should have planned ahead better. The people who work retail probably need that time off desperately by the time the actual holiday arrives.
Verena 3 weeks ago
Here, employees get their sleep. Stores are open 6 days a week from 9 to 17/18, and groceries 7 days from 8 to 20. There is no need for shops to be open 24/7. It is a combination of Workers Rights and planning your shopping. 24/7 also means, having the shelves stuffed 24/7, which makes groceries more expensive, because 50% expires and is thrown out. And that is not only a food waste crime, but an animal a***e crime, too. If you k**l an animal for food, eat it. Use all of it.
otiose 3 weeks ago
I know it's hard to believe, but at one time Black Friday was actually FUN. I think all the businesses got too desperate and shoppers too greedy. Or else I just got old🤔?
Colleen Glim 3 weeks ago
Or maybe businesses got too greedy and shoppers got too desperate
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Katy McMouse 3 weeks ago (edited)
With all of the Black Friday sales online, there is absolutely no reason for major physical stores to maintain this ridiculous tradition. They still make money, so why tor**re their poor employees? (I edited this to say that at it's beginning, it was a nice tradition for many families. The closest I ever came to that was Christmas Eve day at our mall, helping my brother get last minute gifts. I actually enjoyed the hustle and bustle, so I understood the BF appeal).
#3
I was scheduled to work 6am-5pm. My lunch was scheduled at 8am. Not much of a breakfast person, I chose to only consume a granola bar before getting back to work. As the hours go by I find that the demanding circumstances (I was behind the register) coupled with hunger is making me feel a tad light-headed.
At 2pm I am denied a 15 minute break to eat something a tad more substantial. At 3pm an ambulance arrives due to the fact that a young, female sales associate has hit the tile, and is probably suffering from a concussion due to her delirious ramblings about wearing mismatched socks.
That sales associate was me. I recovered just fine, but at 4pm my boss called me from the hospital bed and inquired, "Are you coming back to work?"
And that's why I am now a bartender.
Colleen Glim 3 weeks ago
So you were expected to work from 8:30-5 with no break at all because Walmart?! F*ck them and the horse they rode in on. Labour laws existin other civilized countries
Ace 3 weeks ago
Why do you think it was Walmart? Clicking the original shows that it was a well-known department store.
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RomanceRadish 3 weeks ago
They'll be working two or three years to pay that ambulance and hospital bill.
Smeghead Tribble Down Under 3 weeks ago
When I was 15 I worked at a servo roadhouse (petrol/restaurant/takeaway). Worked Good Friday (huge holiday crush of traffic) Started 5am, finished 1am saturday. 20 straight hours. I couldn't see straight by the end, hadn't eaten, barely had time to swallow some ice water or go to the loo. I was paid $50. For the record, this was in 1995, when minimum wage for juniors at the time was around $11/hr. There were many other similar shifts like that over the four years I worked there (every Sunday, almost every day of school holidays, and yes getting paid peanuts) but that one was the worst.
Huddo's sister 3 weeks ago
I have heard of 'early lunches' in my field (education) because everyone's break has to be covered by someone else during that time, but the law says it must be no later than 5 hours after starting work and no less than two.
Load More Replies... One of the perks of living in today’s technologically advanced world is that there are slightly more digital sales and fewer in-person ones during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Online shopping tends to be more convenient.
Slightly fewer people in stores means less potential for tussles, arguments, and toxicity over discounted products. And that, in turn, means that these days, retail workers have to deal with fewer nasty incidents. At least in theory!
Reporting on data from Mastercard SpendingPulse, CNN states that in-store and online retail sales saw a 3.4% increase on Black Friday in 2024, compared to the year prior. In-store sales grew less than 1%, while online sales spiked 14.6%.
“Shoppers are making the most of seasonal deals and enjoying a balance of experiences spending and gifts for all loved ones. They’re more strategic in their shopping though, prioritizing promotions that they believe hold the greatest value — opening their wallets, but with more intentional distribution,” explained Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard.
#4
I got punched in the face because I didn't know what a zhu zhu pet was.
Rodriquez 3 weeks ago
I hope you one day learn to read. This post is 12 years old and copied from Reddit.
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Upstaged75 3 weeks ago
Look at the picture. That's exactly what it is. Mechanical hamster.
Load More Replies... RomanceRadish 3 weeks ago
In the 1990s I worked at a retail store and some coworkers got fired because they were caught hiding Furby toys so they could purchase for themselves (on break or after work). This was a very sought-after rare item, with stores having strict limits. When a shipment arrived, it was a frenzy.
Robert Cosgrove 3 weeks ago
If it was a punch to the throat I would grab the wrist and just absorb the second more powerful blow. Then it would hip block to the their punch to the groin and I would follow with an elbow to the gut and an uppercut to the nose. After that its "Arigato Gozaimashita"
Ellinor she/they/elle 3 weeks ago
I desperately wanted to have one when I was a kid, but it was too expensive
Crystalwitch60 3 weeks ago
So what the hell is it lmao I’ve no idea ,but if u punch me for that , u gonna be in icu for a long time !,
#5
My first day working for Best Buy was on black Friday 8 years ago. I was controlling part of the line since I had zero training to do anything else. I had a lady saying she was going to faint. She kept saying "please just let me pay so I can get to a doctor". I knew she was lying and called my manager over so he could talk to her. He said "ma'am, they told me you were in need of medical assistance, I've got an ambulance on the way" she freaked out yelling at my manager about the line being too long and how it was his fault she was feeling sick. She looked at me and said "this is all your fault you little jerk, if you would have just let me cut the line we'd be out of this mess". I couldn't help but smile, my manager old her to leave and if she didn't he would call the cops. She tried to stay until a random cop came in to check out the crowd. She left so quick. That was my first of 5 black Fridays with Best Buy.
KatWitch57 3 weeks ago
Rule number one when working with the public; the lunatic is not on the grass, they are right there in front of you. Call management!
The Other Guest 3 weeks ago
Upvoting for the Pink Floyd reference. And also because you're right; managers get paid to deal with bad customers.
Load More Replies... #6
Manager at GameStop: kid pooped on our floor because his mom didn't want to leave and have to stand in line again.
KatWitch57 3 weeks ago
Some adults are not fit to be allowed out, let alone to have children in their care.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 3 weeks ago
This is one reason to avoid taking children with you when you go shopping. (Before you scream that it’s not always possible and I’m a big meanie for suggesting it: I KNOW THAT. But at least TRY to avoid taking kids shopping. It would make your own life easier!)
The Other Guest 3 weeks ago
I know that they didn't, but I really hope the staff handed mom a rag & a bucket to clean it up.
Ivy la Sangrienta 3 weeks ago
It's insane to shop on black friday, and downright criminal to bring children with you. I could never.
otiose 3 weeks ago
Would've been okay for an actual baby - would've had a diaper 😜. Poor child.
Load More Replies...Meanwhile, as per Adobe Analytics, online shoppers spent a whopping $10.8 billion on Black Friday. This is far more than the $9.8 billion spent in 2023
And according to e-commerce site Shopify, people around the world shopped $5 billion in goods that day. American consumers alone spent around $157.
As per Capital One Shopping, 131.7 million American consumers made retail purchases on Black Friday in 2024. Consumers in the United States spent a whopping $10 billion shopping online, and around a similar amount on top of that in stores.
During the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales period, the average consumer shopped for around $650.
#7
Not a story, just a word of thanks to those in this thread who work retail on this shittiest of all days. The tales of avarice I've read and seen myself on BF have led me to a new tradition: refusing to spend a single dime this weekend.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 3 weeks ago
I’ve been skipping Black Friday for years now. It’s a disgusting display of the worst parts of human nature.
Multa Nocte 3 weeks ago
Same. Could never understand people subjecting themselves to that nonsense.
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Dusty's mom 3 weeks ago
Store owners have been getting wise to this and now have a plethora of "black Fridays" thru holiday seasons. It's so stupid. Online shopping in the comfort of one's home is so much better. But I do want to shout out to the delivery people who work hard on THEIR holidays so ours go a little bit easier.
#8
I'm from Canada and our version of Black Friday is Boxing Day(Dec 26th). I worked in a sporting good store and the hardest thing to get through the customers head was when we were out of a product we were out. There wasn't anything in the back, I couldn't give you a rain check for the product and if it was another day of the year I would have been more then happy to call any other store in the city and have the product shipped to you but on this day I just couldn't do that.
KatWitch57 3 weeks ago
Once got 'a talking to' after I said to an especially irritating customer; "yes, we always keep our most popular items out back, so that we can't sell them". Boss's husband thought it was hilarious.
Colleen Glim 3 weeks ago
Boxing Day is my day to sit in my pajamas with my wine glass and rejoice in the fact that it’s over. Nobody wakes up Boxing Day morning and yells “ Oh Boy!!! Gotta go to the dollar store!”
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 3 weeks ago
The only good thing when I used to work Boxing Day in a shop was that it was TRIPLE time (i.e. 3x pay).
Load More Replies... Crystalwitch60 3 weeks ago
Yeah In uk it’s Boxing Day sales lol ,back when I was working retail ,not hospitality,I was working Boxing Day in b &q n this inflated American eugh got in line to my till ,like I had step kids ,I’d like to be home with ,but here we are so I start to serve him n instantly it was predictably yank mentality get me this grab me that blah blah ,then he went off full rant on me , as it was three pm then I’d had enough lol so I sat back crossed my arms n waited till he shut the f up ,n I said you finished ,ok now if you can tell me POLITELY,exactly what the problem is n how I can help you , I’ll be happy to help , but if u carry on screaming at me ,your done !! I’ve never seen a huge 6,4 bloke shrink so fast 😂😂his wife even laughed lol ,it was decades ago to late 80.s early 90s n I never forgot it lmao ,w*f is it with Americans n their attitude 😂be nice people works wonders
Old Wardog 3 weeks ago
What did Americans ever do to you personally that you rag on them all the time?
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#9
Worked at walmart during college a few years back. Because walmart keeps the store open unlike say target or other stores we are setting up the merchandise right in front of the customers, it's literally like setting up a buffet in front of hungry bears or something...
When it came time to release the video games a guy literally jumped over the crowd of people and into the game display knocking it over. Games went everywhere and it turned into a mob trying to get the games. No one was hurt except for the guy and a couple of COD games
Another story that happened that black friday was when we opened up the display for the board games. This old lady, i'm talking maybe in her 80's, had two empty carts and when we opened it up she grabbed as many as she could fit in the two baskets... nothing really wrong with this until she started ripping the games from some little kids hands and throwing them in her cart.
You see the worst of people on Black Friday.
What are the most nightmarish things you’ve personally witnessed on Black Friday? What do you think could help entitled shoppers control their worst impulses?
Have you ever had to work retail during the holiday season? If so, what advice would you give anyone who is new to the job? If you feel like sharing your experiences and opinions, you can do so in the comments at the bottom of this post.
#10
When I worked in retail I was working at a small hardware store. We opened at 7 or something on Black Friday which is an hour early. There were several cardboard cutout people that we had to advertise for paint. One was a purple man that was about 6' tall.
I'm standing at my register at ~6:30 am because we had to be there early, even though we didn't open for another 30 minutes...we all knew the owner would open the doors a little before 7 and let people in. Well...there was no line at 6:30 (not uncommon). One person shows up right around then while I'm counting my register in. He proceeds to do the usual "I want my cheap stuff now! now later when you're open!" thing.
Early Customer (EC) - Hello?! ARE YOU GUYS OPEN?
At this point everyone else was in the back of the store setting things up and I was alone up front out of view of the door...but I could look over this window ledge and see him. I didn't really want to deal with him but I started to walk around from my register (after closing it of course) and was about to say something to him when he starts talking again.
EC - I know you're in there! I can see you! What? You're not even going to say a word to me? This is terrible service, you're incredibly rude.
I have no idea what's happening...I'm not within view of the guy yet...finally I realize he's talking to a large purple cutout of a man. I proceed to go open the doors and try to explain this to him.
Me - Sir, I'm sorry we wont open for another 15 or 20 minutes. (Trying to ignore the elephant in the room; him talking to cardboard).
EC - Why wont that guy acknowledge me?!? Why is he being rude, he could have just as easily told me that you weren't open yet. I should get a coupon.
Note: The purple dude was maybe 6' from the door. It's not like he was yelling at a silhouette across the store.
Me - Ummmm...sorry, that's just a display advertisement for our paint sale today.
EC - Well that's stupid, you shouldn't be able to put things up like that, they might scare people. It's really rude, you guys should know better than that.
Me - WAT. (Didn't say it but I thought it).
EC proceeded to berate the other employees throughout the store over the hour or so he was picking up the cheapest items he could get his hands on...finally tried to bargain for 20% off on account of the "rude cardboard guy" (his words not mine). Manager says "Ah, no." (Direct quote). The guy wasn't old/senile...but apparently he needed glasses...badly.
KatWitch57 3 weeks ago
There are remarkably few advantages to being elderly (UK definition = over 60) but when you get the assh*ole at the check out you press the manager button, stop the queue and, when the manager arrives you say (loudly and clearly) "this customer would like to make a complaint about me". You gain the sympathy of the queue and, their everlasting irritation with the egit who caused the problem.
#11
There's a rule out there, nothing good happens after 2am. That also goes for shopping.
#12
I held a seasonal position stocking at Target last year. They trained me on the registers for about 3 hours so I could back them up if need be. Black Friday comes around and I volunteered for the time and a half pay that comes along with checkout. IIRC the first lady to come into my line had like a large screen tv, maybe a 40 or 50 inch model, that barely fit in the cart. I whip around the register with my scan gun and the barcode is on the bottom of the box. Now, the box is aligned lengthwise down the the length of the cart, width-wise it's sticking straight up with it's lower-most corner seated in the cart, and the back resting on the handle. The customer walks around the side of the box to look as some gum or something. That's when I lift the front of the box out of the cart, balancing it on my hand and the handle of the car, and scan it. I check the computer at the register to make sure it scanned, and that's when I felt the weight start to feel awkward on my hand. I look back, and whad'ya know, the box is starting to tip over. So I dropped the scanner, used my right hand to try and steady the box, but this just creates a fulcrum. It revolves around my right and, tips over, and hits the lady right on top of her head. I was so embarrassed but she assured me she wasn't hurt and everything was fine.
Verena 3 weeks ago
When I buy heavy stuff, I always put it in the cartwith the barcode visible - saves me and the employee some gymnastics and time. No packing staff here.
V 3 weeks ago
A few brands even had barcodes that go down the whole side of a large box, some that even wrap around two sides on very large boxes. It makes it so much easier.
Load More Replies... #13
It was my 2nd year at Target and I happened to be in a sling from shoulder surgery. I needed the money so I continued to work through the holidays with really only arm to use. On black friday I came in and automatically I was pretty much 2nd in charge in my area just due to the fact that everyone around me was a new person. Nobody had any idea of what was going on. My manager left for a 15 minute break. You think in 15 minutes what could go wrong, well.. it went wrong. I was working on packing out toys and one of my co-workers comes up to me saying she has a situation she doesn't know how to handle. A black lady was quite angry that there were no black barbies on the shelf, only white ones. I was completely understanding of the problem, I just told the lady that a lot of the toys were gone and we were working to get them out. Nope... She needed that barbie now. I told her just to have patience and we will work on it, but nope.. I was a racist. Yeah, screaming at me that I was a racist and the store was full of racist. I had to get some other manager to help me.. this lady now doesn't care about the barbie, just that I am a racist. Eventually my Store Manager has to come over and personally go sift through the boxes in the back for the barbie. Well, of course there was no black barbies. The lady screamed at me some more, told me she was going to write to corporate (like they care) about me. My employees got a kick out of it, but I didn't. I was really upset over the whole situation, I like to see myself as an open minded person. That is really when I realized dealing with the public sucked.
TLDR; One arm in a sling, surrounded by newbs, Corporate heard I am a racist.
KatWitch57 3 weeks ago
Corporate (aka senior mgt) looks at sales figures, otherwise they don't give a ...
#14
A friend of mine had his wrist broken during a Black Friday thing. Someone pushed him out of their way to get at something and he went over a shopping cart.
This was in a clothing store in a mall, not even a major department store.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 3 weeks ago
He should have gotten the person’s name and pressed charges.
Geoffrey Scott 3 weeks ago
Malls..we would give our teenaged girls a hundred bucks each for Xmas then make a trip to Grand Rapids, an hours drive, so they could shop at Rivertown Crossing. Quite a study in consumerism. Oldest daughter would go to American Eagle or some similar 'hot' store and come out with a couple small bags and have $20 left. Then came her sister, lumbering down the concourse with arms laden with bags, and $30 left. Obviously, one was a brand shopper, and one was a value shopper. Still that way.
KatWitch57 3 weeks ago
I can't actually help except to say; they are called 'custards' (that's a combination of customer and b*sards), or 'if's' (and that shorthand for 'incompetent f*chwit'). Take your pick.
#15
I worked at Walmart on black friday ages ago. not sure they do this everywhere or just around here, but they would have sale bikes already put together and hanging from the high ceiling from hooks. these would not be the Black friday bikes, just normal sale stuff. I had the misfortune to be getting one of those bikes down at the time they started the sale. I was on top of one of those giant ladders to get the bike off the metal hooks that in hung from, when a crowd of people completely charged past me knocking the ladder out of the way on over. By sheer luck I grabbed on to the bike and was hanging from it a good 20 feet over the concrete floor. It took about 3 minutes for some other workers to muscle through the crowd and get the lader set back up for me to get down.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 3 weeks ago
That’s dangerous. The store should have made some kind of restitution for putting OP in that situation.
Katy McMouse 3 weeks ago
It's Walmart. Actually, I believe Walmart was worse then, than it is now, in terms of employee rights and restitution. I'm guessing there was no restitution. (Hope I didn't butcher the then/than part).
Load More Replies... #16
A guy came for our Black Friday sale not to buy stuff but to sue us. He intentionally spilt food on the floor and walked back over to slip in it. He have himself a concussion and started throwing up. He tried to sue until we showed his lawyer the video.
#17
This woman picked up the most expensive 3D/bluray player from electronics and insisted she was handed it by the workers passing out the Black Friday sale DVD players. I informed her that I couldn't sell it to her for the discount price and she refused to leave the line until she spoke to a manager. When management showed she screamed at them until they told me to change the price. It's people like her that make it intolerable.
otiose 3 weeks ago
Not just intolerable - teaches her (and others) they get what they want if they bïtch enough!
Colleen Glim 3 weeks ago
We’ve created an entire generation of adults that think throwing a tantrum gets them what they want.
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#18
My first BF, we had a guy camp out for days. He bought a bunch of stuff then returned it an hour later. He told us he just does it for the thrill.... Weirdo.
Sarah 3 weeks ago
Going back to the 80s, dad knew someone from local pub ( Dublin Ireland) the man would get the bus to Heuston Train station) buy a paper, chocolate bars from local lady selling at entrance..3 for £1 ( any Irish will understand - the best bargains from true Dubs) get a coffee and then get bus home. He only liked the feeling and thrill of potentially going on holiday! And the excitement of the station and hustle and bustle was enough!!
Mrs Irish Mom 3 weeks ago (edited)
That's gas, I've was in Heuston station yesterday collecting my sis in law and just standing in Heuston waiting on her train to come in made me all excited thinking of going on holidays years ago 😌
Load More Replies... #19
I worked Black Friday at Toys R Us twice. That day brings out the worse in people. It was like a episode of The Walking Dead. A fight broke out because someone cut someone in line. I had a lady get mad at me because I couldn't leave my register to help her with a item. 8pm- 6am. So many murderous thought running through my mind at 4am from lack of sleep.
#20
I'm dating myself here. When I was in college I worked at a toy store and it was the year of the Furbies. They were really hard to get and our site only got 10 of them.
We were instructed to pass out numbers rather than the actual toys to the first 9 in line. (One was donated) I was the lucky one to pass out numbers.
When we opened our doors it was pretty organized because we had set up lines and it was also a high end neighborhood. I gave the first person their number and then all of a sudden I am tackled from behind.
This woman slammed into me and knocked me to the floor and ripped the tickets out of my hand, breaking two fingers. All for numbers.
How dumb was she? The store refused to give her a furby for her numbers and was trying to detain her until the cops showed up but she decked our manager and walked out.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 3 weeks ago (edited)
Put out a warrant for her arrest. That’s aşsault.
General Anaesthesia 3 weeks ago
"It was a high end neighborhood". Remember, the more they have the harder it is to have enough.
#21
I saw a small woman just *take* a Blu-Ray player from the hamds of a man almost as small. I know it doesn't sound so extreme, but the guy just looked so sad and helpless.
Brian Droste 3 weeks ago
People who do that needs to be kicked out of the store and banned from it for at least until the holidays season is ended.
#22
Last year was the first and only time I worked retail on black Friday. It was hell. I worked 14 hours nonstop. I'm sure that that's illegal. I had so many customers it was driving me insane. It was then that I vowed to leave retail and never work retail again.
Brian Droste 3 weeks ago
For employees who work retail like that, the store should double their pay for the day.
RomanceRadish 3 weeks ago
Retail seems to be chronically shorthanded. When I worked retail I came in (on a day off) to get a prescription from the in-store pharmacy, after a doctor visit. I saw a manager, who asked me if I could work that evening. I told her no I'm really sick and here for a prescription. She didn't care, just laid guilt on thicker.
Nikki Sevven 3 weeks ago
If I were Queen of the World, I would only allow Black Friday sales online, NOT in person.
#23
Since I had previous experience at Sears, they decided it would be appropriate to rehire me with my first day being Black Friday (in a completely different department). Not only did I have no idea what was going on, I didn't know any of my co-workers and they didn't know I was starting that day.
That was the easy part. When I got a lunch break, I went to the parking lot and my car was stolen. What a day.
#24
I had someone tear down a sign and bring it to the register to prove to me the price of the item. The sign was for a different item.
Laserleader 3 weeks ago
I admit I have disagreed over a price and just took a Pic of the shelf tag to show.
#25
I worked at a Walmart supercenter that had just opened and it was their first Black Friday sale. They had three police officers and two of the largest support managers they had escort a pallet of the 400 dollar laptops out to the floor. Immediately a crowd started forming around them. When they threw off the cardboard it was like people transformed into animals. People climbing over one another and grabbing them out from other people's hands. There were people stealing them out from other people's carts. It was crazy.
#26
I manage a Verizon wireless store, on one really busy BF I had a customer lose his mind on one of my reps because our contact transfer machine lost the contacts on his sons phone. I jumped in to try and calm things down and release my poor sales rep. The guy spent the next 10 minutes screaming at me, demanding I give him free products because of the inconvenience. When I continued to refuse, he got right up in my face and raised his hand as if he was going to grab me. I'm not a really big guy, but I'm 6'2" 230lbs, and I looked at him dead in the eye and said "sir, I would really not touch me, if I were you." he backed off a bit but continued to scream at me. I ended up having to call the cops to have him removed from the store.
Side note, his 10 yr old son was with him, and lost a total of 8 contacts.
#27
Last year a woman went into labor in front of my store. Because it was so busy the paramedics had a really hard time reaching her so she almost had to give birth in the mall.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 3 weeks ago
Not to be victim-blaming, but maybe she should have thought twice about going shopping on Black Friday when she was that close to giving birth.
justme 3 weeks ago
The baby could have been premature, it happens sometimes
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#28
Leaving a cabin in the Shenandoah mountains to make it to my Black Friday shift, a shift my boss had originally promised would go to someone else... then showing up to work and having my boss say "what do you know, we don't even *need* you today!" So much worse than any customer interaction I can remember...
#29
The Black Friday's that I worked weren't ever really that bad.
There was one time though, when I worked at a FYE at a mall. We opened at 5am that year and there was an unexpected line of people waiting to come in. We weren't boasting any big sales, so we thought it was weird.
I was the one cashier on duty and my first few customers had iPods. I ring them up, they come up full price. The customers tell me it's a Black Friday sale, and I say it isn't. I ask my manager (the only other employee in the store), who says he wasn't aware of us having an iPod sale. One of the ladies shows us a newspaper flier saying they were on sale, so my manager tells me to ring them up with the sale price.
Now, if it wasn't so busy, and it wasn't just he and I running the store, maybe one of us would have noticed the tiny asterisk on the flier that said the big sales only pertained to free standing stores, as in, ones not in a mall. We didn't notice that until later. Why would a store have a sale for certain stores only, and why wouldn't they make it more clear?
#30
A few years back my stepdad went to black friday just to see what it was like and saw 2 grandmas fist fighting over the new generation furby.
#31
Here's the most extreme I've seen as a customer. My brother and I went last year and were in and out of walmart in 20 minutes at 6pm on thanksgiving. we made off with 2 tvs an ipad, and a couple of cheap hard drives. No camping out, no waiting in lines, no trampling people, no fighting traffic, and no stealing from other people.
michael reid 3 weeks ago
Avoid the checkouts and go straight to the exit. No queues, much quicker.
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#32
Two women got into a fistfight over $10 waffle irons in '10.
Last year two men got into a fight in the parking lot. Over a shopping cart.
#33
I'm working right now in a frozen yogurt shop in a mall. It's 3:32 AM.
Some guy just paid for 10 dollars of yogurt and forgot it. Like straight up left.
More for me, I guess.
#34
At the Walmart waiting in the horde for one of 11 sound bars they had this year. At 8 the plastic came off and the dude ahead of me went low for some reason. I saw one the bars I wanted kinda floating on top of the stack so a grabbed it and started backing out of the way. I saw the low dude in front of me get knocked in the head a few times. I'm not sure if he ended up getting one or not.
Upstaged75 3 weeks ago
And they're not even really deals! It's all a scam.
Load More Replies... #35
Watched a lady in an electric wheelchair accidentally run over a 6 year old. The little kid just walked it off while his mom was tripping. Old lady didn’t even mean to. Just a bunch of people and bad timing for the kid to run in the one open area.
#36
Best Buy, 2004. Washington State.
Made us work 11 hours shift without breaks.
All concrete floors, standing the whole time.
Don Adams 3 weeks ago
It seems labor laws on Black Friday take a second place to "coverage".
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 3 weeks ago
It's illegal under federal labor law to force an employee to work 11 hours with no breaks.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 3 weeks ago
Businesses don’t care. They just do whatever they want, in the U.S.
Load More Replies... #37
Target, two years ago. I just go to watch the gore- had a great vantage point. This family of yokels with like a dozen kids is right in front of me, way down the line- no way they are getting the big ticket items, right?
These kids were trained. They fanned out across the store, ducking and weaving. They located the tv specials hidden in the women's clothing section and PHYSICALLY BLOCKED THE PILE until their parents got there with the cart. It was beautiful.
StPaul9 3 weeks ago
WOw. I had to find the word atavism: a modification of a biological trait's structure or behavior whereby an ancestral genetic trait reappears after having been lost through evolutionary change in previous generations. Basically a trait thought extinct makes its way back. Person had to deal with some yokel gatherer hunters! Thank you for the lesson!
Load More Replies... otiose 3 weeks ago
Why were the TV specials hidden in the women's department?? Is this a fresh level of BF hell? Scavenger Black Friday?
Kit Black 3 weeks ago (edited)
If they only have a few of a very popular item, they put it in a completely different department ~to make it fair~ Which is why the year that furbies were first incredibly popular, the older woman who lived next door to us and worked in the fabric department ~got lucky~ and got both of the furbies sent to her store for Black Friday - but it totally wasn't a setup because she wasn't working that day! She just ~had a hunch~ (yeah, they were in the fabric department...behind the counter...)
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Rosecrucian Roeth 3 weeks ago
Why would the TV specials be hidden in the women's clothing section?
#38
This year would be my 4th Black Friday. Anyway, nothing extreme really happens. For the most part, customers are nice and understanding, they just want to be in and out of the store as quick as they can. The worst part is the anxiety I get mentally preparing for a 10 hour overnight. After about 3am, the traffic dies and you’re pretty much left to stand around, sleepy, for the rest of your shift. THAT is the worst part of it for me.
Colleen Glim 3 weeks ago
There is no reason for a store to be open at that hour other than corporate greed
nottheactualphoto 3 weeks ago
More stupidity than greed. If they're paying staff and making zero sales, the store is losing money.
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#39
Not a cheese but I knew a girl who went shopping with her mom on black Friday and her mom accidentally left the girl there overnight so the girl went to the sporting goods section and slept in a tent.
#40
For me: being the worker who closed! You come in and it was so busy the other workers didn’t clean up. I was in kids shoes, so tons of missing pairs.
#41
I sold firearms at a large outdoor store. When you call in a background check they ask how many records you are checking. My answer"I don't know maybe 75".
Upstaged75 3 weeks ago
The general pubic shouldn't just be able to randomly buy guns anyway! It should be highly regulated, but it isn't. And yes, I live in the US. 😥
Load More Replies... Daniel Atkins 3 weeks ago
When I worked at Walmart the manger had to walk the gun to the car with the customer.
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Jay Cee 1 week ago
I took up clay pigeon shooting when I lived in Ontario. Went to KMart and bought a Remington Wingmaster 870. The clerk put a brown bag over each end, secured with Scotch tape and asked if I wanted any shells. I paid cash so wasn't even asked for ID (1975). Felt a bit twitchy walking past security at the open front of the Bank of Montreal on my way out to the car.
#42
I used to work for walmart. Nothing extreme ever happened but I had to be the one to cut the wrap off of the movies and me and a coworker were stuck between two displays for fifteen minutes.
Gingersnap In Iowa 3 weeks ago
Umm 😳 are those packages of chicken? And they are they buying so much?
Rosecrucian Roeth 3 weeks ago
Maybe she plans on planting them and then opening a chicken farm?
#43
I had an old lady beat the hell out of a guy to the point we had to call the dude an ambulance. It was over a $5 coffee maker. I ended up selling her the coffee maker and an apology card. She gave it to me and asked me to get it to the guy and she dipped out. I kept the card as a memento.
Maya_D 3 weeks ago
You sold her the coffee maker???!!! Rather than have her arrested???!!! W*F?
otiose 3 weeks ago (edited)
Corporate greed - make the ($5) sale, ignore the a*såult?
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#44
A rather large woman slammed my cart at checkout and proceeded to cut in front of me. I yelled at her for cutting and called her a bunch of fat insensitive names and made light of the fact that she had drenched her shirt in sweat despite the weather being well below freezing outside. I couldn't do much else because putting my hands on her would have gotten me arrested.
It turns out she had changed the price tags on each expensive item she tried to buy. The cashier was having none of it and said she would have to put the items back. Of course the fat sow became indignant and demanded a manager. The manager came, with a police officer in tow and the ham planet was put in handcuffs on the spot. I checked out with no issues and with a wide grin on my face.
Gaius214 3 weeks ago (edited)
I read "ham planet" & almost watered the rug with darn good scotch. While we should always try to be empathetic to those who may be different. We should also celebrate the term "ham planet".
RomanceRadish 3 weeks ago
The woman's actions were reprehensible. But her body had nothing to do with the topic.
#45
Black Friday of last year was my *first day* of working at Bath and Body Works. The amount of menopausal women that had an attitude with me while I was trying to help them check out was unreal.
RomanceRadish 3 weeks ago
People of all genders and ages can exhibit a poor attitude. Not just menopauseal women. Although... by a time a woman reaches menopause, her tolerance for b******t simply lessens. So maybe "having an attitude" is code for "sick of putting up with stereotypes, societal expectations and poor treatment."
S Bow 3 weeks ago
Definitely unnecessary, also judgemental and likely inaccurate.
Load More Replies... #46
Not a Black Friday story, but Christmas Eve. I used to work in a toy store in a mall. One Christmas, there was this insane demand for this one toy action figure. I mean absolutely insane. And some of his "pals" were also in stock, but everyone wanted the main toy.
Anyhow, as we stocked and counted down the minutes until we opened, people started to crowd outside the window. Some were pressing their faces against the glass and it was contorting their ugly mugs. Like dogs foaming at the mouth... it was already pandemonium and we hadn't even opened.
The moment I raised the gate, I was trampled and people made a bee-line for this special toy. It looked like one was left, and this jacked white guy with an accent grabbed it, but then this angry looking black man in his post office work clothes grabbed it from his hands. The muscular guy proceeded to tackle him right in the middle of the store, and grabbed the toy back while the post office worker looked knocked out. Just as the buff guy walked to the checkout counter and paid for the toy, the other guy gathered his strength and crawled a few paces forward and swung his mail bag directly at this guy's feet and literally swept his legs out from underneath him. I could not believe I was witnessing this right in this store.
The ripped fellow fell to the floor with a thud and the post office worker snatched the toy and began running out the toy store pushing people to and fro and running down the up-escalator. The man who lost the toy started to run out after him, pushing people as well causing a massive wake of destruction. I stood speechless, and in the fleeting moment I heard this man bellow "nooooooo turboooooomannnn" so loud that it drowned out the noise of all the incessant holiday chatter.
Kit Black 3 weeks ago (edited)
Arnold Schwarzenegger & Sinbad in Jingle All The Way, 1996... come on people, really?
justme 3 weeks ago
My brother had one of these turboman toys and it was possessed. It started talking in the middle of the night and would not shut up. Mom even removed the batteries but nope it kept talking. She eventually chucked it down the basement stairs and left it there to deal with in the morning.
Cole Earnhart 3 weeks ago (edited)
This is just the plot to the movie "Jingle All the Way" 🤣. The "Jacked white guy" is Arnold Schwarzenegger and the post office worker is Sinbad!
Daniel Atkins 3 weeks ago
I remember Walmart trying to act like there was an actual demand for Turbo Man.
Kit Black 3 weeks ago
Unfortunately, you have to do exactly what the script tells you to do 🤣
Load More Replies... What do you think ?
Verena 3 weeks ago
The two countries in Europe I happen to live and work in adopted Black Friday some years ago with varying enthousiasm (the Netherlands are usually quite eager to adopt everything remotely connected with "customer convenience" and "increase profit" while the Germans are reluctantly testing the waters first). Since a year or two more and more shops stop with Black Friday, it isn't worth the chaos and consumers are drowned in "special sales" plus cheap orders from China all year round.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 3 weeks ago
When are we going to get it through our thick heads that violence is unacceptable? Especially over some overpriced consumer item that the buyer or the gift recipient will probably forget about by next year’s Black Friday? I like to give my loved ones a special item that they want, but I will NOT use violence (or mistreat a store employee) so I can do it!
Gingersnap In Iowa 3 weeks ago
I worked retail right out of college at Lane Bryant. I had a woman throw a holiday sweater vest across the counter at me because the security tag wasn't removed. She was on her way to Christmas Eve service. I think 🤔 everyone should have to work retail and food service for a while. People hopefully would be much more understanding.
Katy McMouse 3 weeks ago
I worked in a pharmacy, so Black Friday was pretty much a boring, slow day. However, the day before, for us, was always W*F?!?Wednesday. Like, w*f is wrong with you people? Thanksgiving happens on a regular basis, as did the procrastinating and frequently cranky W*F Wednesday regulars.
V 3 weeks ago
In Australia stores used to have to close good friday and Easter Sunday. It was always so hard to predict how busy it would be on Easter Saturday when we were open because it would either be an absolute ghost town and we'd struggle to make a couple of hundred dollars, or we would do thousands of dollars and be crazy busy all day. There was never an inbetween. Now stores open on Easter Sunday and it just trades like a normal weekend.
Load More Replies... dynr7wcbt9 2 weeks ago
Looking for anyone who works in retail in the UK - the shop floor, a delivery driver or in a retail call centre - willing to be a (paid) media case study to tell your awful story about your Black Friday experiences - as soon as possible. You won't need to name who you work for but we're running a campaign to stop the a***e. Your voice needs to be heard. Thank you
RomanceRadish 3 weeks ago
Believe it or not, fitting rooms used to have actual attendants in charge of keeping them clean, and would bring you a different size upon request.
Verena 3 weeks ago
The two countries in Europe I happen to live and work in adopted Black Friday some years ago with varying enthousiasm (the Netherlands are usually quite eager to adopt everything remotely connected with "customer convenience" and "increase profit" while the Germans are reluctantly testing the waters first). Since a year or two more and more shops stop with Black Friday, it isn't worth the chaos and consumers are drowned in "special sales" plus cheap orders from China all year round.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 3 weeks ago
When are we going to get it through our thick heads that violence is unacceptable? Especially over some overpriced consumer item that the buyer or the gift recipient will probably forget about by next year’s Black Friday? I like to give my loved ones a special item that they want, but I will NOT use violence (or mistreat a store employee) so I can do it!
Gingersnap In Iowa 3 weeks ago
I worked retail right out of college at Lane Bryant. I had a woman throw a holiday sweater vest across the counter at me because the security tag wasn't removed. She was on her way to Christmas Eve service. I think 🤔 everyone should have to work retail and food service for a while. People hopefully would be much more understanding.
Katy McMouse 3 weeks ago
I worked in a pharmacy, so Black Friday was pretty much a boring, slow day. However, the day before, for us, was always W*F?!?Wednesday. Like, w*f is wrong with you people? Thanksgiving happens on a regular basis, as did the procrastinating and frequently cranky W*F Wednesday regulars.
V 3 weeks ago
In Australia stores used to have to close good friday and Easter Sunday. It was always so hard to predict how busy it would be on Easter Saturday when we were open because it would either be an absolute ghost town and we'd struggle to make a couple of hundred dollars, or we would do thousands of dollars and be crazy busy all day. There was never an inbetween. Now stores open on Easter Sunday and it just trades like a normal weekend.
Load More Replies... dynr7wcbt9 2 weeks ago
Looking for anyone who works in retail in the UK - the shop floor, a delivery driver or in a retail call centre - willing to be a (paid) media case study to tell your awful story about your Black Friday experiences - as soon as possible. You won't need to name who you work for but we're running a campaign to stop the a***e. Your voice needs to be heard. Thank you
RomanceRadish 3 weeks ago
Believe it or not, fitting rooms used to have actual attendants in charge of keeping them clean, and would bring you a different size upon request.
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