Anyone work Black Friday, share good or bad experiences here ...

I'm a little worried about working black Friday, I work at Walmart in a small town so it shouldn't be to bad. I have heard a lot of horror stories about people actually getting killed, trampled, and injured. I have never actually shopped a black Friday before, I'm going to try to pick up a ps4 just hope i don't get killed or injured.

I would like to hear your experience weather you worked or shopped black Friday.

I did a Black Friday opening at a Target in a major metro. No one got trampled or seriously injured, but the store was so busy and packed that even though we had one of the smaller store floorplans, I set out to go from one corner to the other because I needed to get some rainchecks. It took me over half my 8 hour shift to work my way from one corner to the other because of all the people I had to work my way through one way - soft lines to electronics. The total trip took most of my shift by the time I got all the way back. I never did manage to get a break.

If you like being busy the whole time, then you'll finish the day before you realize it.

I also worked several Black Fridays at a small gift shop in a mall in a medium sized town, and it was pretty busy, too. Same sort of thing - you are just constantly busy.

a reply to: ketsuko

I just hope i stay in groceries that night i dont think it will be to bad their. I do like being busy, but thats insane lol...

I spent most of my working career in food service / retail management and I honestly cannot tell you how many Black Friday's I worked. Most consumers don't realize that Black Friday is such a big deal that, for those working in the industry, it's not just one day - but basically a month long "black out" period... meaning no vacations nor requested days off... and if you call in sick you'd better be damned sick or you'll end up unemployed.

The most prominent memory I have was from Best Buy. Before we opened the doors for Black Friday I gave the troops a pep-talk at the front of the store... Just five or six minutes of sanity before the chaos. All this as customers were crammed against the doors screaming for us to open. When I finally did unlock the door one of the customers went straight at the first employee he saw and sucker punched him - for making him wait.

Other than that? It's a day. It's a long, hard, demanding, miserable day - but it passes quickly enough. Just walk into it with the knowledge that every single person you speak to is going to be in a state of psychosis, to one degree or another, and you'll get through it fine. Well unless your manager gives you a pep talk and you're the first employee the angry guy sees...

Blessed to work in an industry where there are no days off until the project is finished. Then when it's finished...Cabo, Jamaica or Belize until the next show comes along.

The excitement of working with a team of intelligent, creative, committed and focused artists makes the long hours, day after day enjoyable!


I will be thankful that I'll be working on Thanksgiving and Black Friday!

I worked a Black Friday at a returns desk at Target decades ago. The highlight of that day was when a man who probably weighed 300 lbs and was at least 6'5 came aggressively swinging a baby carrier (the kind that you can remove and has a handle) to start screaming and yelling at me. The best part was watching security and the store manager (along with all the other staff in the store probably) just stand watch this absolutely terrifyingly huge man screaming and yelling at me as a picture of pure insanity. He was not making any sense and had an item ticketed with a JC Penny ticket plus a receipt from the same store. No matter what, though, he was determined in his screaming that it was, in fact, from Target. He said that he wasn't going to take this *insert string of expletives* and wasn't going to leave (or calm down) until he got his money back.

I was 5'7 and about 119 lbs. I gave him his money back.

I didn't get in trouble. I got a pat on the back for holding my composure against extremely hostile and aggressive nuttery. The one thing that did continually burn in our minds was this--was there even a baby in the baby carrier? Nobody took the time to peek and considering the noise in its proximity, we guessed there wasn't as there was no crying. One employee said that there was a baby doll in it.

Black Friday--pure madness and well, sometimes it brings out the madness.

I did one black Friday as a shopper in '07, as a TSA agent working on the floor in '10, as a cab driver in '11, and as a groundskeeper in '13.

Black Friday sucks for everyone.

No matter what black fridays suck for everyone, except the cyber Monday people. And generally most people who do not even stay out past 11:45 the night before. Why? Because people are extra stupid on that day. I try to avoid working on that day all together from now on.

It's not as bad as it's made out to be really. Yeah there are some isolated issues here or there, but overall it's just a bunch of nut jobs trying to get good deals.

My wife is one of those nut jobs and every year she bonds with others in line and makes new friends. These crazies seem to find solace in their struggle.

Overall, I think Black Friday sucks, I hate it.
But there are those who enjoy the thrill of the hunt, I say let them have it.

Yeah, my cousin's wife is a Black Friday shopper, and she maps the whole thing out, has a game plan and everything.

For our part, we stay home.

The funny part is that I ( that includes everyone who can read these words ) can sit at home and get the same deals rather than camping out and standing in line. In some cases even better ones.

FTR: Even the promise of an unreal bargain, like a ten dollar plasma big screen would not lure me out of the house to try and participate in the insanity. I might, however, bribe someone else to go in my stead.

originally posted by: Hefficide

The funny part is that I ( that includes everyone who can read these words ) can sit at home and get the same deals rather than camping out and standing in line. In some cases even better ones.

FTR: Even the promise of an unreal bargain, like a ten dollar plasma big screen would not lure me out of the house to try and participate in the insanity. I might, however, bribe someone else to go in my stead.

Ohh but you would miss all that comradery of bonding over a crappy gas station cup of coffee at three in the morning...

Worked in retail for almost 10 years now. Majority of those years I've done a black Friday. Sam's club wasn't bad, but I got there late in the day, walgreens was always busy until 12 fish, but never too stupid. This year I'll be at Petco, so we'll see. I don't imagine it being anything notable.

a reply to: Hefficide

im with you on that....even if i knew i could get a monster led hd for free i would not put myself through that...
i cant stand the people at the store on an an august thursday...no way i go to the store in the biggest shopping day of the year...

a reply to: desertguy hi I don't know about shoping on a black Friday, but where I come from its the last working day of the year and everyone goes straight to the pub to get hammerd then fight each other