I’ve never been a Black Friday person, but I understand the appeal. When you have a lot of people to shop for, saving money wherever you can is important. Understanding this, retailers have over the years pitted human against human on this mad dash to savings, opening at increasingly ungodly hours to let the madness begin earlier and earlier.
But this year, many are opening on Thursday evening instead of Friday morning – Thursday being Thanksgiving, the same day when you’re supposed to take time to be with your family and be thankful for what you have. And I think that’s going too far.
Here’s why: These retail stores employ what C-suite executives like to call “people.”
Thousands of them. And these people will have to cut their Thanksgiving holidays short in order to cater to the masses who want to get their holiday shopping done a few hours earlier than normal. Understandably, many are not happy about this. If stores open at 10, these employees will have to show up at 4 or 5, or even earlier. I’m all about capitalism and getting the economy going again, but this is just wrong.
Take it from someone whose mother has spent the last 20 years in retail. Many times I’ve watched her go to bed early on Thanksgiving because she had to get up at ungodly hours on Black Friday to prepare. The thought of her having to give up half of her Thanksgiving day just so someone can save $50 on a new flat screen TV pisses me off.
And this won’t stop with this year. Blame it on the ever-recession all you want, but if it’s a success, this will become the norm. Just like Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become staples of American society, Thanksgiving will disappear, to be replaced with Dealsgiving, the holiday where we get a four day weekend just to shop. Thanksgiving will be a relic from the past that we’ll have to explain to our grandchildren.
There’s a simple way to stop this madness: don’t go.
Don’t be lured away from your families by the appeal of slightly lower prices. Wait eight hours to begin the madness. If retailers see this as not being successful, or if the backlash of people saying “Enough!” gets plenty loud, then maybe we have a chance of stopping this thing. Or at least making a dent.
Because, really, you’re still going to buy your stuff, right? You’ll still stimulate the economy. Your loved ones still need gifts. But on Thanksgiving, they’d rather have your time.
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Can’t agree more! This shopping thing is getting out of hand. Instead, stay in this weekend and shop online. Tons of good deals online! No insane lineups.
I agree. It’s completely insane, and wrong. But did you know that this is basically what Walmart has been doing already? Last year they stayed open for 24 hours on Thanksgiving Day and their way of starting Black Friday was to put the merchandise out on the floor and cover it up with tarps until the big reveal at 5am. They put tape on the floors to keep customers behind the lines! It was ridiculous. I know because my dad had to be there early in the morning to keep those greedy customers behind the yellow line.
Yes, I’m very aware of that, as my mom had to do the same thing. Sad.
There’s just enough people out there who will go early for the deals that I’m afraid this will likely become the norm.
I hope not, but it’s likely.
This is brilliant and so true. Thanks, Caleb.
I agree completely. It’s greed to buy junk that China makes, a country that works its people to death.
Well said. The WORKERS leaving their family is all the reason not to go, if being with your own family is not enough… Odd to have to leave your family on the one day many have to be with them to go buy things for them to be happy. When, the kids at least want nothing more than to spend time WITH their parents/caregivers today. Everyday.
I worked at a bookstore for several years and it irked me that the store was open on minor holidays but I paid my dues. Accordingly, I won’t shop on minor holidays out of solidarity- it might not make a difference but it makes me feel better. But being open on a major holiday? It’s wrong on so many levels. Where will the corporate greed ever end? I truly hope people will stay home instead of shop. I hope the sales will be so low, every executive will be too embarrassed to ever raise the issue again.
I’m not one of the people who shopped on Thanksgiving or even at 5 am on Black Friday. There are many people who celebrate a holiday on other surrounding days; not the exact day of the holiday. Many of these same people are eager to work the holiday hours that others don’t want to. There are also lots of people who aren’t able to be with their families at all and would rather operate business as usual.
Hear, hear; word; and bravo!
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