Page 1 of 1

Black Friday 2009

Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:55 pm
by dmcoach
Who's in line, where, and what for?

I'm at Best Buy, looking to get my paws on one of the laptop deals. 8-)

Re: Black Friday 2009

Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:39 am
by twinmomma
I'm home now. But I was in line last night at 9:30pm for Toys R Us' 12:01 opening for a Disney Princess Vanity for my 3.5 year old daughter. I got one. They had 2. And I was early enough in line to get a coveted Zhu Zhu pet.

Re: Black Friday 2009

Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:29 pm
by justinian
Black Friday can bring out the worst in people. Is it really worth it? From the LA Times:

Black Friday: Wal-Mart in Upland temporarily closes after 'fighting inside'

November 27, 2009 | 10:34 am

Black Friday brought out the rowdy side of Wal-Mart shoppers early this morning when the Upland location shut down for more than two hours after customers caused a ruckus inside.

Store management called Upland police at 2:44 a.m., asking for assistance in dealing with customers who were “fighting inside,” said Lt. Jim Etchason.

About 300 people were in the store, which had remained open all night as a security precaution after a Wal-Mart worker on Long Island, N.Y., was trampled to death last year on Black Friday when a surging, impatient crowd rushed the doors after the store opened.

But in Upland, employees said, customers began tearing into merchandise that had been shrink-wrapped and were supposed to be opened at 5 a.m.

“This was without a doubt the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said one employee, who said she has worked a dozen Black Fridays.

“They wouldn’t let people line up,” she added. “They were belligerent. They just bombarded the store.”

Several officers were sent and stood by as shoppers were kicked out and the store closed down, Etchason said. The bargain hunters were told to line up in the parking lot.

Meanwhile, the carts were emptied and all the items returned to the shelves, employees said. But they said that outside, people began “yelling and screaming,” pounding on the glass doors and trying to sneak into the store through the lawn and garden section.

Store managers had to be sent outside to try to calm the crowd, workers said.

“It was scary,” one said.

But when police officers left at 6:15 a.m., “everyone was behaving themselves,” Etchason said. The store had reopened a bit before 6 a.m., allowing customers inside in groups of 30, and “people were proceeding inside in an orderly fashion.”

No arrests were made, and no injuries were reported. By 9 a.m., the store seemed back to normal, with packed shopping carts and long checkout lines.

-- Baxter Holmes

Re: Black Friday 2009

Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 3:30 pm
by twinmomma
While in line at Toys R Us, as it got closer to opening time, it became clear that a few groups of people were standing across from the doors preparing to "rush" the doors, and there was a second line started going the opposite direction of the line that had been in place for hours. The manager told all of us to put our carts on one the outside of us and line them up end to end to "enforce the line" and help prevent the line rushers. They did shut down the "alternate" line, which resulted in cheers from those who'd waited for hours.
The woman behind me was getting incredibly worked up over the people who were trying to buck the system, and a woman and I looked at each other and I said, "Nobody NEEDS anything in that store. Nothing in that store is life or death. If someone wants to rush the line, I'll happily get out of the way. It's not worth it." But the manager was great, with a bouncer at the door, and slowly let people in one by one. I was in and out in 20 minutes (after a 3 hour line wait).
I wish people would remember that their lives can be complete without a 200 dollar flat screen or a 10 dollar battery operated hamster. There's nothing wrong with fulfilling our wants, but not at the expense of actual human decency.

Re: Black Friday 2009

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 8:51 pm
by agentsquishypenguin
i stayed home, for i'm not stuid enough to go to walmart here on black friday (especially since you can't call it black friday there. it's "The Event")

Re: Black Friday 2009

Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 3:09 pm
by dmcoach
agentsquishypenguin wrote:i stayed home, for i'm not stuid enough to go to walmart here on black friday (especially since you can't call it black friday there. it's "The Event")
Yeah, but don't just highlight that negative. I had a great first time experience, and I got the item I wanted. $400 netbook for $230 :yeah: