Shopping the Day after Thanksgiving....

[Harmony2000]

I grew up in a small town in Louisiana, one of those towns where pretty much everybody works at Walmart. I completely forgot my mom and one of my brothers work there. Silly, I know. I was talking to her today and she was telling me what happened on Friday at her Walmart. She works in electronics and said that it was insane. They made close to a million... ONE MILLION... in about 6 hours. But that's not the insane part, what is that there were fights breaking out all over the place. She said one of the workers in the toy section got punched in the face by another woman when she told her that the toy she was looking for was sold out. She said that all the workers were shocked over the things going on because they were fighting over stuff that wasn't even on sale. One fight was over some $10 toy cars. I was just shocked. She's in her 50's and they (the store managers) ended up sending her and some of the other older workers home early and calling in the younger ones to handle the crowds.

[barefootdyke]

i'll never understand why people have to act like that. anyone remember the horrible scenes in the 80's when the cabbage patch dolls came out? what a nightmare ...

[KeepItReal]

I remember the cabbage patch craze as well. Walmart should not have rung up a single sale after these people pushed down that door. They were overwhelmed and didn't want to ask for help with crowd control. The police on scene must not have anticipated anything that they couldn't handle because they did not call for any backup when they saw the size of the crowd. No matter how many times in the past it's happened, it's still hard to believe that people will take it to such an extreme. Today's paper said that the line stretched so far that it wrapped around and a new line began to form on the other side of the door, placing people who had just gotten to the store right at the entrance opposite those who were first on line, and placing them closer than some who had been there for hours. This is what initially began to agitate the crowd. Some were determined to enter before the new line of people entered. The pushing began, people began jumping barricades, the rest is sad history.

[Melitta]

Personally, I don't think the crowd thing is Wal-Mart's fault. These are ADULTS (for some I use that term very loosely) going shopping on a day where they know full well there are going to be huge crowds. WAY too much has been put off on companies, not just Wal-Mart, for people's own stupidity and greediness. Anyone remember the lady sucessfully suing McDonald's for the too hot coffee? SHE spilled her coffee, for goodness sakes. Sure Wal-Mart and other companies can help out with the crowds, but honestly, why should they have too? Act like a human being and not an animal. The worker that was trampled, that is not Wal-Mart's fault, that is on the people who trampled over him. From what I have read the police are going through surveilence tapes to see if they can identify some of the people. Needle in a hay stack? Probably. It is a very tragic event and if the people can be identified then prosecute them to the fullest extent. What is the family doing? Suing Wal-Mart, Nassau County AND it's police department AND the Long Island mall the Wal-Mart is located in. My personal opinion, that is just trying to profit off of your family members death.

[KeepItReal]

I agree that in the end the biggest fault lies with whomever did the shoving. I 100% get what you're saying and think you're right in that regard. It's nice to think that adults should act like adults, but we all know that sometimes they don't. Not to mention that some of those I saw on that line were teenagers, and we all know that they can get out of control sometimes as well. Walmart is at fault because they knew that this could happen. It has happened before. They were warned by the police to step up the security, and when things get out of hand what do they do? They form a human chain at the door, putting employees in harms way, including this man who was only placed at the door because he was a big guy. He wasn't hired as security, and who would think it's a good idea to line up 20-30 employees to try and hold off a charging crowd of 2000? Then to say that people shopped while this man died. Well someone made the decision to open those registers and check them out. As I stated before I hate the fact that they allow people to line up for days. These people can be robbed on their property, can cause some sort of disturbance overnight, someone could be raped. Sure that's partly their fault for being out there days ahead of time without the benefit of security. However, why not protect yourself and the public by not allowing people on your property for more than 12 hours before a sale starts. Most stores that I go to on Black Friday constantly have workers out there walking the crowd, talking to them, calming things before they get started, answering questions. Handing out maps and tickets. With tickets there is no need to stampede. You have no ticket, you have no item, period. They dropped the ball. Lots of stores drop the ball. It doesn't help the situation any to simply think that people are going to do what is right. We know there is a huge potential for that not to happen.

As for the family suing- I think they very well should. I think they will narrow down who should fall under the lawsuit umbrella over time, but Walmart should most certainly be sued. They lost a loved one, and a lifetime of financial contributions from him to his family as well. I don't look down on them for suing. Money is the only thing that moves these companies to make changes. Hit them in the pockets. Sadly, in the end we all know the cost of that lawsuit will only trickle down to the consumers anyway.

[Newfherder]

I don't like the "WalMart MUST be sued" mentality. I agree that WalMart probably has some liability, but it does not require a lawsuit for the parties to reach an equitable settlement.

[buglover]

Cyber Monday is the way to go when shopping for deals. The whole idea of camping out somewhere for days just to save a few bucks has never appealed to me.

[KeepItReal]

It's likely the entire thing will be settled out of court, however, it seems that in many cases negotiations don't begin until a lawsuit has been filed. I also doubt that the family had to go looking for representation. They probably came out of the woodwork to get the ball rolling on this thing. I remember I broke my foot once. Someone from a law office came up to me in the ER asking questions and handing me their card. Yeah, I had a case (I knew that without speaking to a lawyer) however, wasn't worth suing over. Sometimes you're lucky to get away with just a broken bone.

As for cyber monday, it certainly is becoming the way to go. Too many people are in on the Black Friday thing now. The popularity has grown considerably over the past decade, at least around these parts.

[buglover]

The really sad thing is many of the people who end up lining up for Black Friday are buying things for themselves, not gifts for others.

I also have this thing where I feel Christmas has become such a commercial holiday that I tend to buy gifts after the holiday is over so that I am not contributing to making this wonderful family day all about material objects.

[walkvideo]

Do you shop on Black Friday? Or, do you bury your head in the sand and avoid all the craziness? Why? Why not?

Black Friday is a term for the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, which is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Because Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, Black Friday occurs between the 23rd and the 29th of November. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)

I am never a big fan of shopping, let alone on a day when a zillion people are out doing the same thing, but I am pretty tempted to shop online this year: Black Friday 2009 Sale Informatio