Black Friday
I have only participated in the craziness known as Black Thursday/Friday twice in my life. The first time was three years ago and the other time was this year. Both times found me in a chaotic store filled with people but only this year was a more pleasant experience.
The first year I went to a Wal-Mart in Pennsylvania and since I was on vacation there was nothing that I really needed. I picked up a few DVDs in the Black Friday section of the store and helped my Aunt and Cousin shop for their family. When it came to checkout time the line was only about 10 minutes long. I stepped up to make my purchases, as I had the least amount of stuff, and the cashier rang them up. The DVDs that I had picked out rang up incorrectly, I politely told her the correct price and she immediately got hostile insisting that I was wrong. I she rang for a manager, and he told me the same thing even though the DVDs were featured in the store's advertisement. I politely told them that I didn't want them at the higher price and my Aunt and Cousin continued checking out. I was never upset at the workers as they were working very hard on a holiday but it left a bad taste in my mouth for the whole shopping on Thanksgiving/Black Friday experience.
This year I found myself driving by a Target on Thanksgiving night, I had no time commitments so I thought I would go check out what they had to offer. (I also drove by a Wal-Mart but they had no parking spots left, so I kept going). I arrived in the Target to find that they were out of shopping carts, I wasn't too surprised but a little bummed. I walked through the store and was greeted every 10 feet by nice employees who were directing traffic and very helpful. I wound my way to the DVD section, I love a good deal on DVDs. This section is directly across from the toys and it was a madhouse. There was some sort of special line for TVs or another electronic, so I carefully found the section that I wanted and started browsing. My main objective was a good price on the Big Bang Theory season 8. The spot for it was empty so I asked one of the nice employees. He was so very helpful and told me where the Black Friday Doorbuster DVDs were located and suggested another employee in case I got lost. I quickly found the DVD that I was looking for (and then some) and headed to the checkout. The checkout line didn't seem long at first, but then I realized that it was weaving in and out of aisles so it was much longer than I anticipated, but I didn't mind and I got in line and made phone calls and checked email. (Smart phones rock!) This was very good advertising for Target as I ended up picking up some essentials that were not on my Black Friday list but we did need at home. When I got to the front of the line they directed me to the lane I needed to use and the checkout girl was sweet, fast and efficient. All in all it was a very pleasant experience. Between these two experiences I have come up with a list of tips for shopping at this time of year.
1) Store - Choose your store carefully, if it looks too busy just keep on going no deal is worth fighting someone over. It drives me nuts to see videos of grown men and women wrestling each other for pressure cookers or some other small appliance that they will not use in a month. The first experience we were in a very busy store in a large area, while the second experience I was in a smaller town and even though it was crowded it wasn't as bad.
2) Organization - The first experience happened 3 years ago and the stores have come a long way since then. Stores are now extending their sales throughout the weekend so there is less of a rush to get to the store at 4 am on Friday Morning.
3) Deal - While I am happy about the deals that I got, nothing is worth arguing with someone or fighting for. I didn't experience this at either store but I do know that in some parts of the country this happens frequently. I would never have fought someone for the DVDs that I got, I would rather pay full price a few days later. Definitely go into the store knowing what you want, having a plan is key, but don't go into the store needing something because you could set yourself up for major disappointment.
4) Ads - Checkout the ads before you shop, you don't want to wait in a long checkout line just to find out the deal you thought you were getting wasn't true.
5) Be Polite - The workers at these stores are taking time out of their lives, away from their families on a holiday to work, be nice and treat them with the same kindness you would treat anyone.
6) Go Alone - This is more of a personal decision. I do see benefits of going with someone and each holding a spot in line but for me it was much easier to just pick out what I wanted at my own pace and just wait in the line, I didn't anywhere I had to be so I didn't mind the wait.
Those are my Thanksgiving/Black Friday shopping thoughts, I have to say I really do enjoy shopping online more than anything. Cyber Monday is where I get my best deals, two of the most expensive DVD sets we own we got for a steal on a Cyber Monday deal and I have never seen them that cheap again.
Small Business Saturday is the other shopping experience that we find this time of year, I don't live in a place where there are a ton of small businesses but I do love to support my friends who have small online businesses, such as Norwex, Younique, Jamberry, etc..
Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving weekend!!
The first year I went to a Wal-Mart in Pennsylvania and since I was on vacation there was nothing that I really needed. I picked up a few DVDs in the Black Friday section of the store and helped my Aunt and Cousin shop for their family. When it came to checkout time the line was only about 10 minutes long. I stepped up to make my purchases, as I had the least amount of stuff, and the cashier rang them up. The DVDs that I had picked out rang up incorrectly, I politely told her the correct price and she immediately got hostile insisting that I was wrong. I she rang for a manager, and he told me the same thing even though the DVDs were featured in the store's advertisement. I politely told them that I didn't want them at the higher price and my Aunt and Cousin continued checking out. I was never upset at the workers as they were working very hard on a holiday but it left a bad taste in my mouth for the whole shopping on Thanksgiving/Black Friday experience.
This year I found myself driving by a Target on Thanksgiving night, I had no time commitments so I thought I would go check out what they had to offer. (I also drove by a Wal-Mart but they had no parking spots left, so I kept going). I arrived in the Target to find that they were out of shopping carts, I wasn't too surprised but a little bummed. I walked through the store and was greeted every 10 feet by nice employees who were directing traffic and very helpful. I wound my way to the DVD section, I love a good deal on DVDs. This section is directly across from the toys and it was a madhouse. There was some sort of special line for TVs or another electronic, so I carefully found the section that I wanted and started browsing. My main objective was a good price on the Big Bang Theory season 8. The spot for it was empty so I asked one of the nice employees. He was so very helpful and told me where the Black Friday Doorbuster DVDs were located and suggested another employee in case I got lost. I quickly found the DVD that I was looking for (and then some) and headed to the checkout. The checkout line didn't seem long at first, but then I realized that it was weaving in and out of aisles so it was much longer than I anticipated, but I didn't mind and I got in line and made phone calls and checked email. (Smart phones rock!) This was very good advertising for Target as I ended up picking up some essentials that were not on my Black Friday list but we did need at home. When I got to the front of the line they directed me to the lane I needed to use and the checkout girl was sweet, fast and efficient. All in all it was a very pleasant experience. Between these two experiences I have come up with a list of tips for shopping at this time of year.
1) Store - Choose your store carefully, if it looks too busy just keep on going no deal is worth fighting someone over. It drives me nuts to see videos of grown men and women wrestling each other for pressure cookers or some other small appliance that they will not use in a month. The first experience we were in a very busy store in a large area, while the second experience I was in a smaller town and even though it was crowded it wasn't as bad.
2) Organization - The first experience happened 3 years ago and the stores have come a long way since then. Stores are now extending their sales throughout the weekend so there is less of a rush to get to the store at 4 am on Friday Morning.
3) Deal - While I am happy about the deals that I got, nothing is worth arguing with someone or fighting for. I didn't experience this at either store but I do know that in some parts of the country this happens frequently. I would never have fought someone for the DVDs that I got, I would rather pay full price a few days later. Definitely go into the store knowing what you want, having a plan is key, but don't go into the store needing something because you could set yourself up for major disappointment.
4) Ads - Checkout the ads before you shop, you don't want to wait in a long checkout line just to find out the deal you thought you were getting wasn't true.
5) Be Polite - The workers at these stores are taking time out of their lives, away from their families on a holiday to work, be nice and treat them with the same kindness you would treat anyone.
6) Go Alone - This is more of a personal decision. I do see benefits of going with someone and each holding a spot in line but for me it was much easier to just pick out what I wanted at my own pace and just wait in the line, I didn't anywhere I had to be so I didn't mind the wait.
Those are my Thanksgiving/Black Friday shopping thoughts, I have to say I really do enjoy shopping online more than anything. Cyber Monday is where I get my best deals, two of the most expensive DVD sets we own we got for a steal on a Cyber Monday deal and I have never seen them that cheap again.
Small Business Saturday is the other shopping experience that we find this time of year, I don't live in a place where there are a ton of small businesses but I do love to support my friends who have small online businesses, such as Norwex, Younique, Jamberry, etc..
Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving weekend!!
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