When I worked in retail I always hated blackfriday, which is the day after Thanksgiving when malls get overrun with bargain shoppers aiming to get ahead of the Christmas buying season. Customers were invariably rude, the salesfloor was invariably a mess (this was especially true when I worked the women’s department at JC Penney’s), and my paycheck was invariably not worth the energy expended to work on that day. I remember being happy the day I quit retail because I knew I’d NEVER have to deal with that situation again EVER.
And even though I don’t work retail, I still try to avoid malls during Black Friday. And why should I go, anyway? Especially now that there is a Black Friday website dedicated for folks like me who refuse to go to a mall and shop in person on that very day. All the same deals are available, but it’s all done online without having to be outside the store at 5 a.m. among a crush of people! It as easy as signing up for the particular email alerts you want to let you know when new ads have been posted – and their list of stores is amazing (and yes, JC Penney specials are on the list). So are other stores, like Amazon.com, Target, JoAnn’s, Best Buy, Macy’s and Old Navy.
For those of us with kids, having access to specials and discounts at Toys R Us would be phenomenal.