It’s that time of the year again: holiday season! With Thanksgiving so close that we can just smell the turkey sitting on the table, Black Friday is right behind. With Thanksgiving being my favorite holiday, Black Friday is definitely included in that. Every single year my mom and sister join in on a family tradition of hitting the stores at 3am to do some holiday shopping. It is one of my favorite shopping days of the year with being up so early and all of the madness.
Unfortunately this year, being an employee of Bed Bath and Beyond, I will not take part in the shopping portion of Black Friday, but instead I will be on the other end of it. Working retail, every single employee is required to work on Black Friday, since it is one of the busiest shopping days of the year! With that being said, being on the other side of the shopping is going to be different, but I have gathered a lot of advice from my coworkers on how to get the best deal for your dollar.
First, make sure you know what you are shopping for before you go into the store. Nothing is worse when people are lingering around on Black Friday and getting lost in the madness.
Second, if it is on the floor, just take it. Nothing is worse than when the product is out and a customer asks for a brand new one from our top stock or from unreachable places in the store. If it is in front of you, it is just as good as the one that is all the way at the tippy top of the shelf.
Third, have patience! Everyone is human, and we all know it is 3am! Everyone is cranky, but there is a way to avoid conflict. Try to be understanding for the cashier behind the register because the computer systems are also the slowest on Black Friday, and it is not their fault that the software is lagging.
Fourth, make sure if you want a hot item, you get there first. Each store it only designated a certain number of merchandise based on store size, so when we run out, there literally is nothing we can do for you besides refer you to another store (which we all know you won’t listen to us and insist we have your product in the crevasse of the store).
Fifth, have fun. Black Friday shopping is so much fun, and you can make great memories with loved ones shopping in the early morning hours. I can’t explain to you the amount of memories I have from being hit and knocked over by a 6 foot fake Christmas tree, to falling down every single stair of an escalator in the mall, they all account for a good laugh later on in life.