To the people who shop on Black Friday,
Black Friday has gotten more and more intense over the past few years. Retail stores are now opening earlier on Thanksgiving which requires employees to work longer hours and takes away from their time with family. This year was my second time working Black Friday in retail, and I was dreading going back to work because of how rude the customers treat the employees. This year I had to work a 12-hour shift on Thanksgiving. This caused me to have limited time with my family over break and I was not able to have a day off during my break from school.
If you absolutely have a need to go out and shop on Thanksgiving, here is my advice for future years to come on how to be nice to employees and other customers
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Don’t mess up displays and be respectful when grabbing clothes. Someone spent over an hour folding those so your shopping experience would be better.
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Don’t complain about long lines. You are the one who chose to come out on the busiest night of the year.
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Don’t apologize to workers for them having to work on the holiday because you’re the reason they have to work.
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Don’t flirt with workers. They are tired and don’t need to pretend to laugh at your jokes that aren’t funny.
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Be respectful to other customers. Blocking the pathways causes others to have an unpleasant experience.
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Don’t repeatedly ask for coupons. If the cashier says there aren’t any coupons out, don’t keep asking.
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Try to have coupons ready before checking out. Searching for a coupon holds up the line for the other customers.
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Don’t leave your trash in the store. Leaving cups and food wrappers behind take away from other customer’s experience and create more work for people.
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Pay attention to how long sales last. Most sales will extend for multiple days past Black Friday and the store will be less crowded, which will make your shopping easier.
In conclusion, please respect other customers and don’t be rude to employees who have to work through a holiday.