Grafton Globe Newspaper
Winter 2020 Edition
Perhaps one of the most stressful holidays for anyone in retail has to be Black Friday. You might find it ironic that stores are full of customers looking to save a little money on Christmas gifts the day after they spend time with their families and give thanks.
While the customers rushing in is stressful and the lines meeting at the back of the store might make anyone scream, the worst part of the holiday rush has to be the coupons. I am an employee of a company known for its excessive coupons. One given out for the early portion of Black Friday allowed customers to save ten dollars off their purchase. It lasted from Thanksgiving to 1PM on Black Friday, after which the system stopped accepting it. Now ten dollars doesn’t seem like a lot, right? After all, it is only a little more than a meal at a local fast food joint. However, one would be wrong if they didn’t think customers wouldn’t throw a fit over it, even after it expired. Management decided to accept the deal up until 3PM, when corporate called and told the store to shut it down. After the store stopped accepting it, customers were irate. They would refuse to purchase their $70 order over ten dollars, even while still receiving 15% off. Some would even ask associates to call management over, only to receive the same answer. Normally, this level of difficulty isn’t an issue, as workers generally want to remedy to issue for the customer. The workers do their best to remedy the issue and explain why they can no longer accept their coupon, yet the employees are still treated as if they know nothing and want to steal the customer's money. No—they don’t care if the coupon works. The success of the corporation as a whole does not impact a teenager’s life. If it were the employee’s choice, they would give it to you and send you on your merry way. However, they refuse to risk their job so you can save the same amount of money it takes to buy your kids a Happy Meal or two. For those of the faint of heart, never work on Black Friday. The amount of customers who enter the store well after 10PM is astounding. Not to say that their business is bad—many of the people are extremely pleasant—although, one would think by that point the rush would have subsided. That is where they’re wrong. Along with that, the store ends up being a mess of epic proportions. The morning of the following Saturday is almost completely dedicated to cleanup. Even with all the cleaning, many still attempt to utilize the expired coupon over a day after the store stopped accepting it, and will make a scene over it. Don’t mistake this as a rant against customers—it is not. I merely request that if you do shop on Black Friday, know the the employee will likely have been there for at least six hours, or remain there for another eight. They want nothing more than to help you save money in any way possible, so treat them with respect. They are not out to get you in any way, they’re trying to get through their night so they can head home and rest. They don’t want to be waiting to get through a line as much as you do not want to be waiting 30 minutes in line. It is a long and stressful day for everyone involved.
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