UNITED STATES—People are quite angry with the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, and for good reason. I remember as a kid there were certain holidays where you just didn’t work: Thanksgiving and Christmas to be exact. Oh, how things have changed. The day after Thanksgiving, notably known as “Black Friday” has been a staple for retailers for years as exclusive deals help shoppers get a bargain and place retailers in the red, in the black.
The last two years consumers have seen an increase in Black Friday, slowly, but surely sneaking into the Thanksgiving holiday and this year takes the cake. I’ll be honest I’m not happy about the chaos that will ensue because of this decision to force some workers to work on turkey day; I’ve worked in retail; it’s not fun at all. My issue is the factor that some stores are opening so early it practically freezes the big turkey feast in my opinion. Toys R’ Us is opening at 5 p.m., shortly behind are both Best Buy and Walmart opening at 6 p.m. For everyone else, it looks like 8 p.m. is the deciding factor.
I’ve already seen some people camp out at stores nearly a week ahead of time to ensure they get that bargain they’ve been hoping for all-year long. It is November and it’s pretty chilly to say the least, but if you can get a 50 inch TV for $229, I guess you’ll do what you have to do. The bigger issue some are gripping about is the factor that some jobs force employees to work year round. For example, hospitals don’t close because of the holiday, the police departments are not closed and news stations are still ensuring that the public isinformed of what’s taking place in the area. There are some professions where there is no such thing as a blue law where work is prohibited.
While staff may not be as high on specific holidays at certain professions there are still people who are forced to work. So in essence those, boycotting ‘Black Thursday’ as I now call it, have to take in consideration those who are forced to work to provide essential needs to Americans (gas, healthcare, protection, etc). I do believe retailers need to take into consideration that allowing their employees to have as much time off on that particular day would be best.
Remember a happy employee is one who is likely to perform at their best. I can already imagine the faces of so many employees who will not be in the most pleasant mood this upcoming holiday. To make matters worse is the situation that will revolve around the mood of shoppers who will storm the stores with a fury. I say this time and time again, crowd control or some sort of security needs to be in place at some of these retail giants.
In no shape or form, should someone’s life be at risk to gain a deal. Heck, when you have the Comedy Central series “South Park” poking fun at the holiday and the tragedies that sometimes take place and how some view the day as a competitive sport is hilarious, but also a reality check. We can get a bit ahead of ourselves; just imagine taking a camcorder and recording the chaos and the craziness that some people engage in to grab a bargain. It’s downright pathetic at times.
I don’t see this happening because so many people need to work, but imagine the faces on retail giants and consumers if all workers decided to boycott the big shopping day? Wow is all I can say, but we may be getting to a point where that type of action could take place.
