This has gotten out of hand. (1 Viewer)

[Regulus]

Black Friday used to be a day I looked forward to as much as Thanksgiving or Christmas. Getting up at 3:00 Am so I could be at a store when it opened at 4:00 AM to get a "Doorbuster" used to be fun. But alas, things have gotten WAY out of control. Stores opening on THANKSGIVING DAY ITSELF? Corporate Greed is RUINING our Holidays. I looked at some of the Flyers on-line and I'm Glad there is little to pique my interest this year. NONE of the Electronics or DVDs or Blue-Rays being offered tickle my fancy this year, so I will not be staying up all night as I did last year. Instead I plan to sleep in, and Celebrate the day after Thanksgiving by re-enacting what a TV Station in Detroit, Michigan did on the day after Thanksgiving in the 1970s, thanks to DVDs.

 

[Sam Posten]

I haven't found anything worth getting out of bed for let alone standing in line over night in over 15 years. Hope this is the end of it as it all goes online =)

 

[TravisR]

Stores opening on THANKSGIVING DAY ITSELF? Corporate Greed is RUINING our Holidays.

I don't see how a holiday is being ruined but if it is, I blame consumer greed alot more than I blame corporate greed. Wal Mart isn't putting a gun to anyone's head to make them line up hours before the store opens. People make the choice to go out in the hopes of getting a deal. If someone's holiday is ruined by that, they need to look in a mirror to find the real culprit.

 

[Malcolm R]

Yeah. If people don't show up for the early shopping, there will be no incentive for them to open early. Apparently they're giving the people what they want.

 

[Radioman970]

I'm mainly interested in getting my own selfish DVD/blu ray fix. Best deals are absolutely on BF at Big Lots and Walmart. I look forward to that every year. But....
stores open on holiday depress the crap out of me.

 

[RolandL]

When I worked in retail, I used to laugh at people that would come into the store at 5am and say " we are just looking around". I watched them and they would walk out of the store and not buy anything. They got up at 4am to wait in line to just look around? They must have a very boring life.

 

[TonyD]

It's only ruined for those that are forced to work.

 

[TravisR]

It's only ruined for those that are forced to work.

Yeah, I got sympathy for the employees. Their choice is either work or, most likely, look for a new job. The only plus I remember from working Black Friday was that everything was so hectic that the day flew by.

 

[Regulus]

Today was the "Official" Veteran's Day since November 11 was a Sunday, For most of us, it was just another day. Only Federal, Bank and Postal Employees got the day off. If what I fear keeps up, Thanksgiving Day will also become "Just another day" in the near future.

 

[TonyD]

Did BF down at the Wilmington BB in '07.
Since I was new and it was my actual first day on the floor I had to be there one hour before they opened. Turned out to be a fun day actually.

 

[Radioman970]

Today was the "Official" Veteran's Day since November 11 was a Sunday, For most of us, it was just another day. Only Federal, Bank and Postal Employees got the day off. If what I fear keeps up, Thanksgiving Day will also become "Just another day" in the near future.

Has there ever been a major holiday that became just another day in the US? I can't think of one. ... as far as holidays, people should definitely negotiate holiday schedules at the job interview. My current radio job is the only one where I've NEVER had to work a major holiday. All the others the holidays were rotated yearly with other workers. I didn't complain. Well, radio is pretty quiet on holidays, unlike retail. With retail, I think most people know what they're getting into before they take a job. You just do what you have to do...or find a different line of work.

 

[BobO'Link]

Today was the "Official" Veteran's Day since November 11 was a Sunday, For most of us, it was just another day. Only Federal, Bank and Postal Employees got the day off. If what I fear keeps up, Thanksgiving Day will also become "Just another day" in the near future.

For many retail workers it already has. K-Mart has been open Thanksgiving day at (before?) 8am for the past few years. WM only closes Christmas Day and, I believe, late Christmas Eve. I somewhat enjoy driving around some on Christmas day as it reminds me how life use to be *every* Sunday in the area in which I live (Mid-South).

Has there ever been a major holiday that became just another day in the US? I can't think of one. ... as far as holidays, people should definitely negotiate holiday schedules at the job interview. My current radio job is the only one where I've NEVER had to work a major holiday. All the others the holidays were rotated yearly with other workers. I didn't complain. Well, radio is pretty quiet on holidays, unlike retail. With retail, I think most people know what they're getting into before they take a job. You just do what you have to do...or find a different line of work.

When in TV I only had to work major holiday's until I built up a bit of seniority (that changed to a rotating schedule just as I left the industry). Even then it would only be long enough to mount a newscast and go home - typically a couple of hours. My relatives never understood why I'd have to get up and leave right before lunch and come back in a couple of hours. I'd always ask: "What do you do on a holiday?" to which they'd answer: "Watch some TV" followed by my: "Well... *someone* has to run it for you to watch..." It was always *very* quiet and the Master Control operators really liked those type days. While I worked almost *every* Thanksgiving for over 20 years, I was fortunate enough to always get Christmas off.
To the topic: *YES* - IMHO it's gotten out of hand! Part of me thinks it likes the 8pm Thanksgiving stuff but then this really feels like a cheap ploy to get you into a store and then *keep* you all night while waiting for the next bargain hour. If parking at the stores where you guys live is anything like here it's a case of "once you're there you *stay* there until done or there'll not be a parking space when you return". I did *lots* of online shopping the last few years and will keep this method. It's about as flaky as physical stores in actually getting some of those bargains but it's far superior to driving to a store/mall, standing in line in the cold/wet/dark/etc., and then fighting the crowd to save a few bucks or finding out the guy in front of you got the last one only to then make a mad dash to the next store to repeat the process. I'm at a point that I'd rather spend a few $$ more and not have to put up with that mess.
Sadly, today I noticed a *few* items in the WM flyer that just look almost too good to pass up. I'm now hoping Amazon will PM all/most of these and save me some hassle.

 

[schan1269]

This BF pricing and all its hassles is why I'm glad I worked wholesale for 8 years.
The day of BF, if there is a "deal to be had" that I care about, I'll simply call my prior employer and find out the "rebate cost"...

 

[Radioman970]

...
When in TV I only had to work major holiday's until I built up a bit of seniority (that changed to a rotating schedule just as I left the industry). Even then it would only be long enough to mount a newscast and go home - typically a couple of hours. My relatives never understood why I'd have to get up and leave right before lunch and come back in a couple of hours. I'd always ask: "What do you do on a holiday?" to which they'd answer: "Watch some TV" followed by my: "Well... *someone* has to run it for you to watch..." It was always *very* quiet and the Master Control operators really liked those type days. While I worked almost *every* Thanksgiving for over 20 years, I was fortunate enough to always get Christmas off.
....

I had similar conversations with family about working radio. It has definitely made a difference that everything is so automated now. ...even though we're always behind the technology wave.

 

[Jerome Grate]

I find the whole approach of going Thursday night by 8:00 p.m. to be very interesting. Usually, not much is going on other than the recovery from eating so much and most of the football games are on during the day. Walmart's claim is that there will be no need for customers to rush through their stores as they are working having everything available to all who wants it. Two laptops for my kids if I can get it.

 

[Albert_M]

I agree with the OP, but I disagree that it's only ruined now. As far as I'm concerned getting up in the middle of the night isn't very different than the being open on the holiday itself. It certainly sucks for the employees themselves and not something that is pleasant for most everyone else.

 

[cineMANIAC]

I will never stand in a line at 4 AM to buy something, no matter how bad I wanted it. I dislike standing on lines almost as much as I dislike fighting crowds. As far as opening a store on days like Thanksgiving and Christmas, it sucks for the employees who work there but I have no problem with it. It's actually a good time to go shopping, when there's nothing else to do

 

[ralphPerez]

I usually buy my wife her X-Max gift early December and then like to go out Christmas Eve and watch the crowds and listen to the Holiday's songs and it keeps me in spirit for the Holiday's.

 

[Regulus]

I did my Primary Christmas Shopping this past May when I flew to Albuquerque to see the Solar Eclipse (The Airline Ticket was given to me as a Christmas Present by a Relative last year!).
If I get one of those Flyers in the mail from the Car Dealers offering Gift Cards from Wally's or Targhee, or "Golden Dollars" between now and December 14 I will use them to purchase Toys which I will donate to my Favorite Christmas Charities, including one for the Victims of Hurricane Sandy.

 

[Radioman970]

I don't think I've ever Christmas shopped during a BF. Selfish purchases, the lot of em. I always Christmas shop at the very last minute.