Danny Glynn
Adam Weinstein
English 101
17 November 2007

“How to Survive Working on Black Friday”

Everyone knows what the busiest shopping day of the year is, “Black Friday”, the day after Thanksgiving. On this day all of the stores have their best sales and open very early in the morning. There are people that get to the stores as early as two or three in the morning so they can be the first one in to get that most coveted item.

When all of the crazy shoppers are standing outside waiting in line, no one is ever thinking about the people that have to work in the stores. The people working have the almost impossible task of trying to make everyone happy and keeping everyone calm. To accomplish this task there are several steps that have to be taken.

To begin with there are several things that need to be done in the days leading up to “Black Friday.” One of these things is to make sure that everything that is out on the floor is organized to perfection. This involves going from table to table and shelf to shelf to make sure that everything is where it belongs. As you are going through the store you should also be checking to make sure that all of the merchandise has the correct price tag on it, and if it is on sale make sure that you post the markdown price. After going through everything out on the floor you can then go to the back and begin to work there. When you begin to work in the back the most important thing that has to be done is getting all of the remaining stock organized and ready to go out as soon as items on the floor begin to run low.

Once you have everything organized and price marked you are ready for the shoppers to swarm into the store the next morning. Although your work in getting the store prepared is over, you still have to get yourself ready to deal with all of the people. Getting yourself ready for the early morning is probably the easiest thing that you will have to do. In order for you to be on top of your game in the morning the best thing to do is after you get done stuffing yourself at Thanksgiving dinner just get comfortable and let the turkey do the work. The only thing you need to remember to do is to set your alarm extra early.

On the morning of “Black Friday” you want to be sure not to sleep until the last minute and be in a rush. You want to set your alarm early enough so that you will be able to wake up, maybe have a cup of coffee or whatever it is you like to do in the morning, and then get ready for work. This allows you to relax for a little while before you get to work, and this will be the only relaxing time you will have until you get off work.

After you are ready to for work and you arrive there, it is likely that a line will already be formed outside the store. Theses are the shoppers that have spent all night sitting in line so they could be the first ones in. While you are making your way through the line of the crazies be sure to let them know that you work there and you are not just cutting line. Last year I made the mistake of just walking to the front of the line, and by time I had got there I had several mad moms screaming at me to go to the back of the line so be sure to let everyone know what you are doing.

Once you finally make it to the store your manager will most likely already be there and have a few last minute things ready for you to do. Some of these last minute chores may include getting all the money in the cash register and making sure that there is plenty of change, making sure that everything is still in its right spot and just cleaning things up a little bit. Now that everything is ready and you can see the frustration growing on the faces of the anxious shoppers, it is finally time to open the doors.

Now is when the madness really begins. As soon as the doors open there is a mad dash, every shopper has one item on their mind that they have to get. While the mad dash is beginning things will be a little hectic, but for the most part the shoppers will remain calm and you will be able to just help people find things and check them out. When things start to change is when the first item runs out and a person feels like they have to have it, and when this happens they will come up to you and ask you if you have anymore. When this happens tell them that you will go and double check in the back. This shows them that you are going to try and find it for them, instead of just saying no we are out. When you come out from the back go up to the customer with an apologetic face and explain to her that the store is currently out of that item. Most customers will understand this and just continue their shopping, but there are always the customers that think you are lying to them or that you just do not want to sell them the item.

These customers will be the worst ones you deal with all day. To take care of a customer like this you have to stay polite with them and just keep explaining to them that you are out of that item, and if they continue to argue ask them for their phone number and that you will call them right away when you get some more of that item in. This will usually work because the customer will feel like they are going to be able to get want they want, but if this does not work there is only one thing left to do. You have to forget about being polite and just tell the person straight up that you do not have anymore left and if they want to keep arguing then they will have to leave.

In conclusion, “Black Friday” is the most popular day in the world to shop, and if you have to work in retail on this day then make sure you have everything prepared and ready to go the day before. Also if you work on this day you have to be ready to work with the polite people and the jerks, and if you are working with a jerk try and be polite but if that does not work, do not be scared to be a jerk back.