Thanksgiving is less than one week away. This means Black Friday shopping and the start of a hectic shopping season. For retail workers, many emotions go into working on Thanksgiving ad Black Friday -- but none of them are joy. Black Friday is a strenuous experience for everybody. Customers are frantic trying to find all their purchases for loved ones and often frustrated when finding out what you really want is out of stock. Retail workers are just as frantic with the non-stop lines at the registers and the comments from customers that aren't always nice. This list provides some key etiquette tips that retail workers would like you to consider while participating in Black Friday.
1. Retail workers are not machines.
The key point retail workers would like you to know is that the world does not revolve around their job. Many retail workers are college students who work part-time for some spending money. Also, working Black Friday is not a choice. At JCPenney for example (where I work), if you do not show up for your shift on Thanksgiving or Black Friday -- you're fired. No. If. Ands. Or. Buts.
Retail workers cut their holiday short in order to provide their customers with the best shopping experience they can so please be nice and use your "please" and "thank you"s.
2. Everybody is busy.
Black Friday is by far the busiest day for shopping out of the whole year. It is impossible to walk a straight path in the store because of the amount of people everywhere. Please understand that all the employees are trying to help the customers as best as possible, but we all get busy. Try not to be rude if you have to wait in a long line in order to purchase a couple items, All registers are occupied and being used in order to get everybody in and out as fast as possible.
3. Holiday help.
Over half of the employees during the holiday season are holiday help. Retail stores try and hire as many people as possible to assist as many people as possible. But with holiday hire comes training. Retail work involves not only learning how to operate the register, but also knowing the merchandise in the store, where it goes and how to clean up the store after a busy day. JCPenney for example, hires holiday help up to a week before Black Friday. This means they have one week to learn everything possible and perform as fast as possible. Please be considerate when an associate is moving through the checkout process slowly or has to stop and ask a question. They may not fully know what they are doing and just want to make sure everything is correct for the customer.
4. Don't ruin the specials for the rest of us.
Many retail stores offer Thanksgiving promotions such as a coupon for the first 200 shoppers. Please remember that these promotions are for the first people to enter the store and also are one per customer. Do not try and pester the person handing out these special promotions for multiple copies. And please do not run to each entrance trying to get multiple coupons.The retail workers will catch on eventually and taking more than one coupon will prevent the rest of the customers from getting the deals they came in for. Also, please know that the stores really only have so many copies of the coupon. Do not yell or get angry when we run out. We really have run out.
5. The store is not a zoo.
Retail workers are not maids and are not your mothers. Although we get paid to pick up after each customer, it is not something that we like to do. Each retail store has things called "core standards" for how the clothing should be displayed. If the piles of clothing do not meet these standards (such as having the items sized), it has to be redone. Please keep in mind while trying to find your size or a different item that somebody has to clean up after you. This is not "job security," it is just rude. Do not fiip over a whole pile of clothing to get the item on the bottom, decide you don't actually want it and crumple it into a ball on the floor.
Please keep these tips in mind as you shop until you drop. Happy holidays and happy shopping!
