Our story begins on Thanksgiving, around 4:30 PM*, when I should have been taking my post-dinner nap. I walked into my place of employment, ready to face whatever this day would throw at me, coffee in hand. Everyone in the store was required to work 10 hours from Thursday at 4:30 PM to Friday at 10 PM. I was given a choice, do ten straight hours or split it up. I decided to do 10 hours right in a row right away, get it over with so I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.
They opened the doors at 4:55PM and I can honestly say I have never been more amused in my life. People were sprinting past my department (women’s shoes) and going straight for the coats. I don't know what kind of deal they were having over there, but it must have been amazing. There was so much going on I didn’t know what to do with myself.
It was fun for awhile. I was running on pure adrenaline and caffeine. My coworkers and I were having a blast. It wasn't as bad as anyone thought it was going to be, mostly because of the weather that day. However, around 11:00 PM I started to crash. I was getting delirious. I kept forgetting the sizes people told me get them. I had to last until 2:15 AM, so I really needed to wake up.
I decided to take my break of 45 minutes, and I went and got myself a smoothie with Red Bull. God bless that Red Bull. That is the ONLY reason I made it to the end of my shift. I also got to eat some free food so that really helped get me going.
It really sucks having to work Black Friday, but one thing that did get me through (besides the caffeine and the pasta) was the sense of community that goes along with it. Everyone is in the same boat, we have to work 10 hours and we are miserable, but we are miserable together.
After my break I only had a few hours left, and if we are being honest I left a good half an hour earlier than I was supposed to. It was completely dead. No one is going to come in if we are open for over 24 hours straight. They will come when we open, or the next day.
All in all, Black Friday was not AS bad as I thought it was going to be. I didn’t hate it. But I am defiantly not looking forward to it next year. Hopefully, we don’t open any earlier than we did this year, because if my post-turkey nap gets any shorter I will not be a happy camper.
*Writers note: a few weeks prior to Black Friday we (the employees) were given a letter from corporate saying that they were opening an hour earlier this year, because of the line outside from the year before. If this trend continues, the store I work at will be opening at 4:00 PM and employees will have to arrive at 3:00. This takes away from precious family time, just so someone can buy a pair of $20 boots.
