Is It Wrong to Enjoy Black Friday?

[Orange]

So, with Black Friday coming up in just a few weeks, I thought this'd make for an interesting thread.

Even though we don't go out for it too often, I really like Black Friday. I've just always thought of the idea of getting up early to go out for awesome deals was great.

However, it comes with a price, and it's at the expense of the workers. The workers who have to be in at a god-awful hour just so shoppers can get a neat deal on a TV and some video games.

So, that brings me to my question: knowing that the workers are severely put out in the name of capitalism, is it wrong to enjoy Black Friday?

I'm equal parts yes and no, honestly. Even though I do enjoy the "holiday", I do feel guilty for enjoying it because workers have to go in, earlier and earlier anymore, for the consumer.

[Deleted]

Nah. You should enjoy the sales because you worked hard to earn the money to spend in the first place. People tend to deal with shit regardless of their job. I figure that, if you're going to shop on Black Friday, you should be polite and level-headed, treating overstressed workers with respect.

[Toxik916]

I don't ever go out shopping on black friday. The whole concept just seems weird to me. Sure it's good to get a good deal, but I'd rather spend the holidays enjoying time with my fellow man than trying beat someone for a good price.

I usually end up at the bar on Thanksgiving night. People are really nice and the bars are always packed. I read somewhere that the day before Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving night are some of the busiest days in the bar industry and I believe it.

[Sajoa Moe]

I get to spend Thanksgiving night working because Macy's is opening at 8:00 pm.

[Raskovnik]

I like it, especially how I get the same deals without even having to leave the house thanks to Amazon. I had to work it last year and it honestly was really easy. The store didn't open early like most stores do so I wound up doing nothing and getting paid for it.

[Larryhausen]

I work in retail, but I work on comission, so Black Friday is honestly one of my favorite days of the year. It's a challenge to me to see how much money I can make, how long I can go without getting stressed, and just how long I can make it through the day.

Plus, sometimes my job'll run employee contests on top of the comission system. One year I walked out with 200 bucks cash on top of the $600 comission I made that went into my paycheck.

That being said, I've never had the chance to be on the other side of the register, so I don't really know what that experience is like.

[xCompackx]

Nov 6, 2013 21:44:19 GMT -5 Raskovnik said:

I like it, especially how I get the same deals without even having to leave the house thanks to Amazon. I had to work it last year and it honestly was really easy. The store didn't open early like most stores do so I wound up doing nothing and getting paid for it.

I'll never understand the advantage to going to a store rather than using sites like Amazon. Really does seem like a lot of work for the same deals.

["Cane Dewey" Johnson]

It's just another day to justify getting more stuff.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

What, you got something against White Friday?!

[chazraps]

I adore black friday, speaking as someone who has both worked retail on it as well as ventures out on an annual basis for it.

I'm going to try to write this without sounding like a congratulatory douche, but Christmas is my favorite holiday and part of the fun of it is absolutely spoiling my friends and family with gifts. I usually start saving for the season in August and start shopping for them mid-October, but Black Friday is the day I can really treat a lot of them with a lot of great stuff. I know my time with them means most, and I'm spending that with them too so I'm not using material means to overcompensate, but there's something really cool about being in a position where you can afford to buy someone something that they really need and are going to use everyday, making a substantial difference in their lives.

By that same token, I love helping people find that perfect gift or wonderful deal that they otherwise wouldn't be able to acquire. Having cool stuff feels good, and being the person to help facilitate that is a special thing.

That said, I think Black Friday starting at 8:00 PM on Thanksgiving is wack. That's Thanksgiving dinner time, and there's no real Black Friday thrill of shopping when you shouldn't be for great deals when you're surrounded by crying children and the typical awful merciless retail drones. I'd say 11:00 PM at the earliest, MAYBE 10:30 PM if you have to coordinate time zones with online releases, but THAT'S IT. No employee should be forced to have to work that. By that same token, I got a substantial bonus for working retail on a Thanksgiving I wasn't able to make it home, and that allowed me to get an extended time as Christmas off, so I'd hope more places are that considerate for the trade-off and perks.

But absolutely nobody should make you feel guilty about Black Friday for any reason.

[The Freakin' Deacon]

For the past few years, me and a good friend of mine would go out at the night of Black Friday or just spend part of the actual day just hanging around places like malls or Walmart or Best Buy. As weird as it may sound, for us being around a bunch of busy shoppers looking for presents puts us in the Christmas mood more than any carols or holiday specials on tv. Being in that environment feels like the Christmas season to me.

Sounds pretty capitalist, but that's just the way it is for me. So I love Black Friday. I've still never bought anything on that day though.

[willywonka666]

I went out years ago in the 90s before it became what it is now.

It used to piss me off for the workers, but now I think, if I was in retail, I would be trying to get another job. I know it's easier said then done, but I'm over that whole taking shit from an employer to be a good guy. f*** it

[Hassan bin Sober]

I work at a grocery store. It's our slowest day of the year. Nobody feels like cooking and everyone has a bunch of left overs.

[jason1980s]

I'm normally one to oppose capitalism and commercialism but with black Friday I don't mind the day. I personally don't like the holidays, preferring to take a stance of why the need to spend a certain day with family. If you like them, spend the entire year with them.
I work for a company now where the store opens several hours before most stores. It's hard getting up early and adjusting to the time for the rest of the day but it's nice to have a job. Our opening time isn't much different than black Friday hours so I don't see that it's bad to open at 4 AM or 6 AM. I think it's a sign of the lack of work ethic nowadays that people complain about the hours and it goes beyond opposition to big business, IMO.
I worked a few years at another retail company and I personally enjoyed black Friday. It was a day where all the employees were scheduled so it was always fun seeing co-workers you may not see all the time. With one of our store managers it was really like a family atmosphere. I enjoyed the day and was always energetic despite being there around 3:30 for a 4 AM opening. I think people should be glad to be working no matter the time. Some jobs have 8-9 hours shifts, night shifts, early morning shifts. Just because some companies have earlier opening hours doesn't change the fact that early, long shifts aren't unheard of.

[Deleted]

I rarely buy anything because there's no way in hell I'm standing in those long-assed lines when I can get the same item online without the hassle, but I do enjoy watching people shop. It brings me joy for some reason. That's when it starts to feel like Christmas to me, crazy shoppers, Christmas songs on the radio, it starts to get cold. Good times.

[Push R Truth]

I used to love Black Friday like a decade ago, a fun spectacle to see all the stuff. Now I just surf the net, buy my stuff online and watch videos of bloody brawls at Kmart from the safety of my own home.

[chazraps]

For the record, there really aren't long lines on black friday anymore. The cash registers are all manned for efficiency. I don't think I've had to wait more than 15 minutes in line at a retail location on Black Friday in at least five years.

[Deleted]

I love Rebecca Blacks song Friday

[Bravo Echo November]

Love going to stores to watch people kill each other over the smallest things. Go to the toy section for the best show (though electronics is entertaining too).