Saturday, November 29, 2008

The Blackest of Friday's

I absolutely love this time of the year. Everyone in college is coming home for the holidays, home cooked food is appreciated more than ever, and everyone is more than happy for the end of the fall semester of school. Another moment that adds to the holiday cheer is marked down on every shopper’s calendar and that special event is Black Friday.

Every year, my dad receives around fifty circulars about all the sales and deals around the area where people get up at
4am to be the first ones in the door for the latest game systems or movies. The circulars never stayed on my kitchen table for that long because in all of my twenty years, I had never been out on Black Friday. This year I went full circle with Black Friday. I shopped and worked on this monumental day.


I volunteered to work at my job the Apple Store on Black Friday. I felt it was the least I could do since my managers needed the extra help. I lucked out and only had to close the store from five o’clock to ten at night, but still in Atlantic City, the shopping never ceased until the late hours of the night. Every iPod color of the rainbow (literally) were being sold throughout the store and all the visual displays had been changed to match the holiday cheer.


The experience of working Black Friday was nothing like getting up to shop. My friend Nicole goes out every single year and I decided that since I was going out, I might as well go with an expert.

I woke up at 3:45 a.m. and was out the door by 4:15 a.m. Of course we stopped by a WaWa, bought coffee, and headed down to our local Target by 5 a.m. The wait to get in the store wasn't bad at all. I enjoyed listening to the hot items people wanted to hurry and buy (The Wii Fit and Guitar Hero World Tour was the top of people’s lists). As the doors opened I became lost into the electronics section and consumed in movies priced for five dollars. Six hours later I finally returned home with a movie, a new digital camera, and new clothes for the holidays.


It was quite the learning experience working and shopping on Black Friday and I’m glad that it only happens once a year. I would never make waking up at 3:45am a habit.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations firm staff member, Jade Barnes.

1 comment:

Camille Van Duyn said...

Black Friday is always such an insane time of year! When I was younger, my mother FORBADE me to go shopping on that day. She said that it was too chaotic and that she didn't want me getting hurt, but I have a feeling those weren't her only reasons.

When I finally decided to brave my first Black Friday two years ago, I was a little afraid. I had grown up watching news clips of people getting trampled in department stores and fighting to get the last copy of a popular video game. However, I felt that taking part in Black Friday was sort of an American right of passage. So I gathered up my strength and went shopping!

Wow, what a crazy event! Much like you, I awoke at about 4 a.m., slowly making my way from store to store, until I had spent more money than I had in my bank account. See, that's the thing about Black Friday--it's the quintessential "consumer" holiday. Businesses try to trick you with all of their "half off" and "buy-one-get-one" signs, so before you know it, you've spent hundreds of dollars on things that you probably didn't even need in the first place. But, with such low prices how can you resist?

While I enjoyed the overall experience of being in the thick of things, I don't think I'll be braving a Black Friday again any time soon. Especially with the advent of the Internet, snagging deals is so much easier. You still get all the great prices, maybe minus a few door prizes, and you can do it all from the comfort of your home.