have you ever worked retail, or fast food, during the holidays? during my five-year run with joann fabrics, i learned a lot about black friday, door busters and the mentality of holiday shoppers. my first two years with joann i was low enough on the totem pole that i was not required to be in the store on black friday. no one goes to the store on that day to sign up for classes, so my position was not needed.

however, once i was promoted to store manager, i was no longer exempt. as a matter of fact, i had the joy and privilidge of being there late on wednesday night so that my crew could be there, with everything ready to go, at 5am on friday. 5am. that means if they had spent the day on thursday with their family, they probably headed to bed early so they could get to work on time.

i always closed on black friday, which meant i did not have to be in until about noon. in addition to dealing with the frenzied sales and demanding customers, i had to call in sales every 2-3 hours to my district manager. i almost always forgot, which meant i would get the less-than-happy phone call from him, looking for figures.

retail depends heavily on those black friday sales. months of preparations, sale sets, plan-o-grams, item placement, and holiday product sales lead up to one major shopping day and the holiday shopping season. in the business to make money, it made sense that so much time and attention would go into one day.

that being said, I think it is ridiculous that stores are now starting their ‘black friday’ sales on thursday night. even if the rest of the world is bored and looking for a chance to shop, it’s just wrong. the people who work those days and nights have families too! they should be allowed one day where they are not arranging product, setting sales, answer questions, filling orders and dealing with insane holiday customers.  burn out during the holidays is extremely high for retail employees. many have been dealing with Christmas holiday product since July. yes, JULY. people who shop on black friday are intense. they want what they want and they want it now. it’s difficult dealing with that ALL. DAY. LONG.

those employees NEED a day off. actually, they need more than one day, but reality says they aren’t going to get it.

i don’t miss working retail during the holidays. while i was there, i felt no joy about any of it. i was so sick of it all by the time thanksgiving came that i found myself secretly counting down until new year’s. i really resented my work and how little time i actually had to prepare for my own family’s holiday.

as i read about these stores opening earlier, staying open later and pushing their employees to the limit, all i can think of is how all of their families are a home, missing them.

this year, i will not be shopping on black friday. i might only be one person, but my dollars will not serve the corporations who have no consideration for family.