An American shopping phenomenon is metastasizing around the world. Whether you believe that it’s a glorious sign of the season or an abuse of the season’s reason, have you ever paused to look at things from the retail side of the till? Here’s a piece from a few years ago that might give you some perspective. “It’s that wonderful time of the year. Except…”
Have you survived Black Friday?
I spent many Black Fridays working in the restaurant business, and it wasn’t much better. People bringing old receipts claiming we “forgot” their order, wanting free food to replace the food they allowed their bratty kids to throw on the floor, people demanding free deserts because “it’s Christmas time, don’t be a Scrooge!” Thankfully, those days are behind me, and I can spend Black Friday sleeping in.
Thanks for your comment. I’m hoping that today’s exception to the rule – a number of retailers giving their employees Black Friday off – is a seed of a future where stories like ours will be the exception rather than the rule. [Having said that, I don’t think either of us will see it in our lifetimes…]