Black Friday: Bargain-hunting mobs on the rampage Despite all the doom and gloom in the global economy, Black Friday online sales in the US jumped by 26 per cent from last year. Ecommerce sites bagged $816m worth of sales this year, compared to $648m in 2010. "Despite some analysts’ predictions that the flurry of brick-and-mortar retailers opening their doors early for Black …
Shoplifting is typically defined as 1) concealment, *AND* (!!) 2) making no attempt to pay. Establishing item 2 typically requires that the subject be permitted to proceed *past* the cash registers before pouncing.
If I'm interpreting this story correctly, then Grandpa should sue the idiot police for as much as he possibly can. It's the only way they learn.
While I truly do love the real benefits of Christmas, bringing together of families, celebration, sense of community, I can honestly say I loathe the commercialism. Since I'm not 100% familiar with all of the holiday schedules in the EU and beyond, some marketing dumbass, here in the states, decided that it was a good idea to start promoting Christmas about 2 weeks prior to halloween. That means, in some locales, pulling out the christmas decorations, the playing, nay, the droning of jingle bells 7/24 until 12/25.
While I do believe that the true spirit of Christmas does bring out the absolute good in the majority of people, the holiday sales and preditorial behavior of "shoppers" certainly demonstrate the absolute worst, albeit confined to the civilian world and not the military.
I hadn't planned on going out on Black Friday for anything, just because people can be such bastards, especially when there's a deal to be had, but my blushing bride had some chores for me to do and I was forced to gorilla my way through the zoo, at a local home improvement store. As luck would have it, after finding the parts I needed a clerk brought out a pallet of heavily marked down cordless drills and screw drivers. I'm talking several hundred dollars USD, marked down by at least 60%. The mob swarmed and circled like a pack of great white sharks and as soon as he cut the straps that secured everything, the feeding frenzy was on. I was trying to get out of the way and some old lady apparently misinterpreted my hands up in the air (almost universally recognized as "I surrender") as a form of aggression or an attempt to steal 'her drill' and took the opportunity to stomp on my foot and then elbow me in the kidney.
Granted, it wasn't a hard stomp, nor was it a hard kidney punch, but peace on earth and good will to mankind my ass.
Once I got clear of the crowd I looked back and every one had the same glazed over expression: coal black, lifeless eyes, much like afore mentioned shark. Once I got to the checkout, I just handed the clerk a 5 (my part was just under a buck) , told her to keep it, she deserved it and got the hell out of there.
While I truly believe in the benefits of a free market based society, the idiots who promote conditions that send normal, rational and non-violent people into a hysterical rage, should be held responsible, along with the morons who see fit to mace, shoot, hit, kick, bite and knee, just to save a few bucks.
What assholes!
When I did retail security you had to observe the following before we could detain them.
Watch them coming in with nothing.
See them select the items
watch them conceal it.
Watch them pass by an open register
Make no attempt to pay.
Then walk out side.
I was never allowed to stop them till they walked outside. That proved that they had not intention of paying and was stealing. For all the cop knows the guy could of been making an exchange.
Thought I'd experience it for myself. Went out after midnight to Macys, wasn't too bad in my neck of the woods. I picked up a George Foreman grill, but decided it wasn't worth the queue.
Headed to Target, bought nothing. Headed to BestBuy, saw the nightclub style queue outside and the thuggish looking blokes hanging around outside the exit door, turned around, went home empty handed.
Couldn't really see what the fuss is about, especially since I found what I needed online.
In the past, I've done the 6am opening at Best Buy and Circuit CIty. At Best Buy they try to make it difficult to get more than one of the big special items, and the check out lines were insane. Circuit City was infinitely better, but now they are gone. Staples sometimes has good things, and the lines to get in aren't too crazy.
Anyway, Thursday I checked the ads, and didn't see much that I was willing to suffer for. I ended up buying a new 50" plasma TV and BluRay player online. It's coming Friday - possibly sooner than what a local store could deliver one.
ESC - because I escaped the crowds Friday.
Gee, why do brick stores lose to click stores? I'll guess crappy prices all year unless you want to deal with the mob in an attempt to get one of the seven loss leaders they have in stock. Funny thing is that if you wait long enough there is usually a worker who comes out with the "last one" that was "found" in the back. It usually takes another 40 minutes or so to find the next "last one" and it goes on until the crowd gives up and it gets thin when magically a truck appears with another shipment to keep them hanging around. That was the end of holiday jobs for me and the best lesson I've ever learned.
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