Mayhem as U.S. "Black Friday" Hits Britain

[c.d.]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mayhem-as-us-black-friday-hits-britain/ar-BBg5Z1W?ocid=DELLDHP

c.d.

[c.d.]

Sorry to all my English friends here on the boards. Looks like we exported greed to your shores.

c.d.

[pinkmoon]

I have worked for the same large retailer for nearly thirty years and the behaviour I witnessed this morning was a disgrace threats of violence from people and been told to f### off several times before it was even 9 o'clock.

[Amanda]

Very sad....

There's nowt as queer as folk!

How many people actually go out and buy a T.V a few weeks before Xmas when they've got presents to buy anyway? It's just greed pure and simple.

[GUT]

Am I right that Black Friday is basically a huge shopping day, with bg markdowns?

In Aus they leave all the Big Sales till after Christmas, many start Boxing Day.

Pinkmoon I spent years in retail, I don't envy you at this time of year.

[Ginger]

Black Friday is basically a fairly sophisticated way of fleecing the poor. It's the lower-end retailers that really get into the practice. You'll never see, for instance, Nordstrom's or the like running a Black Friday promotion.

The retailers operate on the assumption that their average customer has a limited budget for Christmas (IIRC, somewhere around $400 or so, I think), but wants to give big, splashy gifts so as to be thought prosperous by relatives. Toward that end, lost of retailers will put junk electronics (no-name TVs built by Chinese prisoners, etc) on sale at a price which is cheap indeed compared to, say, a TV of the same size from a name-brand manufacturer. They're losing little if any money selling at the 'markdown' price, because the merchandise is so cheap to begin with. The point of the exercise is to get the consumer into the store, and get them to shop there first, while they still have money left; and to get them to shop in a frenzied, time-critical way, so as to capture as much of that money as possible. Some stores will go to the cynical extreme of having a new item go on sale at the top of each hour, so as to keep their patrons in the store.

It's a disgusting practice. One might argue that the shoppers deserve what they get, being too stupid to learn from experience, and too ill-disciplined to make their purchases throughout the year when good kit goes on sale cheaply. One does have to feel sorry for the employees, though, as every year they're allowed less and less of a Thanksgiving holiday.

[c.d.]

It is particularly offensive that it is now often starting on Thanksgiving itself which is always on a Thursday. So instead of spending time with one's family and being thankful for what you have people abandon family and the traditional meal to get a jump on the sales.

And there is also what is called "Cyber Monday." People who chose to spend Thanksgiving in the traditional way or who didn't want to face the crowds shop online the following Monday (quite often while at work) to look for bargains.

And in the interest of full disclosure, I guess hypocrisy goes along with greed because I spent time online today and did by something on sale.

c.d.

[Limehouse]

I have worked for the same large retailer for nearly thirty years and the behaviour I witnessed this morning was a disgrace threats of violence from people and been told to f### off several times before it was even 9 o'clock.

That sounds like a typical day in the classroom for me.

[Limehouse]

I completely refuse to engage with any of this black Friday shopping frenzy. Christmas has become one huge greedy, stress-infused, tacky, three-month marathon - and for what? Two days of force-feeding, predictable films on TV, the misery of EastEnders usual Christmas-Day melt-down, false merriness - oh, it goes on and on.

Where is the real Christmas story in all this? Where is the humble stable ? Where is God's love and Christ's purpose on earth?

[GUT]

That sounds like a typical day in the classroom for me.

My darlings a chalkie and she'd agree except the kids she teachers are terrified of her. With good reason too.

[Harry D]

People are idiots.

[Robert]

Presumably it's useful to have all the idiots in the shops on the same day - frees up space for later.

I think the gold, frankincense and myrrh still get the odd mention, it's just that when the Three Wise Men arrive with them they're sporting three black eyes and a broken jaw.

[johns]

There are greedy people everywhere and they sadden me.

I went down my local supermarket for a regular weekly shop many years ago and there were rumours or news items (can't recall which now) about bread shortages due to a dispute or whatever. Anyway I sauntered to the bread aisle to be greeted by what looked like a rugby match between Old Ladies v Young Mums.

I idly noticed the empty shelves as I picked my way through and spotted 2 loaves of average looking white sliced.

I made my move and grabbed a loaf at the same time as a lady grabbed the other bag just before another lady could get there. Then I noticed she already had a full trolley of bread.

She's either making hundreds of sandwiches for a party or was just being greedy. I suspected the latter.

So I said, "I hope all that bread you've stuffed in your trolley goes mouldy". I didn't feel bad either.

[Robert]

Were they grabbing the bread without bothering to squeeze it first? That would have been a rare event indeed.

[pinkmoon]

Greed is a terrible thing people should be thinking about and trying to help others this time of year especially the poor sods sleeping rough which I find offensive in a country like ours that generates so much income from taxation.