25 of 30: Black Friday - please just shoot me!

I need to say one thing about BLACK FRIDAY - it is a pain in the ads for me. I've worked retail going on 8 years now and I have come to despise the day after Thanksgiving. I know, I know, I know you are all excited about getting in on the big sale and shopping until you drop, but might I comment on my week to prepare for you to run through those doors.... with my top 10 reasons why I leave 1/2 hour before those doors open.

10. Preparing 6 ads all layering dates and times and pull dates, then getting the next 6 ads for the following week piled on that pile. Killing several forests with the paperwork we have to go through to make sure the auditors don't get angry and the customers can actually READ that price point.

9. Stocking, and restocking - no I'm not talking about the cute stockings you hang on your mantle, I'm talking about restocking the Turkey platters that some woman loaded up 2 shopping carts and bought out the store and left a trail of angry Turkey platterless women.

8. Pathetic fuzzy slippers.

7. 4 racks of U of U shirts. You have no idea...

6. Overnights - working a required 40 hours before Black Friday even occurs - Going in tomorrow morning for a shift - going in for a graveyard shift Thanksgiving Eve until 4 am, (because freaking people need to shop on Thanksgiving day? Hey - stay home, cook the turkey and watch the parade & football games and let me do the same!!) (Sorry - tired and angry) leaving my family and working Thanksgiving night to set the ads that will be pulled in 6 hours after the doors opened but took 2 days to prep and hide because they are such a secret.

5. All of the day time workers getting the pizza they bring in after the night shift did all of the work.

4. Under trained cashiers - yikes, combined with the Christmas music track that plays over and over and over again - and again - and again.... it's enough to make you want to drink eggnog excessively.

3. Ad matches - why don't you just wait in line at THEIR store! (:

2. Nobody putting toys in the Salvation Army toys for tots box - (please don't forget to add one!) (Most of your kids already have plenty!!!)

.....and....

1. The doors opening and people turning into maniacs and hurting people and hitting people and running them over and smashing through the doors with small children and dogs and they are yelling and screaming and fighting over the last DVD player that little Johnny just has to have and YUCK - the spirit goes right out the door.

Please be careful this Friday - remember the spirit of the season isn't what you see at 5:00 AM it's found in the little old couple that you know they hardly have a dime to their name shopping from a list that is too long for sweet little children that have less than they do. I know that I just have to muster up enough gusto to make it through the next 48 hours until I can call this week OVER! (I never ever ever shop Black Friday - I'll leave and wave goodbye to those crazy people standing in line and I'm going to a workout after working all night - sleeping a bit - going to a movie - and asking forgiveness from my husband that has had to put up with me through all of this - oh and I'm going to have a LARGE coke from McDonalds right after my work out)..... and there you go!