Thanksgiving should always be considered a holiday and not a competition with other companies to see who has the best “Thanksgiving Day Sale.” Consideration isn’t given to the employees who have to work that day or night. They have their own families and friends who they want to spend time with and I can’t imagine being forced to work that day.
It makes me sad to think there are people who won’t get to enjoy Thanksgiving with their loved ones because other people want to get a good deal on a TV. Not just the employees, but the shoppers should spend time with their loved ones as well. Black Friday and Thanksgiving sales have created this mentality that it’s necessary to go shopping when you should really be enjoying each other’s company.
During past Thanksgiving dinners, I’ve seen people plan their dinner around different sales. Sales shouldn’t be more important than the memories that come with Thanksgiving.
I applaud stores like REI, Staples, Nordstrom and others who will be closed this Thanksgiving. On the other hand, I think it’s unfortunate that stores have to join the “movement” and stay closed, when none of them should be open in the first place. I hope they do it for the employees and their families and not for the positive publicity.
The bottom line is stores should be required to close on Thanksgiving; it’s abusing power to stay open. Also, I don’t think Black Friday should be as big of a deal as it currently is, because it cuts into the mood of Thanksgiving. It’s not that people shouldn’t go shopping at all on Black Friday, I just think sales beginning before 8 a.m. just take it too far.
Hopefully in the near future, more stores will close and Thanksgiving and allow everyone to enjoy this holiday however they wish to spend it.