As we march towards Thanksgiving, many think about food or the time they get to spend with their families. I think about Black Friday, the biggest day of consumerism in the United States.
As a consumer, I never participated in Black Friday because it seemed like a hassle, and I don’t like the idea of waking up early to stand in lines. Last year I experienced in my first Black Friday as a retail worker and let me tell you even with the pandemic at full force, people turned up big time.
At 5 a.m., I arrived at the store not knowing what to expect. The seasoned retail veterans of Black Friday warned me of the endless lines and clothes strewn all over the floor, but nothing prepared me for when the doors opened at 6 a.m. I was at the register, somewhere I typically thrived, and the line went from two people to 20 people in a matter of minutes.
I started to feel overwhelmed.
By 12 p.m., it was time for my one-hour break, and I sat in the back of the store feeling defeated. A woman had just yelled at me for her $500 return taking too long as if I wasn’t trying my hardest (who makes a return on Black Friday anyways?).
As my break went quickly, I was worried that I wasn’t going to make it when I had to return. My voice was almost gone because I had to shout to hear myself talk, my feet were swollen from standing for so long and my spirit was broken.
When the clock hit 12:59 p.m., I got back on my feet and made my way back to my station.
Once customers realized I wasn’t cutting the line to buy stuff, they moved out of my way I sprang into action. The next three hours went by smoothly and I thought I was going to make it without any more problematic customers.
Boy was I wrong.
An hour before my shift ended, I had a customer yell at me about how they were exhausted and how I was moving too slowly and that I didn’t care that they had places to be. I was taken aback. How could customers not understand how hard this day was on retail workers? After yelling at me some more, she finally took her items and left leaving me speechless.
Then, my guardian angels came.
With about 20 minutes left in my shift, an older couple came to the register with five items. As I started my rehearsed speech, they cut me off. “No darling, how are you?” the wife asked.
That simple statement was so lovely that it almost made me burst into tears. I told her that I was doing well but I was excited to get off of my shift in 20 minutes and go home and sleep. The couple looked at each other and back at me. I was worried I had said something wrong, but the older husband said, “Take as much time as you need on us, even 20 minutes.”
I took my time and while in good conscience I couldn’t take 20 minutes on a simple transaction, I did take 10 minutes. The entire time we chatted, they told me about their grandkids and asked about my schooling. When they left, they wished me the best of luck and exited. There are very few customers I remember from that day, but they really stood out to me.
10 minutes later, the clock finally hit 6 p.m. meaning it was time for me to leave. I drove home and slept for 12 hours swearing that I would never work Black Friday again. Almost a year later when I was asked about a Black Friday shift for this year, I shocked myself and said yes.
Why did I do that you ask? Because of my guardian angels whose patience and kindness for 10 minutes made it all worth it and stuck with me throughout the year.
The moral of this story is if you’re going shopping on Black Friday, be nice to your retail workers. You may have a more dramatic impact on their life than you think and what you say really affects them. Obviously, be kind to your retail workers every day, but remember that Black Friday isn’t possible without them.
Happy shopping, collegiettes!