Black Friday

     It may have been almost a month ago, but it’s still the day that haunts every retail employee’s dreams, where we wake up in a cold sweat after having nightmares of angry four-armed customers throwing coupon books at you.  Black Friday, the day where customers are almost always mean, the store is as crowded as a zoo, and your feet get the most intense workout that they will ever have, until the next Black Friday of course.  It’s a day that must’ve been created by the devil himself, so that retail employees who are punished every day out of the year, can be punished even harder on this one dark day. 

     Ok, in all actuality, it’s not that bad.  At least not anymore.  For the last couple Black Fridays I’ve worked, the biggest frustration for me has been finding a place to park my car, especially when I used to work at the mall.  I find that the more Black Fridays you work, the less stressful they become, especially since you have a lot more experience under your belt. 

But for those who are new to the world of retail, Black Friday can be pretty daunting. I remember my first Black Friday. You always remember your first, right? I remember expecting it to be a mob of just wave after wave of relentless customers, but in all reality I spent most of the day wrapping chocolate Santa Clause’s in tissue paper.

     The best way to get through Black Friday, especially if you’re a newbie, is to just be patient and relax.  Customers are like children: if you get worked up, they’ll start to get worked up as well.  Hopefully, you’ll have a capable supervisor who will assign you an area to stick to, so that you’re not left running around all over the 5^th busiest Toys R Us in the world. If this is the case, familiarize yourself with the products in your area, or zone, so that you know what you have and where it is when customers come asking. And if you don’t have an item the customer is looking for, just tell them that it’s Black Friday, and that they should’ve come earlier with all the other maniacs at midnight (or I guess 8:00 Thursday night now).

     Another great way to get through Black Friday is to wear comfortable shoes.  This is a no-brainer for the vets out there, but for the younger guys, this could be easily overlooked.  Although chucks might be in the height of fashion, you’ll be damning them to hell after only an hour of running around on your feet. Shoes with arch support are the way to go, and sometimes, they can be just as stylish.

     But really that’s it. Wear comfortable shoes and be cool. You want to make it through the day with your sanity intact. And if you want to go home early, just think of the nice fat paycheck you’re going to get out of it (after they take out taxes, some of which, like social security, you’ll probably never see, and others like the occupational privilege tax, which is utter b.s). Oh, and bring a drink. Preferably with caffeine. Trust me, on Black Friday, the last thing your manager wants to do is pick you up off the floor.