My wife slept in late, having been out in the wee hours of the morning to scope out deals. My wife and son decided to skip Toys-R-Us a long line of customers went around to the Best Buy store down the lot. Toys-R-Us had security patrolling out front, and store personnel were allowing about 30 customers in at a time -- then doors were locked until the next batch of bargain-hunters were admitted.
It's not fun waiting out front, but at least Toys-R-Us had a workable plan. Perhaps not so much at Wal-Mart, where fighting broke out in Upland as crowds went totally barbarian in the hunt for sales. From the Los Angeles Times, "Black Friday: Wal-Mart in Upland Temporarily Closes After 'Fighting Inside'":
Black Friday brought out the rowdy side of Wal-Mart shoppers early this morning when the Upland location shut down for more than two hours after customers caused a ruckus inside.More at the link.
Store management called Upland police at 2:44 a.m., asking for assistance in dealing with customers who were “fighting inside,” said Lt. Jim Etchason.
About 300 people were in the store, which had remained open all night as a security precaution after a Wal-Mart worker on Long Island, N.Y., was trampled to death last year on Black Friday when a surging, impatient crowd rushed the doors after the store opened.
But in Upland, employees said, customers began tearing into merchandise that had been shrink-wrapped and were supposed to be opened at 5 a.m.
“This was without a doubt the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said one employee, who said she has worked a dozen Black Fridays.
“They wouldn’t let people line up,” she added. “They were belligerent. They just bombarded the store.”
2 comments:
And this is why I do not do Blaack Fridays period.
Further proof that people are insane. No really.
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