Wisconsin Toys-R-Us Learns the Hard Way

It's called crowd control:

Black Friday started with a black mark this year.

The line of several thousand waiting customers wrapped entirely around the Toys R Us building at 4411 W. Wisconsin Ave. Thursday night. Moments before the store opened at 10 p.m., the line of those who’d just arrived and line of those who’d waited many hours overlapped.

When the doors opened, everyone rushed the door. The store’s staff quickly became overwhelmed, locked the door and called police for assistance.

A staffer repeatedly yelled, “back up” to those standing around the door. Customers who’d been waiting hours chanted “end of line” to those who’d just arrived.

Cpl. Jeff Oberg of the Grand Chute police arrived on scene and suggested the store create a barrier to control the line. Ten purple Babies R Us shopping carts were turned upside down in a row to thwart line-jumpers. Staffers reopened the doors and customers were let in 50 at a time without further incident.

“It got rough for a little bit,” said store manager Chad Wojcik around 10:20 p.m. “We’ve got it in hand now. I’ll do carts again next year.”

I took this photo last night about 15 minutes before the Mission Viejo Toys-R-Us opened at 10pm. Note the line up shopping carts and the caution tape that keeps the line jumpers at bay:

That line stretched for nearly a quarter mile across the parking lot, but from what I hear everyone behaved themselves. A little control at the beginning saves a lot of problems later.

And the incident above wasn't the only problem at a Wisconsin Toys-R-Us:

A 21-year-old Middleton woman was arrested Thursday night when she threatened other shoppers while waiting in line at the Toys R Us store, 7309 West Towne Way, which opened for Black Friday shopping at 10 p.m., Madison police reported.

Several hundred shoppers were in line just after 10 p.m., when the woman attempted to move to the front of the line, police said. When she was confronted by other shoppers, she made threats to retrieve a gun and shoot the shoppers.

Those Wisconsin people take their toys way too seriously.