HolyCoast: If You Don't Want to Work at Midnight on Black Friday, Don't Go Into Retail
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Friday, November 18, 2011

If You Don't Want to Work at Midnight on Black Friday, Don't Go Into Retail

The sense of entitlement is strong with this one:
In yet another sign of worker frustration over a shortened Thanksgiving holiday, an employee at a Best Buy in Tampa has launched a petition against his employer's decision to open earlier for the Black Friday shopping spree this year, claiming the midnight opening time will eat into workers' holiday time with their families.

The petition on Change.org, attributed to 8-year Best Buy veteran Rick Melaragni, comes on the heels of a similar, high-profile petition launched last week by a Target employee in Nebraska. The latter petition has racked up more than 150,000 signatures.

Melaragni, who works as a Geek Squad technician, told HuffPost that he and his Best Buy co-workers were "blindsided" by the company's decision to open doors earlier this year for the crush.

"Of course, everyone was upset," said Melaragni, a 25-year-old Boston native. "We thought we had higher standards than other retailers. And customers are telling us the exact same thing. If they want a good deal, they're missing out on Thanksgiving, too," since they'll have to get on line on Thanksgiving Day to beat the crowds.

The petition, which has around 8,000 signatures as of this posting, reads in part: "A full holiday with family is not just for the elite of this nation -- all Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones and get a good night's rest on Thanksgiving!"
I'm sorry, but Best Buy and other retailers are opening early because that's what their customers want. They don't exist to make sure employees get a nap after their Thanksgiving dinner.

Last year my son went to work at Toys-R-Us at 9pm on Thanksgiving night.  The store opened at 10pm.  I went over at 10 just to see the crowd and the line was hundreds of people long waiting to get in.  Cars were pouring into parking lot.  It was really something.

Given the state of the economy, these people should quit griping and thank God they've got a job to go to at midnight on Black Friday. And then thank Him again that there are people who want to be there to buy stuff.

If that doesn't work for them, they can go join an #Occupy rally.   They'll fit right in.

1 comment:

Sam L. said...

That's a very good point.