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Pet Peeves of Black Friday shopping


jaymacfla

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Have you ever been annoyed by rude people while shopping? Are there some bad habits that are apparent and seem to run rampant on this particular day? Do the stores themselves tend to drive you crazy? I will give a few examples of our favorite line/store peeves each year:

 

1. Persons who show up in the cold with under-dressed children.

2. Persons who cut in line or those who allow family members to cut.

3. Persons who complain to the font of the line that the line just got a heck of a lot longer and monitor the situation every 5 minutes.

4. Ill-prepared staff who can't seem to get their act together or direct you to the wrong aisle/area.

5. Credit card denials or store credit glitches.

6. Media asking if we are part of the "Occupy movement".

7. People blaming us for "Black Thursday"

8. Stores not having the proper stock or selling your ticketed item by mistake.

9. Persons who walk by you and "Show you how it's done" by waltzing in the store , pay full price and then when coming outside  shout to you, "See?"

10. Persons who show up for an hour, and get interviewed by the media, telling them how hard it is to stand in line so early.

 

The list could go on and on. Sometimes the worst things become the fondest memories, so what are your pet peeves this year???

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I have to admit, the Occupy Movement one made me laugh.  That wouldn't annoy me, then again I've never been interviewed by the media.

 

My pet peeves consist of people who decide to browse at the stores.  One time a few years back I saw an older women looking in the $5 movie bin at Walmart on Black Friday.  The same $5 bin that is always there 365 days a year.  I think it was my first year going out on Black Friday, and even then I knew certain things are not acceptable.

 

Another pet peeve is people you know wanting to stop and chat while shopping.  Why don't they realize this is like a sport and once the deals begin, if you aren't on the same tea, you have no friends?  Ok, thats a bit harsh, but I don't have time to chat while trying to find deals.  If I am waiting in line that's different, I love talking to people to pass the time, but not WHILE I'm shopping.

 

#4 on your list peeves me too.  A few years back a friend and I shopped at a Circuit City and got all our stuff in under 5 minutes.  The store layout and lines were so bad it took almost 2 hours to check out.  When we finished we went about a block away to Best Buy and got our stuff in 5 minutes and out of the store in 10 minutes total.  We vowed never to go to Circuit City again for Black Friday.  Sadly, we never had the chance as they closed within a year.

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My biggest pet peve is any form of cutting in line, either to get into the store or any lines within the stores.  :gdcensored:

 

As for people who browse and shop for items that aren't really Black Friday deals, all of us on GottaDeal know that is a bad idea on Black Friday, but actually it means that those people are not laser focused on getting the truly good deals that we are there for, so that means fewer people getting those deals and more opportunity for us to get them before they run out if supply is limited, so go ahead, browse all you like, just stay away from the good deals I am after. ;)  

 

Another pet peve is people who take children who are too young to be out so late or in super crowded stores.  I understand that some people have difficulty arranging for someone to babysit the children at home while they are out getting the deals, but try your best to arrange something, for your sake and ours!  :gdsleep3:

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I think my biggest pet peeve came last year at Walmart.  They roped off areas in the store and made one very LONG line running up the middle of the store.  Unfortunately, that line was also where many of the BF sale items were.  So, it was nearly impossible to get through.  Everyone hated it and I am hoping they do something different this year.

 

Another one is people bringing their children and letting them run all over the store or yelling at the kids because they won't quit crying.  Hello it is 10:00!!!  The kids are tired.  Some of them had been there since 4:00!!!

 

It also irritates me to get in front of or behind a loud mouth while in line.  Loud mouth meaning someone that is constantly yelling across the store or talking loud because they want to be noticed...lol

 

This is just a few of my pet peeves.  Some of them have already been covered :)

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My biggest pet peeve is the teenagers who think it's fun to just hang out acting silly and just generally being in the way while those of us there to shop have to fight to move amongst them.  It's terrible at my local Walmart.  This has been the biggest negative for me for the earlier start times.  

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I think the biggest is standing still in the middle of the aisle, when there is plenty of room of the sides of the aisles or in the dept where no one cares if they are standing.  Just blocking the flow of traffic, perhaps we need to change it in america to what canada has, boxing day.  Maybe people would get the hint to keep moving.

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My biggest pet peeve are the people who load their carts with everything, to then turn around and leave it there because they decide they don't want it.

I have actually found this to be an advantage. I always look for carts and items in areas where items should not be put after the initial rush at Walmart. I have been able to find doorbusters this way. Walmart is always my second stop after Best Buy due to the likelihood that items will be strewn about in the confusion.

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My biggest pet peeve are the people who load their carts with everything, to then turn around and leave it there because they decide they don't want it.

 

 

I don't mind this too much as I've been able to find things in the discards that I couldn't get my hands on earlier.  

 

I hadn't really thought of this, as I usually assume that parked carts still belong to someone and I wouldn't take something out of a cart if I think that it still belongs to someone who has (foolishly) stepped away to pick up something nearby.  Hearing that some carts are actually abandoned, I might pay more attention to this.  I am just afraid that the instant that I decide it is abandoned and take something I want out, the "owner" will show up screaming at me.   :wife:

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The sad thing is, until the earlier start times I think my only BF pet peeve was stores not having enough of whatever hot ticket item, and that wasn't that big a deal since it was just part of it.  Now I could go on and on.  The worst for me though is the families that bring their small children. The kids are tired and cranky and way overstimulated, and the parents are getting on to them when they never should have been put in that situation in the first place.

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People who completely freak out about the big deals. You know, the ones that are 100th in line (you're 99) and they are yelling for an hour they better get a deal cause they've been standing in line "all day/night"

I swear that I am going to bring one of those hall monitor sashes of old to the next person who tries to monitor the line in that manner! It is always someone who is around the corner and has no earthly chance of getting a door-buster anyway.

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I hadn't really thought of this, as I usually assume that parked carts still belong to someone and I wouldn't take something out of a cart if I think that it still belongs to someone who has (foolishly) stepped away to pick up something nearby.  Hearing that some carts are actually abandoned, I might pay more attention to this.  I am just afraid that the instant that I decide it is abandoned and take something I want out, the "owner" will show up screaming at me.   :wife:

Most shoppers wouldn't dream of leaving a cart alone on BF. Here is to hoping that more individuals score deals in this manner.

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The only three things that annoy me are :

 

anyone who is rude. A deal is great but it is not worth acting like an animal to get one.

 

The other is people who have young children with them, underdressed in the cold in the middle of the night. I lived in NY most of my life and that was when black Friday was actually Black Friday and WAY too many times I would see people in freezing weather from midnight to 5am with little ones. 

 

The last one is that it is no longer Black Friday but Black Thursday. If it is true that stores are opening at 6pm this year I will miss most of the doorbusters. I will not leave my house that early....it has really ruined a tradition I looked foward to every year.

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I think a lot of us have the same pet peeves.  

For me the pet peeves that come to mind:

People who bring young children out. I once saw a woman leave her under ten year old to stand in line at Target while she went to Toys R' Us.

People who ram you repeatedly with their cart, the first time is an accident but after that pay attention, we are all in the lines going slow.

All the people that crowd the stores just to be there, not really shopping.

People who show up 30 minutes before start time and think they deserve the hot deals and are shocked they are so far back in the line or can't get close to the pallet of stuff.

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The sad thing is, until the earlier start times I think my only BF pet peeve was stores not having enough of whatever hot ticket item, and that wasn't that big a deal since it was just part of it.  Now I could go on and on.  The worst for me though is the families that bring their small children. The kids are tired and cranky and way overstimulated, and the parents are getting on to them when they never should have been put in that situation in the first place.

 

DITTO!!!

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People who take things off of the pallets before its time to shop and the employs watching the pallet letting them.

 

People cutting in line no matter how or what the time ( in the store we have had someone get in line and bring things to the cart so we can check out faster but it is one check out if our person reaches the front of the line and we are not done yet they just let others go ahead of them )

 

I am sorry the smaller children bother some, my DD will take 2 of hers to her MIL but the baby will be with her (nursing) Her and her DH will go but they would never have the baby out in the cold. My DD11 will go with me but I would never leave her at a store by herself.

 

I also miss the Friday openings!!

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Here are some more Pet Peeves of mine:

1. Vendors who show up to capitalize on the crowd and cannot get their act together. (Cold food, cold drink, and it should be hot!)

2. People who lose their minds and try to get us kicked off of the property because we have an unfair advantage. When asked by store management if they would either camp or stand in line, the answer is usually no.

3. Online shopping when it becomes a button mashing mess instead of a pleasant experience.

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I just have to echo that my worst one is when people bring the young children. I don't know if they have been watching the news lately, but there are a lot of CRAZY people out there and most of them come out on Black Friday. There is the chance that children will get injured or worse! While you are concentrating on grabbing that door buster, someone may be concentrating on grabbing your child. Not to mention the poor things having to stay up hours past their bed times and then get yelled at for being tired! Just leave the kiddies at home.
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1. Rude customers to employees

2. Customers that cut in line after I have been waiting for a long time.

3. Staff that do not know where things are in the ad. The management did not train them properly.

4. Slow staff that ring up very very slowly.

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1) Seeing under dressed kids (especially babies) outside really strikes a nerve with me.  Last year, there was a couple who had a baby in a onesie - no socks, hat, jacket, etc...How were the parents dressed?  Coats, hats, gloves! 

 

2) Line cutters!! 

 

3) No organized lines for checking out!

 

4) Out of stock items or having to wait until a certain time before an item is released.

 

5) Not knowing where the items are located in the store  - electronics should not be in the frozen food section!!

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