Stopping people who take cuts

[kboyts]

I feel everyones pain, the only time I camped at bestbuy I was inline for about 6 hours in temps below freezing. I was about 15-20 people back in line when the doors open people just swarmed the doors from ther cars that had just pulled in nto the lot.

[H_Hancock]

Thankfully, the BB we frequent on BF does things a bit more thoroughly. They use shopping carts to form a chain stretching from between the entrance and exit doors and stretch that chain down along the wall, leaving enough room to walk like two people down that aisle that's been formed. Also, the carts are on the outside of a series of concrete pillars, there to prevent cars from hitting the wall, I presume.

 

Next, about an hour before opening, they station cops along the doors to prevent cutters from the parking lot from jumping line. Has worked out quite well.

[ean1879]

I was thinking that this year I would take along a perm. magic marker and write numbers on hands of people in line. Would this be a no no? How can we stop unfair line cutters? The reason I ask is that last year I was 6 or 7th in line and then at the last moment the first people in line brought out a car full of people stating they had been here the whole time which was a lie. I was standing in line at 10 pm and NEVER saw one person in that car! I was lucky I got the laptop but the gal that came with me was the last person to get one and 3 people behind her showed up almost the same time as we did so I felt bad for them. If that car full had not rushed into line they would have gotten the laptop as well.

 

Tina

We actually did that at a local Best Buy.

 

Not that it did any good. Last year was the worst ever. The Best Buy Employees just walked right past half of the people while they were handing out tickets for the items. We missed two items last year because the guy with those tickets started about 50 back in the line.

[BFQueenofNY]

Last year at walmart right before the doors were to open people got out of their cars and just stood by their cars. Once the doors opened it way mayhem. There is no number system for that. The people I felt bad for were the ones who stood in the back and waited.

 

Let's be honest here, it isn't you place in line as much as how fast you can run from wherever you are outside to inside

[Bestbuy7]

I never saw a line on bf ever. I guess because my bestbuy is inside a mall[Queens Plaza Mall]

[TENIA66]

why can't the walmarts of the world pass out tickets for each item at designated times outside the store, then exchange them in the store? that way you could get in line, get your ticket, then maybe go home and claim your item before the 11 am cut off, but no swarm.......

 

i think wal mart loves the publicity from the black friday mayhem and that's why most of them don't truly try to control it..........

[Rebirth]

I hate line cutters.

[motoXmom]

Bathroom breaks are one thing, but I don't think it's right when two people are "holding" four places in line.

 

I know what you mean. One year I was a few away from the door when a group of teenage girls and women came up to the first couple people in line just a few minutes before the doors were to open. I couldn't believe they were so rude to show up and think ONE person has the right to hold all their spots when the rest of us had stood out there for hours. I think about 8 or 9 had come and casually talked until the doors opened and ran in like everyone else. I just don't think that's right.

I mean Hey I have 20 friends coming so just give me their Big Ticket Doorbuster items and when they get here I'll make sure they get 'em. Umm yea right.

[Steakgoddess]

I've stomped on feet.

 

Yeah. Not too nice, but it made me feel better.

[Illinoismom]

Well while waiting for the lap tops at walmart, People would try and cut the line which twisted around half the inside of the store. I was number 6 and the first 10 of us decided that no one was getting in front or behind us. they came from every isle but we spotted them and yelled out line cutter at three oclock, we were very good at it, that Walmart employees were standing there tell them you really dont want to try to cut in front of any of them,. Besides they knew who the first 20 were since we had been there some of us starting at 12:00am my walmart is 24 hours and we were waiting inside by where they were going to be selling them

[able]

I never saw a line on bf ever. I guess because my bestbuy is inside a mall[Queens Plaza Mall]

never saw a line on BF??? ok..

 

i dont know if the name tag or the marker will work UNLESS the store does it... or agrees to enforce it prior to

[CrayZMama80]

Last year I went to BB along with my 20 yr old daughter. We got there early on, or so we thought.. there were already 20 some odd ppl in line at 12 am. Anyway, we originally went into the line together so the ppl there knew we were together. I had my daughter go into my van and stay there most of the time while I froze my rear off. I did change with her 2 times that night due to the temps being -11 below. Then we both waited out the last hour together. It would of been stupid not to help each other out due to the chance of frostbite. There were even times that the ppl in line told me just go with her for a few minutes to warm up.. I was freezing! But I stayed out there.

I do not think it's fair tho for someone to wait and hold too many places in line while most are out there freezing. I mean, if you are going to get the deals then, go there and do your share of freezing too like we did.

[kbmoo]

Half the fun of bf is waiting in line and meeting the other crazy people in line. I think most of us band together and don't let people butt in line. The stores should give out numbers!

[daz]

Stungun is the best solution

[CrayZMama80]

Stungun is the best solution

Now that is scary! Lol!

[sigrist_2000]

Half the fun of bf is waiting in line and meeting the other crazy people in line. I think most of us band together and don't let people butt in line. The stores should give out numbers!

welcome!

 

I agree with this!!

[jellybean051901]

Oh...How do you feel about people who sell their place in line? I had 4 guys behind me sell their places for $100 a piece. They made about $20 tax free an hour standing in line.

Tina

We had people offer us money to get a laptop for them last year at WM. Even if I wasn't getting one already I don't think that I would have got them one. It is not fair to the people standing behind you

[jellybean051901]

It would be nice if the management would start passing out numbered tickets to people as soon as they (the managerment) arrive on BF. That would keep line cutting down somewhat. If the person wasn't in line then they don't get a ticket. Unless they can appear in a few minutes (ie bathroom breaks or warming up in the car)

[darianwiccan]

I think the only thing worse than line cutters are folks who stand on other side of the doors from where the line starts about 2 minutes before the door opens and then feel like they can just waltz right in.

This exact situation almost happened at the WM I was at last year. *pats his laptop* There were about 400 of us in line to get our hands on one of 16 total of these babies! Well, about 10 minutes before the doors opened, a group of 30 or so people came up and started making small talk. I didn't say anything at the time, but when the employees came to open the doors, they pressed forward, and we started screaming and threatening them, and the employees formed a human chain at the door to keep them out.

[tmkuroda]

My middle son was the first one to get a laptop at our WM and my foster daughter was second:) Alex said it was the most fun he ever had...Now my Husband who has RA can not run and push people so we will have to see about him going to a more structured place this year like CC or BB because this year he does it without Alex (Alex has since moved away) to run for him.

They said that several people tried to take cuts in the front of the line. One said they were feeling faint and yet another said that their baby was freezing! Why someone was in line with an infant is beyond me! Wonder if it was a fake baby after reading all these posts:gdparanoid: Needless to say no one got cuts.

Tina

[pmward725]

I think a permanent marker would work well.... Get one of those gigantic, 1-inch thick markers that smell for miles away.... The Sharpie "magnum" size ones.... everyone could smell the "cutter" and would know hours later that way....

[3rdcharm]

Let me tell ya....Last year at Wal-Mart about 15 mins before the store opened, the manager and employees came to the rescue with a whole row of shopping carts and lined them up to the people who had been waiting in line and it completely blocked off the "cutters'.......There were about 100-200 ppl getting ready to swarm the doors at the last minute, mgmt caught on to it.....and rescued us weather ppl .......Maybe you could talk to the store about putting up some shopping carts or something like that????

[CrayZMama80]

Let me tell ya....Last year at Wal-Mart about 15 mins before the store opened, the manager and employees came to the rescue with a whole row of shopping carts and lined them up to the people who had been waiting in line and it completely blocked off the "cutters'.......There were about 100-200 ppl getting ready to swarm the doors at the last minute, mgmt caught on to it.....and rescued us weather ppl .......Maybe you could talk to the store about putting up some shopping carts or something like that????

Wish our WM would do that.. I didn't even go there last year due to the craziness there. Just before the door opens there's as much ppl in the lot as there is in the lines. They rush as well as the whole back of the line pushing forward. Everyone gets smashed and a lot of ppl get knocked down. The whole time the WM employees stand inside the door just before unlocking it and watch, yet they do nothing but open up. I'm sure there's not a whole lot they can do but, they can give something a shot.

[brynnfromtheblock]

My worst experience with this is at BB..... last year we were like 7th line, and the line stretched down the side of the building, but instead of wrapping around the back of the building, they lined up around the parking lot so that the end of the line was basically right in front of the doors, just a little further out. Of course when the doors opened those people (who from here on out I will refer to as the stupid people) ran for it and caused a huge melee. We had a ticket thank god... but the stupid people were not smart enough to get there early so they were also not smart enough to realize that you needed a ticket and they pushed their way inside the store to where the items were and were screaming at the employees. The employees hadn't planned well either and had you follow footsteps printed on the floor in different colors to the items you wanted... so you followed the path, but it just weaved its way around the store back to almost where we started and by then there was an ocean of stupid people... They finally yelled out for the people with tickets to come up and we had to push our way through to the front all the time getting shoves from the stupid people..... The only saving grace was they were ringing up the 149.00 desktops in the loading area and once you went in you rang it up and went out the back door (it was only bad if you wanted something else).

[TENIA66]

maybe the could pass out numbered tickets for the limited number items at walmart, and general colored tickets, like 300 pink tickets, then 300 yellow, then 300 blue....and so on. when the doors open, let in only those with the color, wait three minutes, next group, three more minutes, next group.....

[Cheryll]

To Andrea in NY- I feel your pain ,have had a similiar circumstance. yuck! Have to stand your ground~ C.

[pogiporkchop]

I haven't had that problem with any line I've been in, it was all orderly and people were in a good mood. Last year I decided to wait in line at CC over WalMart, and I'm glad I did... when I got home I saw on the news video of the stampede at the Grandville Mi. store. I still have the newspaper article on it, in fact... pretty sad if you ask me. Sure I want a number of those hot deals, but I'm not going to be fighting for them.

[keith_dude]

I was 2nd in line last year standing next to a walmart employee's wife. We stood next to each other as we went through the door.

 

About 30 minutes before opening people started showing up and just not even trying to get in line--just gathering as a crowd by the door. I kept talking louder and louder saying stuff like "boy...I'm glad I'm up here because of these rude line jumpers...."

 

 

On a side note, the guy got a phone call about 10 minutes before opening to tell me exactly where the laptops were. I sprinted straight to them, and the stack of about 20 was gone w/in about 30 seconds.

[sleepyshopper]

The way I see it is if people want to be rude and try to cut the line....then I am rude right back. We have a large group that goes shopping on BF (including men) and none of us are shy about telling people/stopping people from jumping the line. We even make sure those around us get in with no problem, and they are more then happing to lend a hand grabbing what we need. Can't we all just have fun??

[dissident]

I've got no problem with somebody selling their place in line, but I do have problem with people cutting in front of me. I would have been furious. But that's what makes it fun though too :)