Your Favorite Black Friday '06 Moment(s)

[sns128]

My best was probably last year at Wal-Mart, DH and my brother were both going for the big screen tv's. My brother is 6'3 and all legs so he made it back there first for a ticket and then DH was the second person. Funniest part was DH didn't realize my brother had gotten a ticket so we could have gotten two tv's but the woman who was waiting in line in front of us for the tv didn't get a ticket so DH gave her his ticket.

[nick_jenni_jocelyn]

mine has nothing to do with a deal but I was embarrassed, lol.

 

I was walking into Fred's and there was 3 older ladies walking behind me when all of a sudden i fell. 8 months pg and i fell, i couldnt believe it. My feet were so swollen i could barely get them into my shoes and when i did, i wasnt able to tie them, but i still wore them since they were the only things that fit.

 

the older ladies ran up to me to make sure I was ok and asked if i needed other assistance. I told them no since my MIL was parking the car. and they about FREAKED out when they saw that i was very much pg. they tried to get me to call an ambulance, but i insisted that i was fine.

 

and i continued to look around like something had jumped up and grabbed me, making me fall when i knew exactly why i fell, lol.

[disneynutangie]

For 2006 it was the fact I was able to go with my very best friend. Watching everyone act surprised at the line wrapped around the building at BB about 30 minutes before opening time.

 

Prior to that would be about 14 years ago when I just got my driver license. It was me, mom, grandma, cousin and I was the driver. I pulled up to get grandma and took off before she was in the call completely. She was yelling at me to stop and afterwords we laughed like crazy. She never let me live that down. That was also the same year people seemed to care more about the free doughnuts.

[jellybean051901]

We were the the third goup in line at walmart last year. We didn't want to get the big TV but some of the people right behind us wanted it. There was also a group of kids behind us that were acting like jerks that were also after the TV. We let the nice couple in front of us and when the doors opened us and two other guys in front of us lined us and took are time getting in the store blocking the kids behind us so that the people who had been waiting all night got the TVs...I forgot to add that the kids had someone holding their spot and did not get in line until 3 or so. They got so mad at us. By the time they finally get around us they started running and a couple fell right on there faces. I found it quite humerous.

[jellybean051901]

Story #2--we waited in line all night and at 4 a woman and her son came up to the line and kind of slowly scooted in infront of us. Of course we were carefully watching them. My sister said something to them about having to wait at the back of the line but they ignored her. Finally my sister informed those around us of what was going on and after seeing a not friendly crowd the people got in their car and left. Good thing too because there probably would have been a fight

[bayhaysay]

We were standing in line at the Sears backdoor for hours so we could get the $10 GC's (they weren't giving them away at the front line). The doorbuster MP3 player we wanted was closer to the front door so when we got our cards we literally sprinted to the front of the store and got the last MP3 player they had.

[Melissa]

Finding a couple pallets full of those 24" Bratz dolls at Walmart and getting the exact ones I wanted. I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to get any. A small thing, but it made me happy.

[mystikal1]

At Best Buy in Vegas last year some parents left a child of about 10 in line with some stuff and some guy took a monitor from him, the parents came back and started to yell @ him and the electronics manager seen the kid starting to cry so he gave them a better one for the BF price. Made my wife and I instant and loyal fans of that Best Buy, also we bought one of the cheap desktops for MIL but switched out the monitor and it wound up being cheaper than the original deal by about $35.

[dealluvr]

when we got to our wamart we were about 20th in line too late for a ticket to get a tv but people in front of us had lawn chairs and had a dvd player that they plugged into wal marts power and we watched movies the whole time

[cherry33778]

Well last year I was at Walmart when I realized I lost my Credit Card and at the worst possible time, in the checkout line So I tumbled my car upside down, then drove all the way home, got a flashlight and found it underneath my seat. Then I drove back, got some of my list items (not all), and continued my shopping. But man, talk about a heart attack at 5 a.m.

[jellybean051901]

The people in front of us had a little propane heater thing to keep everyone warm. Even the cops were gathered around

[Kanyon71]

Last year the BB near us had police to keep control. We went up to get a 50" Plasma well the line was HUGE at 11pm already and my wife was feeling horrible. So I decided that her health was more important then a TV, so we went home. She slept for a little while then woke me up and said she felt much better so we should go back to BB. We get back to the store and the tickets for the TV we wanted had already been passed out. We decided to wait in line anyway to get some other things. Well we ended up in a huge jumble of people (not sure how this started as we where just standing in line). So the police start letting in X amount of people into the store as others leave. People are being VERY rude and pushing and shoving, there was a policewoman who was getting a tad bit cranky telling people to back off. The whole time we just stood there in line and moved forward as allowed. Well our time finally comes to go in the store and a bunch of people cut between my wife and myself and I end up getting in the store.

 

Well I just decided that I would wait for her, as I'm standing there the policewoman walks up and asks me who I'm waiting for (another lady right next to me had the same issue with her husband) so I tell her what happened and she says she'll take care of it. We stand there talking for a few minutes and she turns out to be pretty cool, well she opens the door and says my wifes name and this other ladies husbands name and tells them to come in the store. This one guy who had been a jerk in line the whole time we stood there tells the policewoman that if shes letting them in he's going in also. She tells him no your not and when he gets snippy she tells him you can go to the very end of the line and shut your mouth, she could take him to jail for disorderly conduct, or if he felt big enough he could push his way in and the two VERY large policemen behind all of us would be happy to deal with him in a not so polite manner. :)

 

While all of this is going on the manager asks me what where there for, I tell him, he says all the tickets are gone but that he could get me the TV the next day and he would even waive the $50 fee. We ended up buying many things there some on our list and some that ticket people had just abandoned around the store. All in all it was pretty fun we ended up going to Target and Wal-Mart and getting everything we wanted.

[nedsw33]

The people in front of us had a little propane heater thing to keep everyone warm. Even the cops were gathered around

gotta love that! at least they were nice enough to share the heat!

[LuvyDuvy]

well my most memorable black friday is from 2000.... and as a Toys R Us employee, not a shopper.....

 

So there I was.....20 yrs old and BF ignorant. I got my orders to be at work at midnight (thanksgiving day) and I would be working until Noon the next day. I remember thinking that was crazy, we were going to be sooooo dead... turns out the store wasn't dead, but I nearly was!

 

We're talking the year of Tickle Me Elmo, Amazing Amanda and the PSII!!!! Apparently the inside joke was to let the newbie(s) open the door..... I opened and RAN as fast as I could towards the back stockroom. The mob was at my heels and I remember thinking these people are NUTS.... I ended up getting shoved chest first into a T-Rack of shirts and flew OVER the hotwheel bed full of hotwheels, knocking it and me down to the ground, I was brusied for weeks.....

 

After the initial rush there was a moment's peace... but just a moment. The Mountain bike doorbuster had sold out in the morning and this Man (father I'm presuming) caught a glimpse of one in our bike stockroom as he passed by... I was the unfortunate soul to be nearby. He wanted that bike, however, it had been returned and marked as defective days earlier and I could NOT sell him that bike, I even grabbed (literally YANKED, lol poor guy) my manager as he was walking by as back-up. We could NOT sell that bike, but offered a better bike for that price. This guy is yelling and screaming and pointing his finger in my face and then he does the most horrible thing. He spits in my face. My manager (who did have a soft spot for me) grabbed that man ( I loathe to consider him a father) and dragged his sorry behind out of that store......and then put me on a register (hello, that was waaaaay worse! lol)

 

Now, that was my horrible story, the best story is taking my sis shopping with me last year, she called me a crazy psyco the whole time, but the other day she asked if we were going again this year....

 

and I know to stay away from TRU!!!

[nedsw33]

WOW... i think i'm speechless after that one. i can't BELIEVE he SPIT on you!!! oh man, it would've been ALL OVER for me at that point... haha! yikes! i applaud your self control.

[carolannec]

Last year I visited my family in North Carolina. I wanted to go to Concord Mills to get the giveaway bag at midnight- I'm really glad I didn't go to that. Let's see- last year was my first year ever shopping on BF. I was thinking I was going to see yelling, screaming, punching. Everyone I saw was very pleasant. Only one lady in Gymboree was throwing a fit and pretty much everyone in line was laughing at her. When she left, everyone apologized to the cashier. That's my only interesting BF experience.

[jdrd90]

OMG He spit on you?????? So much for Christmas spirit! Although I would have to say if he had spit on me he would have been a "saprano" for a longgggg time You are a better person than I am lol. I have worked at TRU and I know what it is like, but I never had to deal with such an evil person. Good luck this year and Merry Christmas :)

[laydebug18]

my best BF moment...you can say this is my first TRUE BF becuase the year b4 me and my mom didnt really camp out like the 06 BF. We are out in front of BB like the 9-10 person. I was happy I was going to be able to get my laptop and my mom was going to get her laptop and another computer. Well, like 2 hours b4 the store opens. They bring out the tickets. Well the laptop I wanted the guy passed the whole front of the line and started in the middle and alot of the people up front were there for the same. Well we were all mad and got the manager and he was fussing at the guy for not starting in the front like he was suppost to. AND THEN they bring us hot coffee and hot chocoloate out like its was going to make me feel better. Didnt make the feel better even tho I LOVE DD Hot chocolate. Get in the laptop line because my mom has her ticket for a different laptop. The guy in front of me gets this laptop WITHOUT the tickets. So i asked her do I have to have the ticket she told me no you dont becuase they messed up. So after all the huffing and puffing (bc I was out there for 14 15 HOURS) I still got my laptop, sisters laptop, and another computer. IM on it now :D:D I was the happiest person then.

[TamTel]

I got relocated to US in the end of 2005...so, 2006 was my first BF. I usually go through Frys ads every day. But for BF, I was looking at all other stores other than Frys. I wanted to buy a 2 GB Memory Stick Pro for my Sony DC...so, first I went to CC at 7 AM and it was out of stock. Later I went to Staples and same case. Then I went to BB and same story...but luckily I found 2 GB stick lying in 1 GB shelf and felt so happy to got one. I paid 39$ for that stick and came home feeling very happy at my first BF shopping. That evening when I went to Frys, I found the same stick for 35$....4 less than what I paid in BB after 10 minutes of waiting in the line! :)

 

At that time I didn't know much about Price Match or returning the item, etc...so, my only BF purchase was a very funny moment!

[KingGreg]

Hey all. Last year, I went out to my Wichita, KS Circuit City and was able to snag some good deals. But man oh man did I sure have to fight for what I got. It was insane. People were lined up single-filed before the store opened. The employees came out about an hour before opening to hand out flyers for the big ticket items. I was upset though, because even though there was an obvious line, large groups of people began crowding the front door anyway. The employees said nothing about it, and when the store opened it was a literal mad-dash in the store. I would not be surprised if it violated fire codes...was rediculous.

 

Here is my simple plan, and is it really that hard for these retail stores to figure out. Everyone will line up early days before BF. the stores should rope off the line or maybe give out numbered bracelts. If you cut in line, you are out. Now, people camp out for the ad deals, so why not place all the ad deals in a striaght line down an aisle or two, have it roped off as well, and just as cattle are directed through a pen, have all those in line go through slowly and pick what they want. Everything has a minimum anyway, and the big stuff like tv's, you can grab a purchase ticket or something. For those people not in line for the good stuff, allow them to enter the store as usual, and they would not have access to the ad deals, as that would be roped off for the people in line. There would be no running into stores, getting pissed off and smacking another person. I know this may seem fun and the thrill for many (I don't mind it too much), but it would make everything civil and give those people who deserve it the most (the people willing to give up a day with family) the fair, unhasseled opportunity to get their deals and continue shopping.

 

Seems like such an easy plan. Oh well, I guess they work in retail for a reason...

[tdanette]

I wish WM would do that- BF05 was CRAZY b/c of the laptops! Someone is gonna get seriously hurt one of these days. Strangely though, no pushing and shoving last year *snort*

[Brad]

I think all the hot doorbuster items should be randomly placed around the store. So if there are 10 $99 laptops available, all 10 are in 10 different places throughout the store. Have it be one crazy scavenger hunt

[dmmiller]

I think all the hot doorbuster items should be randomly placed around the store. So if there are 10 $99 laptops available, all 10 are in 10 different places throughout the store. Have it be one crazy scavenger hunt

You dont shop on BF do you?

OMG, there would be shootings everywhere.

[Marcster]

I hear you about circuit city. When they started handing out the papers, I swear people jumped out of the bushes. I got into a fight with some guy who insisted he was there all night (he wasn't). Then he tried to pull the same shenanigans with the people behind me. Funny thing is that after we got in (and my wife nearly trampled) we went to Staples. There were 8 people, all nicely waiting, no pushing. It was a breath of fresh air.

That's why my wife and I do Staples, OfficeMax and Office Depot. It's a busy day, and there is a line, but I've never come across the madness you are describing.

 

Back in 2003, I went to Best Buy. Never again (but I didn't camp out).

You dont shop on BF do you?

OMG, there would be shootings everywhere.

He doesn't, actually... Somebody has to stay here and mind the servers.

[heymom]

Not on BF but a tale none the less.

 

I needed to buy 3 PS3 last year...not an easy task! I took dh and we went to Wally world on Wed morning at 8am (they were not released until the following Friday). Dang someone was already in line...that means I had to call into work....so DH and I each got in line, that meant I could get 2 of the 3 ......I called my son who live 1 hr away because the 3rd one was for him. Informed him to get here asap but he was at work and couldn't leave until noon! While we wait, 2 more people show up and get in line. This calls for serious "MOM ACTION".

 

I ran around wally world asking strangers if they wanted to make $20...the looks the men gave me was hysterical. But low and behold I found a guy willing to stand in line until my son arrived.

 

After standing there 1 hour a lady with a baby shows up and starts to yell at the poor guy. Turns out..he had left his wife and baby wandering around the store while he was in line making $20. He left out that info when he agreed to stand there. You could hear him telling her "But baby I'm making $20". He told me not to worry about it he was staying in line until my son got there! Which he did and I promptly paid him $20!

 

 

Needless to say, the people behind my son were not happy because we ended up with the last PS3 and our family had 3 of them!

[rldelo]

Favorite moment: Lucking out into a great camera deal at Staples. It was unexpected, since we weren't at the front of the line.

 

Lesson Learned: I'm a hothead, and I have to keep myself in check. If you know you are like that, too, you have to constantly remind myself that we are doing this for fun. You win a few, you lose a few, but it's all for fun. Have a more "do unto others" mentality than a "everyone for themselves" mentality, and you will get lost in the fun, too.

 

Oh, and take something nice to give your cashiers--a candy cane, a little stocking, etc.--they're always happy when I hand them something.

[mgmckny]

Ridelo, where were you the 15 years I spent in retail!!! I would have loved a customer that handed me a candy cane or even wasn't grumpy after 6am on BF. And that's in the days before everyone camped out all night...

[JazzMama]

My favorite moments were:

1. Getting everything on my list

2. Being able to check-out through the self check-out lanes in Wal-Mart and there was even an associate who stood by and did the price overrides on my matched items. It's probably the only time I checked out in less than 15 minutes on BF! Let's hope for a repeat on that this year.

[wx4svr]

You dont shop on BF do you?

OMG, there would be shootings everywhere.

You gotta admitt... sounds fun!

[stationchief]

I think all the hot doorbuster items should be randomly placed around the store. So if there are 10 $99 laptops available, all 10 are in 10 different places throughout the store. Have it be one crazy scavenger hunt

Never in my wildest dreams would I want to wish anyone to be an associate on that day. What a complete and total mess that would be. People would be looking behind things and throwing all sorts of items all over the store everywhere!