118 replies to this topic

[len_mullen]

Stores should give out 'gift cards' to people wanting big ticket items. Each card would have a unique id. When a person wanted an item, the store would assign the item to the card id (hand help terminal). They would give out more numbers than there was merchandise for each item. Once a card went through the register, unpurchased items would be assigned to the next highest card, "We still have a 50 inch plasma door buster if you are interested." this would discourage selling of cards and allow for equitable and organized distribution of unclaimed merchandise -- win for those in line and the store's bottom line.

[cheryl65]

I wish all advertised items could be purchased online. Otherwise, i think having all items advertid=sed and having a good supply of all items advertised. For big ticket items i think handing out tickets is a great idea. Small free gifts are always appreciated as well as a holiday atmosphere and friendly staff.

[NCBeachBaby]

I don't think I would change a thing. Every year I go to BF I get everything all of you are asking for. Sams Club has a full breakfast buffet here every yr for their customers. Our BestBuy had portojohns & tents setup w/ heaters. Old Navy last yr. had those free mp3 players w/ any $20 purchase - while waiting in line a girl walked out with tickets handed all of us one saying that they were to guarantee us a mp3 player. I have also been on the other side of those cash registers on BF for many yrs. And I'll tell ya, it is more hair-pulling being the cashier than the customer IMO. So, I honestly don't think I would change anything. All the hustle & bustle is what makes BF. It honestly gets me more into the holiday spirit.

[iliketoys]

1)post in ad how many of the (limited) products listed in ads 2)Reward those of us that camp out in front of the stores with coupons for the coveted items 3) Rope off area so that when the doors open, the ones that just get there can't shove their way in front of the ones that have been there many hours

[SuperMommy]

DH is a store manager at a store in our local outlet mall. For years they have opened at 6 am. However, many of the stores don't even have specific BF sales. This year they have decided to open at 12am. They are calling it a "Moonlight Madness Sale". As a BF shopper I have tried to talk to him and he has relayed this message many times to mall management. Most are in line at BB, CC, etc. at 12 am. I have told him that most go to these sales, go home by 12pm , eat and are ready to get back out later that evening. So, if they had a "moonlight madness sale" from 6pm BF to 12am they would get more customers. This way BF shoppers could go to these other stores that have their sales in the early morning, go home, eat & rest, then get back out when they're re-energized.

[jcarr492]

I would also like to see pedicures and manicures with massages!!!!!!! It takes a LOT of work and toll on ones body using our hands for grabbing, and paying, etc and all that standing around waiting for the stores to open then RUNNING for what your after...yeah...an end of shopping day body massage complete with a manicure and pedicure compliments of all the businesses would be fantastic!!! LOLOLOLOL

[kselzer]

store employees &/or security watching the line and handing out tickets. Also figuring out a way so that tickets could not be bought/sold/traded/etc would be a great help so that the people that have been waiting forever get what they want. Also donuts and coffee/hot chocolate/cider in line is awesome! One store did both things a few years back and it was a great experience

[theboyzmom]

I don't think I would change a thing. Every year I go to BF I get everything all of you are asking for. Sams Club has a full breakfast buffet here every yr for their customers. Our BestBuy had portojohns & tents setup w/ heaters. Old Navy last yr. had those free mp3 players w/ any $20 purchase - while waiting in line a girl walked out with tickets handed all of us one saying that they were to guarantee us a mp3 player. I have also been on the other side of those cash registers on BF for many yrs. And I'll tell ya, it is more hair-pulling being the cashier than the customer IMO. So, I honestly don't think I would change anything. All the hustle & bustle is what makes BF. It honestly gets me more into the holiday spirit.

you are VERY lucky! none of our stores have EVER done any of this

I've worked MANY BFs as a cashier...I KNOW how hard it is, but it isn't that hard to smile and that alone will sometimes take care of stress...

[setlok73]

I believe that all stores should do a ticketing system. You see the news about the fights and stampedes and such. If you have a ticket its much more orderly. Also they need to have more security to keep people from pushing and shoving. Each store should post the number of big ticket items on their door so that when people show up at 2 in them morning and there are only 10 <enter item here> and the line goes around the corner and down the side of the building, they don't waste their time thinking they might actually get one. There should be benefits specific to those that frequent that store throughout the year. If you are a BB rewards customer and have X number of points, there should be exclusive specials for just those people.

[BFAddict716]

1. Let the ads out already…I don’t see what the big secret is! Don’t you want people exciting and looking forward to going to your store? 2. Have plenty of registers open please! 3. Maps of where hot items are awesome. My Walmart did that last year and we loved it! No guessing or missing items if they are in a different department. 4. I know it’s hard to do with the stress of the day but have employees actually know where the stuff and lines are. Heck, make them maps…and while you’re at it make some copies for us too! 5. Price match! I do not want to wait in the line at Best Buy for hours just for a couple of Dvds…which is why Walmart’s price matching rocks! 6. Afternoon sales! I can’t be at 10 stores at once so I think some stores (especially malls, etc.) would benefit from having sales from like noon to five. That way you can still get the deals but can do so later in the day without rushing from place to place like a nut and still not having enough time! 7. MESH BAGS!!! Carts are a pain and baskets are hard to move around as well as hard on the wrist. I’d love to bring my own if you want but the whole shop lifting thing comes into play so hand out bags when people enter and then collect them at the registers. …If I could only pick one of these it would be number 7! It would be soooo amazing to throw a big bag over my shoulder and shop, so seriously think about it please !

[nebraskaparkfan]

1. ads with number of items available, or at least the minimum number since it is difficult for stores to plan this far in advance 2. don't shoot me for this one - no babies in strollers. It's plain out dangerous. B/t getting rammed wtih them and people tripping over them. and if it's below 0, don't wait in line with them! 3. price matching 4. roping off the area to stop the line cutting. 5. WM needs to do something different with the big tickets item. last year, our store had 3 different places to stand in line. 4 items had lines in the tire area (the tv we wanted was one of them), another in personnel - nintendo ds, ipon and 2 other items, and a third area for yet different doorbusters. I understand how it reduces the number of people in line, but we had to take 3 people last year to stand in line for what we wanted. 6. more check out lines!!!! -- I don't even go to menards anymore b/c it takes close to 2 hours to check out. 7. express checkout for those of us who have either under 10 or under 5 items. Lots of times, I go into the store just to get a couple things, but it isn't worth it for the wait in line. 8. goodies in line is great. I've been to stores wher they pass out candy canes.

[boblabontefan]

Just dreaming here.... I was watching Food Network last night and the show that was on had a grocery store that had an interactive computer on the cart. As you went through the store you scanned in your own items and it kept a running total. When you were finished you just plugged into the self serve check out and paid the computer (cash, credit, debit, etc.) Having something along these lines would be awsome for BF.... Pick up your doorbuster and scan it in yourself then go to the check out line with your scanner and items, pay and you are out the door!

[cambo357]

yes, this would be awesome. I remember a grocery store where they gave you a slip of paper and you wrote down your items and price as you shopped, then they just totaled that up. however, we know that there would def be those less than honest who would put items in the cart and not scan them. with the future of RFID, this could very much be likely in the future.

[guilliam]

1. More pre-Black Friday Sales like Walmart has done in the past. 2. When they do hand out a map of the doorbuster locations, make sure the item is in that location in the store!! (Our Walmart is BAD about not putting stuff in the right place) 3. Don't let ANYONE have the doorbusters UNTIL the specified sale start time!! (Last year one of the managers at our Walmart had his wife in the store and was going around getting the stuff for her that they wanted around 4am. This caused a big uproar, because when they got into the pjs, everyone decided to get them and by 5am, they were all gone:() 4. LOTS of the ad items 5. Put items in the ad that people actually want 6. Make the sales IRRESITIBLE!!! (cheap prices!!) With the economy the way it is, the cheaper the price, the more I will buy!! I will probably spend more money if the prices are good (impulse buys and stuff I wouldn't normally buy but will because it is cheap) 7. I agree with bringing back layaway, even if only for a short time period.

[sns128]

My biggest suggestion is make sure all the employees know where the doorbusters are even if it's not the most popular item. I hate having to ask five different people where something is.

[saiynee]

Having more than single diget #s of a big ticket item. Seriously, either have a decent amount or don't bother doing the sale at all.

[ogadoga]

Having a map to show where thing's are would be a good start. I also like the idea of handing something out to the first 100 people or so in line. I remember getting a stuffed animal one year and it made a great stocking stuffer.

[Postal Phil]

A concierge service that while you are standing in line waiting for them to open would hold your place for a limited time so you could go use the bathroom. I would even consider a small fee for this and tipping.

[tbarry1974]

1. Release the ads early, no big secret we're all going shopping, let the excitement build, the longer you have to look, the more we may buy.

2. Security obviously placed to deter wrong doers early.

3. Maps to the locations of door buster items.

4. For the people in the frigid areas of the country - coco and or coffee in line.

5. Retailers, have all your check out lanes open and ready.

6. Door Buster items - list how many of the items you have in stock. (Maybe on the map)

7. Retailers don't put door buster items high on a shelf where nobody can reach them.

8. Retailers make aware your policy on price matching.

That's a good start, I may have more.

[dad2trips]

Porta Potties!

[laddhorn]

When I worked retail, I heard rumors about the employees being able to check out customers with their electronic ordering guns. Similar to baby/wedding registries, except the employees do it for you (2-3) to prevent theft. Then have the people pay with Credit Cards. This way, the lines would progress faster because the retailers would be able to "open" more checkout lanes. A couple of years ago, Staples would have employees walking down the checkout lines and would scan your items for you. They would print out a "receipt" and you would give this to the actual cashier. The cashier would scan a barcode on the "receipt" and the computer would bring up the whole transaction so you could pay quickly. This helped a little, but being able to pay when the employee actually scanned you would have speeded up the process even more.

[Brad]

The two t-shirt winners are: sigrist_2000 and jbdinos

Look for another contest soon

[his_lil_gemini]

wtg winners

[smangham]

Congrats!

[dmmiller]

Augh.. You can tell how out of the loop i've been.. I didnt even see this! Congrats to you both. Wear the shirt well.

[noehlp]

The two t-shirt winners are: sigrist_2000 and jbdinos

Look for another contest soon

Congratulations!!!!!!

[jenesparza]

The two t-shirt winners are: sigrist_2000 and jbdinos

Look for another contest soon

congrats you two!

[jbdinos]

I am very excited to get my shirt and I will wear it with much pride Thanks Brad for doing this.... and for Gottadeal....