Working on "Black Friday"...

Or Blitz Friday, as Wal Mart likes to call it. Interesting. Let me just begin by saying that I was scheduled to work at 5. I had to get gas, so I left home early. Ended up getting to work around 4:30 am. The parking lot was PACKED. and we don't exactly have a small parking lot. So I parked, grabbed my water and cough drops (i'm fighting off a cold) and headed inside. I walk in the doors, and all I see is wall to wall people. Easily, 400 people crowded in just for electronics and toys. I mean, I saw little old ladies hanging on to a pallet of Dora dolls for dear life! Now, I've never been one to even go CLOSE to a retail store on this day. I mean, I've worked on Black Friday. But let me tell you that working at a drug store does NOT even compare. It took me 10 minutes to get from the front of the store to the back, where I could clock in. And people are VISCIOUS!! I kept having to flash my nametag because people were getting mad and accusing me of trying to get ahead in line. I get to the back and I hear a supervisor calling out that all cashiers must clock in IMMEDIATELY and report to the registers. Apparently, they weren't expecting a crowd this big. However, my store prepared and hired about 70 extra people for the holidays. The moment 5 am hit, and the sales started, the volume in the store raised considerably. You could HEAR people running for the registers. I looked up and had 50 people in my line within minutes. However, we were all moving fairly quickly. Really, the wait wasn't bad for people waiting. I think we had every register open. All 30 of them. There was a wait, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I was told repeatedly that I had a great attitude. I had to though. If I'd shown up really cranky and ready to have a bad day, it would have been horrible. But I showed up, determined to have fun with it. I told several people that I was grateful for the crowds. As long as people shop, I have a job! =] And the day passed really quickly. =]

We did have a couple of incidents: one lady was pushed into another ladies cart. Pushed lady turned around and sincerely apologized, and Cart Lady reeled back and punched her in the face! Goodness!! Around 10 am, we got the terrifying page: Code Adam. Missing child. Doors are sealed off and no one is allowed in or out of the building. And all available associates search. I happened to be at lunch, so I didn't join, at first. (Wal Mart considers it working off the clock). But when they couldn't find him, EVERYONE joined in the search. Strangely, the mother wasn't that concerned. About 45 heartbreaking minutes later, she suddenly remembered that she'd left the boy at home with his father. Ugh. Apparently, she wasn't "all there". I'm just glad the boy is safe.

When I got off at two, Laural and I went to the swap meet and she bought me an early christmas present: a pair of Crocs. My poor feet hurt so badly at the end of my shift that I often leave fighting tears. I don't have appropriate shoes, first of all. And I do need to get used to standing again. But I immediately changed into my Crocs and felt a little better. I'm curious to see if wearing them at work will aleviate my feet pain at all. I've talked to people who've said it will, and some who've said it won't. After the swap meet, we stopped by the house so that I could change into comfy clothes and drop off the car. We then went to Chandler mall. I got one of Clint's christmas gifts there, one at Wal Mart. I can't say what they are, because even though he teases me for "blogging", he checks this thing every once in a while =P

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. And if you were brave enough to take on the "black friday" crowds, I hope you had luck! =]