Corinne Wittig
Staff Writer
As Thanksgiving approaches, so does Black Friday. It seems that these days the cleverly named event has reached holiday status and families spend as much time preparing for it as they do planning their Thanksgiving holiday. Without a doubt, the hustle and bustle of this holiday isn’t only overwhelming for the consumer, but for the sales associates as well. This is true for the stores of Naperville as well.
Most of us can relate; The Friday after Thanksgiving you wake up at the crack of dawn to venture out into complete chaos. You drive to multiple stores, you push through crowds of crazed shoppers, you search through endless merchandise, and you wait in long lines. Finally as noon rolls around, your Black Friday adventure ends and you are ready for a cup of coffee or nap.
“Every year, I go Black Friday shopping with my mom,” said senior Kerby Kniss. “We always wake up around five at the latest and don’t really stop shopping until early afternoon. Part of our tradition definitely includes a relaxing afternoon.”
Imagine enduring the chaos of Black Friday all day. Better yet, imagine working as an employee of a store in the midst of the Black Friday events.
For the individuals working on Black Friday, the preparation for this day begins before the actual date. First and foremost, having the store in order is a priority in the retail world. Kristen Nelson, former Gilly Hicks employee says, “To prepare we made sure the store was perfectly organized the night before and then didn’t open our doors again until the night of Thanksgiving. This way we could focus on the customer more than preparing the day of”.
Other large chain stores follow the trendas well. “This year all Gap stores nationwide are opening early evening on Thanksgiving,” said Addison VanHise, a Gap Inc. sales associate. “This is why we are pushing the product on the floor on that Wednesday. Unlike the past, we are now going to be open from 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving til 11 p.m. on Black Friday.”
[metaslider id=2981]The groundwork does not stop there. “As a small business we cannot really afford to deeply discount our merchandise like the big box stores do. However, we make sure the store is fully stocked and looks great for the day.” said Alexa Schwers, a Two Bostons employee.
In addition, promoting specials and providing a great shopping experience for the customer is essential in creating a successful Black Friday for most stores. Small businesses, like Bella Caley offer snacks and refreshments like coffee or hot chocolate. “We began playing holiday music, and made sure there was plenty of signage on the front door and around the store” said sales associate, Kaitlyn Jacob.
Often times, large business take a more customer friendly attitude for this day as well. “We took more of a customer approach in order to help them find things since it was way more crowded and we knew where things were. So the process of getting them in and out with what they wanted was quicker,” says Nelson.
No matter how far in advance stores prepare for this epic day, there are still some minor issues the store faces. “Some challenges include dealing with the large crowds and agitated people. There were actually some fights between customers when we were running low on stock. So that was an extra precaution we had to take that we wouldn’t on a normal day”, mentions Nelson.
Other hiccups include competition. “Some challenges we face concern our big box store competitors,” says Schwers.
Although there are some trials and tribulations in working on Black Friday, there are some positives. “Sometimes how busy it can be in general, made a 10 hour work shift go by extremely quick. There is always something to do and always someone help”, says Nelson.
There is no arguing that Black Friday is a big deal for consumer and sales employee alike. No matter what side of the coin you are on in this situation, it is clear that preparation is essential.
