Boot Camp Before the Blitz
Retailers Ready Their Workers for 'Black Friday,' the Post-Thanksgiving Rush
Corey Womack, with Nesha Brooks, left, and Donna Strickland, plays the role of frantic customer in Best Buy's Black Friday training at Potomac Yard.
(By Carol Guzy -- The Washington Post)
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Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Madness reigned at the Best Buy at the Potomac Yard shopping center in Alexandria the other morning. And 27-year-old Shawn Tillery was caught in the middle of it.
One person grabbed an armload of CDs while another tried to stuff Nintendo's new Wii gaming console into his shopping cart. A poster was nearly knocked to the ground.
"My cart got stolen," a voice wailed.
"Traffic jam!" another person called out.
"I know y'all got some PS3s in the back," someone else yelled at Tillery accusingly.
Early Friday morning, stores will be opening their doors to determined hordes of bargain hunters. When the shoppers rush in, what's a poor salesperson to do?
Tillery just laughed out loud.
He could afford to, surrounded as he was by role-playing co-workers. Some played shoppers, others played beleaguered salespeople, all part of Best Buy's strategy to train front-line employees for the annual onslaught of shoppers who lay siege to its stores the day after Thanksgiving. Some of the employees were veterans, but others were seasonal, facing the holiday assault for the first time.
"Until you experience one," said Cindy Wojnar, a Best Buy training manager, "people never grasp what's about to occur."
Employee Pamela Murray, a 46-year-old Forrestville resident who was playing the role of a customer, said she hoped those zealous shoppers would keep one thing in mind:
"We're not here to fight," she said. "We're here to serve."
The day after Thanksgiving earned its moniker of Black Friday because it marked the day when retailers traditionally went from being in debt to making money -- going from the red to the black. The day has now become the symbolic kickoff to the holiday season, when retailers open their doors early and unleash blockbuster discounts. The National Retail Federation, a trade group, estimates more than 137 million people will go shopping between Friday and Sunday.
