Black Friday

I'm not a HUGE fan of Black Friday because of the consumer mentality that has made it what it is, however I am cheap ... which means that if there is something I'm looking for, or wanting to purchase for Christmas ... I will go out and get it at the best price!

So this morning ... after only about 3 hours of sleep my mom and I ventured out. I saw the first tiny snow flakes of the season and found a few good deals! Here's a couple observations from the day...

#1 - Hospitality. Let's face it - everyone is tired ... shoppers and retailers and its early in the morning, but hospitality still goes a long way. We were at 2 different Wal-Marts before 8a this morning. At store number 1 we had a TERRIBLE experience, and I mean TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE. There were cops patrolling the aisles, including one on a bike. The store is brand new and had taken the opportunity to hide "doorbuster" items in the nooks and crannies of it causing complete frustration and chaos. And because they had hidden the items the employees were unable to help frustrated shoppers find items ... to say the least, it was utter chaos.

At store number 2 items were near their normal locations, the employees were helpful and there were lots of them! There was no need for the cops because the store had things well under control ... they were friendly, greeted you at the door, and were more than helpful in helping find items. To say the least ... a smile went a long way this morning :-)

#2 - Early Hours. There's a widely held belief that 4-5am is PACKED and CHAOTIC ... well we always head out a little after 5 and (other than the TERRIBLE Wal-Mart experience) crowds weren't bad, people know exactly what they're looking for and lines move fast ... simply because the serious shoppers with a plan are the ones out at this time. The trouble seems to arise when the "gazers" arrive between 9 and 10a ... these are the people who think they missed the crowds and are now out to shop and look at items ... they have no plan.

So my advice ... go early and go to stores you are familiar with (you know they have good management, friendly people, etc)

So all in all ... did we get some good deals??? YES!!!

Bath Towels for $2, 4gig photo cards for $8, some great deals on clothes and much more!

Hope you had fun today! Anyone else find good deals?

Now, I'm heading to bed!