Tis’ the season to be nice

Small Business Saturday on November 24 looked like it was well-received by a lot of people. I haven’t seen First Street that packed on a Saturday in a long time. Cars lined the street, causing some to spill over into the side streets for the morning and majority of the afternoon.

It was good to see.

Watching the news reports about the Black Friday frenzy, I couldn’t help but feel sorry. I felt sorry for shoppers in the larger cities. I’m sure they are normally nice people, but that day transforms them into Black Friday crazies.

I felt sorry for the oblivious shoppers who had gone to the big box stores for milk and were trampled in the stampede of shoppers fighting for a new tv or wireless earbuds.

I felt sorry for said milk-shopper who had to wait an hour to check out due to the insane long lines.

But I especially felt sorry for the employees of these big-city stores. Not only are they working hours crazier than the shoppers themselves, but they’re not able to partake in the madness that is Black Friday. They bare the brunt of every shopper’s impatience from standing in line and/or their anger over not winning the wrestling match for the latest gaming station.

During “the most wonderful time of year”, people are less than wonderful. They can be downright mean and nasty. I know. Before coming to the Messenger, I worked as an Operations Manager for a large retail store in the metro area. Some of the anger people displayed during the “season of giving” is seared into my memory.

One woman screamed at me, inches from my face, because we ran out of gift boxes. Another man verbally assaulted one of the cashiers for not ringing him out fast enough.

So, this holiday season and always, be nice to the cashier. Be kind to the waiter or waitress. (That one is especially important.) Even if you’ve had a long day, don’t take it out on the sales person, because chances are, their days are even longer than yours.