The main aspects often involve extreme consumer behavior. This includes long waits like people camping outside stores for days. There's also the aspect of intense competition, with shoppers fighting over items. And then the over - purchasing due to great deals, where people buy more than they need without thinking clearly.
Well, for one story, there was a store where a highly - anticipated new gadget was on sale at a really low price on Black Friday. People were so eager to get it that they broke down the doors when the store opened. It was chaos. In another instance, a shopper got so caught up in the Black Friday frenzy that they ended up buying five of the same item just because they were such a 'good deal'. And there have been cases where people have actually fought over the last item on a shelf, like two customers tugging at a TV set, which is really crazy behavior.
One memorable crazy story is when a store's website crashed due to an overwhelming number of people trying to access the Black Friday deals online. People were refreshing the page constantly but couldn't get through. Another is that in a toy store, parents were literally climbing over shelves to get to the hottest toys for their kids. It was chaos. There was also a case where a customer accidentally grabbed the wrong item in the rush and didn't realize until they got home, but they decided to keep it anyway because it was a good deal.
One crazy Black Friday story is about people camping outside a store days in advance. They set up tents, brought sleeping bags, and were all ready to be the first ones in when the store opened. There were long lines that snaked around the block. Another story is of a store where the rush was so intense that a display got knocked over as people were scrambling for the discounted items. And in some places, there have been reports of minor scuffles between customers who were both after the last of a highly - desired item.
I heard of a Black Friday where a toy store had a super - rare collectible doll on sale. Parents were going crazy for it. There was a father who actually camped outside the store for two nights just to make sure he got it for his daughter. When the store opened, he sprinted towards the doll section and got the last one. He said it was all worth it to see the look on his daughter's face.
During one of their tours, they got lost on the way to a gig. They ended up in a small town where they were completely unrecognized at first. But as soon as the word got out that Black Sabbath was there, the whole town basically shut down as everyone flocked to see them. They ended up playing an impromptu show in a local bar, which was a really wild and crazy experience for both the band and the townspeople.
Many employees mentally prepare themselves before Black Friday. They know it's going to be crazy, so they go in with a positive attitude. They might think of the day as a challenge rather than a nightmare. In my experience as a Black Friday employee at an electronics store, I told myself that every difficult customer was just a test of my patience and customer service skills. And when I started looking at it that way, the stress seemed more manageable.
There are also stories of employees cheating on Black Friday. For instance, some employees might hold back the best deals for themselves or their friends before the official store opening time. This is unfair to the regular customers who have been waiting in line for hours in the cold, expecting a fair chance at the best bargains.
One horror story is the stampedes that sometimes occur. People are so eager to get into stores for the best deals that they push and shove. I heard of a case where an elderly person got knocked down and injured in the chaos outside a big - box store.