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Black Friday madness at Wal-Mart
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NATHAN SUNDERLAND -- nsunderland@uvsj.com
REXBURG -- Hundreds of shoppers waited in front of Wal-Mart for this year's Black Friday in one of the longest lines Wal-Mart managers had ever seen.
The line stretched from the front doors, through the parking lot, onto the sidewalk, reaching all the way back to Kentucky Fried Chicken and then back up into the parking lot.
The first person to arrive at Wal-Mart was C.B. Brown, who was later joined by his wife, Tonya.
"I started the line at about 12:30 last night," said C.B. "We're most interested in the toys and game systems for our children."
The majority of the shoppers arrived between 4 and 5 a.m.
It was a long wait for many people, but for the most part, shoppers were civil and even kind to each other. One family even dedicated their time to giving out hats and hot chocolate to those waiting in line.
Bonnie Bowen and her family started a tradition five years ago.
"Every Black Friday, we load up into our motor home and 'camp' in the Wal-Mart parking lot," said Bowen. "At about 3 a.m. my girls and I start giving out hot chocolate and hats to those people standing at the front of the line. People get very cold in these lines, and so it's nice to help out."
Bowen and her family start making woolen hats about three weeks in advance.
But civility and kindness were not on everyone's mind.
Fifteen minutes before the doors were opened, a large group of approximately 100 people decided they didn't want to wait in line.
These individuals gathered in groups near the front of the line hoping to "rush" the door as soon as it opened. While no direct confrontations took place, some people in line got angry. Shouts of "Cheaters!" and "Get to the back of the line!" were some of the milder comments thrown at those trying to rush the door.
Wal-Mart security attempted to block the "cheaters" by creating a wall of shopping carts, but when the doors opened, many of the people who at been in the parking lot for only minutes still got into the store before those who had been in line for hours.
Wal-Mart was packed with people within five minutes of opening the doors. Mike Bollard, the manager of the Rexburg Wal-Mart, said the store was fully equipped to handle all the people, and that a full complement of staff was on hand to help customers.
REXBURG -- Hundreds of shoppers waited in front of Wal-Mart for this year's Black Friday in one of the longest lines Wal-Mart managers had ever seen.
The line stretched from the front doors, through the parking lot, onto the sidewalk, reaching all the way back to Kentucky Fried Chicken and then back up into the parking lot.
The first person to arrive at Wal-Mart was C.B. Brown, who was later joined by his wife, Tonya.
"I started the line at about 12:30 last night," said C.B. "We're most interested in the toys and game systems for our children."
The majority of the shoppers arrived between 4 and 5 a.m.
It was a long wait for many people, but for the most part, shoppers were civil and even kind to each other. One family even dedicated their time to giving out hats and hot chocolate to those waiting in line.
Bonnie Bowen and her family started a tradition five years ago.
"Every Black Friday, we load up into our motor home and 'camp' in the Wal-Mart parking lot," said Bowen. "At about 3 a.m. my girls and I start giving out hot chocolate and hats to those people standing at the front of the line. People get very cold in these lines, and so it's nice to help out."
Bowen and her family start making woolen hats about three weeks in advance.
But civility and kindness were not on everyone's mind.
Fifteen minutes before the doors were opened, a large group of approximately 100 people decided they didn't want to wait in line.
These individuals gathered in groups near the front of the line hoping to "rush" the door as soon as it opened. While no direct confrontations took place, some people in line got angry. Shouts of "Cheaters!" and "Get to the back of the line!" were some of the milder comments thrown at those trying to rush the door.
Wal-Mart security attempted to block the "cheaters" by creating a wall of shopping carts, but when the doors opened, many of the people who at been in the parking lot for only minutes still got into the store before those who had been in line for hours.
Wal-Mart was packed with people within five minutes of opening the doors. Mike Bollard, the manager of the Rexburg Wal-Mart, said the store was fully equipped to handle all the people, and that a full complement of staff was on hand to help customers.
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BIG D wrote on Dec 2, 2008 8:42 PM:
People standing in line for hours and a group comes up 10 minutes before the doors open and cut them all off??
What is wrong with you people?
Why the heck are you getting up so early to stand out in the cold?
Use your heads next time. Seriously, just walk in. Other than sociatal norms what's keeping you back? "