Black Friday

Black Friday retail discounts began before the official Black Friday this year. Across the valley, the first of November marked the celebration of lower prices. Retailers in Arizona experienced a 0.5% mark-up in profit.
I had the pleasure of watching over hundreds of people wait outside a WalMart on Bell Road, in North Phoenix. My father is the overnight stocker at store #1598 and he arrived for work at 10:00 pm to find around 50 people waiting by the sliding doors. By midnight, the line had grown to form a circle around the store. The store was originally scheduled to be open for 24 hours but the store had to close down for about an hour while WalMart called for more associates to work. WalMart offered laptops, cameras, school supplies, food, books, and other merchandise for dirt cheap prices. Once the doors opened at about 1:00 pm, WalMart was packed. The story went crazy and my dad was forced to clock out because he couldn't finish his work
because of the situation.
How is it that with the nation's economy, people are continuing to buy and buy? Although it was good for WalMart, the crazy scene prevented the overnight stockers from doing their job and many WalMart associates were forced to give up their Thanksgiving to work. Is there a better way to handle Black Friday?

~zippy92