2008 Woodie Awards
Walking the consumer line
Yusuf Al-Siddiq
Issue date: 12/5/05 Section: Forum
- Page 1 of 1
Six a.m.: Best Buy opened its doors and a mad rush of customers-no, consumers-hit the sales floor like there would be no tomorrow.
New employees, fresh out of white shirts, panicked as the hoards took to the checkout lines.
The first 50 customers through the doors had been there since before midnight the day before, struggling through frostbite together as they bundled up in blankets for their spots in line.
The line featured some of the most cultured shoppers, who brought enough blankets to keep a small army warm. There were also the underdressed teenagers who could not leave their place in line after hours of endurance, on principle. In between them were the mothers who had to get those Nintendo DS games before they sold out.
For those of you who were there, you know they were the craziest.
Normally I would be on the other side of the wall.
By the end of the day I would be a disgruntled retail associate sifting through all of the malice these "consumers" could throw at me, but now I was number 15.
That's right, me.
I showed up at Best Buy store No. 39 at 10 p.m. and endured the late November gusts not only for a cheap computer but also for the experience.
I arrived thinking it was every man for himself. However, as the night rolled through, I began to realize the common goal we all shared.
It was to make it through the night.
We shared laughs, stories and some even shared blankets.
And in the end, none of us faltered.
By the time the doors rolled open we were all through with our battle.
Nov. 25 was under our thumb; every bit of the weight was lifted from the retail nightmare known as "Black Friday."
Our battle was won within ourselves. We could fight our way through the crowds with a smile on our faces knowing we'd made it.
What hit home the hardest was after the night was through, neighbors in line together fended for each other.
It reminds me of an "Independence Day" quote by John Dickinson: "Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall."
Sure, we were all there to spend, and there were limited supplies and some quarrels.
But if you ask anyone from that line, they would say the experiences they gained were well worth the trip.
If we did not learn the true value of community then, we probably never would.
yal-siddiq@unews.com
New employees, fresh out of white shirts, panicked as the hoards took to the checkout lines.
The first 50 customers through the doors had been there since before midnight the day before, struggling through frostbite together as they bundled up in blankets for their spots in line.
The line featured some of the most cultured shoppers, who brought enough blankets to keep a small army warm. There were also the underdressed teenagers who could not leave their place in line after hours of endurance, on principle. In between them were the mothers who had to get those Nintendo DS games before they sold out.
For those of you who were there, you know they were the craziest.
Normally I would be on the other side of the wall.
By the end of the day I would be a disgruntled retail associate sifting through all of the malice these "consumers" could throw at me, but now I was number 15.
That's right, me.
I showed up at Best Buy store No. 39 at 10 p.m. and endured the late November gusts not only for a cheap computer but also for the experience.
I arrived thinking it was every man for himself. However, as the night rolled through, I began to realize the common goal we all shared.
It was to make it through the night.
We shared laughs, stories and some even shared blankets.
And in the end, none of us faltered.
By the time the doors rolled open we were all through with our battle.
Nov. 25 was under our thumb; every bit of the weight was lifted from the retail nightmare known as "Black Friday."
Our battle was won within ourselves. We could fight our way through the crowds with a smile on our faces knowing we'd made it.
What hit home the hardest was after the night was through, neighbors in line together fended for each other.
It reminds me of an "Independence Day" quote by John Dickinson: "Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall."
Sure, we were all there to spend, and there were limited supplies and some quarrels.
But if you ask anyone from that line, they would say the experiences they gained were well worth the trip.
If we did not learn the true value of community then, we probably never would.
yal-siddiq@unews.com
