The INSIDER Summary:' Shopping on Black Friday might be tiring ' but working during Black Friday is even worse.' We sourced stories from real retail employees who've had a shift on the biggestshopping day of the year.For shoppers, Black Friday is achance to get some major savings (and maybe feel like you're participating in a real-life version of the Hunger Games.)But for employees, Black Friday is the most dreaded shift of the entire year ' a day full of sleep-deprived, touchycustomers, insane hours, and (in some cases)the risk of bodily injury.Of course, with managers always monitoring performance, employees usually can'texpress their Black Friday frustrations out loud. That's why INSIDER found outwhat Black Friday reallylooks like from behind the register.Wespoke with some former retail employees and gotno-holds-barred talesfrom the front lines. Though INSIDER cannot independently verify all of these tales, you'll be shocked by these horror stories.Here's a sampling of thecraziest anecdotes."My manager had to grab me by the back of the shirt and pull me back before I got stampeded.""I started working retail in 2007 at Circuit City. My first Black Friday was unbelievable.We were supposed to open at 4 a.m. We all stood at the front doors to watch people come in. I stepped out a little too far and my manager literally had to grab me by the back of the shirt and pull me back before I got stampeded.Once everyone was in the building, I started to make my way over to my register. As I walked over, I saw two women fighting over a printer. Before I had the chance to ask if they needed help, one woman hit the other with her purse, shoved her, and ran towards the camera department. Iwill never forget that as long as I live.The second Black Friday I worked was during 2008. It was a complete 180 from the previous year. The day dragged, we missed our budget. The recession clearly made an impact." Shannon S."One woman followed me into the stock room.""I was working at LOFT. I was 21 and it was 2010. I was exhausted and not in the mood to deal with women trying to get an extra 20% off a pair of skinny jeans. Towards the end of the shift we were understandably low on some sizes. One woman was adamant about getting a sweater in her size, even though I told her several times we were out. At one point, she followed me into the stock room because she didn't believe me. Like, really, lady' You think I don't want to make a sale'! That was the first and last Black Friday I ever worked." Leah R."This guy taped a $20 bar code on a huge TV.""[A] guy came through my check lane as usual. He had some huge TVthat I knew would be about 300500 dollars. After I scanned it I looked at my screen and it showed up as 20 bucks. I told him there is no way this TV is 20 dollars. He was insisting it was 20. Upon closer inspection the name of the item on my computer screen was definitely not a Samsung TV. So I looked at the barcode and noticed it was taped on! This guy taped a f------ 20 dollar barcode on a huge tv. I called over security and the guy was brought to some back room. I hope that guy is happy. He got me a free pie for finding him out."Redditor ShamyehSee the rest of the story at Business Insider
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