The Kohl’s advertisement in Thursday’s newspaper got my attention with all the promises of Black Friday savings. I didn’t really think setting the alarm for 3:30 a.m. to get to the store by 4 would be sensible, but I happened to wake up at 3:30 anyway when nature called. So I drove to the retailer, the first time I ventured out the day after Thanksgiving on an early morning shopping spree.
There sure seemed to be a lot of vehicles in the parking lot, but I comforted myself with the assurance that the crowd milling around the front door didn’t appear to be too long. Silly me. Upon closer inspection, the line wended its way around the sidewalk for hundreds and hundreds of people. Some, I learned from an article in the Saturday newspaper, had been there for 10 hours.
Anyway, once I got inside the discount chain among the mass of bargain hunters I resolutely went to find the two items I wanted: a suitcase and a knife set, both more than two-thirds off the normal price. I pitied the shoppers dawdling in the clothes and appliance sections. Even though I had my items in hand by 4:15, the line for the cash registers already stretched halfway around the store.
I have to hand it to Kohl’s. They not only know how to attract buyers, they also know how to get them out of the store as quickly as possible. A man with a large “Line Starts Here” sign left no doubt where I needed to go. Every few minutes over the intercom another man announced that saving places in line wouldn’t be tolerated. Once I finally made it to the checkout, the store had every cash register operating and even baggers at most stations to speed the process along.
By 4:45 I had escaped to the parking lot, the receipt telling me I had saved $220. I’m glad I didn’t pause to look at shirts. By the time I left, the waiting line had grown to twice as long as when I entered it.
No comments:
Post a Comment