Wal-Mart worker trampled to death by shoppers

dntw8up:

I don't know how things are on "Black Friday" in STT, but here on the mainland it's mayhem.

Imagine a thousand people all waiting outside the door (some since last night) to save a few bucks on a TV or other piece of electronics.

I used to do it at Staples & Circuit City here in NJ....some people camped out for days to get a laptop computer for $299.

Although I've never experienced what happened in NY I could see things getting out of hand when people try to "cut into the line" that sometimes wraps around the building.

It's a terrible shame that this kind of thing happens.

F.I.

They should stop the maddness!

Some of the stores here in AZ opened at 4:00 AM. Crazy

I am so sorry for the family of this man who died.

I still don't get why people are so obsessed with "stuff". It doesn't make you happy; all you are doing by buying all that junk is adding to Walmart's bottom-line. This hunger for "stuff" to define ones-self is really corroding our society.

my daughter used to work it every year at best buy
it was sheer madness
true madness
it is something i have never overstood, even as a youth.
my mother got her breast area caught in a door at the opening of a junior league sale as she was stampeded into said door by frenetic shoppers.
as a result she later developed a lump in her breast at site of door smooshing incident.
give thanks after treatment she is okay.
it just gives credence to the fact that any kind of stress, be it mental or physical, has the probability of affecting ones health.
this stampeding and grabbing at these massive sales is just a sign of greed, still trying to keep up with the jones's.
ones should strive for a kinder, gentler life, most especially in these troubled times.
what happened to layaway.....lol.
i shudder to even imagine me going to one of these sales.....parking outside the store for hours.
i have to be dragged out of the gates to even attend a normal sale....shopping is not my forte atal unless i can get a proper bargain.

Sis Irijah

Kmart in Atlanta, GA still offers layaway.

I think it is truly sad that this is what Christmas has become. Regardless of what you believe and what religion you follow. Damn wake up people! Is it really freakin worth it!! Our society is truly SICK!!!!

I can not say anything else about this on here due to vulgar language. Sorry! I am truly disgusted by this.

DAMN!

My wife's catholic family (6 brothers/sisters + their kids!) came up with an excellent alternative that we're starting this year as a new tradition:
- her family used to put names in a hat. Thereby each family would randomly select another family to buy presents for. So, join the shopping frenzy; wrap all the presents; if that family was not going to be in town (they're spread out across the US), then mail all of the presents and hope they arrive in nearly one piece, and on time.
- this year, everyone is picking a charity of their choice and donating the equivalent $amount. Ahhhhhhhhhh.... on so many different levels.....
- we talked about names in a hat and one winner gets to pick the charity... but some families are VERY religious/conservative and some would be considered VERY liberal. So, you can just imagine the potential teeth grinding and sweaty palms when checks were about to be written...

And the disgusting saga continues:

"...Kimberly Cribbs, who witnessed the stampede, said shoppers were acting like "savages."

"When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling `I've been on line since yesterday morning,'" she said. "They kept shopping..."

The update can be found here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27955316/

this behavior is deplorable
fi true

I doubt this really had much to do with Christmas. I would be willing to bet a lot, if not most, people were really shopping for themselves. Some of the items mentioned as being on sale included a 50" TV and a vacumm cleaner. Not usual gifts (if so, for immediate family, which is the same as shopping for yourself). I'm sure there was plenty of Christmas shopping going on, but I don't think gift giving is to blame here. Too many people trying to save as much money as they can on "whatever". Perhaps a better plan would be a little cost averaging. Instead of charging so much all year and then a drastic sale, maybe just charge less all year. I'm not particularly experienced in retail, so there probably is a reason, and some psychology, involved. Sounds like it's time for the big retailers to re-think Black Friday.

The listed sale teasers are just that teasers & usually only 1 or 2 per store. Note the small print & its usually very small.
Actually they are gimmicks to get you into the store & while there you are now a captive audience. They hope you will become caught up in the shopping frenzy while being captive. With the mind set, the more you save..........the more money you still have, thus end up spending more. Having worked retail, we called them "door busters"....................and sadly we all know why they are called such. :-X

It wasn't teaser pricing at Walmart ,everything in the store was marked down between 30% to 70% off with no rain Checks, what was there is what you could get only! Walmart does Loss Leader items all year long! Walmart didn't murder that man the people (customers did). You see the same at the Air Ports when boarding a plane, they will call out we are boarding rows 22 to 32 and some guy in row 10 will knock you down to get ahead of you. Society hasn't really changed much since we came out of the caves and down from the trees.

Madness and Mythology abound.

I agree with Lizard. In lots of places, the store is being blamed. The only ones to blame are the creeps who trampled him & turned it into a mob scene. It's not just Walmart. Look at the videos of when Filene's has their bridal sale.

They're just going to have to rethink how they're going to do the Black Friday sale in the future such as have bouncers at the door to only let in X # of people in every few minutes & maybe hire off-duty police to enforce it. Thugs like this are the type who would take the jewelry from a dead car crash victim.

when urban threadz had their downtown warehouse sale here last weekend only 20 or so people at a time were allowed in the store,now if a little store like that down here can figure it out why can't the behemoth stores,people are animals and everything seems to be a competition in the animal kingdom,it's that primitive instinct thing of survival of the fittest,christ i see it every morning feeding the chickens

And what, exactly, does this have to do with relocation to the USVI????

well why is the governor here commenting about the stuff going on in India,that has nothing to do with the VI either,while you may get shot to death down here,i doubt you'd ever get trampled going into kmart,while we may get a bad rap stateside about crime here,it's reassuring to know that crazier more stupid crap happens in the states.

Angela,
This Thread might give a "new-be" some insight on some of the people (That Live, Think ,and Feel about current events outside of the USVI). I hope you had a nice Holiday and enjoy your new home wherever that might be! Why don't you start a new thread and tell us all why you moved from the USVI.

And why is someone who hates the VI & won't move here, even participating in a relocation forum?

:@)(tu)

We went to K-mart on Friday morning, intended to be there when it opened, but overslept (this never happens, we are always up at about 4am, 5 at the latest). Got there at about 6:30am and the parking lot was FULL!!! We were quite surprised, we expected there to be people, but not the masses! It was not enjoyable at all, could hardly move. We had made a list, got what we could (some already GONE) and got in line. Talked to a old West Indian lady in front of us and she told us that she was about the fifth person in line to get in at opening and was almost trampled herself! How sad.... We was our first Black Friday and our LAST!!!!! They DID have some very good deals tho!
All of STT seemed to be there!

Yea BLACK Friday is a great term for it. Death is becoming part of the black part for sure! You need to dress in black in case you get killed tried to buy a $9 dollar dvd first before anyone else. I am sorry being in retail for 10 years this is the most rediculous tradition anyone could have come up with. it is true there is only maybe 5 at a big store of these items they are advertising. So most have no chance of getting one of what they are in line for anyways.

My family with most being in retail have banned the gift giving madness of spending a years salary it seems like on how many gifts you can buy. We have a gift exchange for one other family member, nieces, nephews get a few things and parents. That is it!! Christmas needs to become like Thanksgiving. People getting together again to be with family and to enjoy eachothers company. Not see who can spend the most in a day.

As far as not talkin about anything on this site other then moving scenarios. Give me a break! Go cry to someone who cares. Conversation of any kind stimulates the mind, and some of us need that down here. 😉

CIAO!

Joe

I know someone there right at opening & she got a good deal on a TV (not a Christmas gift) & she had no problems at all.