Boxing Day Shopping

[Moochiecat]

Bf and I both work retail and we always look at Boxing Day with a bit of dread. The fun holiday spirit gets forgotten pretty quickly by some folks (more so in his type of retail than mine) and it can be a bit of a downer after a lovely Christmas weekend.
Plus, he's in at 6 am today and I'm in at 7.

Anyway, just a little reminder that if you are stuck in a line-up at a store today, to have some empathy for your sales clerk. We are not robotic machine punchers, we're people who may or may not have had to work on Christmas Day and we'd probably rather be at home relaxing with the family than facing hordes of bargain hunters and people trying to return things even though there are signs posted saying returns are not being done on Boxing Day.

Hang onto that Holiday Spirit!

[Heidi3]

Re: Boxing Day Shopping

what exactly is Boxing day?

[sadie147]

Re: Boxing Day Shopping

In Canada it's like your 'Black Friday' after thanksgiving. People line up for hours to get big 'boxing day deals' fistfights ensue etc. LOL

On the tradtional side, Boxing day is a Brittish holiday that falls on the day after Christmas. It is a statutory holiday for us here. So even though it really falls today, most companies, with the exception of stores, are closed today in lieu of December 25th, and they are closed again tomorrow in lieu of Boxing Day. I unfortunatly have to work tomorrow since we support US clients and all your big businesses will be open.

Here is what i could find on where boxing day comes from (has nothing to do with the fistfights int he stores though it sound more likely LOL)

Origins: Few Americans have any inkling that there even is such a thing as Boxing Day, let alone what the reason might be for a holiday so named. However, before one concludes we're about to rag on Americentric attitudes towards other cultures, we should quickly point out that even though Boxing Day is celebrated in Australia, Britain, New Zealand, and Canada, not all that many in those countries have much of a notion as to why they get the 26th of December off. Boxing Day might well be a statutory holiday in some of those lands, but it's not a well understood one.
Despite the lively images suggested by the name, it has nothing to do with pugilistic expositions between tanked-up family members who have dearly been looking forward to taking a round out of each other for the past year. Likewise, it does not gain its name from the overpowering need to rid the house of an excess of wrappings and mountains of now useless cardboard boxes the day after St. Nick arrived to turn a perfectly charming and orderly home into a maelstrom of discarded tissue
paper.
The name also has nothing to do with returning unwanted gifts to the stores they came from, hence its common association with hauling about boxes on the day after Christmas.
The holiday's roots can be traced to Britain, where Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephen's Day. Reduced to the simplest essence, its origins are found in a long-ago practice of giving cash or durable goods to those of the lower classes. Gifts among equals were exchanged on or before Christmas Day, but beneficences to those less fortunate were bestowed the day after.
And that's about as much as anyone can definitively say about its origin because once you step beyond that point, it's straight into the quagmire of debated claims and dueling folklorists. Which, by the way, is what we're about to muddy our boots with.
Although there is general agreement that the holiday is of British origin and it has to do with giving presents to the less fortunate, there is still dispute as to how the name came about or precisely what unequal relationship is being recognized.

From http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/boxing.asp

[2big4mysize]

Re: Boxing Day Shopping

Moochie We have after Christmas sales too and their will again be long lines as folk grab up bargains on the Christmas stuff companies don't want to store for next yr.

You need one of th9se big easy to read buttons that say I've been standing in the line all day! I know i've seen a few at the store on some the clerks and it always brings a change in attitude from the shoppers as they start asking when does your shift end how long till your break etc and complaints about lijne lenght never get verbalized at least not when I was there.

[sadie147]

Re: Boxing Day Shopping

I braved the Boxing Day crowds today and went to Best Buy. Luckily I drive a Jeep so i was able to park on top of a snowbank. that was pretty much the last spot left!

It was crazy! I'm going back at 9 a.m. tomorrow, the sale is on again though all the good stuff will most likely be gone by then. I'm a glutten for punishment.

They were showing the malls on the news at 6..one of them there was a 45-60 min line of traffic backed up on a hiway ramp just to get into the parking lot..that didn't include the time it would take to get a spot!!

Hopefully your day wasn't too stressful moochie!

[Moochiecat]

Re: Boxing Day Shopping

Whew...survived it!
I didn't spend a whole lot of time behind the till, I was busy taking care of my section which is the Christmas wrap, bows, boxed cards and bags. That kept me hopping!
As far as I know our customers were all in a good humour so that's good.
I only ever usually work a four to five hour shift and my poor back and legs really are singing me a song tonight...but it's all good..back to the usual tomorrow.

I tried to do a little shopping on my break but wasn't into the crowds.

[Laurenfra]

Re: Boxing Day Shopping

I am glad you are home safe and sound Moochie.

[BikerGoddess]

Re: Boxing Day Shopping

I worked retail in high school and it completely turned me off holidays. And people, come to think of it

Since I've had space to do it, I shop clearance sales all year long and store stuff at home until Christmas (or birthdays). That way I get to buy presents I couldn't normally afford, avoid the lines, and have it all done instead of rushing around last minute. Makes the holidays infinitely more enjoyable.

Glad you survived it, Moochie.

Laura

[Luna Rossa]

Re: Boxing Day Shopping

My sister worked retail for a number of years also and for her the most irritating aspect of the holiday rush was the Christmas music that started playing in November. To this day she absolutely can't stand to listen to any of it.

She was always a little burnt out by the time it was all over... glad you made it through Moochie

[Analog6]

Re: Boxing Day Shopping

Glad it wasn't too bad, Moochie. I always try to be nice to the counter staff, if lines are slow it's hardly their fault. One girl on the supermarket checkcout on Christmas Eve said to me she had started at 5 am (it was 1220) and so far no one had abused her. On enquiry, she said 2 or 3 abusers a shift was 'normal'. What an appalling indictment of our modern way of life that checkout operators find it normal to be abused in the course of their work.

I try to go by the maxim of treating others as I would like to be treated - note I say try, I'm not perfect by a long shot and sometimes I do lose it, but I always feel bad andregret it afterwards.