Lessons from a Black Friday death at Wal-Mart (kudos to Best Buy) [View All]

[Omaha Steve]

http://voices.kansascity.com/node/2945

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

The death of a Long Island Wal-Mart employee crushed by Black Friday shoppers has raised legitimate questions about Americans and our shopping mania.

Among them:

-- Have stores gone too far in trying to convince shoppers to arrive in throngs in early morning hours the day after Thanksgiving?

For example, the Long Island store where Jdimytai Damour was trampled to death promoted a "blitz" line for shoppers, borrowing from the football terminology for a defensive rush at the quarterback.

-- What kinds of people rush over a man, then keep coming and stepping on him -- and then callously go about shopping?

snip Best Buy stores and some others have handed out numbers to shoppers while they are still in line, giving them first crack at good buys. That policy would tend to make crowds more orderly.

FULL story at link.