Wal-Mart Managers Blamed For Play Station 3 Stampede

[matcom]

<snip>

The long, cold wait for the PlayStation 3 turned ugly on Thursday when customers eager to get in line at a Wal-Mart stampeded, trampling each other in a debacle that left at least one man injured.

Some witnesses said the store's management set the scene for disaster when the crowd of about 50 people was told to race to 10 chairs for a chance to buy the 10 rare videogame systems the store expected to sell today.

"It was terrible and really, really stupid," said Quoizel Williams, 24, who was one of those waiting in line at the West Bend Wal-Mart before shifting to the location at Milwaukee's Midtown Center shopping center. "Anyone with any common sense would know things would get violent."

Mike Dooley, the store's manager, said in a phone interview Thursday morning that there was no race and that the chairs were put outside for the convenience of the shoppers, some of whom he said had been standing outside for a long time. Later in the day he declined to comment further about the incident, and an assistant manager at the store referred questions to Wal-Mart's corporate relations department.

According to West Bend police, an assistant store manager announced to the crowd - which had formed about 7 a.m. - that the store expected to receive only 10 of the video game systems.

He said the PlayStation 3s - which cost $499 and $599 - would go on sale at 12:01 a.m. today. .

A Wal-Mart employee then placed 10 chairs outside the store and told people to wait in a different area, according to a police statement by Sgt. Gus Unertl and witnesses.

Then, at a signal, the customers were told to run to try to get in one of the chairs.

"They lined us up," Williams said. "Then it was like, ready-set-go! I was going to run, but then I saw people getting pushed down and trampled. I thought to myself, 'no, it isn't worth that.' It was like a stampede of wild animals."

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=532046&format=print

[Deep13]

1. Brain-dead customers blamed...

...for being being willing to stand out in the cold for a chance to pay hundreds of dollars for a fucking toy.

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. If people would stop paying such high prices for this crap on ebay,

these types of situations wouldn't happen. People are nuts.

[cwydro]

3. Darwin must be spinning in his grave /nt

[Bunny]

4. If they knew they were only getting ten units, why didn't they go to

the first ten people in line, tell them the limit was one unit/customer, and tell everyone else to go home? :shrug:

[LeftyMom]

6. I like a lottery.

No camping out, just show up a day or two before to get your lottery number and that morning for the number drawing to see who gets one and for the order of the wait list if you want to bother with one.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. Blamed, my ass.

Encouraged, more like. This shit gets on the evening news and just drives up demand.

[Deja Q]

7. Maybe the managers should have not treated the customers like children...

But we're supposed to be a civilized society. The shovers and other sordid 'wild animals' customers have the end responsibility to remain civilized.