Faith in humanity: ZERO

[gridlore]

Wal-Mart worker dies after shoppers knock him down

A worker died after being trampled by a throng of unruly shoppers when a suburban Wal-Mart opened for the holiday sales rush Friday, authorities said.

At least three other people were injured.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., in Bentonville, Ark., would not confirm the reports of a stampede but said a "medical emergency" had caused the company to close the store, which is in Valley Stream on Long Island.

Nassau County police said the 34-year-old worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., an hour after the store opened. The cause of death was not immediately known.

A police statement said shortly after 5 a.m., a throng of shoppers "physically broke down the doors, knocking (the worker) to the ground." Police also said a 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation and three other shoppers suffered minor injuries and were also taken to hospitals.

OK, time to end this Black Friday farce. No more doorbuster sales, no more limited time specials. And anyone who lines up hours before opening should be ticketed for loitering.

Comments

[kshandra]

It's been almost 20 years since Ticketmaster instituted the wristband system for major on-sale events. This was done after numerous, vociferous complaints that scalpers were lining up as much as 72 hours before an on-sale and purchasing all available tickets (even with purchase limits in place) before people actually interested in attending the event could get to the counter.

Numbered wristbands are issued in random order at points of sale, starting roughly 36 hours before the on-sale date/time. Wristband holders are NOT allowed to line up outside until the morning of the sale, generally 2 hours prior, and line up sequentially. Roughly half an hour before the tickets go on sale, the points of sale receive The Number. Sales associates (or occasionally, security guards) will go out to the line, count off that number of people, and send them to the back of the line of wristband holders.

Were there complaints about the system? Of course there were. I was working at a TicketBastard outlet at the time, and even I had issues with it. But a solution had to be found.

Certain of the Black Friday vendors were doing something similar this year, walking the line before the store opened with vouchers for the exact number of $SALEITEM they had, and once those were handed out, that was IT.

[lysana.livejournal.com]

A computer chain that I believe is now extinct did something similar but less formalized with their grand opening deals. First in line got the goods. If you wanted something that was already claimed by the time they got to you before it opened, tough noogies. If you were in the right range, you got the voucher you needed to claim the bargain.

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

This makes plenty of sense, and doesn't involve arbitrary legalism for the win.