Michael1942's Blog

Having had the opportunity to work during the past holidays from Thanksgiving through Xmas, I have made some observations. All retailers at the end of the year aim for initially “black Friday” then everyday after that to improve their bottom lines. This continues up to and including New Years sales ( the eve, the day and sometimes days after).  There are clearance sales of all sorts, there are end of year specials along with the shock troop kind of ads to help unload the seasonal items that take up shelf and floor space. This transition period usually requires  a team of  people to make these changes move quickly and as smooth as possible. This period of change does create a look of chaos and a Hodge podgy look for a short time but at the same time for those shoppers who delight in bargain hunting and have a “flea market” mindset these areas are gold mines. The upside is that these miners are important in clearing out those pockets of remnants. The downside is that workers toil overnight to police these areas while preparing for the next seasonal change at the same time continuing normal replenishment .These pre and during holiday work times have left me with a sense of not enjoying the Holidays as I once did. Previously I enjoyed hearing the Xmas carols from the wide assortment of singers and musicians but I found my self pretty tired of it since there was loop of the same singers and songs blaring with a sprinkling of company ads to sour the mix. In previous times I looked forward to cueing up several (now CD’s) albums of Xmas music, having a nog or two and some good food or snacks. This year I could not wait for it all to be done, the one pleasure that remained was the fun of setting up of the outdoor lights and the figures. I have decided that when the end of the year harvest time through Xmas rolls around again  I will be taking a vacation from work with or without pay.