I hope the bastards got their presents...

[NYYFAN]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27955316/

Wal-Mart worker dies after crowd rushes store

Shoppers knocked him over, 'physically broke down doors,' police say


NEW YORK - A Wal-Mart worker was killed Friday after an "out of control" throng of shoppers eager for post-Thanksgiving bargains broke down the doors at a suburban store and knocked him to the ground, police said.

At least four other people, including a woman eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.

Nassau police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the store doors at the mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the man to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

[SalingerNY]

I will never understand this sort of thing.

[fredgmuggs]

This isn't the first time this has happened on a Black Friday store opening.

The retailers and the media like to build up a "you gotta go out buy frenzy" on Black Friday. I feel that's a big part of this.

[JohnnyDamonfan]

One good reason to do your christmas shopping on Amazon, Ebay, Buy.com etc.etc.etc.

[JavyVazquezIsSick]

That's beyond infuriating. Whoever did it needs to be charged.

[YankeePride1967]

While not everyone is culpable for the death each one of them should be ashamed of themselves. Dispicable.

[Hitman23]

People are such animals.

[4bronxbombers]

I'm speechless. That's absolutely horrible. What is wrong with people?

[Zippythepinhead]

I don't understand these people. But I don't understand the idea of going out shopping at 5AM, either.

(I was already disgusted by the people interviewed on the "news" this morning with bags full of stuff, being asked if the economy's slowdown had affected their shopping. Multiple people answered to the effect that it should, but they were getting such deals, they couldn't help themselves. I'm guessing these are the same people in trouble on their mortgages. No sense of personal responsibility whatsoever.)

[YankeePride1967]

I don't understand these people. But I don't understand the idea of going out shopping at 5AM, either.

(I was already disgusted by the people interviewed on the "news" this morning with bags full of stuff, being asked if the economy's slowdown had affected their shopping. Multiple people answered to the effect that it should, but they were getting such deals, they couldn't help themselves. I'm guessing these are the same people in trouble on their mortgages. No sense of personal responsibility whatsoever.)

Fully agreed. Gotta love those that go for those "no interest until 2010" deals. Bring the plastic out and they are surprised when 2010 comes and they have to pay interest. And those of us that are responsible with our finances end up paying for it.

[jlw1980]

I heard about this. Heartbreaking. People are f*cking despicable pieces of garbage.

[DkNNy79]

That is so sad.

[dabomb2045]

I don't understand these people. But I don't understand the idea of going out shopping at 5AM, either.

(I was already disgusted by the people interviewed on the "news" this morning with bags full of stuff, being asked if the economy's slowdown had affected their shopping. Multiple people answered to the effect that it should, but they were getting such deals, they couldn't help themselves. I'm guessing these are the same people in trouble on their mortgages. No sense of personal responsibility whatsoever.)

Working at a financial institution and dealing directly with people....its amazing to see how badly people handle their finances and the continued bad decisions they make (often against my advice--hey what do I know, I only WORK here and know what products can help you) that only worsens their situation.

[Jeter Kid]

I saw the video online taken from a cell phone with emergency services doing whatever they could and I heard people laughing in it, pissed me off.

[SalingerNY]

Was there anything in particular going on at this Wal-Mart to drive this? Like a blue-light special on some kids' toy or something? In the past we've seen this kind of nonsense in response to Tickle Me Elmo or some other toy everyone's got to have.

Perhaps this was just run-of-the-mill stupidity.

[NYYDragoon]

Perhaps this was just run-of-the-mill stupidity.

Most likely. People get insane when pushed.

[Soriambi]

This isn't the first time this has happened on a Black Friday store opening.

The retailers and the media like to build up a "you gotta go out buy frenzy" on Black Friday. I feel that's a big part of this.

They also set it up in such a way that the only way to get the deals on the big items IS to race into the store knocking over anything in your path. The people obviously behave ridiculously, but I think that the retailers are at least as much at fault for setting up a situation where this is possible. What a horrible story.

[YankeePride1967]

They also set it up in such a way that the only way to get the deals on the big items IS to race into the store knocking over anything in your path. The people obviously behave ridiculously, but I think that the retailers are at least as much at fault for setting up a situation where this is possible. What a horrible story.

Yup. They do something like "For the first 50 customers only get a $1,599 LCD TV for just $599" and of course people salivate and camp out 2 days in advance for it.

[yankeesAZ]

Anyone hear or knows WCNNY? Heard about this story this morning when I left for work and I remembered this post from the black Friday thread.

Same thing for the 9th year in a row. Get up at 4 am, drive to Wal-Mart, clock in sign onto a register, chat until the sale start, ring for a while, get a break, ring some more, take my lunch shortly after the sun comes up and get out of work by 2:30. Then if my family has not found a tree yet I'll meet up with them at the tree lot otherwise I'll help decorate the tree and pig out on chestnuts.

[Tabata]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27955316/

Wal-Mart worker dies after crowd rushes store

Shoppers knocked him over, 'physically broke down doors,' police say


NEW YORK - A Wal-Mart worker was killed Friday after an "out of control" throng of shoppers eager for post-Thanksgiving bargains broke down the doors at a suburban store and knocked him to the ground, police said.

At least four other people, including a woman eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.

Nassau police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the store doors at the mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the man to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

Why are people so ................ing stupid?

Waste of a life and for no reason at all.

[teknetic]

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/20...tampede_03.jpg

Honestly..did everyone everyone in that crowd expect to get something? The lines would have been staggering and virtually anything decent would have been snatched up.

People are suckers; mark up garbage that never sells at "good" prices and they'll eat it up just so they can tell themselves they got something out of waiting in line for hours.

People might love this season and time of year, bur it royally sucks. 26 more days to go..

[Octoberbaby]

Anyone hear or knows WCNNY? Heard about this story this morning when I left for work and I remembered this post from the black Friday thread.

The article said the victim was a temporary worker sent by an agency to do maintenance work. That doesn't sound like someone who is a permanent worker at Walmart.

RIP to the poor guy for being at the wrong place in the wrong time.

[JDPNYY]

2 more dead, elsewhere:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27957714

[BillBuckner]

People are f*cking pathetic. A lot of people should be spending Christmas behind bars this year where they belong.

[teknetic]

What type of moron brings their kids to this?

[YankeePride1967]

What type of moron brings their kids to this?

Same kind of moron that takes their young kids to a late movie. Morons that only think about themselves.

[Bub]

They also set it up in such a way that the only way to get the deals on the big items IS to race into the store knocking over anything in your path. The people obviously behave ridiculously, but I think that the retailers are at least as much at fault for setting up a situation where this is possible.

Absolutely. The store manager is at fault here, in my opinion. If hundreds or maybe a thousand dollars is at stake for those fast and strong enough to get to an item, they need a better way to do this. A lottery held outside, or some kind of bracelet system maybe.....anything that will stop folks from stampeding. For years now since Black Friday became popular, stampeding is almost encouraged by the retailers.

[yankeeman61]

There is something seriously wrong with people who allow fear to drive them to extreme behavior. WTF is the worst thing that could happen if they miss out on a perceived "good deal"? The only hope for this mob is that they somehow still have a conscience and understand they are responsible for taking the life of a human being in exchange for a material item. Is there anyone left on this planet who doesn't have internet access where you can get deals on Black Friday and avoid the crowds altogether? I swear there are more sheep in this country than people.

[YankeePride1967]

Absolutely. The store manager is at fault here, in my opinion. If hundreds or maybe a thousand dollars is at stake for those fast and strong enough to get to an item, they need a better way to do this. A lottery held outside, or some kind of bracelet system maybe.....anything that will stop folks from stampeding. For years now since Black Friday became popular, stampeding is almost encouraged by the retailers.

Normally the procedure is determined at the corporate level. Walmarts as you can see are basically built the same way. Until ALL stores stop these riot-inducing events or structure them in a way that works, this won't be the last tragedy we hear about.

[Bub]

Normally the procedure is determined at the corporate level. Walmarts as you can see are basically built the same way. Until ALL stores stop these riot-inducing events or structure them in a way that works, this won't be the last tragedy we hear about.

I would hope that each store manager has the option of selling his sale items the way he/she sees fit. If I'm a relative of the victim here and find out that some Walmart executive mandated this procedure, I'd bring charges.

[YankeePride1967]

I would hope that each store manager has the option of selling his sale items the way he/she sees fit. If I'm a relative of the victim here and find out that some Walmart executive mandated this procedure, I'd bring charges.

Working at Starbucks, I know everything from the layout of the store, the menu and procedures comes right from Seattle (HQ). If they had thousands of stores doing things thousands of different ways, I think there would be more chaos. And some will say how can Corporate know the situation at individual stores? It's this standardidation that allows them to know it. I don't think the issue is with the layout, but rather in the promotion itself. Setting up a sale where only so many people get the sale and you have to be there between X and Y hour is the issue. If stores want to offer these crazy promotions then they should be forced to hire the necessary security and police to make sure things stay orderly. Most of these sales aren't your typical 20% off that you see in flyers, these are drastic reductions. Sort of like if someone sold a BMW for $5,000 but only the first 10 in line get it.

And if there is something at a specific store that the manager feels the layout needs to be different that also has to be cleared with Corporate first.

[Zippythepinhead]

If there's something the store can do differently, within reason, to prevent this kind of thing, of course I'm for it. But blame lies squarely with the as*holes whose only concern was to save a few bucks on their shopping and as a result acted worse than animals.

[Jersey Yankee]

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/20...tampede_03.jpg

Honestly..did everyone everyone in that crowd expect to get something? The lines would have been staggering and virtually anything decent would have been snatched up.

People are suckers; mark up garbage that never sells at "good" prices and they'll eat it up just so they can tell themselves they got something out of waiting in line for hours.

People might love this season and time of year, bur it royally sucks. 26 more days to go..

That was pretty ugly how people could be so inconsiderate, and this guy was just a seasonal temporary worker. I heard that some people cut the line as the doors opened, which influenced the stampede as people who'd waited surged forward.

R-I-P

Yeah, pretty pathetic how junk can be marked up. Anything which wasn't selling can now sell if marked off 50%, making room for newer models of electronics. Those "original prices" could've been MSRPs.

I fully agree to go online. This fevered impulse buying seems like regular folks are out to spend every dollar they have (or don't have), with no chance to comparison shop. If someone truly knows what they want, they should try finding it online and compare both similar products and stores offering similar prices, or possibly deals with related merchandise.

[Bub]

If there's something the store can do differently, within reason, to prevent this kind of thing, of course I'm for it. But blame lies squarely with the as*holes whose only concern was to save a few bucks on their shopping and as a result acted worse than animals.

I don't agree at all. If you put so much money at stake and get folks who can get something cheap they otherwise can't afford, they'll react like their lives depend on it. Management is well aware that this is going to happen and they hope it brings scores to their businesses so they can sell everything else that isn't on sale. It's a form of entrapment, and they're trapping folks with less money and often less common sense than most others.

[JfromJersey]

Horrible, but that's mob mentality. The same thing happens at concerts and sporting events. As much as I want to blame the people who trampled this poor guy, more blame rests on the shoulders of those who encourage and create mob scenes and do nothing to control them.

[Zippythepinhead]

I don't agree at all. If you put so much money at stake and get folks who can get something cheap they otherwise can't afford, they'll react like their lives depend on it. Management is well aware that this is going to happen and they hope it brings scores to their businesses so they can sell everything else that isn't on sale. It's a form of entrapment, and they're trapping folks with less money and often less common sense than most others.

I don't think stupidity or poverty excuses an adult from personal responsibility. Nor does the possibility of saving money on consumer electronics.

[yankeesAZ]

Working at Starbucks, I know everything from the layout of the store, the menu and procedures comes right from Seattle (HQ). If they had thousands of stores doing things thousands of different ways, I think there would be more chaos. And some will say how can Corporate know the situation at individual stores? It's this standardidation that allows them to know it. I don't think the issue is with the layout, but rather in the promotion itself. Setting up a sale where only so many people get the sale and you have to be there between X and Y hour is the issue. If stores want to offer these crazy promotions then they should be forced to hire the necessary security and police to make sure things stay orderly. Most of these sales aren't your typical 20% off that you see in flyers, these are drastic reductions. Sort of like if someone sold a BMW for $5,000 but only the first 10 in line get it.

And if there is something at a specific store that the manager feels the layout needs to be different that also has to be cleared with Corporate first.

Best Buy seems to do it right. They hand out tickets for the coveted items at 3am. Now you're good to go and you can come back at 5am without having to kill someone to get your item. Plus they arrange boxes and shelves to keep line cutting at bay.

I've been to Target back when Wii was impossible to get. They handed out tickets to the first 120 people in line (which pretty much covered everyone there that day). Once you have a ticket, no need to stampede. They let 10 people in at a time as to not overrun the cashiers.

[Soriambi]

I would hope that each store manager has the option of selling his sale items the way he/she sees fit. If I'm a relative of the victim here and find out that some Walmart executive mandated this procedure, I'd bring charges.

I'm sure charges will be brought, executive mandate or not (though I agree with Rick that the policy in this case is probably corporate.) I hope his family gets something significant, too, because not having policies in place to address this when it happens every years is dangerously negligent..

[Soriambi]

Best Buy seems to do it right. They hand out tickets for the coveted items at 3am. Now you're good to go and you can come back at 5am without having to kill someone to get your item. Plus they arrange boxes and shelves to keep line cutting at bay.

I've been to Target back when Wii was impossible to get. They handed out tickets to the first 120 people in line (which pretty much covered everyone there that day). Once you have a ticket, no need to stampede. They let 10 people in at a time as to not overrun the cashiers.

Those both seem like a good ways to do it.

[PlsDontTearDownY.S.]

I am still furious about this story. Bunch of freakin animals, all of them. I hope somehow they all have a miserable, miserable Christmas. I could understand if gunshots went off in the store, or if a fire broke out and someone got trampled in that situation. But to act like complete savages to save a few dollars on stupid gifts is unconscionable. People act like savages when food is scarce...or when their survival is in question. To see it happen as a result of consumerism run wild is truly pathetic, and is a sad commmentary of our materialistic culture. Shame on all of them and shame on Walmart for not closing the store down completely.

[YankeePride1967]

Best Buy seems to do it right. They hand out tickets for the coveted items at 3am. Now you're good to go and you can come back at 5am without having to kill someone to get your item. Plus they arrange boxes and shelves to keep line cutting at bay.

I've been to Target back when Wii was impossible to get. They handed out tickets to the first 120 people in line (which pretty much covered everyone there that day). Once you have a ticket, no need to stampede. They let 10 people in at a time as to not overrun the cashiers.

That is how you do it. That way if you do not have the ticket, just leave.

[Soriambi]

That is how you do it. That way if you do not have the ticket, just leave.

And I understand that that would hurt their profits, but it'd be nice if companies did the right thing, taking profit out of the equation, occasionally (especially when it means reducing the amount of danger caused by shopping at your store greatly.)

[__starr69]

Working at Starbucks, I know everything from the layout of the store, the menu and procedures comes right from Seattle (HQ). If they had thousands of stores doing things thousands of different ways, I think there would be more chaos. And some will say how can Corporate know the situation at individual stores? It's this standardidation that allows them to know it. I don't think the issue is with the layout, but rather in the promotion itself. Setting up a sale where only so many people get the sale and you have to be there between X and Y hour is the issue. If stores want to offer these crazy promotions then they should be forced to hire the necessary security and police to make sure things stay orderly. Most of these sales aren't your typical 20% off that you see in flyers, these are drastic reductions. Sort of like if someone sold a BMW for $5,000 but only the first 10 in line get it.

And if there is something at a specific store that the manager feels the layout needs to be different that also has to be cleared with Corporate first.

This.

It is why corporations like McDonald's, Starbucks, Walmart, etc. are so popular: predictability. Store layout and inventory does not fluctuate much, and neither does policy. They would not be so popular if customers did not have the sense of security of seeing the same thing at each store.

I said this in the other thread, but it was also most likely corporate policy not to hire sufficient security.

[__starr69]

And I understand that that would hurt their profits, but it'd be nice if companies did the right thing, taking profit out of the equation, occasionally (especially when it means reducing the amount of danger caused by shopping at your store greatly.)

And in the end, I think this is more customer-friendly. As a human being, I know I don't want to be in a mob scene, and I'll always take the option of peaceful shopping. Best Buy's method would get my business well before Walmart's, no matter how long I would have to wait.

[YankeePride1967]

This.

It is why corporations like McDonald's, Starbucks, Walmart, etc. are so popular: predictability. Store layout and inventory does not fluctuate much, and neither does policy. They would not be so popular if customers did not have the sense of security of seeing the same thing at each store.

I said this in the other thread, but it was also most likely corporate policy not to hire sufficient security.

I believe that to be correct. There is very little that goes on in individual chains that are not per the instructions of Corporate even down to hiring of security.

[Meecham4ever]

Supposedly some customers became irate when told that the score was closing because a man had been trampled to death...perhaps those who wished to continue shopping could have done so after the doors had been locked and the store set ablaze.

[Soriambi]

Supposedly some customers became irate when told that the score was closing because a man had been trampled to death...perhaps those who wished to continue shopping could have done so after the doors had been locked and the store set ablaze.

I didn't even think they'd closed the store. I'm glad to hear that they had the sense to do that, at least.

[__starr69]

I didn't even think they'd closed the store. I'm glad to hear that they had the sense to do that, at least.

Acording to the first news story I read yesterday they closed and later reopened the store at 1PM.

[4bronxbombers]

Acording to the first news story I read yesterday they closed and later reopened the store at 1PM.

Once they cleaned up the mess.

Sickening.

[NelsonMuntz]

I am still furious about this story. Bunch of freakin animals, all of them. I hope somehow they all have a miserable, miserable Christmas. I could understand if gunshots went off in the store, or if a fire broke out and someone got trampled in that situation. But to act like complete savages to save a few dollars on stupid gifts is unconscionable. People act like savages when food is scarce...or when their survival is in question. To see it happen as a result of consumerism run wild is truly pathetic, and is a sad commmentary of our materialistic culture. Shame on all of them and shame on Walmart for not closing the store down completely.

My thoughts exactly. Sorry excuses for human beings.