November 29, 2024, It is 5:30 a.m. and there are lines of cars backed up on the exit 63 off ramp. Clinton Police Officers continue to direct traffic from Killingworth Road to avoid any accidents. The Clinton Premium Outlets parking lot is swarmed with cars and lines have formed at several stores before the doors open. It is Black Friday in Clinton once again – from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. people swarm the local outlets to take advantage of the deals and shop til they drop.
Despite the long lines shoppers experience, Black Friday in Clinton takes months of preparing for. Several organizations and leaders come together to set up a plan and gather what’s needed to have a successful and safe execution.
School Resource Officer, Corbin, has worked Black Friday in prior years and spoke with the Pawprint about the work that goes into the day. Corbin mentioned, “it’s very stressful and is an all hand-on deck job.”
“There’s a lot of preparation that goes into Black Friday, with the Department of Public Works, Fire Department, Police Department, The Morgan School and the mall itself.” stated Officer Corbin.
Usually only a few officers are assigned the security of the outlets on a normal day. Around 12-13 officers work a shift together at any given time on Black Friday. The morning shift is 5 a.m- 3 p.m. and the evening shift is 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The head of each department get together numerous times to discuss the blueprints of previous Black Friday’s and make sure everything is put in place. Discussing the costs, officers on a shift, and the supplies from the DPW.
Traffic picks up at morning and night when there are very little lights. The Department of Public Works contributes an immense amount of materials paid by the outlets. Light bars get put up in dark areas, while over 50 cones are scattered throughout Killingworth Tpke, for shoppers to follow the line of traffic. Big signs are placed on the road to warn drivers as well.
The biggest obstacle for the outlets is parking spots fill up fast. “At the end of the day, there are too many cars and not enough parking spaces.” Corbin explained.
The solution to this problem is, the outlets rents The Morgan School’s parking lot as well as buses to transport shoppers. Each bus can carry around 16 people. The buses continue to go back and forth throughout the day, from the school to the mall.
Black Friday originated in Philadelphia during the 1950s and 60s, when the police officers would use the term “Black Friday” to describe the chaos. The Friday after Thanksgiving marks the start of the Holiday shopping season. It is the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States, 152 million Americans shop the sales. Many stores tend to open early and offer discounted prices or big sales to customers.
Inside the mall of chaos, senior, Alyssa Ruthstrum was working at The Under Armour from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ruthstrum worked with nine other employees to keep the store managed. Customers were very eager to receive the 40-50% off deal Under Armor provided. Ruthstrum had a couple rough interactions with customers.
“I was checking out a group of ladies, and they decided to check out all of their things in one.” Ruthstrum said. “All the clothing items came up as 40% or 50% off. The ladies tried to tell me they got their items from the clearance section. However, I knew exactly where the items were from. They were lying and kept insisting, which was annoying.”
The ladies wanted an even lower price than what was promoted. Customers took advantage of the stress the workers were in. Black Friday is as crazy on the inside as it is on the outside.
Avery Vece, junior, had her first day of work on Black Friday. She left for her job at Nautica at 7:30 a.m. to get into the store for her 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift.
“All customers were greedy and they wanted a specific size and got mad when we were out of things.” said Vece.
The sale for Nautica was 50-70% off and the busiest time was around noon. Black Friday attracts customers who seek lower prices and know what they want to buy. If the item isn’t there anymore, the blame seems to go to the employee.
As for the shoppers, it was equally as stressful. With full parking lots and people looking for the best deal. Haley Munoz Gonzale, sophomore, went to the outlets in the morning and night. Gonzale had to park at the Big Y across the street at 9 a.m. and walk over due to the lack of parking spots. When she went at night, there was less traffic and was able to find a parking spot.
“It was hard picking certain things because people were grabbing things not even looking at it.” Explained Gonzale.
Her experience inside the outlet was overwhelming.
The main goal of Black Friday is for the safety in the mall.
“Up to 10,000 shoppers inside the outlets is an extreme safety hazard.” Corbin stated.
