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As a member of the co-op, I'm so happy that MY dividend is being used to pay people for not working, AND to suffer from no sales on the day when most people go shopping. Real smart REI.
Of course they don't really have "sales" anyway.
Workers should work! Nose to the grindstone. Make money for the investors. This is the American way. I don't understand this foolishness. The lack of work ethic is destroying the country. If people want to shop we should give them stuff to buy!
Remember this is good for PR and for employee morale.
That's important too.
My company (not retail but a trade) makes us take it off, unless they have a need, and for morale passes out ball caps that sometimes even fit.
Thanksgiving is an American celebration, not one shared by many other cultures. As the makeup of the population changes expect fewer and fewer such conventions to be honored.
It is becoming easier and easier to find people willing to work on holidays previously thought precious or important.
Yes and no. I'm mostly immigrant from blood line with some Native American and indigenous Canadian in me too but my family celebrates Thanksgiving and quite honestly it is my favorite holiday of the year with the most meaning to me. It may not be the Pilgrim's tradition to me but it is being thankful for what the last year has brought you as well as the family getting together.
That said, with more and more divorces causing broken homes, i can see your claim about people willing to work. That and the almighty dollar at double time pay rates.
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Originally Posted by Jandrew5
Great move. Sick of stores opening earlier and earlier, and people falling for it. I know we're a capitalist society, but geez. Few years ago it was 4am, then jumped to 1 am, then midnight, and now its as early as 3pm Thanksgiving day.
I wish someone could either regulate this, or people would have sense to sit and enjoy time with family, rather than fight traffic and stand in line at the big box for a tv.
Black Friday was fun at first, but now the whole culture is just sad. Push things back to midnight and later and my tune will change. This 3pm, 5pm nonsence is pathetic.
I'm with you on this entirely. Black Friday, Cyber Monday all fine by me but Black Thursday gets the ESPN Monday Countdown "C'mon, man!" from me.
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Originally Posted by WaldoKitty
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, ad nauseam, etc have all gotten well out of hand. Stores around here started putting up Christmas trees in late September.
Cyber Monday isn't out of hand, Black Friday even when it was midnight wasn't out of hand. Black Thursday however is indeed out of hand because now workers don't even have the ability to spend Thanksgiving dinner as a family. Imagine this back at forth during appetizers at 12:00 PM... "Where's little Johnny, why isn't he at dinner this year?" Great Aunt Sally asks. "Oh, he's working at Walmart, they open at 6:00 PM this year," his father Joe answers. "Well why are we eating at 2:00 PM?" She asks. "So we can shop at Walmart and Target and beat the crowd," he responds.
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Originally Posted by kyle19125
They aren't being pressured to close on Black Friday, but making a statement to those companies who have employees coming in on Thanksgiving Day to work ridiculous overnight hours. The premise that the practice of doing so increases overall 4th Quarter revenue isn't valid given numbers shown thus far and is simply a way to appease shareholders into believing company leadership is "doing something". If the economy continues as it has with fewer that are unemployed the practice of these crazy hours will eventually cease as those looking for seasonal work are going to avoid employers who participate in it like the plague. Already where I live big box stores like Target and WalMart are having a hard time securing sufficient staffing, probably due to ridiculously long holiday store hours....among other things.
Exactly and most of their customers will buy into that logic. It's great 80/20 marketing by them to encourage travel instead of purchases.
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Originally Posted by Zymer
No one is forcing you to participate...unless you work for someone who is trying to strong-arm you into on the holiday.
I stay far, far away from stores on 'Black Friday', there is nothing I want badly enough to participate in that freakshow.
Yeah, takes the fun out of it. By the time the holiday actually rolls around, I'm tired of it and just want it to go away. They should wait until after T-day.
Recreational Equipment Incorporated- sports, camping gear, etc.
I'm fine with Christmas stuff before Turkey Day. Most places don't sell Thanksgiving merchandise or decorations.
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Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
Every year the adults say we're not going to exchange gifts and we're pretty good about that. Getting better each year.
We always buy for the kids but I usually use Amazon for that.
My husband and I usually pick one chilly day in the few weeks before Christmas, and we go to the mall, fight the crowds, look at the decorations, pick up a few odds and ends and then go get some coffee at Starbucks (we hardly ever go there so it's a unique thing for us). The atmosphere is festive and it's our one little nod to the big shopping extravaganza of the season. We always look forward to this but I can't imagine actually spending hours doing it or buying most of our gifts this way. About an hour is our limit.
I just do my shopping before October. I think I'm on about three straight years of it for the most part. But I'll still check out the malls at about 4 when the crowds are dead in between waves on Black Friday.
You would think they are houses of worship out here in Denver
I chuckled at this. When I first moved out here, I thought the membership to become a Colorado resident was to go to REI, buy a The North Face jacket and on the way home, trade my FWD car in for a Subaru. Then, after you have your Subaru, swing into a brewery and buy a growler for home.
I would love to see a form of "regulation" develop over the Black Friday shopping craziness that has crept on into Thanksgiving Day itself by virtue of shoppers saying "No!" and not shopping at all prior to Black Friday. In other words, "regulation" done by the will of the consumer.
If people hold off and don't shop on Thanksgiving Day, the stores will eventually roll back their aggressive move into the holiday itself.
I agree. There's nothing wrong with Black FRIDAY shopping, as long as it's on Friday and not on Thanksgiving Day. I say 8am on Friday is a good start time.
As a member of the co-op, I'm so happy that MY dividend is being used to pay people for not working, AND to suffer from no sales on the day when most people go shopping. Real smart REI.
An REI dividend is 10% of what you spend annually - giving employees a paid day off doesn't change that. Are you really this clueless? Did you completely fail math?
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Of course they don't really have "sales" anyway.
Yeah. They're a co-op. And you knew this when you joined. Or you didn't - which is no one's fault by yours. And anyway, it's irrelevant to the paid day off. I guess you just want to whine about that.
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Workers should work! Nose to the grindstone. Make money for the investors. This is the American way. I don't understand this foolishness. The lack of work ethic is destroying the country. If people want to shop we should give them stuff to buy!
What part of "not a publicly traded company because it's a co-op" do you not understand? There are no REI investors.
See, this is what really fascinates me - this move by REI does not hurt you at all. Not one bit. Yet I knew when I clicked in this thread that there would be plenty of people just like you who are angry and resentful over this. Why? Why does it grieve you so much that a company puts giving its workforce a small perk over squeezing out a few more dollars?
Oh, and as for your ridiculous idea that the perfect business model is to take, take, take every last thing from employees as possible? Here's a clue - productive employees are lured and retained by properly compensating those employees. Focusing on the next quarterly returns by taking, taking, taking - and then watching as your workforce leaves for a company that actually values their talents - is a flawed strategy. It doesn't work.
At least, not here in the real world - as opposed to your weird Ayn Rand fantasies...
Speaking of reality:
Quote:
If Recreational Equipment Inc. were a publicly traded company, it would be the toast of Wall Street. Last year, revenue at the outdoor gear and apparel seller surged 10 percent, to $2.2 billion. Sales at stores open more than a year ticked up 4.2 percent.
Of the largest retailers in the U.S., only a handful beat those metrics. L Brands didn’t, nor did Urban Outfitters, Tiffany, Target, Macy’s, or Wal-Mart Stores. Of course, REI shoppers had some extra incentive: They get a chunk of the profits.
One of the hottest retailers in the country — an empire of goose down and Gore-Tex — REI is not a traditional company at all; rather, it’s a cooperative. REI’s spoils are split among 5.5 million members, each of whom paid $20 and in return get a 10 percent dividend for life on purchases of full-priced items, among other benefits.
Since when was black friday a holiday? Not working thanksgiving night does make sense. Not working on just a Friday does not make sense.
Enough of this whining about working on Black Friday. Black Friday is NOT a holiday. So there's that. And even if it was, Americans in many industries have to work all hours of the day and night: doctors, police, utility workers, firefighters, and many others. During the mortgage crisis, I had a job working for our county toll road. It was a government job, but because drivers didn't get the memo and magically decide to stop driving on Black Friday, we were open just like we were 24/7, 365. Since we didn't close for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day, or any other holiday, and I was a newbie, I was on the roster to work ALL holidays. It wasn't fun, but that was what was required, and I was so grateful that I had a job with good benefits I worked the holidays and didn't let my yucky schedule get me down. Shoppers shop. Retail workers are supposed to help shoppers buy whatever they need to get, and going to work when the store requires is part of the job description.
You can only quote three sentences here. I gave the link, anyone can look them up! I thought that the most pertinent reason.
I have no issue with saying that. I don't know why they had to tell the world they were doing it, except to make them look magnanimous, while making other businesses which have a different business model (see reason #1) look bad by comparison.
Uh, they had to tell the world so people wouldn't go to their store when it's closed & why wouldn't they want people to know why? They're a business. Like they WOULDNT want to look good in the eyes of the people? How bizarre that you don't seem to understand it & in fact, you seem downright annoyed by it.
REI is closing the day after T-day, and paying their employees.
Think of it as a Rorschach test -
Do you see a good thing, a nice gesture, an action in-line with the stated values of the company?
Or do you see it as a slick marketing move?
Maybe you see it as a bit of both?
What does your perception say about you? (Since its doubtful anyone on this thread works among the people at REI who actually made this decision- and therefore, none of us actually know their motivation - which means all of our guesses about WHY they did this are guesses/projections)
A bit of both, mostly towards the slick marketing move end. Companies with "values" make me nervous. They tend to be lying. Volkswagen. Whole Foods with their opposition to universal health care and unions. ETC!
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