November 27th: a day of deals that every christmas shopper looks forward to. People have begun to sneak out of their family meals in order to get the best deal on a new TV or toys for under the Christmas tree. People make plans with their friends to be out all night but don’t often think about the people behind the magic: the retail workers.

As a previous retail worker, I can personally say that Black Friday is starting to take over Thanksgiving. The fall holiday isn’t so much about giving thanks anymore, as it is about scoring the best deals. Majority of customers come in with a plan in mind, sometimes even a map or a list of all the places they need to go and all the things they need to accomplish before the sun comes up. These people are determined and will go to any measure to get what they came for.

When it comes to the behind the scenes of the store, black friday is the equivalent of the Super Bowl. Shifts become determined months in advance, dress codes become informed and we start to strategically place sales items so people can get in and get out. Depending on the store, most of the employees are on the floor, assisting the shoppers and working the registers. Then there are messengers, those who relay messages from the floor to the back room regarding anything from size to colors of an item, then lastly there are stockroom workers who locate and grab the items for the messengers. There’s a theory to the madness and that’s how we manage to not go crazy when a customer is complaining on the sales floor.

Employees have scheduled shifts anywhere from 6 p.m. Thanksgiving night to 12 p.m. friday night. These people are giving up their family holiday time in order to support a family, pay bills, or save up for college, so next time you are running through the stores on Black Friday, shoot these sales associates a quick smile or a simple “Thank you” to make their Black Friday a little more bearable.