Thanksgiving, the holiday that most people skip. Some go from taking down their Halloween decorations to putting up their Christmas tree. Mankind has seemed to forget about this holiday that we call Thanksgiving, and because they have forgotten it, it has made businesses forget it too.
It’s November, which means you will now see signs up for Black Friday and all of their Thanksgiving deals. You will see more Christmas commercials than you ever have seen in your life in this month. This is because of retailers. I remember in 2011, when I first started working in retail, the idea of working on Thanksgiving was absolutely absurd. However, the longer I stayed with my company the earlier and earlier I had to start coming in and before I knew it, we were open on Thanksgiving afternoon and stayed open 24-7.
This is where the rant begins. As a retail employee, I understand that I am there to help customers in anyway possible. I just did not know that I would have to sacrifice my own Thanksgiving to help people find what they were going to get their spoiled child for Christmas. I did not realize that spending time with my family meant nothing compared to the deals that customers want to get on Thanksgiving. I did not realize that my family time no longer mattered as long as I was pleasing the customer and the company.
Now, this isn’t saying that I hate the company because they make me work Thanksgiving. I just seem to dislike it very much because of that. Retailers are opening up earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving just to satisfy customers’ wants and needs. This is no way benefits the employees.
One thing I cannot stand are the people that come up to me and say, “I am sorry you have to work on Thanksgiving.” Uhm, no you aren’t. If you were, then you would not be here right now. You would be at home with your own family. You would be taking in all the moments you could with your loved ones. Instead, more and more of you are lining up at the doors hours before opening. You are so selfish. You are the reason I am here. You are the reason I cannot eat Thanksgiving dinner with my family. You are the reason I am not even able to see my family on Thanksgiving because I live hours away from them. You are the reason my Thanksgiving dinner is microwavable pizza and ice cream.
So as a retail employee, I beg all of you shoppers to not shop on Thanksgiving. Come in at midnight on that Friday. You’ll still find some great deals. Spend your Thanksgiving with your family, because you never know if that is their last one. Spend your Thanksgiving with all of your family gathered in the kitchen, with some of you watching football. Stop eating your Thanksgiving dinner for breakfast and spending the rest of this beautiful holiday on the corners of buildings for hours waiting for them to open their doors. Sit at home in the heat sipping on coffee and hot chocolate. Spend the day on the couch flipping through old pictures with your cousins. Spend the entire day just bringing up old embarrassing stories of your family. These are the memories that you cannot get back. Shopping is not that valuable. Your family and my family are more important than a cheap sweater.
