Print Version
Email this story
Comment
Shopping frenzy
 |
| H&N photo by Andrew Mariman: Alicia and Stephanie Schenbeck wait outside of Fred Meyer bundled in quilts and sipping coffee prior to the store opening at 5 a.m. Friday. Nearly 100 shoppers waited in line to get the first shot at big bargains. |
Klamath shoppers line up early
By JILL AHO
H&N Staff Writer
Eileen Foster knew exactly why she was waiting in Friday’s pre-dawn darkness. When Fred Meyer employees unlocked the doors at 5 a.m., she would head straight for the half-price socks. Foster crowded outside the doors in the pre-dawn hours with other eager customers who shared shopping tips as they waited for the doors to open. “I was almost stepped on last year,” Foster said as she tightened her coat around her neck. She leaned on a shopping cart to help keep her stability in the soon-to-begin shopping madness.
Stores around Klamath Falls opened before sunrise Friday in hopes of capturing crowds of traditional day-after-Thanksgiving shoppers.
About 40 people were lined up at 4:45 a.m., and by the time the doors opened, the crowd at the electronics entrance to Fred Meyer, 2655 Shasta Way, numbered around 100. Many people, like David Foltz, were there for specific reasons.
Foltz was shopping for the video game Rock Band II for his Xbox. Armed with a coupon for half off electronics and another for a $10 discount, Foltz said he was sure to save big.
“I’m looking forward to bed after this,” he said. Foltz got off at midnight from his shift at N.E.W. and stayed up for the sale.
Tina Corley stood with some companions outside Bi-Mart, 1920 Washburn Way, at about 5:30 a.m., waiting for the store to open at 5:55 a.m. She had already been to Wal-Mart, which started its sales at 5 a.m.
“We left without anything,” she said. “We’re not going back … today.”
At 5:45 a.m., the Wal-Mart, parking lot was packed. Inside the store at 3600 Washburn Way, customers with loaded carts waited in long lines.
Two women with carts overflowing with toys and other items said they were there when 5 a.m. rolled around and Wal-Mart’s doorbuster sales officially began. Customers could stand by the items they wanted, but could not pick them up until 5, the women said.
They drove together from Weed, Calif., for the day’s bargains.
“At 5, you couldn’t get through the aisles with a cart,” Kattie Mowery said.
“We split up to get everything we wanted,” Paula Lafollette added.
While shoppers like Mowery and Lafollette had few problems finding what they wanted, others appeared frustrated. One woman pushed the cart of another woman she thought was trying to get in line in front of her. Other Wal-Mart shoppers were frustrated by an overall sense of disorganization.
“The employees don’t know where things are,” said Ruth Castriotta, who added that she picked up some good bargains. She was recently laid off so she’s buying for her immediate family only this year.
At RadioShack, 3049 South Sixth St., employees were up early, store manager Brian Levenhagen said. With a smaller advertising budget this year, Levenhagen wasn’t sure what kind of turn out he would have.
“It’s always my favorite day of the year,” he said. “The excitement of the day is nice.”
Levenhagen said perhaps having a small advertising budget this year was a good thing because the store still had the sale items people were looking for an hour after opening.
The parking lot at Big R, 6225 South Sixth St., continued to be nearly filled to capacity as the morning wore on and the sun began to rise.
Henley High School FFA students Tanaya Doig, Cammie Garner and Kelly Meadows manned a table out front, selling raffle tickets. The girls started their shift at 5:30 a.m., even though Big R didn’t open until 6 a.m.
“They had a huge line,” Garner said. The girls had a pretty good morning, selling 85 tickets by 9 a.m.
Although not everyone had been polite to them, they said for the most part people were in a good mood. FFA students will be selling raffle tickets at Grange Co-op, 2225 Washburn Way, today.
Downtown Klamath Falls:
In downtown Klamath Falls, Main Street was quiet, there was plenty of parking and few pedestrians were out at 9:45 a.m. Leo’s Camera Shop at 437 Main St. opened at its regular time and had one customer.
“We take the philosophy of when the hysteria subsides, we’ll still be here,” said President Steve Spencer. “Traditionally, it’s been slower the day after Thanksgiving – slower than bigger stores.”
While a lot of retailers expect to earn up to 50 percent of their yearly sales during the months of November and December, Spencer said Leo’s gets just 20 percent of its yearly activity during December.
“It’s still a very big month,” he said.
But with the economic downturn fueling some hard times for retailers such as Circuit City, which filed for Chapter 11 protection earlier this month, Spencer said his store is better off than big box retailers right now.
“Whatever we’re doing, we’re doing better than the national trends,” he said.
Ringing in shoppers:
Sam Montgomery has been a paid bell ringer for the Salvation Army for 30 years, he said as he stood outside the doors of Wal-Mart during Friday’s shopping rush. This is his retirement year, the 61-year-old said.
“The Salvation Army’s been really great to me,” he said. He began his six-hour shift at 6 a.m. “right after the madness,” he said. People had been generous, and very nice to him.
Stores around Klamath Falls opened before sunrise Friday in hopes of capturing crowds of traditional day-after-Thanksgiving shoppers.
About 40 people were lined up at 4:45 a.m., and by the time the doors opened, the crowd at the electronics entrance to Fred Meyer, 2655 Shasta Way, numbered around 100. Many people, like David Foltz, were there for specific reasons.
Foltz was shopping for the video game Rock Band II for his Xbox. Armed with a coupon for half off electronics and another for a $10 discount, Foltz said he was sure to save big.
“I’m looking forward to bed after this,” he said. Foltz got off at midnight from his shift at N.E.W. and stayed up for the sale.
Tina Corley stood with some companions outside Bi-Mart, 1920 Washburn Way, at about 5:30 a.m., waiting for the store to open at 5:55 a.m. She had already been to Wal-Mart, which started its sales at 5 a.m.
“We left without anything,” she said. “We’re not going back … today.”
At 5:45 a.m., the Wal-Mart, parking lot was packed. Inside the store at 3600 Washburn Way, customers with loaded carts waited in long lines.
Two women with carts overflowing with toys and other items said they were there when 5 a.m. rolled around and Wal-Mart’s doorbuster sales officially began. Customers could stand by the items they wanted, but could not pick them up until 5, the women said.
They drove together from Weed, Calif., for the day’s bargains.
“At 5, you couldn’t get through the aisles with a cart,” Kattie Mowery said.
“We split up to get everything we wanted,” Paula Lafollette added.
While shoppers like Mowery and Lafollette had few problems finding what they wanted, others appeared frustrated. One woman pushed the cart of another woman she thought was trying to get in line in front of her. Other Wal-Mart shoppers were frustrated by an overall sense of disorganization.
“The employees don’t know where things are,” said Ruth Castriotta, who added that she picked up some good bargains. She was recently laid off so she’s buying for her immediate family only this year.
At RadioShack, 3049 South Sixth St., employees were up early, store manager Brian Levenhagen said. With a smaller advertising budget this year, Levenhagen wasn’t sure what kind of turn out he would have.
“It’s always my favorite day of the year,” he said. “The excitement of the day is nice.”
Levenhagen said perhaps having a small advertising budget this year was a good thing because the store still had the sale items people were looking for an hour after opening.
The parking lot at Big R, 6225 South Sixth St., continued to be nearly filled to capacity as the morning wore on and the sun began to rise.
Henley High School FFA students Tanaya Doig, Cammie Garner and Kelly Meadows manned a table out front, selling raffle tickets. The girls started their shift at 5:30 a.m., even though Big R didn’t open until 6 a.m.
“They had a huge line,” Garner said. The girls had a pretty good morning, selling 85 tickets by 9 a.m.
Although not everyone had been polite to them, they said for the most part people were in a good mood. FFA students will be selling raffle tickets at Grange Co-op, 2225 Washburn Way, today.
Downtown Klamath Falls:
In downtown Klamath Falls, Main Street was quiet, there was plenty of parking and few pedestrians were out at 9:45 a.m. Leo’s Camera Shop at 437 Main St. opened at its regular time and had one customer.
“We take the philosophy of when the hysteria subsides, we’ll still be here,” said President Steve Spencer. “Traditionally, it’s been slower the day after Thanksgiving – slower than bigger stores.”
While a lot of retailers expect to earn up to 50 percent of their yearly sales during the months of November and December, Spencer said Leo’s gets just 20 percent of its yearly activity during December.
“It’s still a very big month,” he said.
But with the economic downturn fueling some hard times for retailers such as Circuit City, which filed for Chapter 11 protection earlier this month, Spencer said his store is better off than big box retailers right now.
“Whatever we’re doing, we’re doing better than the national trends,” he said.
Ringing in shoppers:
Sam Montgomery has been a paid bell ringer for the Salvation Army for 30 years, he said as he stood outside the doors of Wal-Mart during Friday’s shopping rush. This is his retirement year, the 61-year-old said.
“The Salvation Army’s been really great to me,” he said. He began his six-hour shift at 6 a.m. “right after the madness,” he said. People had been generous, and very nice to him.
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of HeraldAndNews.com. Comment Disclaimer: The editors of heraldandnews.com reserve the right to refuse publication of any comment posted for consideration. We may refuse for any reason, including use of profanity, disparaging comments, libelous comments, etc. Any reader who notices a comment they believe is particularly offensive, should notify us at webmaster@heraldandnews.com.
RSS