Retail Employees Tell Their Worst Black Friday Stories

Black Friday is one of the busiest days of the year for retailers, and it somehow always manages to leave people with unforgettable memories, both good and bad. No matter how intently workers try to prepare for the madness that’s about to ensue, they never know exactly what to expect when the store opens its doors on that dreaded day.

From granny karate to food poisoning, some of these stories are so crazy that the people involved might have wanted some helmets and padding before heading out to buy their on-sale items. Check out some of the wildest Black Friday stories out there, courtesy of the frazzled retail workers who shared their experiences on the internet.

Back in My Broke Days

Back when I was broke and in college, I worked at Walmart, and Black Friday was quickly approaching. We tried our best to make sure that we had enough of everything, but it’s Black Friday, so you can never be fully prepared. The day came, and it didn’t take long for a fight to break out…

It was over a bike. Fists were thrown, and there was a bit of blood drawn. In the middle of everything, another person grabbed hold of the bike and somehow managed to get away with it. He rode the bike…out the store. Without paying. Reddit User: KnowMatter

Don’t Tell Her What To Do

I’ve worked at one of the largest lingerie retailers in the country for some time now, so I’m used to things getting crazy around Black Friday. One year, during the beginning of Black Friday, a Southern Belle mom decided that she didn’t want to wait in line, which was about 50 people long.

She went to the front of the line, where our security guard asked her multiple times to step to the back of the line or leave. After she’d had enough of him telling her what to do, she told him every curse word in the book. She then threatened him with the weapon she had in her bag. It was my last holiday in retail. Reddit User: kittykatie

Fighting For Elmo

My father was a police officer the year that the Tickle Me Elmo (toy of the year) came out. On Black Friday, he and his partner were called to a local Target because two women were fighting over the very last one. When he went to break up the fight, something unexpected happened…

One of the women ended up biting him. She bit down so hard that she even had to spit out some of his skin. He had to have a blood test every 6 months for the next two years to make sure that he didn’t get any diseases from her. Reddit User: jennyanydots711

Be Careful Who You Punch

I work at Walmart, and two hours before we opened our doors, there was a swarm of people hovering outside. When the alarm went off for them to enter, people went insane, but there were these two women who stood out from the crowd. They stood on opposite sides of the clothing aisle, just tossing clothes to each other.

A petite teen girl intercepted a pair of pants being tossed, and one of the women lost it. She elbowed the girl in her face and acted like it was a reasonable thing to do. I pulled the girl out of the crowd to go get her cleaned up, but then a sheriff appeared out of nowhere. He turned out to be the teen’s dad. The other woman was arrested on the spot. After posting bail, she came back to buy the pants…full price. Reddit User: arielscoop

Wrong Direction

Last year, while working in a large toy store on Black Friday, I pointed a woman in the wrong direction to find the toy that she desperately “needed.” After quickly realizing my mistake, I ran to where the Dora doll was, took one, and took it with me until I found the woman.

Expecting at least a “thank you,” she grabbed my arm, leaned in, and hissed at me, “It’s a good thing you came back,” directing me to look into her purse. There was a weapon in there. I pulled away, and she said, “Because I was coming back to find ya!” She then went into the line to meet her children. Reddit User: DandyDoodleDude

Lobster Tail Anyone?

Black Friday has a way of bringing out the ultimate crazy in people, and I’ve managed to witness it firsthand. I worked at Sam’s Club, a huge wholesale store, and during the madness that is Black Friday, we caught a woman stuffing lobster tails down her pants.

They were frozen, and we just stared in amazement as she pushed them down one by one. She would unwrap them and throw the wrapper in the stack of tires on display. When we snapped out of what we were looking at, we then alerted security. Reddit User: Nickdubs

Never Again

I worked at Walmart a long time ago, and I always remember this Black Friday story. That year, one of the hottest items was the $10 DVD player. While walking to the receiving area in the back, someone from sporting goods came to ask for me to load up the L-cart with a trampoline for a customer.

On my way back from getting the cart, a customer stops me to ask about something, so I walk two feet away from the cart towards the customer to answer. Almost as soon as I do, a woman grabs the cart and runs toward the sporting goods section with it. When I get there, the woman (cart thief) and her husband are loading up the trampoline, which wasn’t theirs.

The woman who purchased the trampoline was standing right there with the receipt. When she said, “Hey, that’s mine,” the husband got in her face and said, “What are you gonna do about it?” When we decided to call management, he said, “Run, honey,” and they booked it to the front. But that’s as far as they made it….While this was going on, an elderly woman who grabbed the last $10 DVD player started fighting with another woman for it. It was absolutely insane. NEVER AGAIN. Reddit User: Duckmunch

Losing Out

I got my first job when I was 15 years old. My first day happened to be Black Friday, and I thought that it wouldn’t be a big deal because I was hired to work in the men’s formal wear section of the store… but boy was I wrong. I showed up at 4 am, and the manager told me that I was working in the women’s shoe department.

It was absolute madness, but I managed to keep up. The worst part of the day was that we got paid on commission, and since I didn’t have an employee number, I only got minimum wage. I lost out on hundreds of dollars of extra pay. Reddit User: bearded_beauty

All or Nothing

I worked at a video game store, and our plans for Black Friday were to mark down every single item by 50% or more; hundreds of items were put on sale. The used movies were practically giveaways. In walked a guy and his wife carrying a box of professional-grade trash bags, and they proceed to fill up four bags with movies.

When they got to the register, they had quite a few duplicates, and every time there was one, they’d put the extra one to the side. There were four bags to go through, and it took a long time to get through them. My manager, who acknowledged the angry people in line, came over to tell them that they either had to buy everything or leave.

After an argument with his wife, the guy grabbed the bags, spilled the DVDs on the floor right in front of the register, and then just left. Before we could move them, the customers in line went after them like vultures. It was crazy. Reddit User: Denton56

Maybe It Was Worth It

I worked at one of the big electronic companies where Black Friday gets pretty crazy. Back when flat-screen LED HD televisions came out on the market, each store got three televisions to sell at a ridiculous discount because they were very expensive. One of the managers wanted one and did something she wasn’t supposed to in order to get it…

She hid the “special” television in the back, then took it out and bought it at the end of her shift. Just as she was buying it, she was getting fired. She could have just asked a friend to buy it for her. I hope it was worth it. Reddit User: aquasharp

A Thanksgiving Miracle

This happened at Walmart a few years back. A surge of people ran into the store to get the things on their list, and many people got pushed to the floor as a result. This one woman got knocked down, and her pens went straight for her neck, barely missing a vital artery.

The worst part of the ordeal was that no one tried to help her. An associate tried to form a one-man barrier to protect her from getting trampled, but he barely managed to do that. When the ambulance arrived, they had to push people out of the way because no one would allow them to pass. Reddit User: wildcard084

Black Friday Battle Scars

It was my first Black Friday working at Walmart, and it was the last one that I will ever work. I was assigned to be one of the employees who cut open the pallets, which contained merchandise that was out on the floor. As I readied my handy box cutter, I got pushed to the floor by a customer…

I happened to fall on top of my box cutter and sliced my hand open. After leaving to get it patched up, I reluctantly returned to my duties. As I picked up a DVD on the floor, I got punched in the face because a customer wanted it. Reddit User: Wildfires

Hard Time

While working at Best Buy, I saw a guy trying to steal a Bluetooth speaker. After calling my manager, who then called the police, we discovered that he was hiding three things on him: a weapon that he did not have a permit for, some illegal substances, and then, of course, the speaker.

We learned right then and there that he would be serving hard time in jail. Why did he have to go to prison? All because he didn’t want to spend $80 on a speaker and just decided that it was a better idea to try to steal it instead. Reddit User: BoNamath

A Couch and a Prius

On Black Friday, I sold a couch to a man who drove a Prius with no roof-rack. We don’t deliver, and he refused to leave unless we found a way to secure it to his car. Clearly, he didn’t plan ahead, and he came in and made the issue our problem, rather than hiring someone to pick it up.

We ended up using twine to tie it down, and he had to climb through one of the windows to get into the driver’s seat. It was quite a sight to behold, and looking back, I wish I took a picture. We had to make him sign a waiver before leaving because he’d caused so much trouble.

I REALLY do wish that I had taken a picture of the whole thing when I could have. At one point, the guy complained to our general manager about us, who also had no idea what we were supposed to have done to appease this moron. Reddit User: Uberhypnotoad

The Last Voucher

I was sitting in the back room, waiting for my shift to start on Black Friday, and I knew that it was busy, so I decided to wait until the time came for me to clock in. All of a sudden, I heard someone scream through the store’s walkie talkie, “HELP! HELP!” I rushed to the front of the store to see two grown men fighting on the ground.

One was in nothing but his underwear, and my poor shift lead was trying to separate them while saying, “STOP! THIS IS A FAMILY RESTAURANT THERE ARE CHILDREN HERE!” If it wasn’t already weird, things then took a turn down to crazy town. Someone grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed us with it.

We eventually got them separated; then, the police showed up. We then found out that one of the guys got the last television voucher from Best Buy, and the other man was angry, so he followed him over to try to buy it from him. The fight ensued. Reddit User: Usernamesarestupid12

Box Car Beat Down*

I’ve worked at Walmart for four years, including every single Black Friday, and I’ve never seen anything like the story I’m about to tell. I was busy helping customers when I witnessed a woman being hit in the chest with one of those toddler cars (they can drive around in) by another woman.

The woman who got hit was three weeks out of open-heart surgery, and it began to show. It was gushing out, and she had to be transported to the hospital immediately. I have no idea what happened to the woman who hit her. I think she got what she wanted and left. Utterly insane. Reddit User: InfinityKitty

Worse Than Best Buy

I work at a kids’ store where almost everything is half off on Black Friday. I usually help out the moms and the grandparents if they need help at the register, so we don’t experience the Best Buy-style brawl we hear about on television, but I think that what I experienced might be worse…

Many of the older ladies like to yell at the staff over the cost of certain items. We also get moms bringing back hundreds of dollars’ worth of clothing and kids makeup they bought weeks before. They’d return it, then buy it back at the discounted price. It was an absolute mess having to deal with so many complaints. Reddit User: AfroBB

The Store’s Policy

I worked at a game shop, and we have a strict store policy not to confront or interact with hostile customers or those who stole any items. Back when Xbox 360s were the hottest item, we had this one customer come in to ask for one. We unlocked the box it was in and handed it to him while we waited for him to pay.

The guy then just up and walked out of the store. Because of the store’s policy, we just had to sit there and watch it happen. Insurance would cover it, and the cameras let the police know who it was they were supposed to look for. Reddit User: satansheat

There’s a Food Court…

I’ve worked as a server (then manager) at a Johnny Rockets in a large mall for six years. We never opened early, even on Black Friday, purely because we didn’t serve breakfast. One Black Friday, we had a bunch of people shake the gates and scream that they wanted food. I walked over to try to offer a solution, but that was a big mistake…

I told them that we didn’t happen to serve breakfast and that the food court was open, when suddenly this one woman spat on me and said, “I know you have bacon!” We do, and it’s in the fridge, waiting to be cooked and put on a burger. Reddit User: Kidou

 Swooping In

On Black Friday evening, I watched two men get into a fist fight over a parking space. Here’s what happened. Car A is hovering waiting for a person who was loading up their car to leave, and all of a sudden, car B swoops in from a different direction to steal the spot….

It was an even matchup until one of their girlfriends decided to give an assist in the form of pepper spray. She got both of them in the face, and it was enough to end the fight. By the time the ambulance and the police arrived, the parking lot was a complete mess. Reddit User: ryemanhattan

Without Noticing a Thing

Last year, the store that I worked at hired a few seasonal cashiers, and it just so happened that their first day was on Black Friday. Within the first hour of one of the guys starting, he came across a man who tried to steal all of the cash out of the drawer….

He actually tried to stuff it inside of his apron if you can believe it. One of the guys in the accounts payable department walked out of his office and escorted him off the floor until the police had arrived. None of the customers even noticed a thing. Reddit User: Prannke

Mace, Then Tackle

I work in a fabric store, and Black Friday is always one of our busiest days of the year. An older woman walks in with her eye on the pink cancer ribbon fabric. Unfortunately for her, another woman called ahead, ordering the bulk of it. The older lady ended up tackling her, claiming that she needed it.

The younger woman tries to reassure her that she isn’t taking any of the store’s stock because she special ordered it, but the older lady isn’t having it. She just whips out her mace, then tackles the poor woman. She ends up getting kicked out of the store, but every few months, she comes back in to give me the stink eye. Reddit User: [redacted]

A Gesture of Food Poisoning

I worked at Best Buy on Black Friday in 2010, and if you know anything about Black Friday at Best Buy, you know that it’s an absolute nightmare. Well, it was 10 times worse for me. We’d been working like crazy, and one person brought us sloppy joes as a gesture of goodwill.

Of course, we all ate it, but within a few hours, it all went bad. I got food poisoning and had to be taken to the emergency room. I felt like I was close to meeting my maker four times. I even pooped my pants in front of a hot nurse. Reddit User: boss34112

The Worst Black Friday Ever

I’ve only ever worked on one Black Friday, and for the first time in my life, I wouldn’t be spending my Thanksgiving with my family. The shift started at 8 pm, and I was in a bad mood because of it. My night was made worse after having things thrown at me on several occasions.

In addition to that, I was trampled on by a pack of old ladies, and was screamed at more than usual…but none of that was the worst part. The final straw came when a woman yelled at me because I wasn’t able to get one of her items further discounted. My manager witnessed the entire ordeal, and the customer was escorted out of the store. Reddit User: pictures_of_sucess

Look at Me

Back in 1993, I worked in a small pop up toy store, and it was finally time to close after the horrors of Black Friday. There was one customer who wanted to write a check without presenting identification for a very large purchase. The customer kept yelling, “Look at me! LOOK at me! LOOK. AT. ME!”

When I looked at her, nothing happened; it was just awkward. I was the lead clerk, and I would have definitely been fired if I took a check without any identification, so I apologized while trying to explain our policy. After a few more “look at me” shouts, she stormed out of the place. Reddit User: [redacted]

You’re Not David

I’m working at the register with approximately 20 people on a dreaded Black Friday when this one woman’s total comes up to $200. As soon as I tell her the total, she tells me. “You double scanned most of it! It should be half that price!” My manager is right behind me, so I reply in the nicest voice, “I don’t believe I did, you can even see it right here on the register. If you really want me to, I can start over to make sure nothing scanned more than once, though….”

She ignores me and just tries to pay for it. She hands me the card, and I notice that the first name on it is “David.” I tell her, “I’m sorry, ma’am, I can’t legally charge this card unless David is with you.” She screams, “THIS IS MY SON’S CARD. LET ME TALK TO YOUR MANAGER….”

My manager turns around and says, “I’ll be right with you.” After screaming at the manager, she says she’ll put everything back and go shopping somewhere else. Instead, she tries to walk out of the store with everything in the cart. The police are called, and she’s arrested. Reddit User: Darkhellxrx

Waiting For 14 Hours

I’ve worked as a part of Target’s security team for over 5 years, and for a store in one of the rougher parts of town, I don’t have many horror stories, but I do have this funny one. Every year, people line up for hours, and I try my best to keep them entertained. I met this couple at the front of the line, and they’d been there for 13 going on 14 hours…

When the store finally opened, they headed straight for the $2 towels. They got a cart full of $2 towels…not electronics or toys like everyone else. The sad part was that there were still towels when I got off my shift, some 12 hours later, and even more in the back. Reddit User: Lineman72T

For No Particular Reason

One of four girls  was working at our jewelry counter when a customer suddenly just shoved a huge glass spinning case into her back. It cut her up pretty badly, and the saddest part of it was that the woman had no reason whatsoever for even doing it.

We reviewed all of the security footage and after walking around with no real purpose, the woman just decided to push it forward….She then walked right out of the store. No one knew who she was, and we haven’t seen her ever since. Reddit User: HorsesandAshes

Later Than Usual

It was Black Friday at our tiny Payless shoestore, and there were many people who came in with a 50% off coupon. The store was completely packed to the brim, and we don’t usually do a lot of business, so it came as a bit of a shock to us how many people were there.

Usually, the staff would be out of there about 10 minutes after closing….That night, we didn’t get home until after 1 in the morning and the store was completely destroyed. For the entire rush, we weren’t able to do any maintenance at all. Reddit User: The-beefbus

Granny Beatdown

Back when I was in college, I worked at RadioShack for an entire year, including the Black Friday holiday. One of the many items on sale was a $10 calculator marked down to $5. We didn’t think that it would have been one of the hot items, but it was, and these two seemingly sweet elderly women came in, both looking for one….

When I told them that there was only one left, it was like announcing that the Hunger Gamed had commenced. The women fought for the calculator, and the one who lost had a few names to call the other one gripping the calculator. At that point. I imagined what kid would be excited to find out that their beloved granny fought for a $5 calculator for their Christmas present. Reddit User: Jsquaw

Best Buy Blowout

I worked at Best Buy back in 2001. It was Black Friday morning, and by 6 am, people were already scaling the gates to try to get in. They somehow managed to open them, and a massive flood of people washed in. Before I knew it, I was being bombarded with questions and people screaming at me to find out where to get their desired items.

Management told us that it didn’t matter how we treated people on that day because we were about to make close to $1 million in sales. The goal was to try to sell everything, and we almost did. People were fighting for items; I watched one woman punch another for a digital camera. It was horrible. Reddit User: kendogg

Brown Friday

It was my first Black Friday working in retail, and it was the worst work day that I’ve had. Things were going relatively well when a woman suddenly burst into our store with a cart from another store and headed straight to our bathroom. I didn’t think anything of it, but this will be important later on….

A couple of minutes later, a paying customer asks to use the bathroom, then comes back to tell me that someone “went” on the floor. Since it was my first major holiday, I called the manager, who rushed to see what the commotion was about. The day will forever be renamed Brown Friday. Reddit User: goldminevelvet

A Stalking Sensation

Six years ago, while working at a mall’s bookstore café, I had the opening shift (8 am to 2 pm), which I was happy about because it was Thanksgiving. Unfortunately for me, the late shift worker called in sick, and I was asked to hold on for them. As annoyed as I was, it wasn’t the worst part of the day.

I had a customer stalk me for the entire day, including my shift break. I was scared, and after informing my manager, he didn’t want to call security because I was never approached by the guy. I didn’t want to go to my car because I didn’t want him to know what it looked like or what my plate number was. Reddit User: NeedsMoreYellow

Registers Down

Working at a golf superstore, we all dreaded Black Friday because it was one of the few times of the year where almost every item was on an even playing field. As expected, the customers came rushing in, and it didn’t take long for the lines to form. I scanned the first item, and nothing came up on screen…

I swiped again, still nothing…and it wasn’t just me. All the registers were down. We had to do every transaction manually, and that was by writing down the SKUs, calculating tax, and using old credit card swipers. I vowed that day that I would never work retail during Black Friday again. Reddit User: Steelergrl2310

To Close or Not To Close

During one of our busiest days of the year, one of the worst things imaginable happened: the electricity went out, and the manager decided that despite the blackout, we should stay open. There were very few windows in the store, and as a result, there was little light coming into the store.

It was completely pitch black. When the lights came back on, the racks were totally empty, and it’s not because people ended up paying for things. At least the manager later admitted that he probably should have closed that day. Reddit User: mickeyperry

Six Servings of Stuffing

I always have two jobs during the holiday season, because I need the extra cash. I end up working 18 hours straight, and it can be an absolute nightmare. I’ve had things thrown at me, people have ripped things out of my hands that were meant for other customers, and that’s not all…

They break and steal things, relieve themselves in the bathroom, and faint while shopping. The only good thing is that I easily walk between 8 and 10 miles every Black Friday. It helps to justify my decision to have 6 servings of stuffing right after. Reddit User: [redacted]

You’re Young!

A while back, I worked at Walmart, and on the special occasion that is Black Friday, one of my managers thought that it would be okay to swap my Black Friday off shift with one that began at 9 am. What made it worse was that my usual shifts didn’t begin until 1 pm, so I have no idea how or why she chose that time slot.

I worked in the bakery department, and even then I had to come in earlier because they needed more help…which added up to a 14-hour shift. The manager came in and told me, “You’re young! They have families they need to be with and kids to celebrate with!” which made me very angry. Reddit User: theWastelandWizard

Liar Liar

While working through my crazy shift at a popular electronics store, I saw an elderly woman steal an ice cream maker right out of a man in an electronic wheelchair’s handicapped cart. Dumbfounded, the man called security, and the woman flat out denied stealing the item. She went as far as saying that the man was using his handicapped status to embarrass her.

I lost a little faith in humanity after witnessing it. I felt compelled to do something, so I followed her around and took stuff out of her cart and put it back on the shelves. I replaced the stuff with random embarrassing things. Reddit User: madamimadame89

The Worst Shift of My Life

I work for a large retail chain, and the upcoming Black Friday was going to be one of the worst that I would ever experience. I just had a feeling that it would be, and it turns out that I was right. My shift began on Thursday night and went straight into Black Friday.

The shift lasted for 17 hours straight. The worst thing to happen was that management had decided to check every receipt at the exit. The amount of cursing, shouting, and gender discrimination I witnessed was just horrendous. Reddit User: WookieRookie1822

Our Faulty System

I was a former manager at GameStop, and the worst Black Friday I’ve ever had was in 2006. The Wii just came out, and everybody wanted one. I got to the store at 4am to prepare for the 5am opening, and there were already hundreds of people outside. We’d put a sign out days in advance saying that only the first 6 people would be guaranteed one.

The day was bad; our systems were ridiculously slow, and we constantly had to deal with people asking for and not getting Wiis. Three days later, a woman came into the store with a bank statement saying that her card was charged $200 four times. She then said that she would not leave unless I gave her $600 from the cash register.

My district manager politely told her to call her bank and to leave the store, but she stayed, and the police were nearly called. We found out that the system had charged multiple peoples’ cards too many times, and it was a complete mess. Reddit User: CowabungaM8