Thanksgiving is one week away. And, apparently, it is the latest holiday to get cut short by major retailers who are instituting new extremes like opening stores on Thanksgiving day to encourage more consumers to take advantage of Black Friday sales and discounts.
As an entrepreneur, I understand that time is money; and, the more time one has to shop, the more money she is likely to spend. However, opening stores at midnight–or, in Toys R Us’s case, 9:00pm–means that employees will have to leave their families and homes behind hours prior to opening in order to get the stores ready for the customers. And since the stores will be open all night, employees will probably spend Thanksgiving getting some shut-eye prior to going to work. Additionally, customers looking for those 15-minute only “door-busting” deals will likely leave home early to stand in queues at the door.
Has the economic situation become so dire that we, as a country, do not even care to stop for an entire day to give thanks for all that we have?
And, is Thanksgiving destined to become a frivolous federal holiday (similar to Presidents’ Day or Columbus Day) that will serve primarily as an excuse to take the day off from work so that we can barbecue and/or shop?
I sure hope not. What do you think?
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