Lifestyle

Retail Nightmare: The 5 Types Of Shoppers You Meet…

by May Chau
Aila Images

Black Friday is the most important shopping day of the year. Online shopping is great, but Entrepreneur.com maintains that in-person sales are the best place to start, and that’s been the jumping point for retailers and consumers for years.

However, sometimes said consumers get too caught up in the shopping madness to realize what type of shopper they become in the eyes of a retail service employee.

Here are five types of shoppers you’ll meet on Black Friday — hope you’re not one of them!

1. The Clueless: “I Don’t Know What’s Going On!”

Yes, Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, but no one expects you to know about all the deals. Staff members will more than likely be happy to help you out — if you aren’t screaming and yelling at their faces, that is.

But, then there’s always the shopper who seems to be completely unaware of what is happening upon entering a store.

These shoppers expect to be provided with top-notch service and granted 20-minute question and answer sessions all about Black Friday during the madness.

Just take a moment here to pause and imagine being in the veritable war zone that is the shopping mall on Black Friday and having someone ask you if there’s some sort of sale happening. Observe your surroundings and be a good samaritan by escorting these clueless innocents out of the danger zone.

2. The Revolutionary: “Businesses Are Full Of Lies.”

Many customers grow angry when certain companies don't following through on what they advertised for Black Friday. Usually, this feels like just another day on the Internet — until it happens offline.

Most customers have something in mind before heading into Black Friday shopping. A lot the times, it won’t be completely clear, but they have a good idea of what they expect from the promotional ads they saw.

The reality is, most ads will show you the lowest price of the bunch, but that doesn’t necessarily encompass the specific product you want. While disappointed customers demand answers for why the ads were deceiving at the store on Black Friday, the rest of us just might be a little bit frustrated that you’re holding up the line.

3. The Menace: “I’m Going To Undo Five Hours Worth Of Work.”

Unfortunately, this shopper doesn’t only reveal him or herself on Black Friday. This shopper is everywhere and if you work or have worked in retail, then you already know you can run, but you definitely cannot hide.

You can fold all the shirts you want, stack all the boxes perfectly, side to side, but you just know this shopper will come along and undo all your hard work. He or she might not even be interested in purchasing the product, but will “just want to look.”

Worse yet, this customer makes you wonder if the plates at the bottom of the pile really are better than the ones on top. There has to be a reason for this kind of behavior, right?

4. The One Percent: “I’m Too Important To Wait In This Line.”

If there is a good deal, chances are, many people will be interested. As with most awesome things in life, these items come with a little price tag.

Between the nightmare of parking and checkout line, there will always be someone with “places to be,” trying to cut in front. This shopper always makes a big fuss about having to wait when he or she has better things to do.

The fact that these shoppers miss is that if they actually had better things to do than wait in line, the opportunity cost for purchasing those products on sale would technically be not worth it.

USA Today reports this year's holiday shopping season started prior to Halloween, so this kind of short-tempered shopper may be able to find what he or she wants, far before the big day and save a lot of hassle. But really, can people honestly say they didn’t expect long lines on Black Friday?

5. The Clan: “Shopping Is A Family Outing!”

We’ve got nothing against shoppers who go out with their entire families. Sometimes, it’s kind of endearing to see that shopping on Black Friday can be family time, as well.

However, every now and then, there’s a small clan with  half a dozen kids under the age of 15, who stop in the video games, and suddenly, you’re a babysitter. Oops.

It’s Not You, It’s Them

Are you guilty of being one of the shoppers above? Are you ready to change your ways before Black Friday rolls around, or would you rather take the day as it comes?