Is There A Darker Color Than Black?

Black Friday is nearly upon me...again. I've been dealing with this most dreaded of days in retail for about 15 years now, and I don't think I've ever actually missed one. Sigh. Customers looking to combine a million coupons, others angry they can't use their coupons on something that's already on sale, sitting on a ton of stuff your company thought was going to sell and didn't but not having enough of the stuff they thought WOULDN'T sell and of course everyone wants.

I'm not sure what to expect this year, what with the economy so terrible. My home office wanted me to hire a bunch of seasonal help, to which of course I laughed, as my current staff is lucky when they get 20 hours in a week.

So tell me your Black Friday stories....from both sides of the counter.

Overheard: Sorry, We Don't Sell Maps

A customer of mine the other day had a very interesting change purse. It was a small leather pouch. When you opened it, the part that folded became a leather dish, and you could pour the coins into it. I remarked to the customer what a clever idea I thought it was.

He responded: "It's European or something. I got it in Japan."

Alas, I didn't have the heart to tell him that Japan wasn't located in Europe. Perhaps a folding world map might have been a better investment than a folding coin purse.