NEWS BLOG (WSAU) You wouldn't step over the body of an injured man who's writhing on the ground to save $50 on a DVD player?

But that's what happened at a Long Island Wal Mart last year. A security guard was trampled to death by a throng of shoppers. Of course they're in a rush, the people in the front of the line had waited in the cold for hours. Anticipation had been building. And common sense (and decency) were cast to the wind when the doors opened. There were bargains to be had inside the store. Someone else can worry about the guy who's being trampled.

I'm very glad that many stores have seen the foolishness behind creating a mob mentality in the name of boosting Black Friday sales. Many Wal Marts will be open 24-hours during the weekend, so there will be no mad rush at the door. Other chains are doing away with limited in-store bargains that encourage shoppers to dash from one aisle to another. I applaud all these changes.

But I'm also concerned. Stores are doing a better job this year of managing the behavior of so-called aggressive shoppers. But the underlying behavior is still there. Some people are hyper-competitive about bargain-hunting. Some people pull and grab and yell to get a scarce item to put under the Christmas tree. Since when did shopping become a contact sport?

Chris Conley
Operations Manager, Midwest Communications-Wausau
11.27.09