Consumerist: lines

Fry's Employees Sell Opportunity To Cut Black Friday Line

Carey — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:30:27 EST

Fry's employees in Renton, Washington sold Black Friday aspirants the chance to cut to the front of the pre-dawn line for between $108.79 and $200, including tax. Puzzled shoppers were assured that the money went to Fry's, not the employees. A Fry's worker explained the situation with disarming naiveté:

When KING 5 asked about this at the customer service desk, one employee said: "Oh they stopped doing that. They weren't supposed to." The employee said the store manager put a stop to it.

Anyone who paid the advancement fee will receive a full refund. The rogue salesmen will be sent to the back of the unemployment line.

Fry's shoppers offered chance to cut in line - for a price [KING 5 News]
(AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Tomato Juice Spill Causes Massive Delays At LaGuardia

Carey — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 11:30:39 EDT

Lines the length of city blocks filled New York's LaGuardia airport Saturday morning after a careless worker spilled tomato juice onto one of the five x-ray machines in the American Airlines terminal. A TSA spokesman cast the tomato juice's victory over the machines as a failure of science, saying: "That's the risk you take when you deal with technology." Passengers were understandably pissed.

When CBS 2 HD told one woman the reason for the delays, she asked if we were "kidding," but it was no joke. The Transportation Safety Administration confirmed the spill knocked out one of the five units that screen thousands of passengers here each day.
"That's insane," said Dallas bound passenger Pat Jones. "That shouldn't be our problem, should it?"

But it was.

The delays left many passengers stressed out. "I just want to make sure I make my flight," said one traveler. "I'm not sure that's going to happen."

Few could believe that a major airline terminal could be thrown into chaos by such a simple problem. "It makes one very sad and very worried," said Bonnie Schmitta.

The terminal was back to normal by Saturday evening.

Tomato Juice Spill Causes Long Lines At LaGuardia [WCBS]
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Menards: No Waiting For Savings

Meg Marco — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 18:59:26 EST

Reader jpac sent us this photo, and we thought about it while waiting in the world's longest line at an understaffed Target the other day. Say what you will about that mother@#$!@!-ing Menards jingle that they endlessly...endlessly repeat over the loud speakers...

at least there is no waiting for savings. —MEGHANN MARCO

Police Called After Walmart Changes Mind About Selling Wii

Ben Popken — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 09:03:26 EST

Wii fans in Washington state queued up for the Wii at 10pm last night, only to be told they weren't going on sale until eight this morning. A dispatch from the front lines:

RikOnTheGo: I am in line at the Everret, WA Wal-Mart. Repeated calls to them said they'd be on sale at midnight, and to be here by 10 PM.
RikOnTheGo: Now, at 10:41 PM, they're saying they won't be on sale until 8 AM!
RikOnTheGo: This is for the wii, btw.
RikOnTheGo: Police are now here.
RikOnTheGo: There's some pretty irate customers.
RikOnTheGo: I am leaving now.
RikOnTheGo: Whee

— BEN POPKEN

Skip Black Friday Lines

Ben Popken — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 09:16:20 EST

If you're not going for a door-buster or a super-limited item, this trick could save you a lot of time when shopping on Black Friday.

Reader F.C. Farwell advises bringing a stickynote and a pen. Arrive at the store a few minutes after the doors open. Find your item(s) of choice. Place a note on it that says, "hold for" and write your name and phone number. Hand the item to a clerk. Come back to the store 5 hours later and retrieve your item and pay for it when there's only 1-5 people in line.

F.C. swears that this has worked every time she used it.

Of course, we've never even been to a Black Friday event and have no idea if this will work for you. Who knows, he could be hyper-competitive buyer trying to sow losing strategies. — BEN POPKEN