As some local department stores were about to launch their door buster sales Thursday afternoon, my family and I were embarking upon round one of our annual two-part Thanksgiving feast. Rather than holiday deals, we were concentrating on turkey, cranberries and sweet potatoes. But by the time we finished up round two and the pumpkin pie was passed around, the subject of Black Friday shopping came up.

 

As we were mulling over the shopping flyer newspaper inserts, we also chatted about one of the newest lists on which West Virginia has appeared. Yep, as you might have heard, the Mountain State landed in the top 10 states where you’re most likely to encounter fights over Black Friday Sales. We wound up in the sixth spot.

 

Oh joy.

 

As we continued to chat, I decided to do some investigating. My guys would be hunting anyway so I decided while they continued their pursuit of big bucks, I’d try to save a few bucks and knock off some of my Christmas shopping list – plus I was curious as to whether the local area would live up to the state’s shopping reputation.

 

I awoke up the next morning to the shopping network, encouraging folks around the country to stay in their PJs and do some online shopping from the couch. That sounded pretty inviting, but I went through with my plan – putting on real clothes and going out on the front lines. My girls and I weren’t among the super early birds, but we were still out and about at a pretty impressive hour. As anticipated, we found crowds and long lines. At some stores, we stood in line so long that we made new friends. But to our pleasant surprise, we found people to be pleasant, even jovial about the scenario. We didn’t see one single fight over hot items, not one foul word or impatient customer.

 

At least that’s how it seemed on the surface, so I reached out to some local retail managers and sales people to get their professional take.

 

Meadowbrook Mall Marketing Director Robin Urquhart said this year was one of the best attended Black Fridays in years. She said 400 plus turned out for the 6 a.m. balloon drop and other than a slight lull from 8-10 a.m., the day was steady with enthusiastic shoppers. Besides a couple of shoplifting episodes, there were no major negative incidents. Overall, it was very positive, Urquhart said.

 

More than 1,000 customers visited A.C. Moore where the line had formed outside for the 5 a.m. opening, said Store Manager Alexia Biafore. The crowd was steady all day with the most sought after items being adult coloring books and boot stocks. It was actually a very smooth Black Friday – and her team made its sales goal, Biafore said.

 

At J.C. Penney, doors opened 3 p.m. Thanksgiving Day and according to my friend and sales clerk, the line formed about an hour earlier. The store stayed busy throughout Thursday and Friday, with towels and wash cloths, of all things, being among best-selling items. Other popular purchases were coats and boots. Some customers were nice – and others “not so pleasant,” she said.

 

I got a similar report from a sales clerk at Elder-Beerman. The store had issued money-saving coupons which were only good for regularly-priced – not sale – items. Some customers weren’t so happy about that, she said.

 

Kohl's opened at 6 a.m. Friday and the line formed at 5:30 a.m. with folks anxious to purchase items including slow cookers and $99 TVs. My little cashier friend said there weren't any fights that she is aware of and felt the store's managers and employees did a good job keeping things calm and organized. At each check-out, a "line monitor" was stationed to keep traffic flowing. She said she encountered only a few customers who were angry or irritated. "Most of them understood that we were trying our best," she said. 

 

I had all intentions of participating in Small Business Saturday also, but an obligation to help a family member took precedence. I love the small independently-owned stores in our city and frequent them often. I hear these stores offered some nice deals and saw a steady stream of customers.