Macy's and Thanksgiving

Macy's recently polled its employees on how they would feel about working Thanksgiving night. The results weren't disclosed, but whatever the employees said, Macy's decided to open 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving. The company has (understandably) endured some criticism for deciding to open on a night that's usually reserved for spending time with the family, but in response they've said the decision was based on the responses of customers who want to start shopping earlier. "'Black Friday is the biggest shopping event of the year and brings with it a level of fun and excitement to our customers around the nation,' said Macy’s chief stores officer. 'For Macy’s, it’s important to make this day enjoyable and convenient for everyone, as our customers search for great deals on favorite wish-list items.'" (Quote from the PR Daily article)

While this may seem like a bad move from a PR standpoint, it is apparently a pretty safe one, as Macy's is not the first store to open on Thanksgiving. Furthermore, by portraying this as attempting to serve their customers better, the company will probably be able to shift some of the attention off of the employees who have to come to work the night of Thanksgiving.

The fact that this decision probably won't damage Macy's, though, doesn't necessarily make it any less worthy of scorn. "Consumerist" has called the 8 p.m. opening time "obscenely early," and it's easy to see why. Whatever benefit Macy's may reap from the decision, its employees are certainly going to have to suffer enough for it (and it's pretty unlikely that poll yielded many favorable responses to this idea). Whether the convenience this supposedly gives to the customers and whatever profit Macy's may get from this move justify making customers come in on Thanksgiving is for the observer to judge.