Surviving Black Friday: A Consumer Etiquette Guide to Shopping - Page 2

By waiting patiently, you make the process for everyone involved much easier. Cashiers appreciate a nice, thoughtful customer, and you won't be the "dick" or "bitch" discussed in the break room later in the day (that is, if we even get a break).

With that said, some of the "big box" retailers have a system where one or two associates will scan your items with a wireless scanner while you wait in line. The wireless scanner prints out a receipt that the cashier scans when you are at the register ready to pay. This will save you a lot of time, so if you encounter this while shopping, smile and thank the associate. We just saved you some time and hassle.

2. Don't barter. Unless you spend your Black Friday shopping at an open air market or auction house, you shouldn't even try to barter your way to a lower price. Most retail companies have spent hours laboriously going over the numbers and have lowered prices as low as they can go. All of this is done using very sophisticated computers tested by monkeys in a NASA laboratory, so they know the price is right. Everything is already so damn cheap; do you think an already overworked sales associate can get it any lower? Most likely not.

Many retailers have a price-matching program that will match the prices of competitors on identical items (some will even take an additional 10% off). Before you go to a store, do some research on their price matching program and bring the flyer with you with the competitor's price clearly marked, and you'll most likely get a better deal.

3. Be short, concise, and know what you want. As much as we love to hear your family stories or your experience with one of our products, today is not the day to talk about how cute your little Johnny would look in this shirt or these pants. We don't have time, and neither do you.

Instead, you should have an idea of what you want, and when you can't find it or need help with something, ask the questions in a concise manner. We don't need the back history, just what you want to buy. If you keep it to the point, you'll have what you need before you know it.

Article Author: Kevin Eagan

Kevin Eagan is a Blogcritics Books Editor and (occasional) freelance writer based in the Greater St. Louis, MO area. He also writes at There There Kid, a blog that focuses on literature, culture, and music.

Visit Kevin Eagan's author page — Kevin Eagan's Blog