MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. (NOV. 26, 2010) -- The day after Thanksgiving, dubbed Black Friday, is the biggest shopping day of the year and has become as much an annual tradition to most as a turkey dinner.
The Cherry Point Marine Corps Exchange held its Black Friday sale Nov. 26 as well, where Marines and their families stood outside the doors as early as 5 a.m. to get in line for deals and discounts on probable presents.
The exchange opened its doors at 6 a.m. and stayed pretty busy explained Elizabeth A. Ross, the retail director for Marine Corps Community Services Cherry Point. Most people headed straight for the electronics department, where some flat screen TVs were priced less than $200.
“It’s our busiest area when the doors first open,” Ross said of the electronics department.
To prevent dangers like the 2008 story of a Walmart employee being trampled by customers, the exchange passed out tickets for specific items to make certain a customer could get what they came for.
“We have to make sure that people aren’t going to stampede to what they want,” said Donnie E. Rowe, the security manager for MCCS Cherry Point.
The exchange started receiving deliveries in the month of October to ensure the shipments were on time and the low prices were locked in, explained Ross.
She added that the MCCS headquarters in Quantico, Va., buys all the merchandise and decides the quantity to meet the demand based on the size of the exchange, and each year it gets better.
“The day was a little more stressful,” Rowe said, “but it was really just more people.”
More people that were able to take advantage of the holiday sales without even leaving the air station.