Retailer Target announced this week it will make being closed on Thanksgiving Day a permanent change to their yearly calendar.
When I was a kid, it seems like all stores closed on Thanksgiving Day. Even grocery stories, if they opened at all, would shut down for the day around lunchtime. I assumed that served people in desperate need of an ingredient for a Thanksgiving side dish.
Target opened at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day 2019. Like many other retailers, Target didn’t open on Thanksgiving Day of last year because of the pandemic.
This week, the company announced it would that temporary decision a permanent one.
“What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard — one that recognizes our ability to deliver on our guests’ holiday wishes both within and well beyond store hours,” CEO Brian Cornell said in a memo to employees, according to the Associated Press.
People complained for years about stores opening on Thanksgiving. I’m sure some of the same people will complain about this decision. Some people just like to complain.
To prove no good dead goes unpunished, complaints almost immediately began. Some argued that only some Target employees actually got the day off. Workers at the company’s distribution centers, for example, still had to work.
Distribution and call centers will have some staff on Thanksgiving, Target said.
Those who are complaining about that should refrain from shopping at all on Black Friday. They’re the ones forcing any retail workers to work on the holiday.
(But I suspect those shoppers won’t see it that way at all.)
Personally, I’m glad at least store employees will get the day off. I can assure you that after the big Thanksgiving dinner, the last thing I care to do is get out into the hustle and bustle to fight crowds for bargains the stores will probably have run out of anyway.
If that’s your thing, however, you do you! More power to you!
