As both a holiday shopper and retail-worker veteran, I’ve experienced Black Friday from inside and out. Despite the fact that I’m not really an active bargain-hunter (I prefer to be surprised by deals as I’m randomly browsing), it’s a tradition for me to visit my local mall every year, whether I’m working in a store or shopping myself. This year I’ll be running around the Banana Republic store at The Mall at Short Hills, one of the most sophisticated malls in the country (but trust me, even there people can behave a little primitively for a good deal, especially on Black Friday). So with the big day just a week away, I’d like to share some tips on surviving the holiday without running into any legal troubles. Happy shopping!

1. Don’t Trample and/or Kill Retail Workers

Remember back in 2008 when a Walmart employee died upon opening the doors for anxious shoppers? There have apparently been seven Black Friday-related deaths and 90 injuries since 2006. While Walmart should be held somewhat accountable, given the unfair ways it treats its employees, shoppers also need to calm down. I know heavy advertising and tempting deals can certainly feed into the hype and excitement of getting to be the first one in the store, but come on guys, you’re supposed to show gratitude on Thanksgiving. Don’t be so greedy.

2. Don’t Show Up Until Thanksgiving is Officially Over

With more and more stores opening on Thanksgiving Day to accommodate shoppers who choose to spend their holiday waiting in line instead of being with their families, retail workers end up missing out on spending the holiday with their families too. Lucky magazine compiled a list of its favorite stores that will not be open on Thanksgiving. Support them! I know being around family can be stressful, but some people actually like their families. So out of respect for retail workers, spend the day enjoying your family’s company at home–and then maybe peace out early saying you have to rest up for the next day. (Kidding! Okay, well, kind of.)

3. Please, For the Love of God, Try to Keep the Stores Neat

As a visual specialist, nothing angers me more than setting up a display only for a customer to dismantle it the second I turn around. You know what’s part of a sales associate’s job description? Finding the right size for customers. So when in doubt just ask, because it’s a lot easier for the person who folded the pile to begin with to pull a size, than for a customer who may already have their hands full of other items. That said…

4. …Please Be Patient with Sales Associates and Any Other Store/Mall Employees

Believe it or not we actually want to help you. It makes us happy and will make you happy. Trust me. Personally I am a very independent shopper. I don’t really like talking to people when I shop; I rarely even bring friends with me. But sometimes a manager or associate whose job it is to know all about the product may be able to offer something that you never would have known if you hadn’t given them your time of day. Did you know those shirts are non-iron? Those jeans come in three other washes. That dress would look great with these shoes. If you spend over $100 dollars today you get a free gift with purchase. I swear we’re not JUST trying to make a sale (most stores don’t even pay commission anymore), we just really like to help and offer our opinions, like we would for a friend.

But at the same time, try not to be too demanding of employees. Sometimes an associate, or even a manager may not know something about a product, because they are not the ones who produce the item. If you have any questions that store employees are not sure about, check out the store’s website or call its corporate headquarters. Customer service extends well beyond a company’s brick-and-morter locations.

5. Don’t Forget to Give!

Part of the reason I’ve loved working for Gap Inc. over the last three years is that they always give back. Every holiday season, stores “Adopt a Family” so employees can buy gifts for a family in need. And with around 100 employees per store, that’s a lot of potential to give. My store collects non-perishable foods from employees, as well. But there are still opportunities for customers to give too. Saks Fifth Avenue has had a partnership with St. Jude’s since 2006 and they host a lot of auctions and benefits, especially around the holidays. And of course there’s Macy’s famous Believe campaign with Make A Wish Foundation where for every letter to Santa put in their mailbox, they’ll donate one dollar. Also, don’t just ignore that Santa standing out in the cold collecting money for the Salvation Army. I usually just drop my change from Starbucks in there because it’s already in my hand anyway.

Have fun and happy holidays!

Katherine Fabian

Katherine Fabian is a recent graduate of Fordham University’s College at Lincoln Center. She is a freelance writer and yoga teacher who hopes to one day practice fashion law and defend the intellectual property rights of designers. Contact Katherine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Two classic New York City department stores—Barneys and Macy’s—are dealing with controversy regarding their racial profiling of any customer who is not white. In the past few weeks, at least four different individuals have come forward claiming that they were mistreated and suspected of shoplifting or fraud on the basis of race.

The story begins with an African-American college student named Trayon Christian, who was a freshman at the New York City College of Technology last spring. On April 29^th, he went into the popular store Barneys New York to buy a belt. The belt that he was looking for was a Ferragamo and cost $329. Like any 18-year-old kid, he admired his favorite celebrities and had seen some of them with the belt. So, he saved up money from his part time job to buy it for himself. Christian paid with his debit card, showed his ID when asked, and followed all of the general procedures required to make a purchase. He walked out of the store with the belt in a bag and a receipt, and was stopped right away by cops who yelled at him about how he was able to afford a designer belt. Immediately, the 19-year-old was accused of using a fake card. Christian was handcuffed, and then detained and interrogated for two hours until it could be determined that his card was, in fact, valid.

The next person to come forward was Kayla Phillips, and like Christian she was a young African-American student. She was purchasing a designer Celine purse for $2500. She had received a large, unexpected tax refund a few days before, and decided to use the extra money to treat herself and purchase a designer bag. She had a strikingly similar experience to Christian. She was followed by no less than four undercover cops and questioned about her ability to afford the bag. Like in Christian’s case, the officers were convinced that she was perpetrating credit card fraud.

A few days after these two stories broke, allegations also came out against Macy’s department store. Rob Brown, 29, is an actor who is currently on HBO’s hit show Treme. According to a suit filed this week by Brown, he went into Macy’s to buy a $1350 watch as a present for his mother. He was looking at a pair of sunglasses that caught his eye when he suddenly grabbed by three officers. According to the suit, the officers told him that the ID “was false and that he could afford to make such an expensive purchase.” Despite the fact that Brown showed them various forms of ID that clearly matched the card he was using, he was still put in handcuffs and detained for 45 minutes.

These three cases are in various stages of moving forward and list both these retailers as well as the NYPD. Now, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has begun investigations into these complaints. The purpose is to determine if Barneys and Macy’s have violated various civil rights laws that prohibit racial discrimination. The AG has demanded that these stores release information about the stopping, detainment, and interrogations of various customers.

Barneys has released an apology, but these suits and investigation will rightly move forward. I would be entirely unsurprised if more claims come out against other companies in the coming days and weeks. It would be hard to imagine that Barneys and Macy’s profile in a way that is unique to those companies; it is much more probable that we’ll hear similar situations with Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and others. It’s also hard to imagine that this is an issue unique to New York City, I would imagine such profiling happens around the country as well. This story that began with a teenage boy who just wanted to buy a new belt has the potential to turn into a major retail firestorm.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Steve Depolo via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post New York AG Investigating Racist Policies In Department Stores appeared first on Law Street.