A number of area store employees reported they were busy Thursday and remained steady throughout Friday for the annual Black Friday sales during the Thanksgiving holiday.
At the JCPenney store at the Olean (N.Y.) Center Mall, manager Karen Miller said the store had a large line of customers waiting for the business to open Thursday afternoon and had a steady stream of shoppers throughout Friday.
“We had a great day (Thursday) after we opened at 2 p.m.,” Miller said. “I went outside at 1:30 to talk to people in line, and I was amazed” at the number of customers waiting outside.
Miller said she believes the sales, as well as coupons and giveaways, attributed to the initial large influx of shoppers.
“We just kept getting waves and waves and waves of shoppers,” Miller added.
The manager noted she has been in retail for more than 25 years, and remembers the early Black Friday shopping days when customers waited in the middle of the night for stores to open.
“It is definitely spread out now (with current shoppers),” she stated. “It’s not that initial rush” all on Friday.
Shoppers in the store included Bunny Comilla and her daughter, Angela Sheeley, of Bradford.
“We almost were going to go to Buffalo (N.Y.), but then decided to stay local,” Comilla said, noting they planned to go to other stores in Olean, as well. She said they “slept in” Friday and got up at 6:30 a.m. to shop.
“Last year, we did the night time and early morning (shopping),” she recalled.
Inside the mall, Donna Delong of Hinsdale, N.Y., didn’t start shopping until 7:30 a.m. Friday, but still got some great bargains with her daughter, Kara Mascho and granddaughter, Bayli Delong.
“We got some good sales … and the crowd isn’t as bad,” Weber said. “Some sales they had Wednesday and some are Saturday.
“And the cashiers seem very pleasant,” she added. “People passing in the hall even say hello to each other.”
Carol Ann Weber of Andover, N.Y., and her daughter, Georgana Green of Wellsville, N.Y., said they, too, saved a lot of money by going out early to the stores.
“I got up at 4 o’clock and picked my daughter up,” Weber said, noting this was after cooking and baking on Thanksgiving. “I just have a few things left, toys and stuff, to buy.”
At the Shoe Dept. store in the mall, sales associate Debbie Beatty, said the business was opened from 6 p.m. to midnight Thursday, and reopened at 6 a.m. Friday.
“It’s been steady,” Beatty said of shoppers seeking sales.
At stores located in Bradford Mall plaza, customers said they, too, found good bargains.
“I got a snowblower on a rain check” at $100 off the regular price, Bradford resident Angela Eschrich said of a purchase at Tractor Supply Store in the plaza. She also saved money during her purchases at Peebles, which made her very happy.
At the Tractor Supply, manager Aaron Finch said the store was closed Thanksgiving, but opened at 6 a.m. Friday with sales — and customers.
“(Employees) were here about 4:30 (a.m.) making sure everything was out and registers were ready to go,” Finch said, noting customers began arriving before the store opening.
“They’re getting a good buy for Christmas, and (sales) are going all the way through Sunday,” Finch said.
At Dunham’s Sports in the plaza, employee Michelle Gray said store opened at 3 p.m. Thursday and was open beginning early Friday, as well. She said the store had a number of shoppers during both openings looking for bargains. Gray said the shoppers were steady throughout both days.
Customer Kim Linn, of Knapp Creek, N.Y., said she made some good purchases at great prices at Dunham’s.
“My grandson wanted (a relatively expensive item) and they were half-off here,” she remarked.
