NO SINGAPOREAN would have missed the story on the death of a Wal-Mart employee in Valley Stream, Long Island, after he was trampled by shoppers who broke down the store's doors at a 5.00 am sale. There were reports of fights and injuries in many other stores operated by Wal-Mart, America's leading discount chain. But surely many in American would have seen that it was an accident waiting to happen - if not this year, it was going to be the following year.
When I was in New York two years ago, I was told that the annual Black Friday sale at Macy's was something not to be missed even though I was not an avid shopper. I was quite happy getting what I wanted from warehouse sales there. But I went out of curiosity. I will never do it again. I went there early, before Macy's opened, and there was already a 30metre thick crowd waiting to charge in. And when the store opened the way the crowd charged in reminded me of the many times I had watched on TV the bull runs where people dashed through the cobbled streets of Pamplona, Spain, with panicked and raging bulls in hot pursuit.
On the ground floor, I stopped to look at nothing. The crowd just kept charging on. The security staff stood at the escalator to limit the number of people getting up on it at one go to prevent it from breaking down. But as soon as I cleared the escalator, I was swept up by another crowd that took me to the next floor. The crowds thinned out as I got higher. It is a bit like traffic on the CTE where, congestion eases the further away you move from town.
I found out that the secret to not being shoved around was to hang out near the restroom. There you would be free from the jostling and squeezing. You might be mistaken for a pervert, but heck, you get to stay alive.
Even back then, I feared that if my kids were to trip and fall, it would be the end of them.
I hope shopping centres are not tempted to try these stunts in these desperate times where sales are slow.