Holiday Shopping Horror Stories That Resulted in Injury

‘Tis the season to be jolly, shop, and recover from injuries sustained while hunting for the lowest sale price on the perfect holiday gift. Believe it or not, there’s more than shopping going on in retail establishments during the holidays. People do crazy things while shopping and they certainly add insult to injury. Unfortunately, you may see some of them in your emergency room. We’ve gathered a few of the most heinous acts from BuzzFeed and couldn’t help but share.

Incoming – Facial injuries

“I’ve worked on Black Friday for about seven years now, but the worst was back in 2012. I was working at Fry’s Electronics and we opened at about 5:30 a.m. A Mr. Coffee machine was on sale for $3, and I witnessed one lady punch another lady in the face for our last non-reserved one.”

Carla Catalan, Facebook

Prepare the Eye Wash

“I once worked a Black Friday at TRU. A guest sprayed mace behind them as they ran in front of the pack towards the electronics section.”

Vince Plowman, Facebook

It Was Self-Defense

“I watched a little old lady pepper spray someone over towels.”

Shimmer Attack

“A customer demanded that my co-worker ‘check the back’ for a green apple scent. Calmly, she explained to the customer that the green apple scent was discontinued a few years ago. The customer picked up the nearest bottle and aggressively sprayed body shimmer two inches away from my co-worker’s face as if it were mace. One of her eyelids swelled completely shut. She had to wear an eyepatch for a week afterwards.”

Time to Set Bones

“When I was trying to pick up an expensive jewelry set off of the floor, I was pushed over and stepped on by a hoard of people. LITERALLY STEPPED ON. My foot was broken and I couldn’t work for months.”

Time is of the Essence

“One time I got violently ill on Thanksgiving morning. My boss told me I had to be in or I was fired. Every few minutes I had to duck under my counter to get sick in the garbage.

To top it all off I got called into the office at the end of my shift because several customers complained my line was too slow. Not that I was getting sick in front of them, but because I was moving slowly for some reason.”

Open Mouth Insert Shoe

“I was 16, it was my first Black Friday working, and I was assigned the shoe department. We didn’t have the size a lady was looking for so I offered to check our system for another store. She proceeded to shout, ‘I don’t have that kind of f***ing time!’ and threw the shoe at me. She ended up hitting me in the mouth and splitting my lip. ‘Tis the season.

At the rate that holiday shopping injuries can occur, it’s probably best to leave the entire exercise to the elves. Because this is highly unlikely, it’s time to arm yourselves with sutures, cold packs and plenty of eye wash and hope for the best. Happy Holidays!

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