Wal-Mart inserts 'Black Friday' crowd control program

By Staff
Nathan Strickland
The hustle and bustle of large crowds on Black Friday has convinced Wal-Mart Inc. to provide better safety standards to their customers and employees.
In 2008, a New York Wal-Mart employee died after eager consumers broke through the doors, pushing him to the ground. The 34-year-old man was pronounced dead after a stampede of people trampled him at the doors.
This year, Wal-Mart plans to control the situation so this tragic event never happens again. Wal-Mart will be inserting a 'Crowd-Control' program this year to help keep safety a number one priority.
Russellville Wal-Mart employees said the program for this year's 'Black Friday' is going to be much different than the ones they have been involved with in the past. This Friday will begin earlier than usual for some Wal-Mart employees in Russellville.
The plan is for certain employees to arrive at the store by 2:45 a.m. and start getting ready for the after-Thanksgiving blitz. Pallets of on-sale merchandise will be pulled to the floor at designated times around 5 a.m.
Then the difference comes into play.
Employees will begin to guard the pallets and start the process of handing out tickets. These tickets will be the customer's key to secure one of the items that is on that particular pallet. There will be multiple pallets spread across the store with a certain line to every pallet, and every pallet will have its own set of tickets.
The big twist, employees said, will be the limit of one specific item per customer. If a customer receives a ticket at one pallet and then decides to go to another pallet, the customer's ticket at the first pallet will be revoked and given to another person. Wal-Mart's ultimate purpose for this program is to increase the protection of employees and customers, so events like last year do not occur.