# First Christmas Sales in Dublin on St. Stephen's Day



## carpedeum (26 Dec 2009)

Will this kill the family Christmas holiday? It will certainly shorten it and end that feeling of looking forward to chilling out on the 26th. Will retail staff now have to work on the 25th or late on the 24th to prepare?  I doubt if they will get special allowances etc. Why are they starting this in a recession when footfall is low anyway? Why do we have to copy the Brits?  I am in no way religious, but, this is sad. 

Watch, next year all the cathedrals of the new millenium such as The Pavillions, Liffey Valley and Dundrum SC as well as other towns and cities will follow. 

http://m.rte.ie/news/2009/1226/sales.html


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## shanegl (26 Dec 2009)

No one is forcing anyone to leave their home today


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## MrMan (26 Dec 2009)

shanegl said:


> No one is forcing anyone to leave their home today


 

Except maybe for the staff.


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## MandaC (26 Dec 2009)

My sister works in retail and was in today (Liffey Valley).  She says the place is like a zoo down there.

it was more or less done on a raffle basis for the full timers.  She only works part time, so did not mind covering for some of the full time staff who have to work all over Christmas.

She was telling me about the poor staff in Next - they were in at 4am this morning to prepare for the sale.

Takes me back to years ago when I was in furniture retail - Christmas day was the only day I had off until the end of January. We started at 12 on St. Stephens Day when there would be a queue around the block to order a rubbish nest of tabes coming from the far east, which arrived the following August or something like that.   - I think I worked a total of 28 days on the trot.  Never, ever again.


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## smiley (26 Dec 2009)

MandaC said:


> She was telling me about the poor staff in Next - they were in at 4am this morning to prepare for the sale.



Now that would not be nice. It means you have to go to bed early on cmas evening and then get up at a daft hour totally screwing up your body clock.

If they didn't open today, surely the same people who went shopping today would be there tomorrow anyway?


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## z107 (26 Dec 2009)

Some staff will appreciate the extra hours, such as part-timers and students etc.


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## becky (26 Dec 2009)

NEXT have been doing this for a few years though, not just this year.

There was an Awear Peter O'Brien jacket I wanted last year and I managed to get it on Christmas Eve at the sale price.

I personally wouldn't be bothered with shopping today but I suppose other people get cabin fever.


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## MandaC (26 Dec 2009)

becky said:


> NEXT have been doing this for a few years though, not just this year.



I dont think so. Their sale usually starts on 27th December at around 5am - this is the first year it is on 26th, so it is getting earlier all the time.


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## becky (27 Dec 2009)

You are right I'm sure. I am probably remebering them being the first to open no matter what. I did wonder about why NEXT open so early, as their stuff is so so and not so expensive to warrant getting me out of bed that early to avail of some discount. I've concluded that if you get up that early you buy something to justify the early start.

I do remember a lot of comment about a mens clothes shop opening in Galway on Stephens day about 15 years ago.

Oh and 28 days in a row OMG, I did 18 in a row once and was hardly able to talk after.


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## JP1234 (27 Dec 2009)

I don't know if it was here or in the UK but I read about people queuing up since lunch-time on Christmas Day outside shops!  That's madness.

I'd prefer the shops stayed shut but as long as no-one is forced to go in to work then it doesn't bother me, the worry is that while it may be voluntary this year, if it's successful enough maybe next year people will be expected to work whether they want to or not.  Having said that, our water went off for for most of Christmas Day so we were very grateful to find a shop open to buy bottled water from!


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## MandaC (27 Dec 2009)

JP1234 said:


> I don't know if it was here or in the UK but I read about people queuing up since lunch-time on Christmas Day outside shops!  That's madness.
> 
> I'd prefer the shops stayed shut but as long as no-one is forced to go in to work then it doesn't bother me, the worry is that while it may be voluntary this year, if it's successful enough maybe next year people will be expected to work whether they want to or not.  Having said that, our water went off for for most of Christmas Day so we were very grateful to find a shop open to buy bottled water from!




When I was in furniture retail - we were made work whether we wanted to or not.  Because it was the busy time everyone had to work, I worked 28 days on with no day off (including late nights till 9, etc).  Would never do retail again, ever.  

I think here will be like the UK - NEXT always opened in the UK on Boxing Day, yet they never opened here till 27th, yet this year it was 26th, thus everyone up in the middle of the night.  I would think they did not get much of a choice either.  

Having said that, my sister who is part time, got over 200 before tax for the 7 hours work.  When I did it, around 12 years ago, we used to get our days pay, plus an extra £90(back in the day before EURO) for six hours if we worked a Bank Holiday.


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## liaconn (27 Dec 2009)

We're going to end up like America, where Christmas is one day and then that's it. Life goes back to normal.
I honestly don't understand people who go rushing off to the shops first thing on Stephen's day. Can they not last for a couple of days without retail therapy? I know there's probably some bargains to be had but surely a bit of down time with the family or even a bit of breathing space on your own is important after the mad rush up to Christmas day.


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## carpedeum (27 Dec 2009)

Good to see I'm not a lone grumpy old man! The present Mrs. Carpedeum, a sales junkie who would shop till she dropped if her legs were chopped off, didn't even go in to the sales on the 26th. Though she did 
admit the pressure would increase next year. 

Now that we are finally exorcising Church control of our society and hopefully  building an all inclusive secular society, why not do things right? We can start by ring-fencing through lglislation or bye-laws some public holidays and Sundays as true holidays, for rest time, family togetherness, recreation, hobbies or just chill out time. Teenagers are now getting jobs on Sundays even and no longer playing football and partaking in other sports and activities! 

Those emergency services who do have to work should be well rewarded. Retail is notorious for enforced rostering and abuse of staff.


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## RMCF (27 Dec 2009)

Coming from NI Xmas was really only ever one day for me for a long time, as all shops we back open again on Boxing Day/St Stephens Day.

I used to laugh at all those with 2 trolleys in the supermarket on Xmas Eve, loaded about 3ft high with food like the end of the world was coming, only for the shops to be open again 2 days later. Could never understand it.

I do believe that Xmas is now only a 1 day holiday as so many have to work on Boxing Day again. Its really only office staff who would get a good break from work over the Xmas period. 

As for the whole shopping thing, its now so much a way of life for people and families and the idea of consumerism is so ingrained that it will never be shifted. I hate shopping and try to avoid shopping centres and supermarkets unless absolutely necessary, but I always find it sad when I am in them that a day out for youngsters now is walking around the likes of Dunnes Stores, Argos, Currys, Next etc on a Sunday with their parents. Whatever happened to taking kids out for a 'run', perhaps to the beach or a park or to good nature walk? Sad world we live in.


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## Complainer (28 Dec 2009)

Where did people get the idea that working on St Stephen's Day would be voluntary for staff? I remember hearing staff from one of the city centre dept stores (Debenhams iirc) on Whingeline - they had been rostered for Stephen's Day, after being rostered for most of December, including weekends, and were not given any choice in the matter.

I'm wondering if this extra shopping day really brings in any more business for the retailers. Surely they would get much the same income over the holidays if they were closed on that day. Will many people spend more overall, just because the shops are open that day, or will they just have their one shopping outing on that day instead of a later day?

The unions missed an opportunity to show some leadership and advise members NOT to shop on Stephen's Day to support the staff that had no choice in working on that day.


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## liaconn (28 Dec 2009)

I remember ,when I was a child, the days after Christmas were spent visiting relatives or having them over for tea and Christmas cake. If you were really really lucky you got to go to funderland or to the pantomime. Now people have barely finished unwrapping their presents before they're rushing back to the shops to buy more stuff. I wonder what kind of memories today's kids will have of the whole Christmas period?


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## RMCF (28 Dec 2009)

Visiting the relatives these days and seeing just how much STUFF children get is scary. Will it be possible for children to have any great memories when they get everything they want? And when every memory is of something physical. I think our children are now conditioned into the world of consumerism and materialism even before they can speak.

I am not exaggerating when I say that my nieces/nephews must have had close to a grand spent on each of them. Its madness.


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## Grizzly (28 Dec 2009)

liaconn said:


> I remember ,when I was a child, the days after Christmas were spent visiting relatives or having them over for tea and Christmas cake.


 
It is such a pity that people oftentimes only visit over the Christmas period. I tried to introduce a summer/garden party type visit for family members and one person was having none of it. It turned out that if I did it then he felt he would have to follow suit.


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## liaconn (29 Dec 2009)

RMCF said:


> Visiting the relatives these days and seeing just how much STUFF children get is scary. Will it be possible for children to have any great memories when they get everything they want? And when every memory is of something physical. I think our children are now conditioned into the world of consumerism and materialism even before they can speak.
> 
> I am not exaggerating when I say that my nieces/nephews must have had close to a grand spent on each of them. Its madness.


 
I know. I was just talking about that with friends last night. Half the time the kids don't even appreciate the expensive presents and barely glance at them before opening another parcel.


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## Complainer (29 Dec 2009)

Grizzly said:


> I tried to introduce a summer/garden party type visit for family members and one person was having none of it.


Hopefully, you wen't ahead without him?


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