As I helped get my little ice cream store, Cold Stone Creamery ready for the “horrid” Black Friday, I thought to myself, how busy could it possibly be? I mean, it’s just overpriced ice cream. Why would anyone want to waste their time in line just for a freezing cold snack?

Oh, was I in for a . . .  treat.

As I headed towards the Creamery, my eye twitched, seeing the long line all the way from the front of Cold Stone all the way into L.L. Bean, the store that does not allow Cold Stone employee’s to use their bathrooms only because we rack up more customers than they do. Sighing loudly I clocked in for work.

Working in the King of Prussia mall is already hard enough, as many people from all over the world come to visit and shop, especially on the weekends. However on Black Friday, there was a tornado of sale-crazed customers– non-stop! It was weird to see how many people were ecstatic to get ice cream even though Cold Stone was not having a Black Friday sale, not to mention the weather outside was below freezing!

Out of all the stores on the largest floor of the second largest mall in the United States of America, I could have sworn my store had the most customers. My co-workers and I fixated all day on how an ice cream store was raking in more customers than stores that sold clothes and essentials, not to mention were having sales! After going on break, my co-worker the was first to report how many of the stores were not as packed as ours was.

As much as I would have loved to tend to the customers, I needed a break. Though as I watched many of my co-workers busily run around like mice fulfilling orders, I began to realize they too were all working their first Black Friday. After resting up for a bit, the line still didn’t die down!

I had heard from my boss that the workers from L.L. Bean had came over to complain about the line as they had thought those customers were for them, but hilariously, they weren’t.

Although there were some minor issues, like customers not being detailed on what they wanted in their order or customers holding up the line because they really wanted their free ice cream from a coupon they had found in a newspaper, everything went smoothly. And by smoothly, I mean it went as smoothly as crunchy peanut butter.

Sadly enough, though, the customers weren’t the worst part.