To: Valley View Mall – Preit Malls

When did Thanksgiving become less about family and more about finding that crazy deal at the mall? Thanksgiving is about spending time with your family and friends and appreciating the precious time you have with them. So why on Earth would someone want to take away to force people to come in and work? We only get three holiday days off a year and it is wrong to open the doors of Valley View on Thanksgiving Day at 6:00pm. How incredibly inconsiderate. This is an outrage and we will NOT stand for it!

As a group we are petitioning the hours schedule for Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 27 and Friday November 28th. We are petitioning the hours beginning at 6:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day, the demand for employees of businesses within Valley View Mall find this a severe breach of respect. Not only does this new time show a complete lack of respect but it also does not take in to consideration stores with a much smaller staff. For example; How are we meant to be open for 28+ hours if a stores staff is less that 10 people? This is what we want:

The hours on Thursday, November 27th to be as follows: We agree to open our doors of business as previously discussed in your earlier newsletter at 8:00pm (and like last year in 2013). We will remain open for business until 12:00 am on Friday, November 28th (if a business decides to remain open after that time, that is their decision). However if a business does not wish to remain open, we will close our doors at 12:00 am and return at 6:00 am on Friday morning.

It becomes a win­-win situation for all those involved. You have stores open for those “high­traffic hours” to take advantage of the shoppers Valley View Mall will have. Then, we get to close our doors for the hours in the middle of the night. We will save on payroll, energy, and more importantly, come in refreshed at 6:00 am on Friday to give our customers the best experience for their Black Friday shopping.

The bottom line here is this; By allowing shoppers to come in at 6:00pm on Thursday all your doing is switching the “dead time” for your stores. Our traffic was next to nothing between the hours of 1:30 am to 6:30 am last year (2013). There is no benefit for anyone to remain open during those times. The mall isn't making anymore money. According to the National Retail Federation, purchases at stores and websites fell 2.9% during the four days beginning on Thursday, November 27th. Bloomberg.com reported “the first spending decline on a Black Friday weekend since 2009 and only reinforced projections for a lackluster holiday, increasing chances retailers will extend the

deep discounts already hurting their overall profit margins.” (Source: Bloomberg.com)

Give us a little more time with our family and friends on a day that is meant for that soul purpose, and we will be happy to come in at 8:00 pm on Thanksgiving evening. You just give us the option to close our doors and be back at the original agreed upon time of 6:00 am on Friday morning.

By signing this petition you agree to the above terms. Let's stand together on this issue. Thanksgiving is meant for families and friends but we are willing to compromise. Don't stand for a

blatant disregard for your time.

To speak to someone directly about this issue please feel free to call Sam Noel at (484) 319.6754