Bringing order to 'Black Friday' chaos

Shoppers love the after Thanksgiving deals that set off the holiday retail season. Crowds start lining-up the night before, as bargain-hunters wait for the doors to open.

But many people have been injured, and some killed, as a result of out-of-control crowds. This year retailers across the country are hoping to keep that from happening.

Last year in the Twin Cities there were plenty of long lines, but no real issues. It was a different story in other parts of the country. A Walmart worker was trampled to death in New York in the early morning rush. The incident has prompted the company to make some changes.

In an email today, a Walmart spokesperson said the new plans would address customer flow from entering the store all the way through check-out.

And as an added measure, most Walmart stores will be open 24 hours before the post-Thanksgiving sales to eliminate the rush at the doors.

"We plan ahead of time, we use stanchions for lines, we make sure everybody walks orderly," says Dan Jasper with Mall of America.

In 17-years the Mall of America hasn't had an issue on one of the biggest shopping days of the year because it already has security plans in place.

And Best Buy actually practices Black Friday the week before.

"We host what's called dry-run, just to make sure our employees are set up for success that day and know exactly what's expected of them," says Jocelyn Mairs, General Manager of the Eden Prairie store.

They also give waiting customers a map so they know the layout, and tickets for the hottest items.

"So, a lot of times, they'll know an hour or two before we open the store if the product is going to be available for them," says Mairs.

And, for the first time ever, The National Retail Federation has come out with crowd management guidelines  to help stores plan ahead.

It's all an effort to keep this holiday...happy.

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