Five In The Morning

The Site

Display day at an NC Department Store site. Fixtures, stock, signage, the whole floor built from empty. Night work is standard for department store sites. The floor only becomes ours after the last customer leaves.

How Long It Took

We started in the evening because that is when the space is free, and when I finally looked up it was five in the morning. The staff had been on their feet the entire night and had done it without complaining, which I noticed and which is the reason for the next paragraph.

What We Did Not Do

We did not open for sale that day. Everyone went home and slept. A floor built by exhausted people and then worked by the same exhausted people is how mistakes get made, and one lost trading day is cheaper than the alternative.

A display that runs to five in the morning costs you the following day. That should be in the plan, not a surprise.