Consumerism and the holidays are inseparable. Preach all you want about “the bigger picture” of family and togetherness.

VIDEO: See what Black Friday was like where Samantha Palileo works

More than four years of retail experience have granted me an inside look at just how ruthless people can be when it comes to Black Friday deals.

For retail employees it is the one Friday of the year where TGIF, “thank goodness it’s Friday”, turns into ACIF, or “Aw, crap. It’s Friday.”

The fact is: midnight specials bring out the savage in holiday shoppers.

Customers have swept whole shelves of clothing into their arms without checking sizes or colors just to ensure that they get the deal.

Crazed bargain hunters find their way around limited quantities per customer by ushering their toddlers to check stands with cartfuls of merchandise and a fist of dollar bills.

Some people sleep off the Thanksgiving dinner food coma by setting up camp in parking lots.

They just want to be first in line once the doors open the next morning.

“It amazes me how early people get up to get in line for essentially nothing,” said Heidi Jones, acting store manager of the Laguna branch of Old Navy

But the madness does not end with the killer deals.

“It is crazy because people get in fights outside just to get in,” Jones said.

No training or managerial pep talk is enough to arm employees for this day.

Breaks essentially turn into group therapy sessions in the employee lounge.

For Black Friday workers like Lane, a manager at the Elk Grove 24-hour Wal-Mart, the madness is inevitable.

Like Heidi Jones, Lane acknowledges the preparations for the shopping frenzy.

“There is always a game plan, carefully orchestrated by store managers,” he said.

Lane has had his fair share of crazy Black Fridays in his 17 years with the company.

“There’s something new every year. (One year), a woman asked me to watch her baby and two small children while she shopped,” he said.

And just as quickly as some set aside their kids, other customers seem to suddenly lose all sense of common courtesy.

Workers and those daring enough to shop on Black Friday know a different scene.

Parking lots erupt in angry honking at stolen parking spots and slow pedestrians.

If not running rampant around the store, children are dragged along for the early-morning adventure. They whine and cry to their equally cranky parents.

It seems that the merriness gets lost in the misery of Black Friday.

And, after eight hours of price adjustments and repeating “Thank you, have a nice day,” I have never been more grateful for Saturday.

[email protected]