sdsearch

Why is it always on Saturday? So many of the small businesses aren't open on Saturdays, and those never see the benefit of Small Business Saturday if it's always a Saturday!

Amex doesn't even know its small businesses very well...

sdsearch

You may want to check ahead of time to make sure these places you made a list of are all open on Saturday. Amex has this ridiculous habit of having Small Biz only on Saturday, then providing a link which features business that aren't open on Saturday, without listing their hours / days of opening.

VegasGambler

Because it's a heavy shopping weekend, and Friday is already taken. When else are they going to have it?

Thursday everyone is eating turkey and watching football.
Friday everyone is doing the black friday thing at the big stores
Monday is back to work.

Saturday and Sunday are all that are left. Saturday is obviously better than Sunday. A small business would be smart to open on Saturday (or, at least that Saturday). This is why I rarely shop at small, local businesses. They need to be open when it's convenient for the customer, not the other way around.

onthego15

I can't think of any businesses I know (other than service businesses like architects, accountants, etc.) that are closed on Saturdays. In my small city I have dozens and dozens of choices

VegasGambler

Unfortunately, where I live (SF) a lot of small coffee shops are closed on weekends. This is why I go to starbucks. It's not that I don't want to try them; it's that they are never open when I am out and about.

Also, there is a dry cleaner that is literally in my building. I don't use them because they close before I get home from work and are not open on Saturdays. Instead I go to the laundry locker a couple of blocks away where I can drop off and pick up 24/7.

sdsearch

Some business are closed on Saturday for religious reasons. (You find those more in some cities than others. Those in certain areas of Los Angeles and New York City, for example, are likely to run into a lot of such businesses; while someone in the mountains of western NC like onthego15 is not likely to have an easy time finding them around there.) One could thus argue that Small Business Saturday always being on Saturday is religious discrimination.

How about Small Business Weekend (Friday through Sunday)? No greater amount of benefits given, but a chance for just about all business, no matter what their schedule, to be included? If they wanted, they could restrict it so that you can only get get the credit from any one given store on one day of the weekend (whichever day you fullfilled the credit requirements first), but you could do different stores on different days.

And, btw, no one forced Amex to do it on Thanksgiving weekend; they could do it anytime they want, it's their promo.

VegasGambler

I suppose one could argue whatever one wanted to argue, but that doesn't give the argument any merit.

The bottom line is that if businesses choose to be closed when it's convenient for their customers to shop, they are going to lose business. Their reasons for making that choice aren't really relevant.

Steve in Olympia

American Express has obviously chosen to focus its promotion on retail businesses (which are likely to be open on Saturday), as opposed to professional or wholesale businesses (architects, attorneys, accountants, wholesale distributors, etc.) which are less likely to be open on a Saturday.

That is Amex's choice. Live with it. Don't argue that it is discriminatory. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Say "thank you" and move on.

They are trying to give you money for free, so please stop complaining. Now.

onthego15

Amen!

Thank you AMEX for giving me so much money every year.

sdsearch

It didn't feel so free in my gas tank last year (when gas was not as cheap then as this year) when I drove from one hardware store (that I had on the printed map) to the next one to the next one and found them all closed on Saturday (and per the signs on the door, every Saturday).

First they supposedly require you to use the map for something called Small Business Saturday, and then the map has no clue who's actually open Saturdays. Who creates this stupid map? (Which, btw, is stupid for other reasons, like the random order it lists only the 100 supposedly closest in each catogory, which turns out to list the actual closest often on the 7th or 9th page of 10! And, as noted above, the fact that lists businesses that don't actually accept Amex! Maybe a limit of semi-random 100 already covers everyone in Olympia, but it doesn't seem to work all that sanely here in Los Angeles.)

VegasGambler

If it's too costly for you to use the promo, you could always just skip it.

Steve in Olympia

If only there were some way you could check on a store's business hours before you put all that gas in your car. Oh, I don't know, maybe a computer or a telephone.

Happy

Yawn.

^

^^^

mia

I have pulled a dozen posts out of the primary Small Business Saturday thread. Please use that thread to ask practical questions about the offer, and to report reimbursement successes and failures.

I have also created a Wikipost with links to a few American Express press releases reporting their estimates of results from previous years' Small Business Saturday promotions, and the support it has received from governments and large businesses. I did this to try to steer the "Why Saturday?" discussion to a more evidence based direction. This not a comprehensive data set, do your own research.

If you are not interested in this topic, please ignore this thread. Do NOT ask other members to stop posting. Likewise, please do not repeatedly post the same questions or claims.

fti

Same.

Totally agree. If you don't find it convenient, move on. Find some other promotion. But don't gripe about someone offering free money. I am innovative enough to be sure I FIND places that are open and offer this! Seems much easier to me than some posters on this thread!