News

Nov 23, 2023

Watch This Target Employee's Amazing Black Friday Pep Talk

— -- Just before Black Friday shoppers rushed in, one Target employee gave

— -- Just before Black Friday shoppers rushed in, one Target employee gave his fellow workers a speech they won't soon forget.

A viral YouTube clip shows a man named Scott Simms standing on the conveyor belt at the checkout counter at a Westminster, Maryland, Target, shouting inspiration before the doors opened.

"People of Target, brothers, sisters, hear me now," he said. "They're standing out there. Any moment now, those doors will be breached. Whatever comes through those gates, you will stand your ground with a smile on your face."

"They come here with bargains in their heads and fire in their eyes and we shall give those bargains to them," he continued.

Simms told ABC News today he just wanted to get everyone excited.

"I'm a big fan of movies like '300' and 'Braveheart' and shows like 'Game of Thrones,' and they always have that big epic battle, and there's always the one person who does the big speech," he said. "I wanted to help people get in the spirit and get everybody fired up."

Coworker Chole Frebertshauser, who posted the video on YouTube, said the speech "absolutely" worked.

"We're all so close, and we get along really great, and he just decided, I want to get up there and give a speech to get everyone amped up," she said.

Target also released a statement about the viral video.

"One of our favorite parts of the holiday is watching our entire Target team bring the season to life in their own way," the company said. "We want them to have fun, because we know when our team is having fun, so are our guests. Our team member Scott is one of countless team members who help make Target uniquely Target. We have long said that Thanksgiving weekend is to retail what a championship game is to sports. Scott is clearly quite a team player."