November 28, 2020

You Kept Us Going Strong This Black Friday

Behind the scenes: We are in this together

As with any other retailer in North America, we started planning for Black Friday months in advance. Well before customers start looking for deals, we were crafting product pages and sales strategies, laying out marketing campaigns. In fact, everything we have been doing since the beginning of the year is for Black Friday and the Holiday shopping season. From the moment we get word on a new product, our quest for the ultimate game plan starts, so that not only does it get the proper launch it deserves, but also that it will leave an impression so strong that it lasts way into Black Friday and Boxing Week.

And not just products, but with hiring, too. When we hire new staff, we treat them well so that they stay for Black Friday, and we train them well so that they survive the madness.

Yes, our Black Friday preparation is an institution, and everyone plays a crucial role. But this year, as we all expected, Black Friday was a little different thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. After all said and done, we managed to break last Black Friday’s sales records, but the chaotic busyness, the rushes of customers coming through the doors, the endless supply of donuts and snacks - these were all dearly missed. Our entire Marketing Team worked from home and only got to experience the Black Friday frenzy over Slack, Shopify and Instagram.

Sad? A little. Well, more disappointed. But at the same time, we are also extremely grateful for everything that filled our Black Friday this year: customers, fans, partners and each other.

Our Shipping Team

Last year, we shipped out 245 orders just on November 29 alone. This year, when we went into the Shipping and Warehouse area, we saw boxes upon boxes, each with a packing slip ready to be packed and shipped. Mountains of boxes, piled up on top of each other, easily beating last year's records.

BlackboxMyCar Shipping Team, how do you guys do it? What did you have for breakfast this morning? How they powered through all those orders and shipping boxes in one day without showing any signs of burnt out - if that’s not superpowers, we don’t know what it is. Anna, Ji-in, Yuna, Alex, Linh, Kenneth, Kevin, thank you!

Our Sales Team

Like previous Black Fridays, we started our day at 8 am. But because of social distancing protocols, there was only space for 4, plus one working remotely (Black Friday 2019, we had about 8-9 sitting in that space, side-by-side). Today, from 8 in the morning to 10 at night, the 5 of them made sure no calls were left answered, whether it’s over the phone, on Live-Chat or via email. Murphy, Katrina, Zaid, Grayson and Terrence, you truly are a stellar team! Thank you!

Our Online Marketplace Team

In 2020, our Online Marketplace team introduced new products to both our website and our stores on various online platforms. They helped add a whole line of OBD-II scanners to our website and they have expanded our online marketplace presence from eBay and Amazon to Best Buy Canada and London Drugs. Did you know that we sell more than just dash cams? We’ve got toys, projectors, drones, vacuums and so much more - and for that, we have Ben, Salome and Mishael to thank. How can a team of just three accomplish so much success, it’s mind-boggling. So, the next time you shop on Amazon, eBay, Best Buy or London Drugs and you come across one of our listings, know that Ben, Salome and Mishael worked super hard to get them there.

Our Marketing Team

While we can’t exactly say that the Marketing Team was active on the Black Friday battlefront, they were the ones who worked overtime weeks beforehand to get everything ready: the product pages, images, videos, FAQs, newsletters, campaigns, gimmicks, slogans, pricing updates, reaching out to influencers and affiliates, spying on the competition...you name it, they’ve done it and with style, too!

The Marketing Team went into overdrive weeks ago and we’d be lying to you if we said they weren’t burnt out by the time Black Friday rolled along.

But each time you view, like and share our content, whether it’s video, blog or Instagram post, it jolted us back into fight-mode and made us want to try a bit harder, make it a little better. Joseph, Brayden, Vivian and Chuen, how do you fit all those brilliant ideas inside your heads?

The Man Behind It All

Now, let’s talk about the driving force behind us all - Alex, our CEO. This is BlackboxMyCar’s 9th Black Friday weekend and to be able to break and set new sales records year after year, it does take a true leader.

We are going to share a portion of the note he wrote to everyone in the office at 11pm,

For the 9th year in a row, we broke our record from the past year and set a new one - thank you everyone...I can't describe how grateful I am for everyone here and relieved

now that Black Friday is over. We have yet again set a new record for 9 years in a row. Thank you, everyone, for your hard work. Have a good night. Rest well and see you all on Monday.

Kind Regards,

Alex Jang

Little did Alex know that while he’s grateful for everyone in the company, we are grateful for him making BlackboxMyCar such a great place to work for. Alex, your love for dash cams and your customers keep us going strong. Thank you.

The True Driving Force - You

Last but not least, we have you, our customers to be thankful for. You are the driving force behind Alex’s visions and passions, which means you are ultimately what kept us going strong year after year. Thank you for letting us know all that we’ve been planning and working hard towards all year long was worth every single moment of it.

And guess what, the Black Friday weekend is not over yet! All the great deals are still doing overtime on Cyber Monday!

Good night, everyone. Thank you for another busy but memorable Black Friday weekend.