Something Happened at Target….
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I don’t get out much. This is not a surprise to the readers (or anyone who knows me). There are several very complex reasons why I don’t get out much but suffice it to say that I wind up preferring the Great Indoors.
However, every now and then I seem to get the idea that I need to get out of the house for something other than work. This evening it manifested itself in my wife and I going to Target to pick up a few items. The first thing I noticed was that they moved a lot of departments around. This was a bit confusing. One would think a retail outlet would not want to deliberately confuse its customers, especially as most of them are pretty confused before entering the store.
While looking around, a random employee inquired as to whether he could help me find something. It was a bit of a shock. Later on another employee asked if she could help. I was starting to wonder if I was unwittingly starring in some bizarre reality show of which I hadn’t read about yet.
Another thing we noticed is that we had apparently failed to notice how important High School Musical had become to the Universe at Large. To be fair, Hannah Montana was still pretty damn important too. As if her face on everything wasn’t enough to tip us off, there was even a beginner’s acoustic guitar bearing her likeness and name. And of course no pre-Halloween shopping trip would be complete without noting the expanding Xmas section. Yes, it’s October twelve and there are already Xmas decorations about in the Wonderful World of Retail.
Target’s checkout lines are famous for being undermanned and overpopulated, especially on the weekend. Tonight was no exception. But there was an exception: a managerial type was streaming rapid-fire Target-ese into a walkie-talkie, in an apparent attempt to get more help to the registers. At this point I started looking around for the inevitable television cameras. They were still very well-hidden. I was certain I’d catch at least one of them, but no.
The final straw was our cashier. She said hello, was very helpful, and engaged us in conversation. I was seconds from leaping onto the conveyor belt and demanding to know what Target did with the children who usually work there. Were they Stepford-ized? In spite of the blonde roots on this dark-haired young lady, the service was otherworldly. In fact, the only rude people in the store were the customers!
Needless to say, this was wreaking havoc on my sense of reality. I kept wondering if I had blinked myself into an alternate universe.
Or maybe back in time twenty five years. You know, when customer service was more than a desk with some rude person behind it. But after spotting an entire rack of magazines featuring the earth-shattering news about who Mariah Carey is boinking this week, I realized this couldn’t be time travel.
I don’t know whether this is a chain-wide effort or not, but Target is doing a great job! I wanted to give credit where it’s due.
8 Comments
Shane
October 12th, 2008
at 5:51am
Omg lmfao this was amazing! Now I know what guests thought as they wondered through Target. I worked there for a year and a half, as an Electronics Manager, and never heard a story quite like this. All I ever heard was my customer service was beyond helpful. As for the chain-wide effort I’d have to say that it is because they dont tolerate anything otherwise
Leo Yale
October 12th, 2008
at 6:36am
Its chain-wide all right. I was accosted by 3 Target employees and I was just walking through the store waiting for a Prescription to be filled. Next time they ask if they can help me find something I’ll ask, what did you have in mind?
Jeri
October 12th, 2008
at 10:36am
You know, this is strange.
We had the same experience at Home Depot yesterday. Usually no one is available to answer questions or help with anything.
But yesterday, 2 people came to our aid. And our problem was solved within 6 minutes!
Way to Go Home Depot!
It was quite surreal! We left the store a little dazed but extremely happy.
Joe Plaziak
October 12th, 2008
at 10:50am
I work in retail and this is amazing to hear. It sounds like management has actually made it a priority to help customers. This is amazing because management will always *say* they make it a priority but then pile all kinds of crap on employees that pretty much disables their ability to be helpful. Almost makes me want to work for Target. Thanks for taking the time to tell us about this.
Michelle
October 12th, 2008
at 5:00pm
Do you think the retailers are in the same financial PANIC that the rest of the world is? Maybe in fear for the lives they are taking a last stand with one thing that cannot be off-shored - service? The word is the malls are vacant. (I don’t know, I haven’t been.) No store can afford to piss off their customers before they spend, or there are plenty of other stores waiting.
Dan G.
October 12th, 2008
at 9:07pm
I worked for Target for almost six years, and while the BS can be quite thick there at times, I still enjoy shopping there because compared to places like Walmart, it’s heaven on Earth.
the oracle
October 13th, 2008
at 12:04am
The retailers are all looking at who they might need to remove when the cutbacks come, so, the customer service goes up a notch until Wall Street gives the all clear.
The Christmas stuff is out to allow those who might otherwise not be able to time things correctly, a time to purchase in a timely manner - before Christmas or the customer’s layoff from their job - whichever comes first.
I like helpful people as much as the next guy, but my experiences at Target to date have been sorely disappointing. I usually am greeted by some ‘helpful’ person, who, upon being faced with a question more difficult than “Where is [insert item name here]? panics, begs off to find a non-existent manager, leaving me to forge on by myself. (and of course, never seeing them again)
The state of customer service truly is poor these days. When I was starting out, the first thing one did after clocking in was to check what was in stock [SWAT, for those who know}, check what might be coming in that day, and above all else, study and know what is on sale. People who do not know what the advertised items are really bother me - perhaps, with the poor state of the economy, we will start seeing Customer Service 101 being put to use again.
sticksmcfly
October 14th, 2008
at 3:51pm
I’m sure it’s just a phase they’ll grow out of once their bottom line does.