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ERiC AiXeLsyD
XXXX XXXXXXX XXX
Pittsburgh, PA XXXXX-XXXX
world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
September 8th, 2005
Greetings Merchandise Masters,
I'd like to start out by saying I'm a regular customer of Target® stores all over the Southwestern PA area, and I usually enjoy all of my purchases & experiences with your fine department stores. I feel that you normally stand above the competition like Kmart™ and WAL*MART® in both value and service. (Ever notice the employees at WAL*MART® look like they have no concept of personal hygiene and do not know how to read?)
Unfortunately, I would like to relate to you two separate unpleasant experiences that occurred in the same day with an express checkout lane in the Monroeville (Pennsylvania) store.
Today, I needed to pick up a few items while running errands in Monroeville, so I decided to stop at the local Target location. The first thing on the list was a wedding card, no problem, great selection. Next on the list was a pack of boxer shorts. The selection looked to have been picked-through quite thoroughly & in some disarray, but again, no problem obtaining said item. Third, I wanted to get some Lava® Soap. After taking some time to locate the direct isle and scan all of the soap-related products thoroughly, it became clear that Target® apparently does not stock Lava® Soap or a similar rough-cleaning sanitization product. This is unfortunate, because I had to run to the Giant Eagle® next door, and I was hoping to get everything I needed all in one stop.
I apologize for straying from my original topic, but it was all in my experience. On to my first experience at the checkout… After gathering all of my items intended for purchase and waking to the front of the store, I passed all of the open regular checkout lanes with long lines of people waiting to squeeze through a small number of open cash register lanes. Eyeing the express lane from about halfway through passing the multitude of unmanned registers, I decided that it was my best shot. I arrived to the express lane, which is clearly marked “10 ITEMS OR LESS” right under the assigned number above the station, and to my dismay… there was a woman with five children (two of them screaming “Mine!”, “No, Mine!”, “Gimme! Gimme!” in a half-whine/half-cry tone with each item removed from the shopping cart and placed on to the conveyer belt, but again I’m on a tangent from my original point…) and a shopping cart packed with a mountain of toys, junk food, and cleaning products. At first glance, I could easily tell there were way more than 10 items contained in this wheeled cornucopia of merchandise. I stopped counting at around 30. By the end of my counting, I was probably visibly astonished at the audacity and/or stupidity of the woman in front of me… and when she glanced back at me and made eye contact, she ashamedly looked at the ground, and then went lazily on building Mount Stuffmore on the conveyer. In the casher’s defense, he went as quickly as possible going through the stack of items, scanning, grabbing them back from the children that pulled them off of the belt the moment their mother set them down. After watching other customers move through the regular checkout lanes faster than I was getting through the “express” checkout, I decided to take my chances at one of those. After I went through, I walked out past the woman, still in the express checkout, still piling items on the belt, and still attempting to corral the herd which was impatiently going astray.
During the entire process, I was driven to wonder about the woman… and whether she could read, about the cashier… and whether he knew that he was working the express lane, or worse yet… did the cashier know the woman, and let her through the express lane even though she clearly exceeded the maximum amount of items able to be processed there? Does Target® have a policy to not correct customers who are unable to read the sign, or trying to pull a fast one? If so… I suggest revoking the policy, and fixing the registers so they can’t scan any more than 10 items per transaction, thus enforcing the sign that apparently goes unnoticed to most customers and employees.
On to my second experience, which is probably more my own bad luck than anything else. While in Giant Eagle® purchasing a bar of Lava® Soap, I received a phone call which actually had me heading back to Target®. I have an occasion to attend tomorrow evening which requires casual dress above jeans and below dress pants, and I was fresh out of Khaki pants, so I decided to return to Target® to purchase a pair. Again, I went in, found them with no problem, was surprised at the great value of a pair of Khaki’s for $10.99 while expecting to pay much more, so I even bought a new shirt to match. Up to the front of the store I go, thinking to myself that this time the express lane shouldn’t be such an ordeal. Well, my friends, I thought wrong.
I arrive to the express lane as a couple is leaving, and there is a woman in front of me purchasing cell phone belt clips while fervently rambling on her cell phone to a friend about her day, and somehow not pausing or breathing all while talking to the cashier and not missing a beat in her conversation. At fist she scrambled in her purse to find her checkbook, then a pen, then her driver’s license …all while still on the cell phone. Apparently in her monumental spoken vocabulary, she has never come across the phrases “hold on” or “I’ll call you back”. The motor mouth went on strong, while the motor skills trudged along poorly. After finally writing the check, the cashier (probably also incredibly annoyed at this point, but showing no outward signs of it) ran the check through whatever machine you have back there, and somehow there was a rip or a malfunction, the blinking light was switched on, and I was told “Buddy, you might as well go find another cashier.”
Wow. Denied convenience and swiftness at the “express” lane twice in one day at the same retail store. How often does that happen? After an 8-hour workday, running errands, and a lack of eating dinner by this point in my day, I was wearing thin. I know, malfunctions and idiotic customers are beyond control of Target® as a whole. Perhaps here though, you could take an idea from a local grocery store. Not only do they have a “12 Items or Fewer” express lane, they have (right beside it!) an “8 Items or Fewer – CASH ONLY” express lane. Granted, I paid with my credit/debt card… but maybe the express lane should read “No Checks” or “Have checks filled out to TARGET and I.D. ready BEFORE entering lane”.
On second thought, no one - customers or employees - would read & heed the signs anyway… because they sure don’t adhere to the policies posted on the current express lane signs.
I hope you have found my tales enlightening, and I hope to hear back from you, as I’m interested in your comments on the situation. A good day to you, and good luck with the daily Target® grind.
Exasperated and Exhausted,
-ERiC AiXeLsyD
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