I rarely shop at Target, but when I go to any store, I go for a specific item(s), so I'm always looking for a store clerk who can direct me to what I'm looking for. I am not a casual shopper - I know what I want, get it and get out. I appreciate the efforts of employees who can facilitate that. If they don't have the item I want, I appreciate knowing that right away, so I don't waste my time.

Yes, I agree with you.....it is a pain to be
attacked" by employees so willing to help.................let me look around. Chances are that I will purchase more that way then just what I came in to get.

I love Target. We don't usually get attacked by the employees there. The employees I've seen are usually busy doing something useful. They are helpful when I need them. Our store has these red stations usually set up with a price checker, trash can, phone, and a call button. If I need help, I push a button and a human magically appears within a minute or so.

I don't stop at Target, but I think I'd rather have that than going into a store and have to spend time finding a sale rep or cashier.

Must be a regional thing? While they're helpful and kind, I am rarely approached here in the Southeast US. Or maybe they're trying to copy the most currently successful business model, Publix? Honestly, I am glad to see the pendulum swing back in favor of personal customer service. Sometimes I want automation and sometimes, I want people's voices and minds.

Here is a link that might be useful: Publix business model

I've never been approached by a Target employee, so maybe it's a Canadian friendliness thing. I would feel the way you do about it, but I don't think I'd leave the store. A simple, "I don't need any help, thanks" ought to take care of it.

I'm not sure I understand Target's appeal. Is it supposed to be a somewhat upscale KMart?

I live in Canada too but that hasn't been a problem in our local Target. Maybe a store managerial issue. I agree with you. Hate stepping into a store and immediately being accosted as if I was there to shoplift the merchandise. My pet peeve is with parents letting their kids run amok as if it is their playroom. Maybe the sales associates would be better off helping the mothers before the kids destroy the displays/merchandise.

I'd rather say, "No, thanks," to five employees than spend ten minutes trying to find one.

Perhaps carts could be fitted with walkie-talkies and an interactive map of the store. A customer could ask for help, and an employee at customer service could pinpoint the location of the item on the store map -- and dispatch an employee to where the item is shelved, should the customer have further questions.

I don't like an employee policy of being overly-friendly / overly-helpful! OTOH, have you noticed how difficult it is to find help in a store or business when you actually need it?! lol!

Oh, I so hope this isn't a trend. I had the constant-hello thing happen to me in a Bed Bath and Beyond store once - by the sixth one, I had stopped replying except to grit my teeth and say a number - 6, 7, 8 all the way to 12, and some of them were repeats.

The other day I went into a WalMart cosmetics section and as I began my shopping, a store employee greeted me and asked if she could help me. I said no and circled around the area I was looking in and encountered her again, and she said the same thing. I said, "you just asked me that a few seconds ago."

Yes, it's annoying to not be able to find someone to help you. But this is even worse, especially when you are focused on what you are looking for.

We've been in Target only twice. We walked through and found it so gawdy and cheap looking. Also too spacious.....not much on the shelves.

We don't care for Walmart either. There's an "Express Walmart" in our neighbourhood and I get mad every time I go there. I take the flyer in to buy something advertised.....even something as simple as half-and-half and they don't honour the flyer. What the hell are they good for then?

edited to comment on the actual discussion: we weren't hounded by any Target employees. OTOH if I want to find an employee at WM to see if an item is on sale, I have to wander around the whole store and look for a price checker as well. I find furniture stores are the absolute worst for hounding customers. Commission and all.

This post was edited by jasdip on Tue, Nov 11, 14 at 9:57

I don't mind if some of the employees occasionally ask me if they could help, BUT several years ago in a large Hallmark store, this happened to myself and my DD. Then they seemed to follow us around as if we were going to steal something. A couple of times I did turn sudden and almost ran into the clerk and we finally left and told one of the managers on the way out how unhappy we were and I did write a letter to the main office. Never went back to that one again. Our target is pretty good, there is usually help around if we need it.

I don't shop at Target.....news to me...interesting.

Chisue: That is a fantastic idea!

Graywings: I've had the same experience at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Yes, it's nice to know that there are salespeople around to help, but I'd like to take a few steps into the store before so many people ask if they can help.

I will admit, tho, that there really are stores that need to do this -- like Home Depot and Lowe's. Lowe's is a little better customer-service-wise, but if you're trying to find one little thing at HD, plan on it not being fast and easy!

Sounds like a Canada or regional thing. I don't go to Target as much as i used to, but have never been approached asking if I need help.

I love Target. I do much of my grocery shopping there as well as nearly everything else I need to buy on a weekly basis. Compared to Walmart our Target stores are clean, well stocked, and the employees helpful. I don't at all feel 'assaulted' there as I do in some other stores where the employees seem to follow you around. Perhaps it is because Target is so busy here; it is very popular (Mpls is the headquarters of Target after all!). Just yesterday I couldn't find something really simple--kitchen sponges--and went to one of the many handy red phones. An associate meets you within a minute to direct you. Compared to other stores where I can wander around forever looking for someone, anyone, to help I find this refreshing. I think they have an excellent business model.

Targets must differ from area to area. I admit I hardly ever go in ours, but I don't remember seeing very much in the way of groceries. Mostly snack items. No produce (my favorite aisle), minimal dairy, etc. Certainly not enough food to entice me to do my grocery shopping there. Maybe I just never covered the whole store.

As I mentioned above, I never figured out Target's appeal, but I know they're popular stores. Ours is always busy.

I really like our Super Target, but don't go there on a regular basis as it's a bit far for me. I would far rather go to Target than WalMart. Of my usual stores, Publix and Kroger, the latter is by far my most preferred.

I don't have a Target nearby, but I make a special trip there because they have the lowest price on FiberOne cereal in my area. I buy several boxes at a time. I have never, ever been asked if I needed help. Usually, I have to search out an employee because the cereal is on the highest shelf and, at five feet tall, I can never reach it.

I was in Bed, Bath & Beyond just last week and couldn't find what I wanted. I finally found a manager helping another customer, waited until she finished and had her help me. When we were finished, there was another customer waiting for her help. I think that store needs a few more employees working the floor.

The worst for me is Pier 1. They follow you "helpfully" from the minute you enter the store. Sadly, they rarely have enough people as cashiers, so there's almost always a wait to pay. I seriously want to tell them to reallocate their resources. I find the same issue with Bath and Body Works.

This post was edited by Fun2BHere on Tue, Nov 11, 14 at 20:43

I hate that too helpful thing too. Yet at Home Depot I WISH there was some guy to help. But it's walking that giant place hoping to spot an orange coat. I hate Walmart but you can't beat the prices. I sometimes think if I never had to go to Walmart again I'd die happy. What a toilet that chain is.

A Canadian here, and I love, love, love our Target here on the Island. Wal-Mart, OTOH, has "associates" that you never see - complain at the service desk and they check for an "associate" to help you. Ummm sometimes you just gotta do what a gal has to do.....turn around, walk out, and go to Target! lol

PS - I say give Target in Canada a chance...they've only been up here for a short while. Wal-Mart has been out here for 20 years +/- and they've had their kick at the cat as far as sorting out their policies and staff.

I wouldn't like that either! I can see how it might be helpful in a grocery store like Publix where I am looking for certain things, but if I go in and out of a Target or WalMart quickly without browsing, I invariably forget something I "meant" to get but hadn't put on a list. I definitely spend less, but it usually means another visit so it isn't cost-effective for me. I hate to shop, but sometimes I can't avoid it.

I love Target and hate having to waste my time looking for one item so I welcome their help. I thank them for their offer and tell the people at the register to tell their manager I appreciate the offers to help me. The clerks always smile and I like that.

Attackers 2-7 don't know anything about attacker #1. Give them a smile and shop on. You might actually make a friend with employee #5 who will help you on the next visit. I greeted a customer, who wanted to "look". Let him do so. When he passed me later with items in the basket, I pointed out how he could save money on 2 of those purchases. He changed the items, went to the manager, and expressed why MORE employees don't pay attention to the customer. Non-commission sales associates can stand around to get paid, or be observant to get repeat customers for more business, and their job.
I like Target, but too far away. WalMart is not the saving place here.

Until last night, I would have said this has never happened to me. I went to Target for cleaning supplies and cat litter. An employee in the cleaning supplies said hello to me and asked me if I needed help finding anything to my back. Then, a few steps away at the cat litter, another employee asked to help me load the litter. When I turned around to go back past the cleaning supplies, the first employee said hello to me again, but was then surprised by a guy behind her wanting to know where to find something. It was a little too much attention for my liking.

I don't like Target - never have. I have been to 2 that are somewhat near me several times, and every time I go in I decide I'm not going back. I've never noticed hounding by employees, but it seems they never have what I want. The shelves are poorly stocked and they just don't seem to carry much variety.

I don't really like WalMart, either, but they beat Target hands-down for both products and pricing. I visit WalMart about once a month, more often during the holiday season.

I like our Target, but don't go there very often since it's out of the way for me. The employees there have been helpful on the few occasions when I needed them, but I've never been approached by several of them asking if they can help.

I love Target. I think it's funny that people get annoyed with too much help, but also get annoyed with not enough help. It's impossible to please everyone, I guess, but I would prefer more helpful people. My local Targets don't have that issue that I am aware of.

We have a few Walmart's that are probably cheaper but I refuse to support their business practices. I would rather spend more at another store.

I like shopping at Target. I try to avoid WalMart. A friend convinced me to get a Target Red Card and I save 5% on all my purchases.

Generally there's not a problem - but today I was just looking at things and must have walked past the same girl about 4 times, straightening shelves of things and each time she asked if she could help me. I like Target, it's clean, they have a variety of things, grocery prices are cheaper than the grocery store. Mine is not a Super Target so don't have a full range of groceries .

old fixer reminded me of shopping with my mom when i was young. Good point. "No thank you. I'm just looking" seemed to stem the tide of helpers.

We get a Target flyer and there's nothing in their food prices to entice me to go there. They are more expensive than our grocery store we regularly shop.

Target bought a struggling chain in Canada few years ago, have poured in tons of money but are losing big time.

They are worried, so have instructed employees to be somewhat assertive, I imagine.

I think after about three offers, I'd put up one hand and pretend to put a mark on the palm with the other, and if the "helper" asked what was going on, I'd say that I was keeping track of how many times I'd been accosted ... and that her offer was the third. By about No. 6, I'd be holding the "notepad" hand with palm flat, and put *two* marks there, and if the "helper" asked the reason, I'd say that hers was the sixth offer in (consulting my watch) about 7 minutes, so I was keeping double notes, the second mark being attributed to annoyance ... and if I got about one more ... I'd be walking out.

PLUS ... I'd be telling the manager, prior to my departure.

OTOH ... I appreciate helpful staff ... when I need them.

ole joyfuelled ... most of the time

You may be amusing yourself with the various comments and antics you've described yourself doing in public, but believe me when I suggest that people you encounter probably don't share your views.

Why not go a bit easier on folks who don't know you? Especially those who are at work trying to follow their bosses' instructions. Your actions sound creepy and more than a little odd to me just from your descriptions, I don't want to imagine what they're like in person.

I've gone to the Target near my house several times. I don't call what they do "attacking". They're just doing their job. And nobody goes out of their way to find me to ask if I need help. They politely say hello to me then ask if I need help with anything.

In the store I work at, if I think a customer looks lost, I'll ask if they need help with anything. 99% of the time, they do. It's pretty sad when someone is desperately searching the dish soap aisle for toothpaste........ it's like they've never been in a store before.....

The only reason I don't like Target is because they rarely have what I'm looking for. A department store with NO craft supplies? Really? Not a single ball of wool or crochet thread, or scrapbook supplies....

I mainly go there for Starbucks if I'm being 100% honest. lol

Ole Joyful, what's wrong with just smiling and saying "No thanks".

Target has always been my favorite store, but they have started doing something that I really don't like and I don't think it is ethical. I have complained twice. They put a sale sign up for the product (example) get two for $15. You raise the sale sign, the original price for one is $7.48, so you save .04. Very misleading. One of the clerks told me it may have been a vendor doing that, I told her it is still Targets responsibility to stop it. A week or two before I got $102. worth of bathroom paper for $68. That was a very good sale.

It's sooo "plastic".

OJ is just joking--I imagine he has a smile on his face much of the day, which is a nice way to live this short life. :)

Not quite the same, but I have my own Target story.

The local store is also a good place for a quick restroom stop, so I'm in there more often than for just shopping. (The restrooms are very clean and right inside the front door.)

Anyway, the store has a number of employees with disabilities of various levels, both physical and developmental. One of the cart boys is a 30-something developmentally disabled man who seems to have identified me as someone from his past. His speech is difficult, but near as I can tell, he thinks that I taught him to swim at a summer camp long ago and that there was another teacher/counselor named Gary. Wasn't me, but I've learned to play along, asking if he's gone swimming lately or saying that the weather is too cold for swimming or whatever.

It bugged me at first, but seeing me certainly seems to lift his day. And makes me smile, too.

Hi Emma,

If the "sale deal" is 2/$15.00 ... and the regular price $7.48 each ...

... you were out 4 cents rather than having saved it, weren't you?

o j

I shop Target only occassionly, and less so after last winter's hack. Target's corporate computers were invaded and the data thieves made off with millions of customers records. According to Target, the system has been fixed, but somehow, I do not trust it. Apparently, the executives had only rudimentary protection. How do I know it is any better today? I don't.

I made made 2 purchases since that time and it has been cash only. I am reluctant to expose my credit card.

Sushipup, my neighbor is also disabled and has worked at Target for almost ten years. They are VERY good to him, training him patiently and recognizing his hard work. His mother is almost brought to tears when she talks about how good to him they always are. When I am there and he sees me, (or any of our other neighbors, for that matter,) he shouts our names in a loud voice and then we exchange hellos and pleasantries. Makes me smile wide!

Our only independently-owned always had a developmentally challenged man round up the shopping carts and general cleanup. He was the happiest fellow......always a smile, and how are you. If you brought a cart to him, he was so happy.

He passed a few years ago, and made headlines in the paper. He also had a huge turnout at the service.

I forgot about that, the Target in my area also hires developmentally disabled workers. Target's doing so is an act of profound community service, it gives these people much happiness and purpose in their lives. In return, they work hard.

I need no further reason to decide where to shop. It makes me feel good just to see such people happily working.

jemdandy....afraid to expose my credit card....does that mean that it never sees the light of day? Why have one? And just so you know, it can get hacked anywhere, not just at Target!

With such a paranoia I think you should cut it up into teenie, tiny, little bits and then burn them (one can never be too sure, there just might be someone out there whose full time job is to retrieve all those pieces from the garbage and 'hack' it one more time), lol.

It seems that the number one requested item by the Canadians for the Target stores to carry here, is Cherry Coke.

Go figure. I would think there would be other items that would be of far more importance and usefulness.

Target is bringing Cherry Coke here and when the supply runs out, that's it.

We have a regular Target here and I don't go there much, my daughter has a Super Target in her city and loves shopping there, I've gone with her a few times and there is a big selection (and better produce than we have at our Walmart.) At Bed Bath & Beyond everyone does ask if they can help but it's only a few times per visit, there aren't a huge amount of employees, and it doesn't bother me..many times I ask about a product or a sale.