Contrary to what most people are saying about Target, I am no longer a fan. Before you read further, you should know that I have always been an avid Target shopper and have potentially dropped thousands there in my lifetime. However, today my eyes were sprung open to the lack of customer care an employee chose to exemplify. Let me give you perspective...
I had placed an online photo order over the weekend, and planned to pick them up on my lunch break today as I needed them for a project at work. My husband and I approached the counter where a man named Al stood, with his head down. I waited a second, then said, "Hi!" When he so thoughtfully looked up, I continued. "I'm here to pick up an order I placed online." Al gave me a total "are-you-an-idiot" look and said, "How 'bout a name?!" My eyes sprung open. I swallowed, and gave him my last name. So he bends down and proceeds to dig through a drawer, then asks, "4x6?" "Yep," I answered- to which he rudely replied, "Well that determines where I look for it!" At this point, I was done being treated like an imbecile. I said, "I have no way of knowing that." Good ol' Al couldn't bare to just keep looking, he had to stop, look up at me and say, "You placed the order, and you don't even know what size you ordered?!" I looked at him and explained that I didn't know the size of my photos determined where they were stored. To which, he nonchalantly apologized for his rude remark. After a few minutes of searching, he walked over to his computer to check on unprocessed orders. I told him when I placed the order, and he continued scrolling down a list. Finally, Al told me to come check out the computer. I sat there as he scrolled all the way back to last week only to confirm that my order was nowhere to be found. Just then, I remembered that I had gotten a confirmation email so I pulled it up on my phone, and said, "Here's my confirmation number- Can you look it up that way?" I kid you not, his response was this: "Oh that number means nothing to me. I can't find it with that number." I'm sorry, last time I checked the whole point of receiving a confirmation number was for reassurance that your order went through, and if something should come up, you've got your number to be able to track or verify your order. Apparently, I was wrong and Al was right. I asked him if he agreed that it was a little bit ridiculous to have a confirmation number that means nothing, and he did. After a few minutes, I finally asked "So you're telling me you have no way of finding my order anywhere, even with this number?" To which he practically interrupted me to say, "No." I was so appalled at his attitude from the second he opened his mouth, and I was so disturbed by his lack of customer care, it was time to go. I left there so upset (and annoyed I wasn't able to get my photos which I needed for work). I ended up driving home, placing an order with Walgreens, calling them immediately after to confirm the order and they told me it was there. Less than twenty minutes later, I received an email saying my photos were ready for pick up. I have never felt so wowed by Walgreens. After work, I made it a point to go back to Target to talk to a manager about my terrible encounter earlier in hopes that it would alarm him or her to address the issues.
My photo employee has a bad attitude, and it's not good for business.
Our confirmation numbers aren't reliable, and that's not good for business.
I'm not usually one to complain to a manager about something so when I do it's not because I want something, it's because I expect they care enough about their customers to be thankful for the feedback, and do something about it. If you're wondering if that's what I got, I'll tell you right now. It's not. I got the typical, "I'm sorry for any inconvenience that caused. Let me get you some coupons." She never once asked me who was "helping" me. In fact, when I mentioned his name by the end of our conversation, she made it a point to tell me that was the first complaint she's ever heard about Al. She also acknowledged the fact that their confirmation numbers are unreliable, and basically had no valid explanation for it, just an apology.
All in all, I just have to say this: Eastlake Target's customer service disappointed me greatly today, and there's a big chance I will never step foot in that particular location ever again, and if you think your confirmation number is some sort of guarantee for your order, think again. It's really just some fancy HTML codes to make them look good, and you feel like they've got your back. News flash- They don't. read more