***Spoiler alert - The only reason this Target doesn't qualify for more than three stars is because of the location and what you have to deal with around it and as you enter and leave.***
This Target is an abbreviated version of most other Target stores that you may be used to. Unlike the expansive suburban stores that you can get lost in wandering around for hours wasting time, this one is pretty straight forward and to the point. Less stuff, less space, fewer employees...nothing bad, just different. In light of less available options for merchandise, I did find that the selection was well curated. As a bargain shopper by nature, I was happy that the smaller store still had a clearance section
I came to this Target for two reasons. First, to use the free phone charging station. I was in a situation where I didn't have my charger with me and my phone was dead. With a few simple touches of a screen, one of the locker doors on the charging machine opened. There are a few different types of plugs in the locker and when you attach your phone, you enter some security prompts, close the locking door and come back when you're ready. The locking doors were the only reason I trusted this machine. My phone charged up about half-way in less than a twenty minutes. This was just enough time to allow me to complete the next task of my journey, picking up an order that someone made online for me.
Within five minutes of having an online order placed by someone in a different state for in-store pick-up, I received a text that my items were ready. There is a specific area for this type of purchase in the check-out area so you don't have to wait in line behind people with full baskets. I'm really impressed by the overall flawless execution of online-to-store ordering.
Now to the stars going away. This Target is located on the 16th Street Mall right in the middle of downtown Denver. If you are not familiar, it can be sketchy and scary at more times than not...just look it up. To get here, prepare to be approached by panhandlers, homeless people going through trash cans and dumpsters, people urinating in an alley, sign picketers with megaphones reminding you that "You're going to He//...let me tell you about Jesus" and most disturbingly, those pain-in-the butt FAKE MONKS from "Tibet" that try to put beads on your hand and say, "Peace" before they ask for $20+. If I wasn't stranded downtown, this would never have been a stop for me and I would have gone anywhere else without all that.
So for the store, five stars all around for the employees, efficiency, cleanliness and check-out. For the location...wah wah (or even better, the noise when people lose a game on the "Price is Right").
I'd go back if I found myself in the same situation again. If I was in a different situation, I'd pass for an alternate location unless Denver cleaned all the "Skid Row" off the 16th Street Mall. read more