OK, so this was around seven PM on the day of submission. Went to go pick up Kirby and the Forgotten Land, local outlet didn't have the tarps but that's just because our area isn't a priority or one got stolen in the past or something I figure. Was thankful to actually find not one, but several copies in stock, and while the clerk wasn't at their station in Electronics and I had to wait a while for both the unrelated staff standing there to call them up and for them to actually arrive, things were going smoothly enough. That's not my story, that's just context for what happened next.
Lady in electronics starts shoveling a couple of things into my bag without asking me first. I vaguely recall that Kirby and the Forgotten Land had an early adopter bonus and go "Oh, cool, they still have the free stuff left?" She mutters something to the effect of yes, and I possibly missed a critical moment as she said some other things quietly while I was busy being distracted fantasizing about the freebies where she might have explained something, but she certainly didn't stop me right there as I kept babbling. I fumbled around with my credit card a bit, paid, and left.
Then I looked at the receipt two blocks down the road while I was sitting in a passenger seat in the family vehicle. They weren't freebies, she charged me. And it wasn't just the early adopter bonus that is literally marked "not for resale" that I was charged five cents for, but I was charged two entire dollars for a gift card envelope that I not only didn't ask for, but was Super Mario themed and completely unrelated.
So we go back.
My voice is. . .a bit tense from having the sinking feeling I knew what just happened, but I cut straight to the point and didn't shout or make any particular accusations. I was charged for something I didn't try to buy. The clerk at electronics' response was to take a step closer to me, tell me that she had previously informed me that I received the items at a "discount," and heavily imply that customers were required to buy the extraneous materials in order to get the game. I pressed the matter since it made no sense for the gift card envelope to be a requirement, and she just told me to take it to customer service then. And according to my family who was watching from a distance, apparently her face went red, too.
Plus one star for the person actually working the customer service counter who didn't comment on the admittedly immature passive aggressive fuming I was doing after the fact, commented that the item I was returning seemed "cute" (which it was, I'm just not into Mario games and on every other level I didn't want it seeing as it was both useless to me and overpriced), and just generally treated me with respect immediately after my having gotten a demonstration of what not being respected is like.
But honestly? Shame on whoever did this, and if the manager or managers put them up to it then shame on them, too. While I mostly wanted my two bucks back, I partially returned because if it was a mistake, I wanted them to know so it wouldn't happen to the next person, and if it was deliberate, then they'd at least have to think on it a little. Considering how the exchange went, I'd say you're just better off keeping an extremely close eye on what the cashiers are doing during checkout and maybe shopping somewhere else entirely.
. . .As for the bag that should have been free, I didn't make a point of returning that and just took the hit. It's the kind of thing I would have been willing to pay five cents for if it was the only way to get it, anyway. That said, considering that it was, again, a promotional bonus literally marked "not for resale," I still got scammed. I just rolled with it because it wasn't as flagrant.
It's a shame. The service at this particular Target used to be much better several years ago. I even once found a physical copy of what turned out to be one of my favorite video games because Target was the only place to still stock it long after everyone else stopped carrying it. But getting scammed while just trying to make a normal purchase tells me that whatever the Goshen Target used to be, it's not the same place any more. read more
