I hadn't been to this particular Target location in quite some time, however, it was on my way home from an appointment at nearby Franciscan and I decided to stop and see if they had a few supplies that I needed.
I'm a fan of the Target brand, a nice weaving together of warm and welcoming shopping atmosphere, friendly customer service, and for the most part fair pricing. While I can't say I always find what I need, generally I appreciate the experience and Target is definitely one of my favorite places to shop.
This is, of course, a "Super Center." This means it's bigger and better stocked than most Target locations. It also tends to offer options not available in most Targets.
As near as I could tell in this location, that is less about "extra" services and more about widened selection options in a few areas. My neighborhood Target, Glendale, is not considered a Super Center but seems to have the vast majority of what's offered here - just to a lesser degree.
Parking is easy here. They offer an abundance of accessible parking and, as is nearly always true with Target, also offer appropriate curb cuts and automatic entry doorways. They offer full carts and they do offer the specialized carts for bigger children who may need closer supervision. They don't offer the half-cart option - something I wish they would add. As a wheelchair user, the full carts are simply more difficult to manage and this becomes more true as they age.
I was primarily focusing this trip on personal supplies, wellness supplies, and grocery. Of course, that would end up being on the opposite end of where I parked though that's on me. This Target does offer an optical section (Glendale recently added this) and they have a Starbucks inside. They have a ton of registers, though only a couple were open - the majority of folks were doing self check-out.
I was somewhat surprised that despite this being a "super" center that in the majority of areas I was shopping in the selection remained remarkably limited.
I wanted V8 energy drinks, for example, but they only had a couple packs. I wanted some bandage dressings - the selection was embarrassingly weak. I wanted unsweetened iced tea - they were surprisingly low. I wanted a snack - options were no more plentiful than any other Target.
I just didn't see much "super."
Where this location fell truly short for me was in that usual Target sense of welcome. It simply wasn't here. I would pass by Target employees and there would never be a greeting. I was, of course, greeted at the front door but even that lacked enthusiasm. For a store that had surprisingly lacking shelves, I was amazed at the lack of employees shelving (though I did see 2-3). The cashier was semi-friendly, but I have to admit that in most cases a Target cashier will put my bags in the cart (I accept this is likely a disability accommodation, though it's an appreciated one). This one did nothing.
This didn't feel like Target. It wasn't quite Wal-Mart - it wasn't unfriendly, but it sure didn't make me want to come back anytime soon. The atmosphere is MUCH more pleasant at Glendale and the employees are MUCH friendlier.
This was a middle-of-the-road experience in every way. It wasn't good. It wasn't really bad. It was functional, though I've always appreciated Target as being the best shopping experience among similar brands. That simply wasn't true here.
Would I come back? Probably, though I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to do so. Given that I live much closer to Glendale, that's obviously my home Target anyway. However, I'm by this way quite a bit and there was nothing about this experience that said "Stop here on the way home." If anything, it said "Wait until you get home and go to Glendale."
Super? I don't think so. read more