Memo To Target — Sell! Sell! Sell!
First off, Target-marketing, you did a bang up job of promoting the Imperial Shuttle by enforcing some sort of vow-of-silence scheme when we all knew it was coming. Really, top notch work there, guys. (I’m certain that this wasn’t Hasbro‘s decision because they usually do a decent job of promoting important exclusives to the collector community.) That said, I doubt many of us who have area Target stores are going without, and I suspect there are plenty to go around.
Part of the reason that I suspect Target tried to keep this vehicle hush-hush would be to have enough on-hand and in-stock for the promotion. We collectors get their DPCI stock numbers, and we actually have the audacity to ask for customer service. Thus, we are scum of the earth to them. We have had to resort to this because of Target’s capricious "resets", anti-collector policies, and, frankly, weak customer service.
Target forgets that it’s called "the working man’s boutique" and "cleaner than Wal*Mart" as pejoratives, not compliments. Every store should be kept stocked, clean, and selling. That’s how retail works. As a wise woman once told me, "from the moment you open your doors, you’re having a going-out-of-business sale." Having had Target managers actually tell me that the customer is never right, I know that their prosperity as a company will not be long-lived. Like Sears, K-Mart, and others, they will fall on hard times eventually, and they will go "down market".
Target employees forget that they are simply shop clerks. I’m not your guest, redshirt, I’m your customer. I have money, and you work in a shop that wants to take it from me in exchange for goods. Don’t let the "walkies", scanners, and headsets fool you, you are shop clerks. There’s nothing wrong with being a shop clerk, mind you. However, Target employees think that they’re special because they use little gizmos to check stock. That makes them shop clerks, not spaceage merchandising wunderkind. Sorry for the rant there.
Target employees, also please take note, don’t be fooled by your company’s silly "associate" cheers and pep-rallies. You can be as rah-rah perky as you like, but your attitudes toward collectors must improve. I keep receipts. I make a point of showing your "leaders" how much I spend in their stores. When you are rude to me (and those like me) you are alienating people who spend a lot of money — and not just on Star Wars toys. When a manager (director, leader, whatever) is confronted with real money figures, the customer is right. You don’t want to be on the wrong end of that math.
Getting back on topic, Target, just sell me my crap, let me buy whatever trifle I’m buying at your big, red bargain bin, and let me get out of there with minimal attitude. Seriously, life is hectic enough these days without getting snide comments from a kid in a red shirt with a God complex. Fix this, or suffer the fate of other uppity retailers.
The funny thing is, I had no trouble getting my own Imperial Shuttles on Black Friday, but I’ve heard enough horror stories. (Granted, I had a cart with several hundred dollars’ worth of merchandise in it, so arguing with me would’ve been a bad thing. Good redshirt! Good! Go fetch the nice man’s toys!) I’m sickened when I hear of fellow collectors being mocked and mistreated at a DISCOUNT RETAIL CHAIN.
If I wanted to be mocked and mistreated, I could call my family.
P.S. Yes, it was meant to read as rude and condescending. I know how to speak their language.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:28 am
I frankly don’t get the attitude here. I’ve never once been mistreated or had any kind of the "attitude" you’re talking about in a Target visit. K-Mart? Yes. Wal-Mart? Are there even any store clerks AT wal-mart? But Target has always, always been fine.Maybe you just have really odd expectations.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:29 am
Wow. Once again right on point. I’m beginning to dig your stuff as much as the other Adam’s. Here’s another comment about the Target team meetings / pep rallies / whatever they are. Why, in the name of God, can’t Target stores hold these meetings BEFORE THE DARN STORE OPENS? It makes it real awkward for customers to have to walk through the middle of your damn meeting should they, god forbid, actually need to buy something at 8 AM. One time I actually had to interrupt the meeting to get a cashier ring me up. No joke. I guess it was my fault for needing some Advil at 8 AM. I avoid Target at 8 AM like the plague and will go to Wal-Mart every time if I can because no customer service is better than condescending customer service. The only thing contrary I will say is that this is a generalization, and to an extent, all generalizations are unfair. There are some very helpful and polite Target employees out there. The nice girl who pulled my shuttle on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving was one of the most pleasant and helpful employees I have ever dealt with at any retail store.
November 28th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
I hafe to say, not ALL Target employees are terrible with customer service, but reading what I have in the past few days, I should say that the majority gets a big red F. I just hope for their sake they straighten up.
November 28th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
I guess I understood their policy somewhat on the shuttle – apparently there was a legit street date, and potential penalties for early releases, so perhaps they should have kept tight reign on them until the street date, I didn’t have a problem with that. HOWEVER – As Adam already knows from the local boards in Atlanta, I was treated like an idiot when I asked for my shuttle the week before the date. Despite the computer and PDA saying they were in stock, I got the attitude employee to say "I’m sorry sir we don’t have any of that item available at this time." When I protested (nicely, mind you), he repeated the same line, but more strongly. O.K. dude, maybe this street date is for real, and you can’t get them now, but don’t feed me a line of bull, come out of the back, and say something to the extent of "Hey listen, they’re here, we’ve got a ton of them back there, but my manager will kick my arse if I bring one out ahead of the street date, so if you don’t mind, can you come back next weekend, we’ll be putting them on the shelves at 6:00 on Saturday, so if you come by then, I’m sure you can get one."
Say that, and I’ll gladly follow your instructions, and feel like I’ve been treated respectfully. Generally speaking, the local Target has been VERY good to me, only a couple of times have I caught an attitude – this one though was handled poorly because of the hush-hush attitude about the release. In this day and age, PLEASE understand that the FANS are going to know well ahead of time (I think I put the DPCI in the computer back in June to first check its legitimacy).
Oh well, good news out of all this is, it appears to have been relatively popular, so let’s hope that trend continues! Big vehicles for all my friends!
’78
November 28th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
I`ve been lucky that my local Target has ALWAYS been an excellent CS oriented store. Many times I`ve been brought things from the back with a smile and a "Glad to help!" from the employees. I have however run into many other Big Reds that haven`t been this way. The thing that burns me the most are the ones that have the "Scalpers Welcome" signs saying you can`t ask for stuff from the back and you have to be there when you have to be at work instead so the guys with no real job, huge guts and dirty overalls can buy it all and resell it on Ebay. I once even had an employee tell me the toy manager would hold stuff for his scalper buddy and get "kickbacks" from the scalper. I complained about this to the store manager and regional manager and was basically told my complaint couldn`t be proven so too bad. Sadly, this is the way most CS works at almost every store these days. You`d like to think ot would eventually bite them in the wazoo, but that just never seems to happen.
November 28th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Hi guys. I started a thread in the Saga forum for Target stories. If you guys want to add yours, I’d love to read them.
November 28th, 2006 at 1:28 pm
Lunchbox wrote: The nice girl who pulled my shuttle on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving was one of the most pleasant and helpful employees I have ever dealt with at any retail store.
Yeah, I’ll bet! Any nice girl willing to pull my shuttle on the Tuesday before Thanksgiviing gets four stars in my book!
(okay, yeah, that was cheap, I’m feelin’ silly today. I apologize in advance but couldn’t resist!)
November 28th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
Okay okay I admit it. Her rating went from 3 1/2 star to 4 when I saw her carrying the shuttle down the aisle
November 28th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
I must agree with both sides here. Most of the time, all of the time at my local store, I have a good experience shopping at Target. However, every once in a while I’ll run across someone who’s sole mission in life is to keep toys out of collectors hands. My advice is to avoid the bad stores if at all possible. District and regional managers keep track of store total sales and low numbers will prompt a few questions.
November 28th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
I’ve never been met with such problems, except at Walmart. And to think that all of this started with a child’s toy. Don’t get me wrong, I bought one too, but I played the game and waited for the STREET DATE. What’s the big deal? Life is full of rules and when we don’t like them, we rant and cry about it? As far as Target going downhill, I highly doubt it. Grant it they do have some people who think that they are special when they are not, and some that are VERY POWER HUNGRY, but you can go to ANY business and find those people. Oh well. Good luck with things.
November 28th, 2006 at 5:18 pm
I am total agreement with this article. I had a really nice associate pull my shuttle on Black Friday, when the manager told her to put it back before the customer saw it, which happened to be me. She told me that I can’t have it until the official release date. I told her that my money is still green on anyday of the week and that what was the big deal I already saw it and their DCPI number said that it was in the store. She proceeded to grill me on how I got the number. The worst part was that their District manager, store manager, and 3 other managers saw the whole thing and did nothing about it. I really hope you send that article to target, maybe someone should start a letter campaign to all big box retailers on the fine art of customer service. Thanks for the article I thought I was the only one in this situation. MTFBWY
Darthguzmar
November 28th, 2006 at 5:57 pm
Awesome post. I agree 110% about Target’s attitude as of late.
November 28th, 2006 at 6:44 pm
I used to work retail at a major department store and my managers’ attitudes about stock rooms were that there was to be nothing in the stock room – you can’t make money if your stock isn’t available on the sales floor for the customer to purchase. I ALWAYS knew that the customer was the sole reason for my paycheck, and was always kind to the customer, no matter how they treated me. Its called "Customer Service," an attitude which is lacking just about anywhere you go today, Target or otherwise. My experiences with the Targets in my corner of the Metro Atlanta have been hit and miss. I had to go to a couple of different Targets before I got one really really nice employee to get the VTSC for me. Same with the Snowspeeder. I think you should send this blog along to Target corporate as well. Good luck with them listening though.
November 28th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
I’m never one to side against ADAM, but I can say I’ve never had a problem at Target. (that I can recall, I still shop there so I guess I haven’t) plus the worker’s are so much cuter than the Wal-mart workers, tight redshirt vs. blue apron over a front butt? . I remeber being in one and it must have been model day….>drool<
I haven’t had any recent issues with exclusives anymore, I’ve seen them all of course last year I started shying away from them…in the old days it was tougher, but I still managed to get them. It’s a matter of patience and timing bt I got all the ones I wanted last year. Lava Vader, Targetrooper, etc
November 28th, 2006 at 8:07 pm
I got treated this way at Target back in the days of POTF2 (remember the Skiff and the Y-Wing debacle) but in recent years the Target employees are no worse than TRU or Wal-Mart employees, meaning sometimes they are very helpful (Target employees went into "the back" to get me the exclusive ROTS Clonetrooper with the red dots, the Lava Vader, and the "Demise of Grievous" with no complaints and a cheery disposition, and indeed seemed grateful for the SKU# or whatever because it made their job easier to find it. And then sometimes they do the "everything is on the sales floor" dodge. It just depends on the particular employee you get where I live (Montgomery, AL). I guess your Target is staffed with jackasses.
November 28th, 2006 at 8:25 pm
I agree with alot of what’s been posted already.Target,however,isn’t always the only "bad guy" when one defines poor customer service.Walmart is bad,Toys R Us is bad, and Shopko and Kmart are just plain horrible.
Each retailer is different and has its own policies.Also, each retail store is different and has its own personality.A store is essentially defined by its employees.I work retail and I do my best to help whoever needs it in whatever way I can.I can give over 100% in my area and in certain others otherwise I get someone else more knowledgeable to help.I will only turn you away if you bring an attitude and your mouth.The same can’t be said for some other employees.Not everyone cares about their job or the customers they are there for.We don’t all have good days as often as we have bad days.
Atleast if I go into Target with a DCPI number I know a little more than going to another retailer.Unless you know somebody of importance,someone who cares, and someone of some intelligence–you aren’t going to get anywhere.If I get told they have it but can’t sell it to me right then so be it.I just want to know its there for one or a good approximation as to when its coming.
Most of what’s been said I’d apply towards my former TRU store’s associates and a few Walmart Toy Department Managers or associates.
I’ve been told forever that line "the customer is ALWAYS right".I don’t believe it.Never have and never will.The customer has rights,but he/she can be wrong.The employee isn’t always right either.
Thinking about all of this stuff, it would make a good comedy movie.A Star Wars version of Clerks!!
November 28th, 2006 at 8:44 pm
Dude I am 100% with you there. If the Target punks actually knew how much business us collectors give their stupid store they’de maybe, just maybe be a little more respectful to us. Yeah we are grown or almost grown men. But buying toys doesn’t make you a little kid. We play their little games and wait for the street date. We don’t hassle them to much, and all they do is complain about how they have to do their jobs and help a customer. I’ve also had the store manger tell me that i couldn’t buy something cause the street date hadn’t come around yet even though the toy manager and I both were telling him it was past the street date. He went out of his way to be rude and to make sure i didn’t get the product that i came in to buy. If they are going to be butts about their exclusives, they should stop caring them.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:16 pm
I have encountered some rudeness while shopping at both walmart and target. Forget kmart, it doesnt even count in my book, cant find a damn employee when i need one. The sale kmart just had recently (buy one get one free) was useless, they never have any stock. what’s even worse for me, is the cluelessness at walmart. Well target too. I have asked them about a certain item and they have no clue what im talking about. Two examples, the star wars tins and the dvd commerative packs. i described them to this employee and had no clue what the hell i was talking about. Im sure they must know. They deal with toys every single day of their working lives. sheesh. Also, i hate the lies. On several occassions ive asked when they will restock because I had seen the same figures on several visits. The guy said " we wont restock til those are gone, i wont order any more for now ". I asked, well do you have any in the back that you might bring out. His answer is no and mostly repeats what he has already told me. Since im a very suspicious person. lol i show up 3 days later. Lo and behold, what do i see, but figures i hadnt seen on my last visit. I couldnt believe it. That fool lied to me. Why would he do that? Is that walmart policy to misguide their customers? Seems to be im afraid, at least it is at our local walmarts. We have 3 of them here. Rarely do you find a person that really helps you out. I visited Target, i was lucky to have the guy go to the back and get me the Lava Vader, the articulated trooper, the other Lava Vader and Obi Wan. I had shown up with the DCPI numbers. Each time, it was the same guy. He was cool and am very greatful he went out of his way for me. He could have gotten in trouble, i assume cause it was merchandise that hadnt be put out yet. Unfortunately, ive found some useless ppl when he is not around. Perhaps they dont care or something, i always come back empty handed when i have to deal with them.. well .. thats enuff of me boring u. thanx for listening. lol cya .tc.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:58 pm
I think this type of attitude is a big part of the reason why collectors often receive poor customer service. I know far too many collectors who have a big chip on their shoulder when it comes to shopping and feel that they are "entitled" to get whatever they want, whenever they want. I’m not going to say I haven’t been frustrated at times by a rude clerk here and there, but I would argue that you are much more likely to come across rude collectors than rude store clerks and managers. Remember, we’re buying TOYS. These are things that none of us need. If we were all out shopping for replacement heart valves for our dying grandmothers then maybe we’d have more of a right to complain…
November 29th, 2006 at 12:40 am
I had bought one of the Han/Chewy transformer sets on Tuesday before Thanksgiving for full price. Before purchasing it, I brought it up to the customer service counter and point blank aked the two ladies there if I bought it then and came in on Friday can I just go to the customer service counter and get the price adjustment to the day-after-thanksgiving price. This is what I do for stuff I want every year. I am not standing in those lines when there is an easier way. Both told me yes I could do that. I even asked if the sale was a certain time on Friday and they said no, it was all day Friday and Saturday. So, I went in Friday and walked up to customer service. I was then told that they were not doing price adjustments for any of the two-day prices. I asked to speak to the store manager. I explained the situation to him and he said they would not match the price. I confirmed with him that he was not willing to back up what his own employees told me. He said no, he would not back up what they said as the district manager said not to do the price matching. I pointed out the matching policy on the wall and asked where it told me that they would price match the next two circulars but not for the two days after Thanksgiving. While I am getting absolutely nowhere with this loser, the girl behind the counter is on the phone to corporate and confirmed with them that the stores WERE supposed to be doing the price matching. The manager was trying to explain to me how what I was trying to do was not fair to the 400 people who were at the door at 6 am. I turned away from him and he walked away. The girl behind the counter, who I think was one of the ladies I had talked to when I bought the toy originally, did the price adjustment for me. I went home and called the corporate number to tell them what had happened to me. The lousy customer service person at corporate did not understand why I was calling if I had gotten them to do the adjustment and had my money. I could not get across to her that the bs I had to go through was not something I should have been faced with as a customer. She told me the district managers have the power to make those decisions even if they conflict woth corporate policy. I am done with Target. I will pay up to get my Target exclusives from an overseas dealer. I am not saying the service is not this bad at Kmart and Walmart either. It seems to be global now. I am spending a lot less money on everything these days as I don’t want any of the stores to get my hard earned buck with their bad service. My Christmas shopping will be primarily done at a little mom & pop toy store near my work. They treat me nicely ALL the time.
November 29th, 2006 at 1:58 am
Ok. I am a Target employee. The Shuttle did have a street date printed on the boxes they came in from Hasbro. It was a purple label stating Nov. 25th street date. Often, to avoid penalties, AP (security) will have these things locked up. So in the PDT (the laser gun used to locate stuff) doesnt even know we have it cause it is not in location in the back room. I am also a collector of many toys. I make an effort to make sure our store is stocked with ‘good’ figures and not peg warmers only.
Yes, most team leads at Target SUCK and are condescending to customers (guest) and to team members, which then gets passed down to customers.
November 29th, 2006 at 9:08 am
I don’t think anyone has a problem with street dates or anything like that. Why all the cloak and dagger and deception about the presence of this item in the stores. "We have them in, but they have a street date of X and we can’t sell them until then. Try back that day." What is so hard about that? Being obtuse could cost them a sale.I called Target a few days before Wii launched. They specifically said there would be no lists or any pre sales. I got to the line and asked how many they other customers had heard they were selling. I calculated that my place in line got me a system. Until the Target employee came down the line with a list in his hand. I told him I was not on the list, and he let me stand there another 25 minutes, along with many others behind me, only to leave empty handed. Would it have been so hard to say to the last guy "you’re it" or even have an employee stake out the end of the line lest people waste their time?Walmart is no better. I called them a few days later wondering if they had restocked Wii. The woman said they had them in stock. I double confirmed their availibility and ran down ASAP. She was confused with Wii and DS.I asked for the manager. I don’t expect every employee to know off the top of their heads the status of every item, or the existence of every item, but I think it would be smart for all WalMart, Target etc. electronics department employees to know as a daily part of their job the stock status of PS3, Wii and iPods.Retail has become (mostly) people who can’t get work anywhere else. I was a retail manager for 10 years and I am ultra-critical of customer service. These companies care about one thing $$$, and the people they employ embody that philosophy.
November 29th, 2006 at 9:10 am
There’s plenty of blame to go around. There may be condescending employees and misguided policies, but there are also ill-mannered fans (not to mention scalpers) who contribute to the problem.The only bad incident I’ve had at Target in the past few years revolved around the black-and-grey Utapau Trooper exclusive. The collectors’ websites had trumpeted an "unofficial street date" for its release, but when I showed up that Sunday morning, I discovered a bunch of other fans milling around the toy department grumbling about DCPI numbers. I attracted the attention of a supervisor, who told us in no uncertain terms that store policy was not to pull items out of the stockroom. I tried to make a rational argument about customer service, but my effort was not helped by the nearby presence of guys in Star Wars t-shirts pissing, moaning and making vague threats about paying stockboys to get them out of the back. One began a loud cell phone conversation with a friend (who was apparently at another Target) about how he was being mistreated. I went around and around with this supervisor for about twenty minutes, but it was clear that she was not inclined to help. When the aforementioned fanboy’s Star Wars ringtone went off, I wanted to slap my hand to my head; any chance of my being taken seriously was lost.I returned the next morning with the intention of speaking to the store manager about the poor customer service I’d received. But first, I checked the action figure aisle. Just then, an employee wheeled by with a cartful of Utapau Troopers and asked me if I wanted one. Which, of course, is the way things ought to work.The problem, as I see it, is several-fold. From what I understand, Target really does have a policy against pulling items from the stockroom, and it seems to be a direct response to past abuses by fanboys/scalpers. I question whether that policy represents good customer service, but I can certainly see how the chain came to that decision.Part of any employee’s job is to enforce their company’s policies, so it’s not unreasonable for a Target stocker to say, "I’m sorry, but I’m not allowed to do that." If they display an attitude about it, that’s another thing. However, keep in mind that you are almost certainly not the first fanboy they’ve encountered, and it’s entirely likely that they’ve been subjected to one or more half-crazed rants about this or that Clone Trooper. Get chewed out enough times, and see if you don’t begin to overreact.Another issue is that the policy is inconsistently enforced, not just from store to store, but from employee to employee. That sets up an expectation that the policy doesn’t apply to you, especially if you can find the right person.Ideally, retailers ought to do everything they can, within reason, to get stock out on the floor and into customers’ hands. Hard street dates should be enforced, but short of that, it’s dumb to allow shoppers to leave the store pissed off because the item they came to purchase is in the back and no one is willing to say "We’ll be putting it out on the shelves Tuesday morning." However, fanboys need to clean up their own act if they expect a change in policy. Don’t be rude, don’t whine, don’t try to "play" the system.
November 29th, 2006 at 11:36 am
A-frigging-men! I am sick to death of the attitude I get from them. Now granted, not all Target employees are rude jerks. You do find the occasional employee who either doesn’t give a rip about the stores’ "policies" or are just nice enough to get what you are asking for. I’m tired though of having employees sneer at you or treat you like crap when you ask for them to check on an item. Especially when other Target’s are already selling them.
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard them say (and very snotty like mind you) "I don’t know what to tell you. We can’t sell that to you right now." It is a joke. They have it; i have money; SELL IT TO ME! If it actually has a released date fine, I understand that. More often than not it doesn’t. Why wait a friggin month just because your luittle toy machine says the plannogram isn’t due to set until them!
November 29th, 2006 at 3:52 pm
I have had moderate success with Target employees. Some have been complete jerks and others have been extremely helpful.
Just last night for example, I had a Target employee go into the back and score a few 30th Anniversary Tins for me – regardless of the fact that there wasn’t a shelf tag for them.
The biggest problem I have with Target really stems from the lack of CONSISTENCY with any sort of policy.
First off – if they can’t bring anything from the back, why have the price scanners indicate whether or not there’s more of an item in the stockroom?
Second, if they can only bring out stuff based on the existence of a shelf tag, why can I punch in a DPCI number in the price scanner?
The ability to both enter in a number AND see if that item is in-stock, leads me to only ONE logical conclusion – somebody, somewhere, high-up in the Target corporate structure felt that putting it there would be an asset to customer server. PURE AND SIMPLE.
Yes, this might make it seem like I have chip on my shoulder and I’m like some of the "bad" collectors that other folks have described here, but the simple solution for this? NEVER let anything come from the stockroom for ANYONE. Be consistent and I’d be perfectly happy with just checking the store when I had the chance.
On Black Friday, one employee who has helped me out before, told me that this store wouldn’t be putting out the shuttles until Sunday – I thanked him for the info and said I would be back then. I didn’t try to get him to go into the back and get more, I just made plans to be back at the store on Sunday morning. Sure enough they had plenty Sunday morning and infact – he had a cart with a MIB one waiting on the side for me to show up. That was really cool.
In contrast, I’ve also been told that they couldn’t put something out until X/Y/Z date and then only to be left empty-handed on X/Y/Z date when I got to the store because I’m told, "oh, we put those out two days ago…"
So to sum up, here’s all Target needs to do:
1) Be consistent, either pull stuff or don’t, but if you’re not, turn off 80% of the features in the price scanners.
2) Be honest to the customer (guest), I don’t care if you make fun of me, just be honest.
It’s that simple really.
November 29th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
Adam: I like your reports and columns, but you are way off on this one! I’ve never had one negative experience at Target, which is MILES ahead of Wal Mart in terms of customer service-and I WORKED at Wal Mart. I guess you had one rude employee. But try not to put down the ‘shop clerk,’ because without them, you wouldn’t own a single Star Wars toy. Now, Wal Mart, well….I shop there regularly, spend TONS of money there, on everything, get the worst customer service on the planet, and still go back. Why? Because I know how the system works and I have sympathy for the ‘shop clerk.’ Let them have their scanners-it really does make you feel better about yourself knowing you work in a crap job. But, at least you have a scanner.
November 29th, 2006 at 10:03 pm
Although I agree that the hush-hush secrecy over the Shuttle exclusive was silly and counter-productive for generating the excitement necessary to sell the things beyond the collector community, I’ve had the complete opposite experience from what you describe at my local Target since it opened a few years ago. The staff are friendly and helpful and regularly approach me to ask if I need assistance. I’ve had them go out of their way to find items I was looking for (not just toys — they’ve helped me find lamps and tents for wedding gifts and tracked down contact lens solutions among other things), and I regularly see them doing the same for other people. As a result of the Lava Vader release last year (which this store handled nearly perfectly), I’m even on a first name basis with one of the store managers. Every time he sees me, he stops what he’s doing to chat and find out how the collecting is going. He does this with other people too, and I’ve seen other managers doing the same thing. I think that’s what makes this particular Target so customer-friendly: the managers’ attitudes are directly reflected in the attitudes of the rest of the employees — cashiers, cart collectors, loss prevention specialists, and everyone else. I’ve had similar experiences at other Targets in other states, so I’m surprised that others have had such negative ones. Makes me realize that I should get in touch with the corporate office to spread the positive news about this one so they can use it as a model for how things should be.
November 30th, 2006 at 7:08 am
Brother, PREACH IT! You are speaking my language man. I too have a problem with Target. In all of the other retail shops I got to (Wal*Mart, TRU, KMart, KBs), I’m known as the “nice” or “good” collector. Now that can be misread as well, that those store have a problem with collectors. But generally this isn’t the case in my area. The reason I’m known for being the “good” collector is many fold. In the case of Wal*Mart, for the past two midnight releases, I was first in line and helped them keep things orderly, but also on a daily basis when shopping, I make it a point to repeg figs that have fallen off as well as straighten up the toys on the shelf. WHy? Simple, a clean toy aisle will sell more toys, which means they should get replenished more often which means new toys for me. Also, it helps the toy department folks and they remember that and are more than willing to help me if I have a question. In the case of TRU, it’s much the same thing, that and I always talk to the clerks there as normal people, not down at them as I’ve been told happens often. It helps that I read the reports of TRU’s business dealings and sympathize with the employees when store closings are talke about.
But with regards to Target, other than one location near me (and even then, they just turned to the dark-side with the Mace Windu Battle pack), it’s very much a different attitude. I’ve had no less than 4 incidents that I’ve left the store angry, upset, pissed etc. Not neccessarily because I wasn’t able to get certain toys, though that lays a small part in it, rather it’s the attitude and as mentioned the “god” mentality of the workers.
To be specific, back when the AT-TE gunner was hard to find, I inquired about it from an employee. At that time, maybe half the pegs had figures on them, with plenty of room for more. They cited their policy on only stocking at certain times (saying that when the computer told them to put out stock because it was low, that’s when they stock). What a ludicrious statement. When you’ve got a customer right in front of you asking for more product which they have in stock and no less than half the pegs have stock (and not full mind you), then it’s only common sense to go get more stock, help that customer and replenish the pegs. Instead, I had to wait for a manager, and then explained to them what was up. After 45 minutes, he finally “relented,” but not after almost bringing me to tears, because the moment I mentioned knowing about the dcpi, he outright and outspokenly labeled me as one of those collectors. I told him, I would have no need for the dcpi, if they’d just stock and help as needed. I told him that I always repeg figs and straighten out shelves (yes even at Target) and did so right in front of him. Once he finally got a clerk to bring out “some” figures (not even a whole case but 12 loose ones), I was able to buy the 2 gunners they had and a couple of the others they brought out. I then explained to him that this was a complete waste of time. Had the first employee just simply gone to the back, pulled some figures out, I would have been in and out of the store in 10-15 minutes instead of the near hour that I was. Not only wasting my time, but two clerks time and his (the manager’s) time. It was like he saw a gost because his face went white. I think he was shocked and probably a little angry that a customer would have the audacity to point out their business failings. I didn’t say that to mock him, but rather just to make a point that had I just been helped from the beginning this whole ordeal would have never manifested itself.
I called their customer service complaint line after that incident. And right in the middle of explaining my problem, I was put on hold. Then when tehy came back on line, they gave me another number to call, saying this was not a problem they could help me with. Turns out that number can only be called at certain times and when I tried to call it, I couldn’t get through. So once again, Target failed me.
Oh, I have more incidents I could report on, but I’ll save the space for someone else. I’l reiterate what has been said here as well that I’m not only a toy shopper at Target, but buy a plethora of other goods and have pointed that out to clerks and managers alike. They don’t take to well to that, but too frickin’ bad. Now you wonder why, we have to know the dcpi. We have to play their game. For many of us, it’s no become more of a “how quickly can I buy the stuff I want and get the hell out of their store” thing, rather than a pleasant unhurried, friendly shopping experience.
Target, you want to keep me in the store longer BUYING products, how’s about changing your policies and being more friendly to the customers. If we customers stop coming because you piss and moan when you have to go look for something (that should be on the shelves anyway), then we won’t find it worth our trouble and will go elsewheres.
I’ve got to be even more forthcoming to say that while I’ll buy mass market SW stuff their it’s only because I’m looking for their latest exclusive and buy more out of impulse then need. If Target didn’t have exclusives, I could VERY EASILY cut them from my shopping routine. Everything else I buy there I CAN find at other places, and for around the same price. You’re not the only game in town, certainly not the friendliest.
BTW, thanks for having the guts to post this type of blog. Maybe JUST maybe Target will get a clue. Even if there are ony a few dozen responses, that denotes at least part of the problem. They should be smart enough to know that these are only but a percentage of people who have had bad experiences at their stores. Consider how many people don’t post, don’t know of SW collecting sites, etc. There’s bound to be MANY more people. Yes, there are many who have good experiences, but that doesn’t mean a company should ignore the percentage who have bad ones.
November 30th, 2006 at 10:53 am
Yay! Less people to compete with at Target! Now I can maybe find some items without having to deal with lousy complaining scalpers and impatient people who feel it is their birthright to get these things whenever they want them. They are toys, people, so go shop at Wal Mart, because you’ll surely find quality customer service over there…
November 30th, 2006 at 8:27 pm
Nice post jedi_master_sal.
December 1st, 2006 at 9:21 am
Must have hit pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that…
December 3rd, 2006 at 1:51 pm
I hope you realize that people who work at Target could care less about how much money you spend at their store. There are a billion other folks spending the same, if not more than you and NOT hasseling them about plastic toys. And it’s a GOD COMPLEX for you to think that Target’s employees/managers/CEO’s are really thinking about Star Wars collectors when they make prices, set up merchandise, etc. etc. And no, I am not a Target employee, I am a fellow collector tired of how weird obsessive-compulsive collectors act over plastic toys. It’s ridiculous behavior! If you spent half the time on something constructive as you do complaining about toys and Target, you could probably come up with a cure for cancer! *Rolls eyes.
December 4th, 2006 at 7:33 am
I doubt that I could find a cure for cancer, but mayhaps someone who reads this could do so? (My mother died of cancer eighteen months ago, so thanks for bringing up that cheerful holiday memory!)
My point has been proven this week, as Target has begun flooding back endcaps with Snowspeeders and Kit Fisto Starfighters (at least here in Atlanta) on half-price clearance. They were so worried about making sure collectors didn’t get them that they rotted in the back rooms.
If I have a god complex, I promise you, it’s latent. I honestly just expect quality customer service. Modern life is difficult enough without rude shop clerks. I may be showing my age, but I remember a time when retailers actually wanted my money. Stores used to even thank us (the customers) for our patronage. In this era of big bargain boutiques, I mourn the loss of the mom and pop shops (even if they did cost a little more).
January 17th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
I love it when you talk dirty about Target! They are TOY NAZI’s! I hate TOY NAZI’s! I walked into their toy department 15 minutes before close and caught them putting an entire shipment of Imperial Shuttles on the shelves! When I picked one of them up- the girl took it out of my hands and said they were’nt for sale until 8:00am the next morning!!!!! I tried like hell to plead my case that I had spent 3 hours driving around to all Target stores in town trying to get one that day because it was rumored that one of their stores had already sold out THAT DAY before 4pm! She said sorry you’ll just have to wait and take your chances in the morning like everybody else. I swear there were at least 20 of them- and she took it out of my hands! The other employees(4 of them) were standing around acting guilty. I came back at 5am and froze my arse off for 3 hours to make sure i was 1st in line. I swear I was the only one there at 8:00am! They protected those shuttles for nothing! Made me stand in front of their store for 3 hours in arctic cold after disrespectfully taking my ship from my hands! Toy Nazi’s! I bought 2 shuttles and left swearing I will never buy anything from Target ever ever ever ever again! (Unless it an exclusive of course) DUMB NAZIS!!!!! Don’t they know I spent $1,100.00 on Star Wars toys in 2006? Where is the love?!?!
January 17th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
P.S.–When I was walking to the cash register with my shuttle, some smart-ass went out of his way to make the comment " oh look, the ‘collectors’ are here…" in a derogatory (almost pitisome) tone! Since when did toy collectors sink to the level of crack heads in the forums of superficial public opinion? HATERS! TOY NAZIs!!!
January 18th, 2007 at 1:16 am
First off, I’ve never been to this site before and I was at first impressed but after reading this am not as impressed. Its hard to believe that people have to make themselves feel better by justifiying their own greed and selfishness. I feel I must defend something and say something. I am a collector, Target employee, and a fan. I am saddened to see that Star Wars has become all about the collector and their huge collections, armies, exclusives, and high-end collectibles. I am not saying that I am innocent of being selfish myself, but in the end we are degrading others for what…mere plastic, metal, and cardboard that will be worth nothing in years to come. It seems that no one cares about the things that matter, lets go blow our money and act all high and mighty because I don’t wear a redshirt, blue apron, etc. and I am right so no one shall challenge me and my wallet. From personal experience as a child, I loathed collectors. All the cool toys that I wanted to play with, that I had saved my meager allowances and helping others to buy a single action figure were in vain because one dude wants to buy everything off the pegs to show in his/her showcase. To have awe and pity. In the end, I guess it is the American and human way. You must be superior and my money must be supreme. I am sure many will say that I am generalizing, that many collectors are fine people, but in the end , if you sell it for more than its worth or be a jerk to get your "exclusives". you are taking away from the joy that makes Star Wars. It wasn’t the toys that captured us in a way we can’t describe, but the themes in the movie and the way it connected with us. Not plastic or dollar bills. I’m not trying to say that I am better than all you snotty collectors, but I would wish that collectors would be more "human." We’ve become slaves to our wallets and to the greed of being the "superior" collector. Target isn’t to blame, but rather ourselves for being impatient due to the "fast food" society we have become. Don’t blame those who try to help you find your mere plastic toy and just be the bigger person to the people who don’t help, because that is life. There is both good and bad. I guess that is all. Opinions from someone who has grown up in a culture and era of Star Wars collectors who are self-centered.
January 19th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I’m a toy collector. But I’m not one of these sociopath toy collectors like the blogger and several dozen babies, whiners and forum posters all over the internet thatgive toy collectors a bad name. Even I can admit what few collector ever will. Most toy collectors are pushy, rude, arrogant, extremely ignorant of basic store operations and have the "gods gift to retail" attitude in their pursuits of pieces of plastic while treating human beings like garbage for not immediately gratifying them with over the top expectations. Instead of taking collecting as a "fun" hobby its these problem collectors that have turned it into a lifetime achievement to fill all the other voids in their pathetic lives and find similar sad people to gloat to on the internet while finding numerous complaints blaming innocent people for not finding something trivial.Some collectors are terrible excuses for human beings, putting toys above people. If they cant find their toy they will try to make an employee miserable and even get a person fired. And they can live with themselves even if a person loses their job when they may have a family to support or potentially lose their homes all because someone didnt get their toy. Some collectors are true sociopaths pretending to be sincere to get what they want then turn ugly in a flash when they dont. And they congregate to condone the sick behavior and glorify it and wonder why they dont get top notch service acting like sociopaths and scum.Instead of blaming your collecting problems on retailers and employees learn some facts…Manufacturers produce products not retailers. Manufacturers decide how much or how little of a certain product to produce. Manufactures are responsible for production numbers so if you cant find something, start your complaining at the source. The manufacturer. Its not an employee or manager’s fault your precious action figure was shipped one per case. Stop being stupid. Do something more productive and get on hasbro’s backs if you want change. Screaming like a lunatic at retail staff just makes you look like a screaming lunatic and could get you removed from the premises.Manufacturers ship their products but it is up to retailers to buy these products and get them. Previous sales of similar product dictate how much they choose to buy from the manufacturer. This is not up to your local store manager or employees. Its not their fault the store doesnt have what you want. Dont be an imature baby about it. If you have complaints about the lack of product direct your complaints to the store’s corporate offices since their regional buyers are the ones sitting in an office making the decisions you have a problem with. Retail staff may humor you by sending a "special order" just for you but that is a tactic to handle a collector with some form of psychosis and cant be reasoned with.And take a look at your own behavior collectors. When Episode 3 figures leaked out early and walmart implemented a sales block in line with the street date they were obligated to uphold collectors cheated the system and went to self checkouts with preview figures to scan and put the e3 figures in the bag. By the summer many of these same stores had empty pegs – in a movie year – and most didnt see a large restock of new figures untill september because all that collector scamming messed up their inventory and reordering became a problem and shipments were delayed until it was straightened out. Many forum posters bragged about the sad lengths they pulled with the self checkout fraud, trespassing into store rooms, opening cases on pallets and used the excuse "if its on the floor they should sell it" while missing a common retail policy that they have the right to refuse a sale, especially if there are legal grounds such as street dated merchandise. When toys r us had holographic yoda and emperor figures free with a star wars purchase many collectors gloated on forums about buying a couple peg warmers at tru (getting their free figure) and returning the peg warmers to other stores like walmart. So then other stores get stuck with peg warmers and that slows down their stock replenishment since their inventory shows even more figures in stock when, had they had lower stock, the chances of reordering more cases (and newer figures) would have been much greater making your finding smoother in the long run. Now in the case of target, the collector scum posting on all the forums bragging about stashes hidden in base shelves and buying these toys at clearance later are creating a big problem. Low sales mean the particular item looks like a poor selling product and that looks like a bad investment on paper and computer screens. So when the next line of star wars comes out their ordering will be adjusted accordingly: star wars figures sold sluggishly at a particular store (because they were stashed by collectors) so they will get "x" amount LESS cases this time. Now you and everyone else will have a harder time finding what you want. Thats the nature and reality of the retail business. That makes your hunt more difficult. And you do it to yourselves. So instead of screaming at employees, start screaming at your selves and other collectors for trying to cheat and foul up the whole system.If you need to know something ask the right people and dont do it over the phone. There are other people in the world with more rational questions that can be answered quick and simple on the phone lines but have to wait because a lazy collector has to tie up reasorces and make some employee fish through hundreds of items to find one thing. And many stores arent obligated to hold it for you even if they find only one, some may do it out of convienience just for you but thats something quickly forgotten the next time a "bad" (irrational) experience pops up. Dont ask a cashier for information. Cashiers spend most of their time at the checkout and never unload trucks. They ring up so much stuff in a day they couldnt even tell you if someone bought what you were looking for. Just because you know the difference betwteen naboo obi wan kenobi and starfighter pilot obi wan kenobi dont expect everyone else in the world to know especially if they are getting paid mimimum wage. Ask a grandmother the difference. Ask a 2 year old the difference. Better yet, have a barbie collector hound you with a million questions about doll clothes and lets see how much you can answer and for fun put your job on the line even if it has no relevance. Be realistic, for once in your little lives.Merchandise comes and goes and not every employee examines what they put on a peg or shelf with a magnifying glass. They dont study up on what you happen to like or every other person on the planet. If retail was like that it would be a profession that needed a degree and many years of study. Retail is not like that and it never will be no matter how much a toy collector makes a stink about it. Understand something here. Big retail stores dont cater to toy collectors. They dont cater to barbie doll collectors. They dont cater to thimble collectors. They just sell products. If they have it and its sellable and you want it they will let you buy it. If something comes in assortments and variations then its time to do the work yourself as a customer and pick based on the selection. Retail will never be a service to cater to lazy people, you wont sit in your car and have employees shop for you next. If you want special service from knowledgeable people about product like collectible toys then shop at collector oriented outlets such as comic shops, flea markets and convention dealers – but dont complain about the high prices because thats the cost of such intricate service you require. If you want to pay retail prices they you must accept retail level service no matter how lacking it may be to your particular expectations. Dont shop at a big retailer for product that makes up 1% of their entire inventory if your expectations are rediculous.Just because you are a toy collector it does not mean the world revolves around you and your collecting. Toys are a minority in comparrison to all the essential people buy daily such as food clothes and personal care items. Those are big things, garanteed repeat purchasing. Toys get one major holiday to boost sales all year long in the eyes of retail, thats tripe. And laughably some collectors expect the royal treatment when they shop.Toy collectors act high and mighty that they spend money in their stores. And you think that matters? Theres alwasy another shopper. ALWAYS. And if your mostly buying toys you arent helping their bottom line much worth noticing if you never shop their again and you know you always will. These stores make more money off items like baby merchandise then any action figure toy because the markup on baby merchandise is more profitable then any action figure or related toy. There is no profit in selling action figure toys, they carry them to draw in some people and those people are mostly parents who buy a lot more while they are there. If toys were highly profitable then every store would have huge toy departments fully stocked at all times. You wont likely see register lanes empty for very long because that product moves fast and has a much higher proffit margine for them so it pays to keep them stocked rather then toy shelves. Heres your colloector ignorance again, havent learned about walmart and their UNDERSELLING tactics YET? They undersell certain items to get people in their stores and make profit off other high mark up products that people end up buying while they are there. They sell toys cheaper but the chance someone will walk out buying a toy for 5.88 when it cost the store 5.50 and a big pack of toilet paper for 2.99 when it cost the store 9 cents gives them a better overall profit and that is what they are concerned with. And when they are out of toys, they do it with video games, and when those sell out its something else. Toys are anything or nothing to them in the grand scheem of things so long as theres something else bringing people in. Instead of calling retail workers names and insinuated their intelligence why not bone up on some knowledge yourself so you dont look like a complete moron.Oh and the blogger, just leave your shopping cart full of hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise over a petty argument. I doubt you actually have the gaul or willpower. And even if by some slim chance you do theres always a bunch of other people willing to snag what you had in that cart so they would still make a sale regardless of your precious patron status.More reality lessons for the obnoxious ignorant toy collector: Retail workers are paid minimum wage. Retail stores train employees to do minimum tasks. Retail stores do not invest their money and resources heavily on one particular product line or one particular crowd of customers. Retail workers have no incentive or requirement to study up on every person’s individual interests. Retail workers will never be required to memorize every nuance of every product they sell. Retail workers cannot sit and stare at one aisle of their store and keep you posted by the minute. Retail employees wont risk their jobs, if they really need them or not, just to bend or break rules all for you because you are YOU. Retail stores have more then just the toy department. Retail stores sell a lot more products that arent toys. Retail stores do not allow every employee to reads their store’s shipping manifest or see complete lists of store inventory nor do they have the ability to memorize and know everything off the top of their head. Retail cashiers do not know whats in the store room. Retail fast food department staff do not know about the next star wars shipment. Retail janitors and security do not know whats in stock right this minute. Retail floor staff do not belong in the store room thats why they are designated floor staff. Retail store room workers are authorized to be in the store room and you will not likely see them unless they are pulling a pallet to the sales floor. Retail department heads and select employees with scanners are more authorized to take merchandise out of the store rooms because they have the actual tools (you mock) and are aware of proper procedure that benefits you in the long run. Retail workers have no control over what other people buy even if you wanted it more. Retail turnover is more important and more costly then single minded toy purchasers threats to never shop again. Retail stores will always be able to sell what you wont buy in a temper tantrum to someone else who will, and wont be as much of a bother. Retail stores can legally ban customers who make threats, make a nuisance of them selves, harass their employees, interfere with the shopping experience of others and their store operations and can and will enforce this by taking photographs of you from security cams, alerting security staff to be on the look out for you, and remove you with police escort and a trespassing fine if necessary and still remain in business selling to respectful people. Retail workers really dont care if you are upset or try to get them fired from a minimum wage job. Retail management is less likely to be fired if a toy collector is upset because the cost of finding, hiring and training a new person outweighs the temporary loss of sales from a disgruntled collector. Retail workers seem to hold a lot more knowledge then a toy collector calling them stupid that ironically cant be bothered to learn anything other then their ridiculous misconceptions and paranoid delusions.Misconception: Employees buy up everything. Some may buy some stuff but not everything, and never at the level collectors hoard at. Some managers will not allow it. Some store policies prohibit it. If they are using their employee discount and theres no incentive not to if they intend to scalp and get the most profit then someone will notice at some point. Stores all have a discount abuse policy and a loss prevention analyst keeping a watchful eye. If you think it would be simple to buy up hot product with an added discount and hock it on ebay go work at a store like bestbuy and see where the practice will land you. They are minimum wage jobs and some may not care if they make a little profit and get canned but its not the longterm problem collectors love to invent to overlook the real problems they create themselves.If you are a paranoid delusional collector, ask yourself a simple question. If all these evil stores and nasty employees are hoarding all your toys in the back room all these years shouldnt they have accumulated over time that someone might have noticed a pile of unsold merchandise at some point? Keep in mind retail stores do a physical inventory check at least once a year and higher ups do inspections several times a year.Heres where you collectors get your ignorance shoved back in your faces. Retail stores have computer inventory systems and when cases of an item are shipped to a store and too much time passes without selling any of that particular item, reports get printed out and questions start getting asked to see if they made it to shelves, if they are lost or stuck in a store room or if they were stollen. Add to that, warehouses also notice a backup of unmoving stock to a particular store when others replenish repeatedly. And big wigs DO visit stores in intervals to inspect and would see no reason to allow obvious "stock piles of your precious toys" being hidden when they could be sold.As a collector I know from my interactions with them at stores, most collectors with ill tempers toward workers are sheltered and dont interact with people much face to face, some have a few emotional problems (hence why they get so upset over toys), and they have absolutely no proper way of handling the situation of going into a store, understanding the level of service and the knowledge of its employees that should be expected realistically. Learn about human nature, you get farther in life being nice rather then nasty. Being pushing, demeaning and obnoxious to employees gets you a reputation. And that reputation spread to other employees. It also becomes generally assumed of every collector the same way collectors assume employees are all stupid and rude for not knowing 1% of their stores merchandise unfortunately. Keep harassing employees. Keep threatening management. But read up on a few laws, like how everyone has a right to work in a harassment free environment and in retail that includes freedom from harassing customers. If you keep being a problem expect banishment and restraining orders, possible civil suits and a bigger headache trying to collect toys when you wont be able to get past security to see whats not on the shelves. Its a hobby remember? Some of you go too far.Also learn something else. Hasbro as well as many other manufacturers have retail representatives that go to all the big stores. They set displays. They replenish stock. They read manifests. They search inventory. They send forms that go to higher powers to get certain merchandise flowing to particular stores. They are authorized to go in store rooms and pull out their own merchandise and put it on the shelves if it hasnt been done already. Theses are the people you sick collectors should be asking questions to more then anyone else in retail. They know about their products. They know what stores have in stock and what might be in the back room. They can help you more then you could ever know because you dont take the time to know anything but hate and resentment for retail employees. These reps are the exact product specialists you pathetic things are crying for. And they do try to inform relevant toy employees about their current and upcoming products to the point they will post it on the walls of their break rooms and join in their pep rallies to give an informative speech. Its still up to the employees to soak it all in or dismiss it and being paid minimum wage and not being force to do so by management who in turn arent mandated to implement such requirements by their superiors… dont get your hopes up. Maybe showing retail workers the same level of respect you expect at your work place (granted you even work and do not live with your parents… which explains a lot of the antisocial behavior of toy collectors) maybe that will be a start to the service you wish for in retail.Do a google search on the origin of that old saying, "The customer is always right." Maybe one day instead of being lazy cry babies you will eventually discover that this saying was coined by a CON ARTIST trying to persuade costumers to buy his rip off scam products before big chain retailers existed.And lastly if you must finger point point it in the right direction. Your fellow collectors are your enemy. You all camp out before stores open or you speed walk to the toy department on your lunch breaks. You call 20 times a day to find out if something was put out. You hit several stores in different towns every day pillaging, hoarding, and stashing AND beating each other to the stuff. You all try to beat each other to get everything first and quick to try and brag and rub it in on every message board on the net because thats the only way you can validate yourselves and feel important. This creates envy and impatience all around and others follow suit. That is your source of all trouble. Add to it the scalpers you end up tipping off by your over enthusiasm and impatient need to have it now and you have even more competition. You collectors that hoard multiples of everything are also a problem. Buy an extra rare figure and try and sell it on ebay. After taxes from the purchase and fees for selling all your trouble you may net a 2 dollar profit when someone else may have been happy to buy the thing at retail had you not been greedy and rob them of that chance. The need to buy 1 to open and 1 to keep carded, thats brilliant. Thats one less set in the hands of another person and one less customer to help support the line at its inevitable down times. Its also smart seeing all these hoarder collectors having mint packaged figures 20 years from now that will turn out to be worthless becuase its yet another carded set out there circulating. These will never be vintage figures, few thought ahead of time to keep toys in their package decades ago thats the reason they are worth anything. Now its another story. Havent learned from POTF2?This is all coming from a toy collector who hasnt had a problem finding much of anything over the years at some point or another without having to bother employees and act like a ridiculous psychopath creating scapegoats in retail workers and concocting nonsense fantasy theories for not getting toys.PS yes this was meant to sound rude and demeaning to sociopath toy collectors who think they know everything and cant be realistic, rational, keep their tempers in check, and sadder think they are funny displaying poor people skills and knowlege of the real, or retail world, on the internet for othes to read like this arrogant blogger did.
January 24th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
the world still spins and bloggers as the one above think they’re better than everyone else because he has a better grasp on reality. face it, life experiences differ. realities differ. your opinion and the blogger above you, both highlight the same issues and instead of cooperation, you get all high on your "sociopath" rant and in the end come out looking pathetic because you’ve contradicted yourself. good job. you’re just like the others.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Believe it or not, I like the negative feedback.
I still maintain, though, dear Target employees, that money talks and BS walks. No one should have to basically beg retailers to take his money.
January 26th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
It was funny when you used the word "sociopath," until it became redundant , and I especially liked the phrase "toy whiners". But if being bitter and complainative about being treated with dishonesty, ridicule, and hosility by stores and their employees makes me a sociopath, or I’m somehow amoral because I show up early in the morning or on my lunchbreak "speedwalking" as you put it, then you need a reality check! The mere fact that you typed about a hundred paragraphs above proves that you, as a retail employee, are way too concerned with what I’m buying and ridiculing me for it! Write a book next time!
January 28th, 2007 at 12:29 am
I just kind of stumbled across these blogs, it kind of caught my attention. I’ve worked retail the last couple years at Wal-Mart. I am also a big star wars collector. So I guess I have one hand, in both of the "cookie jars".
First of all I can tell ya it isn’t the easiest of jobs sometimes, working where I work. You have to take on several different "battle fronts" every single day. One of those fronts is working with the customers. Another front is working with the managers. And the final front is doing the jobs and tasks entrusted to you throughout the day. Infact within the last year, my tasks have became even broader, that include unloading trucks in the backroom, to pushing carts out in the parking lot. As you can see, it’s a job that is not just "helping the customer". It’s just one tine on the big fork. And it’s challenging because everything in my day, can go straight to H E Double Hocky Sticks, but I must still be polite to the customer, not only because they buy things there, but also because they deserve it.
I see a lot of talk about these "scanners’ that we use. They are in important tool to have. Especially if you want to know 1. quanity in stock of the item, 2. if any more are on order, 3. if any are in transit, 4. if we can even order some more, plus various other more advanced modes like checking to see if a "sister store" in the next town has any of the item on hand. So try not to knock them to hard, for without those, we can’t tell customer’s much of anything. Everything has gotten so technilogical, it’s all done by computer now. So that’s why you may see somebody carrying one of those gizmos around. It’s usually not just to "show off". But I guess some may be doing just that thing, honestly.
One thing I like to tell people about working in a place such as that, is that you find out how people really are. One minute you’ll have a customer be as nice and polite as can be. But the next one, WOW. There is much frusteration, and anger if we simply just don’t have the item in stock. Customer’s will ask if we have the item in the "backroom". Well on a rare occasion, it does happen. But not usually. Somebody wrote in here earlier saying that the backroom must be kept as clear as possible, that all freight must be on the shelves so we can sell it. That is VERY true. We run our overstock up on those really high shelves called "risers" so we can keep a running stock of everything possible. So usually if we don’t have it out there, we just simply don’t have it. And you really can’t put a lot of blame on anybody. The managers order what they think they need, or will sell. If there is a major "run" on an item and it sells out quick, it just happens. We put an order in for more, but it does take some time getting it in. And I can tell you, if you come to the store, and ask me when something is coming in, or WHEN it’s coming in, i don’t have that information. But I can tell you IF there is some coming in, and usually a quanity count. We get a truck, actually sometimes a couple trucks on both sides of the store in every night. So we continously have things coming in. Sometimes I can even "cheat" by reading the count on the "scanner" and counting how much we have at the present time, I may be able to tell you if it’s coming on that night’s truck. But that’s about it.
It’s a tricky business, customer service. Because sometimes you do everything you can do, but still it may never be enough. Sometimes the customer still becomes upset, irate, and leaves. And it’s the good associate who feels like a complete failer, because it shows they have feelings too. It’s hard to explain. If you get into retail enough, work hard at it enough, it becomes a part of you. And when that customer comes to you, you want to make them happy. Because in doing so, it makes ME feel happy. When a customer leaves mad or unhappy, I know that it makes me unhappy as hell. Infact it makes me mad because I keep trying to think of other ways I could have improved the situation, even though i did everything, including calling in a manager. In the end I finally realize that I did everything humanly possible, to satisfy the customer, and that it wasn’t my fault. I can’t make an item come out of thin air. It’s only when I get to that point that I feel the tention release, but it still doesn’t help much.
But I also know that there are some associates, that don’t feel that way. Heck I’ve even seen it at my own store, when I’m shopping with somebody else, and I’m off the clock. Heck matter of fact just tonight, my sister came to pick me up from work. On the grocery side of the store we were out of a certain item. There was an associate with a "scanner" nearby, and my sister asked if we had any more of the item in. The associate just said "I usually don’t work over here, we probably don’t have any more." And that was it. I kind of scowled at myself, realizing that the associate could have at least SCANNED the item to give her an idea of if we did have any more somewhere. But she didn’t. And that did bother me quite a bit. And I know there are quite a few like that out there. Probably to many. Those that are just there to collect a paycheck, and that’s the end of it. They couldn’t care less about satisfying the customer. And it’s because of that, customer service in all stores has gotten so bad. And I will tell you also that I’m not perfect. I’ve made MANY mistakes in that store, and I will admit that. But I am still learning.
I guess I just want people to know, that there are some of us working in retail that do care, and we do try. I know sometimes it may not be enough. And being a collector as well, I admit even I get frusterated. (LOL). As far as toys goes, it depends on the what kind of person is in charge of that department. Many times if you have a peghook of figures for instance, but they mostly the same, but the peg is still full, don’t count on new ones coming in. They will only order some new ones when those hooks are starting to get low. Meanwhile on the other hand, the manager may pay attention to detail in the products, realize he has all "Obi-Wan Kenobi’s" left, and order more for a variety. But if he’s got an extra box in the back, he’ll probably put those up first. They won’t be the latest wave. But if he orders they will be the latest wave. The easiest way to explain it is that even though us collectors know who all the different charectors are, it doesn’t mean the department manager does. They just might see a full peghook, figure it’s full, and not order. I think that is where a lot of frusteration lies with collectors. But that’s the best way i can explain it.
I’m going to wrap this up, there is much more I could say though. I am sorry for those who have had the bad experiences in the stores. I guess it’s just luck of the draw nowadays, on who you get to help you. And I guess it really depends on what kind of person they are inside of themselves, if you get the help you need. And I’m not defending, nor arguing anybodies points here. I’m just writing from my personal experiences.