Comments on: Memo To Target — Sell! Sell! Sell!

By: Admiral Ackbar

Admiral Ackbar — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 07:29:16 +0000

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.

By: DARTH BEOTCH

DARTH BEOTCH — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 06:42:56 +0000

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!

By: Adam_May

Adam_May — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 21:04:02 +0000

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.

By: nathan

nathan — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 21:16:00 +0000

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.

By: RealisticCollector

RealisticCollector — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 23:39:39 +0000

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.

By: john

john — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 08:16:10 +0000

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.

By: DARTH BEOTCH

DARTH BEOTCH — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 21:25:12 +0000

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!!!

By: DARTH BEOTCH

DARTH BEOTCH — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 19:45:47 +0000

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?!?!

By: Adam_May

Adam_May — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 14:33:00 +0000

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).

By: CoffeeJuggernaut

CoffeeJuggernaut — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 20:51:17 +0000

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.