The wife and I are officially boycotting Target, not that we're there much, but here's what happened, as concisely as possible: Wife is expecting a baby, so she opened a registry at Target for her Michigan contingent to shop from. Well, Target has a ton of stuff for sale, except NONE of it is actually stocked in the stores. So naturally people audibled and got gifts they felt were close enough, and if necessary, we could exchange them. No problem, except a lot of these came w/o gift receipts. Here is their policy: each person can only exchange 3 items per year w/o a receipt if it isn't on the registry. This allowed us 6 exchanges, which was the exact number coincidentally. HOWEVER, each item can only be exchanged for 1 item of equal value or more, it must be from the same department AND exchanged that day! This means exchange values can't be combined, like on a store credit card or anything. OK, we'll play along. So we swapped out everything and headed over to the baby section. SURPRISE--they don't have a goddam thing to choose from. They recently re-modeled and have very little in stock. So, our two choices are now either go back and re-claim the original stuff we couldn't use, or pick out a whole bunch of new stuff we can't use. We went back and got our old stuff (elapsed time: 2 hours) This process took another hour since she had to go find everything. I spent 90 minutes on the phone today talking to 3 different flunkies in the Target store system explaining to them how much their policy sucks. They offered to do nothing for me, so my only choice is to write corporate. It pisses me off that when you open a registry with several hundred dollars worth of crap at their store nobody has the autonomy to say "We appreciate your business.We also understand that you're not a urine-soaked bum trying to rip us off. Let me help you out and take care of this." Nothing. Never. All I ever got was "I'm sorry. I understand your frustration, but there's nothing we can do." I kept telling them that I didn't need someone to agree with me--I wanted someone to do something. And to remember next time they post a crappy quarter and are scratching their heads to figure out why, remember why people hate retail more and more every day.
On the flip side, without a receipt, why should they take anything back at all? 3 per year sounds pretty generous to me. I was at Walmart a few weeks back doing a moneygram at the service desk, and a lady walked up with a cordless phone and wanted to return it. This was the first week of January. The lady at the counter said they only let them do 3 per year and this was her 4th return of something. Of course the lady was arguing and complaining and saying she will never shop there again (like the counter clerk cares), but to humor the lady they called the electronics guy over to tell her the same thing. He looked over the phone and told her that they did not sell this model nor this brand. She was speechless for a moment, then started to accuse the guy of lying because he wanted to avoid taking it back (again, like he cares). I was waiting for a while at this point so I suggested she try the scam at another store, and she gave me a dirty look and left. But again - if you sell an item that can be purchased anywhere, and the customer can't prove it was purchased from you, why should you take it back under any circumstances?
They tryed to play that game with me a Xmas time. Son got a PS2 game that he already had. Went to exchange it a different game. Of course nothing decent in stock. Told me I had to exchange it for something in that dept. NOT the elctronics dept, the gaming dept?? I complained very LOUDLY and got a store credit for the amount of the game!!
every time i go past target here in oz there are really long queues at the exchange counter. to me that's as appetizing as going to a restaurant with ambulances parked out front.
How about blaming the "inconsiderate" friends and relatives that blew you off and got what they wanted to give you instead of what you had ordered? Target has one of the most liberal return policies around...if you have a receipt (in other words, if you can prove you are not trying to scam them). Next time register at Nordstrom. They brag that they once gave a cash refund for a used tire.
yeah i don't understand them, why not just hand around a collection plate? if someone wants to give me a gift and asks what i want, i just tell them "money", i'd rather cold hard cash than asking someone to go and buy something specific for me. ex-gf used to ask me to buy her flowers, i would on occasions and stuff and when i felt like it (not often ), but if she'd just requested them i'd tell her "you know what flowers you want better than me, here's $40 bucks, go nuts". somehow that didn't make her swoon... a good gift is something you like but can't or wouldn't (think to) get yourself. if in doubt, give grog!
A colorless volatile flammable liquid, C2H5OH, synthesized or obtained by fermentation of sugars and starches
No more skimming long, wordy posts--you have to read the whole thing! The Target registry was for the benefit of my wife's family/relatives that live in Michigan. Not a lot of stores to choose from there. The reason people didn't purchase from the registry was because Target doesn't stock 90% of the items they advertise. So, people try to get something "close" to what you registered for. Not their fault. And no, their return policy is NOT liberal. Nordstrom's, as mentioned, is liberal. Old Navy is liberal. Picture this scene: My 8 1/2 month pregnant wife standing there with a cart of baby stuff, most with pieces of wrapping paper still taped to it, merely wishing to swap this stuff for store credit so she can get other baby stuff. Not good enough. What good is a paper receipt, anyway? When they scan the item it can tell them whether they sell it, WHEN it was purchased and WHERE. Paper receipts are redundant, and only benefit a store's restrictive policy. If they're willing to give any credit at all, what difference does it make to them to allow us to combine amounts, or actually use them in a useful way, like online where they actually sell the things they advertise. If people had bought items from the registry, the restrictions wouldn't apply. But once again, they COULDN'T buy items from the registry because the stores didn't have them! And finally, registries are NOT ghey. Showers are ghey. Registries only seem ghey until you begin to have a number of friends get married and have kids. Then registries are your best friend.
What!?! What the hell's that suppose to mean? LMAO But Gilles, I feel you on them being the way they are. They should be far more cordial to you and your wife. I don't see why they couldn't offer you a gift card baring the total amount of the gifts used. Would be the least they could do for your troubles.
Clever word usage. LMFAO! Don't worry, I've drinken coke through my nose before. I think that hurts worse.
Too bad ur not famous Jack. A few yrs ago Wal-Mart took back a lamp shade that had been puked on just before this incident. Marty Stuart Free on Bond after DUI Charge Marty Stuart is free on bond following a June 23 charge with DUI, simple possession and violating Tennessee’s implied consent law after refusing to take a Breathalyzer. Stuart was charged after a traffic accident in front of a McDonald’s in Hendersonville, TN. Stuart’s court date is July 27. Stuart was charged with drunken driving in April 2002 after police got a tip he was intoxicated at a store. That charge was dismissed after a judge ruled police did not have probable cause to stop the car.
I said that to the 3rd "supervisor". I told her that I'm sure if someone famous had this happen, their policy would all of a sudden change a little. She didn't respond, probably because she never contemplated anyone famous ever shopping at Target.
I had the same Target issue at Christmas last year. My kid got identical toys from the relatives. We went to Target to exchange one, but they'd only give me the SALE price in credit because it had been on sale some time in the past. Sale price was about 60% of retail, and in the same department, there was nothing he wanted. We left with the original toy, and drove down the street to WalMart. They gave us a gift card at full retail. He could use it anywhere in the store.
