Big Problem with Target Dept. Stores

AZ_Mike

New member
My family is very involved with the military. By that I mean, we send soldiers care packages, we go to rallies, we welcome them home etc.

My wife and kids were making a visit to the local recruiters office and in conversation, they were told that Target stores harasses them when they shop there. They are not allowed to speak to anyone, even if not recruiting and if they are seen speaking to anyone they are asked to leave the store.

I wasn't there, so I cannot say 100% that these guys weren't doing something they weren't supposed to be doing on the premises (recruiting); I can only go by their word. I do however think that it is ridiculous that just because someone is in the military or is a military recruiter that the management feels a need to watch them and scrutinize their behavior more than they would you or I.

That said, I am going to buy my China made products somewhere else until Target clarifies its position on the military and/or this behavior is stopped. After all, it is because of the military that target (and pretty much every other business) has been able to thrive in the greatest country on earth.

I will be writing Target and I will share their response here for those that are interested. If anyone else is irritated by this I would encourage you to write or contact them as well.

Mike

EDIT:

This story is about something that happened today to my family; it is not related to other anti-military stuff attributed to Target. For example:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/target.asp
 
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I refuse to shop at Target..Once I found out they were French owned and would not allow the Marines to do Toys for Tots there (this may have changed recent years) the decision was easy.
 
Haven't been in a Target since I wired one back in the 70’s I think.
Didn’t know they were French owned.
Won’t be going there in the future.
I spent three years there, 1957-1960 (high school, military brat). Hated the place, but only a little more than they hated use.
They should prostate themselves and kiss the boots of every GI that’s walks in the place.
 
In all of our local Target stores any recruiter that wanted to speak to anyone who either works there or shops there better know spanish. Otherwise all conversations will be very short.
Its operations like Target that promote illegal entry into this country and continue to support it.
 
Nothing to do with the military but my wife and kids stopped shopping at Target a year ago.Too many negative experiences;not like there isn't somewhere else to shop.Target has a real public relations problem.
 
They also wouldnt let the Salvation Army bell rings at Christmas time outside their doors. I hadnt heard about the USMC or any military person not able to even "have a personal chat" on their property?? Hmmmm.
 
The common misconception is that they are French owned due to the fact some people pronounce their name 'Tar-gay' so it sounds like it is French.

They were founded in 1902 in Minnesota, I believe. If indeed this is happening, their PR really stinks. I judge a store based on their sporting goods department. Target's sporting goods section is virtually nil, so my opinion of their store isn't very high in the first place.

Regards,
Tim
 
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I don't know. While I don't doubt the experiences your family experienced with the local recruiters Az Mike, I also believe it's possible that the recruiters themselves may be unwitting accomplises in spreading a rumor that's been floating around the internet for years. It's pretty easy for a "this happened to me" story to have had it's origins in a "I know it's true,because it happened to a friend's, uncles cousin" story. I also know a couple of marine corp recruiters personally, that can occassionally become pretty aggresive in their job,lol. I can see where a store's management team might have an issue if recruiters were attempting to recruit from their minimum wage labor force. IMHO, snopes is a fine site, and has adeqately debunked a number of internet myths and misconceptions, including Target. I'm not a supporter of the chain, and I'm not a fan of cheap chinese junk either, but the fact is that it's an American business that employs Americans in their stores. If you're going to choose to boycott a company, there are generally viable and genuine reasons to do so, but to buy into an internet rumor, or a single instance that may or may not have happened as it's told, just seems a little narrow-minded to me. No offense, just sayin!
 
Well, as I stated above, I was not there, so I can only go by what they say. They say they were not recruiting, so I give them the benefit of the doubt.

That said, they were not perpetuating an internet rumor, they said which stores locally they were having problems with and they pointed to one store specifically where the manager engages them as soon as they enter the store. This could be because they (the soldiers) continue to break the rules OR it could be that that manager is just an idiot...who knows.

I read the snopes.com page that I posted above and I have no reason not to believe it. I also have no reason to disbelieve the soldiers; that is why I want Target to sort me out.

I am a firm believer in supporting business that has policies that represent my beliefs and I tend to not patronize those that don't.
 
Well Mike, as I said, I wasn't attempting to "attack" your post in any way,shape or form, only voicing my own opinion.
We both admit that snopes debunked the rumor of target being the "french connection", they also debunked the rumor of target not supporting our military.Having said that, I'm a very strong supporter of our military,having come from a long line of military men on my dad's side myself,and I ALSO have strong beliefs and choose to support those businesses that echo my own beliefs. However, one of my beliefs is "innocent until proven guilty", and while I appreciate your opinion and willingness to bring it to us, I personally couldn't condemn an entire corporation based on what amounted to hearsay, 4 times removed. Now if Target, or any big box retailer, went on public record as being anti-military,anti-gun or pro animal rights, then I'd absolutely choose to do all of my spending elsewhere. I don't believe Target would miss me though, since I probably found myself in one of their stores once in the past two years,lol.
 
Man, I hate how I come across on forums sometimes. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I didn't take your post as an attack at all, I agree with most of it. I just feel that because this is close to me, I want to vet it out for my own piece of mind.
 
In my limited experience with Target I have been turned away when trying to exchange gift items (baby shower gift duplicates) because we did not have a receipt. My wife registered us there for baby shower stuff, and I got stuck (honey-do's) with exchange duty....My take on it is -- they love to take customers hard earned $$, but lack in customer service when it comes time to return/exchange goods purchased at their store. I won't do business of any kind with them for any reason after the negative experience I had there. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif Greg
 
NP Mike, I know it's hard to convey intent in an internet post. Montana, there's a great reason to not shop somewhere. I won't ever tollerate pour service, whether it's a retail store, a restaurant or a bar! No reason for that.
 
These are pretty much false stories that first started circulating on the internet 2-3 years ago. They are all false. As for being French, that is ridiculous. Target is a publicly traded company. It is owned by millions of people all over the world and probably your pension fund also.

Jack
 
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Quote:

I don't know. While I don't doubt the experiences your family experienced with the local recruiters Az Mike, I also believe it's possible that the recruiters themselves may be unwitting accomplises in spreading a rumor that's been floating around the internet for years. It's pretty easy for a "this happened to me" story to have had it's origins in a "I know it's true,because it happened to a friend's, uncles cousin" story. I also know a couple of marine corp recruiters personally, that can occassionally become pretty aggresive in their job,lol. I can see where a store's management team might have an issue if recruiters were attempting to recruit from their minimum wage labor force. IMHO, snopes is a fine site, and has adeqately debunked a number of internet myths and misconceptions, including Target. I'm not a supporter of the chain, and I'm not a fan of cheap chinese junk either, but the fact is that it's an American business that employs Americans in their stores. If you're going to choose to boycott a company, there are generally viable and genuine reasons to do so, but to buy into an internet rumor, or a single instance that may or may not have happened as it's told, just seems a little narrow-minded to me. No offense, just sayin!

Quote:
In my limited experience with Target I have been turned away when trying to exchange gift items (baby shower gift duplicates) because we did not have a receipt. My wife registered us there for baby shower stuff, and I got stuck (honey-do's) with exchange duty....My take on it is -- they love to take customers hard earned $$, but lack in customer service when it comes time to return/exchange goods purchased at their store. I won't do business of any kind with them for any reason after the negative experience I had there. Greg

Quote:

These are pretty much false stories that first started circulating on the internet 2-3 years ago. They are all false. As for being French, that is ridiculous. Target is a publicly traded company. It is owned by millions of people all over the world and probably your pension fund also.



Thanks for saving me the typing.
 
I learned a long time ago that if you have a problem with the management of a chain store there is someone higher up the chain that doesn't like getting a letter that starts with "The reason I will not do business with your store again is" and just complete the sentence. Unsigned letters will hit the circular file fast, signed with return contact information and naming a certain employee of the chain get taken care of in a way the employee will not like (assuming a legitimate complaint).
 
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I judge a store based on their sporting goods department. Target's sporting goods section is virtually nil, so my opinion of their store isn't very high in the first place.

Regards,
Tim



I haven't been in the Target store since Sportsman's Warehouse moved in 1 block away /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 


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