It's only been a couple of days and I for one am already sick of all the
Target letters about the coupon issues.

Don't get me wrong, obviously there is a problem that should be addressed,
but good lord, in my mind I see some poor customer service rep rolling
there eyes as yet another complaint letter comes rolling in. Never in a
million years will they guess that some blogger asked that letters be
sent.


I don't use a ton of coupons - most times I don't use any. I know that
there is money to be saved, but I get frustrated with the amount of time it
take sme to get them together and then to complete my shopping, making sure
that I am picking up the right item and following the terms of the coupons.
Just not usually worth it to me. Not to say that I haven't done it. That
being said, I have never, anywhere had an issue with the acceptance of a
coupon. Maybe it comes back to following the terms of the coupon? I don't
know for sure, but I see a whole lot of people try to skate around the
policies for the coupons we accept at my store. I tell them no. Ahh crap,
maybe they'll start a letter writing campaign too.

Today I was at Target - big surprise. I witnessed a woman approach an
employee stocking in the cosmetics area, and inform her that she had lost
her daughter. The customer asked if the employee had a walkie talkie and
could ask if anyone found her daughter. Unfortunately the employee did not
have a walkie talkie, but walked into the aisle with the customer and
pointed out a very nearby employee who did.

The customer quickly approached the 2nd employee, named Diana, and asked
the same of her. I heard this reply: "Lost children are handled at guest
service at the front of the store" I asked the customer how old her missing
daughter was - the answer was 5. She, of course, rushed off to customer
service.

Since I had once lost my son in a Target Store, and remembering that I was
so very impressed with how they handled the whole situation, I knew this
just wasn't right. So, unable to stop myself, I said "Can I ask you a
question" (to the lovely Diana) and her reply was "if you are quick, I am
helping someone else"

Now irritated, I ask why this situation wasn't handled according as a Code
Adam. I mean seriously - in the time the mother spent trying to get
someone to help her, the child could already have been taken out of the
building.

So Diana tells me that yes, she is correct - lost children are handled by
customer service. I ask why she didn't use her walkie talkie and she says
she doesn't have one. And I point to it and say yes you do. And she walks
away.

A few minutes later, I am hearing repeated calls of "Code Yellow" over the
walkie talkies of the employees in my vicinity, along with a description of
the child. Yup, this is the professionalism and level of response that
made me write a thank you letter after my own experience - and what I
expected Diana to do.

I see the child halfway in front of the candles - I am in front of the
registers, so I call out to the mom waiting at customer service.

And I stew about it - so I ask to talk to the MOD. A very nice, young girl
comes up and I tell her the situation. She thanks me for taking the time
and asks me if I see the employee. I point her out - guess what - she
appears to be some sort of front end supervisor - or whatever Target calls
them.

So anyway - I am so pissed at the attitude of this woman, that I want to
send a letter. However, I already talked to the MOD, so I should just
trust. But I also know that complaints that come through corporate are
handled more seriously than those communicated at the time. It's just the
way it is.

So, if you are reading this epic tale, what do you think?

Write or don't write?

I found this posted on another site:

On June 10, 2008 Target's return policy changed from 20 dollars without
proof of purchase twice a year to 35 dollars twice a year, and target now
once again returns items that were bought and taken off registries. These
items can now be returned up to 90 days after the day of the event, using
the gift purchase log feature.

Does anyone know if it is correct? (Siouxfan???) I am really interested
to see if all of the negative feedback they have had has influenced a
change of any sort.

not could OF, should OF or would OF!

This drives me nuts. Enough said.

So....I found the following info posted on the website of my favorite radio
station. I don't know how correct this is, but it sure is intersting
either way.


Secret Codes in Price Tags

Target: Any sale item with a price ending in "4" is considered the final
markdown and will not go down further in price. Clearance stickers have a
small number on the top left corner which represents the percentage off. It
starts at 10, then goes to 15, 30, 50, 75 and the lowest it gets is 90,
then it goes back to the manufacturer. Items are thrown away it they are
perishable, but it gets noted for the distributor. Clearance prices don't
always make it to 90 percent though because the store stops getting the
product in shortly before it goes clearance, and once it's gone, it's gone.




Sears: Prices ending in 99 are regular, 98 is no coupons or sales, 88 is
closeout, 97 is clearanced/discontinued, 93 is refurb/open-box. A letter,
followed by a number indicated what the original price of the item was.
A=10, B=20 and so on. So an item marked A7 would have been 17.99, an item
marked C9 would be 39.99.



Circuit City: 98: local price match 97: open box item 96: limited stock
item, either oop (out of production) or so new that supplies are not
regular yet 95: clearance oop product



Best Buy: Frigidaire items have a code on the tag
0000*****00000. The numbers in between the zeros is the dollar amount they
can reduce the item by.



Office Depot: Prices not ending in 0, 9 or 5 are final markdowns.



Gap & Old Navy: prices ending in 7 are the final markdown and will not go
down further in price. Usually, unsold items with this code are supposedly
sent to closeout stores within a few weeks of the markdown.



Abercrombie & Fitch: anytime an item is $xx.50, it is full price, and
anytime it is $xx.ANYTHING ELSE, it is on sale. 99.99%, the item on sale
will end in $xx.90, but sometimes we do $xx.89 just to confuse people.



JC Penny: If the price ends in a 7; that's the lowest price the item will
be sold at. Gift receipt code: letters correspond to the numbers on a
computer keyboard. Q=1, W=2, E=3, R=4 etc. If the gift code ends in the
letter U (correspods to 7) you know the person bought your gift on
clearance.



Lowes: there's a number underneath the bar code before a decimal
point. That number is the commission amount the sales person makes on the
item (called the "spiff").



Ace Hardware: uses letters to tell the employees what the cost of a product
was. VICKSBURG:
V=1, I=2, C=3, K=4, S=5, B=6, U=7, R=8, G=9
So a toaster with a price of $12.99 might have a code under that listing
BCS or $6.35 for a cost.



Home Depot: Prices that are green tagged always end in 6. That way
all the employees know for sure that it is a clearance item and if it
does not sell within X amount of days, it is thrown in the dumpster!


Sam's Club: prices ending in 91 means that item is clearanced. (Ex:
$12.91).


If you purchase any lawn and garden product made by John Deere you can take
the retail price x75%, that will give you the JD dealers cost.

I think this is a great site. It gives you the opportunity to "see" things
from someone elses perspective and to be able to discuss your differring
opinion. I like it because I get to hear the arguements from all possible
angles. Sometimes when you either receive bad service, or are accused of
providing it, it is difficult to look at things from an entirely rational
point of view.

What I would like to see, although I sense nobody cares, is less of the
personal bickering taking place on the responses to the letters. I mean
really! The whole intent of the letter gets lost part way through the
thread when you get a couple of people together who can't resist the
personal responses. (I am not talking about any specific people, so don't
head there)

I mostly find well thought out responses - many from people whose opinions
I have come to respect, although don't always agree with. I am sure they
also don't always agree with me. That's life, right!

into the comments section on a blog if it's open. :)

Sometimes it's just easier to read a few letters. You'll get a good feel of
who is who that way too. You'll see what type letters come in with similar
complaints and how the general population handles it.

Hey if you have a unique idea go over to the suggestion box and post it
there, you never know.

I don't really have a "discussion" topic to post, but I have been spending
some time on the site and responding to some of the letters long enough now
that I am starting to feel like some sort of voyeur since I haven't said
hello...so - hello all!

I first stumbled on this site years ago, before it was revamped.
Unfortunately the reason I found it was that someone had sent a complaint
letter to the company I worked for at the time. Anyway, for some reason I
remembered Planet Feedback shortly after Christmas and checked it out
again, and well, here I am.

Me in a nutshell: retail manager for close to 20 years (I shudder as I say
it), married with 2 kids.
Actually, there is more to me than that, but for now I guess that's
enough.

Phew, I feel better now - at least I have introduced myself! :)