Your return policy assumes your customers have no manners.

its not Target's fault that the gift buyer didnt give you the
reciept,so why make it their problem?

Many, many stores, including Target, provide a "gift receipt" with any
purchase that may be a gift. This way, the receiver does not know the
dollar amount on the gift they need to return/exchange. I'm not
actually sure why this is so because the curious person can just go
look on the rack and find out how cheap, er, I mean, how much the
giver spent.

I supposed that in your proper raising that included courses in
manners, that tact was left out. There is a tactful way to request a
receipt from someone for a gift that was given.

well, they generally don't.

So, since you don't have a gift receipt, how do you know that the gift
actually came from Target? You never specified if you asked the gift
giver if the gift was purchased from Target or if the item is
something that is exclusively sold at Target. I have tons of customers
that come in my store without a receipt and surprise - they are trying
to return stuff that wasn't actually purchased at my store.

Karen, judging by the many complaints I see where gift recipients
weren't given a gift receipt, it's safe to assume that plenty of
Target customers don't have any 'manners'.

"hey i may want to return this so thanks but give me the receipt
because I do not appreciate or value the time you took to select the
gift."

Do you even see the irony in what you said here compared to the rest
of your letter?

Good news to Target employees! You have seen Karen M. for the last
time!!!!

Duly noted is right on. While I don't have a job in retail, everyone
knows how ugly retail customers can be, and you are today's poster
child. Your definition of "manners" clearly means "Give me what I
want or I will ruin you!".

A more civilized response might have said "I'm sorry, I didn't
understand your policy. Thanks so much for your time."

If I were your gift giver, you would never receive another gift.
Selfish!

Karen you have your panties in a bunch over nothing!
Its not rude to give a gift receipt with the gift any longer. Actually
its appreciated by many people who receive duplicates of gifts or
there may be something wrong with the item. And gift receipts have no
$$ amount on them...they have a bar code so the store knows when it
was purchased and the price so the receiver does not know how much the
item was until they try to return it.

Target has manners...its the people who steal from them and return
these items for cash that do not.
You did not do this I am assuming but I am sure it happens at a lot of
stores that do not have a gift receipt policy in effect.

I could care less how much or how little anyone spends on my
gifts...its stil the thought that they cared enough to give me one and
that they also inclosed a gift receipt should I need to use it.
Its not a matter of being rude its a matter of being smart!

Karen I do not believe you are teaching your son incorrectly and I
applaud you for teaching him to be well mannered. I understand you
are not saying the gift doesn't matter, that to have multiple of one
item is unneccesarry. The people that need to be taught something is
the givers of the gifts. Target has a very restrictive policy due to
past problems. When people buy gifts this day and age they should
understand to get a gift reciept because of the possibility of
multiplication. If I gave someone a gift that 5 others gave them I
would want them to trade it out. Face it some people just throw
something in the cart and don't think much on the person they are
getting it for. Sorry that you feel attacked but most on here are
good people and try to give advice and constructive criticism.

This is an old topic around here Karen. You will see numerous other
shared letters written to Target that complain about this. My
suggestion is to always make mention of how much you hate Target
whenever anyone asks for gift recommendations for your child. I always
do. And have since to receive any gifts from there anymore. The only
thing that will make Target stop this practice is by losing money to
lost customers. They are figuring they are losing less because they
are stopping the occasional theif. But in the long run, they lose more
in customers.

I think it's rude to return gifts, Karen, so I don't think we are
going to see eye to eye on this one. Give it to charity or to someone
you know will use it, but to return it and get something 'better'
always struck me as rude in the extreme and greedy to boot.

" was raised to actually have MANNERS and politely thank a gift giver
for a gift no matter what it is. Apparently Target does not appreciate
this in their customers."

That's not the problem. The problem is how many people steal then go
in to do a return, obviously without a receipt.

I believe you but how are they to know it wasn't stolen? That's why
they have the policies they do.

Wow i am new here but surprised at the attack tone in the posts below.
I have to say I AGREE with the original post. I had almost the
identical situation happen when i had baby gifts that were bought off
of a gift registry.

I had actually gotten duplicates of something that on the registry i
had listed as only wanting one (and on the printout from Target they
could clearly see that i had gotten three of the thing). There was no
gift receipt on any of the three duplicate gifts- yes it is the 21st
century and NO I can say with certainty with two stepkids kids who
have birthday parties every yeat that the MAJORITY of gift givers do
not provide gift reciepts.

In this case I had gotten the gifts from people that i didn't know
that well and as someone points out below- yes i would feel
uncomfortable going to that person and indicating that i wanted to
return their gift. My parents raised me to have manners too.

I took the 2 extra duplicates in an tried to exchange them for other
things on the registry and was told by a very rude customer service
person that without a gift receipt i was out of luck.

I was not trying to scam Target. They had proof from the registry
print out that the items were purchases there. There was nothing
wrong with them and the customer service person still treated me like
I was trash. I guess by the overwhelming response below we should all
assume that everyone is out there trying to scam something.

Targets return policies in general do not put their customer's
"first"- let alone treat them as if they are customers. By the
treatement I recieved I think they train them to make anyone trying to
return something feel like they are 1" tall.

Also- on the topic of gifts for kids- have you ever seen kids rip into
gifts at a birthday party?? If there are gift receipts on things
quite often they get ripped off in the process. I try to include them
in cards.


I do still shop at Target- I simply think the shopping experience is
more pleasant. But lord knows if I am at all hesitant on something I
will wait to buy it until I am sure. I never want to experience their
horrible "customer" service counter if at all possible.

this is undoubtedly the most CREATIVE excuse I've seen for getting
around this rule. BRAVO!

However, as Im sure others have mentioned (and has been covered on
this site ad nauseum) this is not a manners thing. This is a fraud
thing. How many people do you think have walked into Target, looking
like perfectly upstanding citizens like yourself, and pulled this same
kind of line at Guest Service in an attempt to get back cash or
merchandise on something that is actually stolen?

Believe it or not, it happens FREQUENTLY (I know, I worked in Guest
Service)

The true statement here is not that it is impolite to ask for a gift
receipt. Its that you don't want to get caught by the gift giver
returning their gift.

But don't you think they'd WANT to know that your son already had
this? Perhaps it will encourage them to check with you or give him
something a little more flexible, liked a gift card, in the future.

These Target receipt issues are becoming a bit of a broken record.

They print the policy on, quite literally, EVERY single receipt and
have issued numerous press releases about their decision to go strict
regarding item returns. That coupled with the fact that they include
a gift receipt, again quite literally, with EVERY single receipt (I
know this was already mentioned) creates a situation where it becomes
rather difficult for Target to attempt to inform the consumer any more
than they already have.

If you're not willing to do any leg work to follow their WIDELY
published and extremely widely talked about return policy, you're
pretty much out of luck, imho.

I said all that for the benefit of anyone honestly interested in a
genuine response. To be quite honest, I'm calling shenanigans on the
OP.

Sometimes doing the right thing costs you something. And the right
thing is to do it anyway.

If your standards for your son include politely thanking a gift giver
for a gift no matter what it is, that's great. It was certainly
included in my parents' standards for me.

But the price of pretending that what you got was exactly what you
wanted is that sometimes you don't actually get exactly what you want.
In those cases you act grateful for what you got, you feel grateful
that someone cared enough to try to please you, and you move on.

If you only expect your son to display manners when he can do it while
still getting exactly what he wants, then you are teaching him not to
have manners at all. If you expect major corporations to adopt
policies that hurt them just to cover for the fact that your boy
doesn't have any manners, then you are teaching him that the rest of
the world should accommodate his sense of entitlement. I don't think
your son will be well-served by these lessons, especially because that
sort of attitude gets a lot less forgivable as he gets older.

In fact, by the time he's old enough to write nasty letters to stores
blaming them for putting loss prevention ahead of his entitlement to
exactly what he wants, it's going to come across as pretty appalling
and it will affect what people think of him.

I was raised to believe that returning a gift in the first place was
bad manners. If I ever got a double of a toy, I usually gave it to a
Toys for Tots program.

So you're saying you want Target to encourage people to shoplift,
return the item and get credit for it? That's what would occur.
That's why they want a receipt.

I'm confused. If you don't have the gift receipt, how do you know it
was from Target?

In any case, expecting stores to loose money by accepting anything and
everything without some proof that it came from that store is a bit
much. Higher prices for everyone if they do.

I find this OP's surprise that she needs a receipt to return an item
quite naive. If this is her first experience, then she's had quite a
good run of gift giving occasions!

In my family, gift (or original) receipts are either included with
most gifts or graciously offered. I know that I can ask my mom for a
gift receipt if she bought me pajamas, but I also know to not ask for
a receipt if she bought me something special and I really don't care
for it. That's when I just suck it up.

And if I generously spend my hard-earned money on other people's
children (I have no kids), I damn sure want it to go to something they
want or need! I either ask pointed questions of the moms (or the
kids), or I put a lot of thought and effort into that child and get
him something I think (and hope) s/he'll love.

And I tape the receipt to the gift or card, every time.

Society's moving along, folks. Come join the rest of us into the 21st
century.

This doesn't really have anything to do with manners. Target has a
policy and you have to follow it. Simple. I don't see why you can't
just ask the gift giver for the gift reciept. What are they going to
do, break your legs for asking?

Also, love the line about "shopping elsewhere". You didn't even buy
the product to begin with.

Target has dealt with a lot of customers who are idiots, have no
manners (have you been in public recently?) and downright thieves.
Thus, they had to develop a strict policy that is *widely* advertised.
They also print gift receipts automatically, so there is no excuse
for that either.

If you have something that was a gift, ebay it. it you bought it,
then you are the one responsible. I didn't read your letter - I
didn't have to. The title is enough to know what it contains.

Since you really don't want to ask the giver for the receipt and
Target has made it clear that they will not take it back with out a
receipt, why don't you teach your son a valuable lesson and donate the
toy to a children's hospital or a homeless shelter. Since it's
obvious the toy will not be used by your son, please donate it to
someone who would love to use it.

You are correct that the gift giver should give a gift receipt, this
is polite and taking into consideration that you do not want the
recipient to be put into an uncomfortable situation.

But if they DONT include it, it IS considered rude to ask for one.

The problem with all of this is the person was trying to simply
exchange an item for another one and Target's policy does not allow
you to do this unless you go back to the person who originally gave it
to you and say "i want to return your gift." That IS rude, regardless
of the reason.

::cue broken record:: It says on every Target receipt something like
"is this purchase a gift? be sure to include the gift receipt for
easy returns" So it's your friend or family who failed to read that
and did not include the receipt. Who lacks the manners now?

Actually, imho, a customer who truly had manners would include a gift
receipt with a gift.

It's just common courtesy to do so. My folks raised me to never put
anyone in an awkward position to have to ask for a gift receipt, so I
always tape one to the bottom of each gift. After all, once my gift
leaves my hands, it's outta my control ~ they can use it, return it or
sell it on eBay if they want. I've had gifts I've purchased returned
and frankly it doesn't bother me ~ I'd rather have the kid get
something he/she really wants.

I am glad your son donated his toy to charity and hope he was gracious
and thanked the gift-giver.

You have manners. Some people don't. They steal. They try to return
things that were purchased elsewhere (at a lower cost) in order to get
back extra cash. Some people try to return things years after they
were purchased.

You have manners. But, what you were looking for isn't about manners.
Is it? It's about you being able to have your son have a gift that
works better for him (i.e., isn't a duplicate). I'd don't blame for
you for the "want." However, I ask that you realize that what you're
looking for has everything to do with money (or "stuff") and little to
do with manners.

Good manners, of course, would say that your son would cherish the
gift, even if it were a duplicate. That he's keep it as a memento of
the gift giver. That the thought is what counts, not that he actually
have something he can use.

But this isn't about that. It's about receiving a gift, finding its a
duplicate, and wanting him to have something that he can actually use.
I don't blame you for wanting that.

That said, if you don't like the fact that Target keeps its prices low
by having policies like this, then please... do not shop there again.
Write them a letter (as you have) telling them that you don't like
their policies.

But don't pretend it's about manners. It's about business, about
money, about stuff. Don't be ashamed to say that. Because Target, as
a business, isn't ashamed of the fact that they want money. Your
money. Which, it sounds, they've lost.

Oh, and good for you in giving the gift to charity. I don't know how
old your son is (or what you family's financial situation is), but I
think you've given him a great gift: the gift of helping others. I,
in fact, do this with my kids. Hopefully, as they grow older, they
will keep this up.

Kudos to you Karen- you shouldn't have to ask people for gift
reciepts. I think Targets return policy stinks and the responses
below miss the point. It shouldn't matter whether or not the kid had
the gift or not- what if you simply didn't like it. The point was you
were trying to exchange the item for something else and the forum here
went on the attack.

You wouldn't have to be blunt with the giver. Simply say or have your
son say. "Thank you so much for think of me, I really appreciate it.
I do already have a SpongeBob football. May I please have the receipt
to that I may exchange it for a SpongeBob Football."

Any rational person would not want someone to have a duplicate item a
would gladly provide a receipt.

Also having a policy you disagree with does not equate to them being
rude.

"I guess from now on I need to be blunt and rude whenever I get a gift
without a receipt and tell the giver "hey i may want to return this so
thanks but give me the receipt because I do not appreciate or value
the time you took to select the gift."

But if you're not planning on shopping at Target ever again, then
there's no need for that statement.

It's too bad your son got a gift he can't use, and kudos to you for
the decision to donate it to charity. But I don't see what manners has
to do with the store's policy. While I don't blame you for not wanting
to ask for the receipt, the giver did get one and should've included
it with the gift.

By the way, if you didn't get a gift receipt, how do you know the gift
was from Target?

I agree completely- how rude to ask people for gift reciepts. We have
become so commercial these days and the manners of being gracious and
thankful for gifts whatever they are is lost.

I had a similar experience recently at Target when my receipt was
faded and "code" at the bottom was illegible. They could see the date
(the reciept had NOT "expired" and the item and amount were clearly
legible but the extremely rude person at the Target customer service
counter still treated me like a criminal and would not let me return
the item.

Target needs to learn who the CUSTOMER in "customer service" is. I,
like you, will take my purchases elsewhere.

It's not that you want to return it, it's that your child already has
it. Any normal person would not be offended if your child already has
the gift. They would want your child to have a gift they can actually
use.