Target Made Us Feel Like Criminals

they walked you up to the front lanes because those are items that are
frequently stollen by teenagers, and not that you are a criminal, but
to be consistant. you have to open the new one because its a copyright
law. if you came in with an oped cd or dvd or game, then you could
burn it exchange it, and continue to rip people off. bottom line, its
consistancy and protection. think of it this way, if its stolen than
that money come out of shortage which comes out of the budget which
they take from pay roll and my raise, so every time some snot nose
ditch rat steals, it comes out of my pay check

its the policy if you have something that is locked up and u are doing
an exchange or a purchase they have to ring you up or walk you to a
register. and because u returned a video game that was defective, the
new one has to be opened to make sure the same video game is in the
box. its the law its not a target thing. video games DVDS cds, tapes,
if opened they can only be returned for the same item. you were not
made to feel like a criminal it was there job they do it for every
high end return or locked up return

We know what you are talking about. Today, our local ABC News even
voice another Lady's complaint regarding returning duplicate items
received from a Baby Shower Registry! Even contacting their HQ
doesn't face the company; they only transfer customers back to the
store. At Christmas time, Salavation Red Kettles are not allowed in
from of Target Stores here in Indiana! Maybe a Class Action Law Suit
would be appropriate!!!

H.Brabo, Indiana

I've never been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but I wonder...

Do they have bag checks?

Do they put up ropes around things?

Do I have to wear a pin to show that I paid my entrance fee?

I'm honest, no criminal. I'd sure be offended if I went to the
museum, where you work, and was treated like a criminal by having my
backpack searched (or being required to leave it checked). And I'd
really be offended if someone required me to show that I paid my
entrance fee. And, boy, how mad would I be if there were ropes up, as
if I was some sort of animal that couldn't be trusted not to destroy
some precious artifact.

I'm no criminal. I sure hope your employee just trusts me.

:)

every store does that

Not all the people that steal are teenagers, infact we have had many
well dressed business people steal as well. No one cares how much
money you make. Also just because you make enough money does not mean
that you are not stealing, infact I have arrested people that stole a
$10 who had well over $500 in their pocket.

Huh?

I see nothing here that should be offensive.

I've older than you and make a good income. But I would never be
insulted that someone would need to escort me to the customer service
desk with a video game.

In fact, I'd thank that person. For real.

I always thank the airport security people. Always. Even if they
have in that glass booth, with my suitcase open, and my belt off... I
thank them. Why? Because I know (a) it's their job and (b) because
they are trying to keep flying safe.

Same here. Target is trying to cut down on theft. Having the clerks
decide that YOU are honest and someone else is not... that ain't going
to work.

Don't be offended.

If you want to be offended, consider this: why is you obviously mature
husband buying toys for himself?

I understand you two were offended... but that is the policy pretty
much anywhere (Target, WalMart, etc.). They aren't as worried about
the lesser titles as they are the new ones. It doesn't matter if you
are 70 or 15, you will still have to pay for it seperately from the
rest of your purchases.

Common sense people.

Get mad at the thieves & scammers who make this policy necessary, not
the employees of Target. They're only protecting themselves from
people stealing from them. What are they supposed to do, continue
losing money? Businesses don't work that way.

I went into the Target on Westside Highway in Philadelphia last week.
As I surfed the collection of DVD's, I realized I had forgotten my
wallet at home.

Not wanting the trip to be wasted, and realizing they wouldn't trust
me to walk out without paying, I slipped the movie I had selected into
my pants. Well, wouldn't you know it, some eagle eye in security must
have seen it, because as I loitered in the Women's Unmentionables
section, I was approached.

The security guard reached into my pants and pulled out... the movie.
He then asked an employee to pull my pants down (allegedly to see if
there were any more movies in there).

Then I was escorted to the front of the store, while my pants dangled
around my ankles like a chain. I had to shuffle my feet, and this
made me feel like a common criminal!

I was deeply offended by the way I was treated. I make plenty of
money and can afford to shop wherever I care. I was dressed nicely
(until my pants were pulled down) and didn't look like a criminal.
Why was I treated this way?

I hope the staff at Westside Highway can be trained to better handle
customers who don't look like criminals.

Target did the opening/breaking seal on something I returned, and
since the woman at the customer service desk was a friend, I asked
why. Because Target replaces open games, movies, and CD's with exact
titles only, they must break the seal when you exchange it.
Otherwise, people bring back the opened one for an exact exchange,
then come back later with their "new, unopened" title and return it
for cash or other items. These items are easily pirated, so they have
to be extra careful.

I too was treated like a criminal at the Target in Round Rock by the
manager. I see she is still there but after she treated me so badly I
did not shop there for months until I got an apology from the District
office. My mom and I had bought 2 lamps that were marked down. I paid
for mine and then waited for my mom. After she paid she thought the
ticket seemed high so I checked it and the lamp did not ring up
correctly, it was higher. She wrote a check for it which was a big
mistake. Anyway we went up to the customer service area and told them
there was a mistake and they said well I just got lucky on my lamp
that it was cheaper even though the ticket was marked lower but the
receipt had a higher amount on it.They did not honor the price that
was actually on the lamp instead they told my mom too bad. I asked for
a manager and even the manager told us too bad but she also said well
people change tickets sometimes meaning we may have changed the
tickets as she looked at us. I was never so upset and neither
was my mother.Then we said we don't want anything from you and we just
want our $ back. They said because it was a check they can not give us
our $ back. I told her to go and get the check out of the register and
give it back. The manager said they could not do it. We ended up just
getting a gift card back for all the items. I felt like she accused us
of being a thief which we are not.I called the district office and
they spoke to the manager about it and of course she denied treating
us that way but she knows she did.They really do need some proper
training in how to treat customers and that includes the managers!

"escorting" customers isn't odd. When I worked at Walgreens, when a
customer would want to buy cigs and had a Rx in the pharmacy to pick
up, I would escort them to the pharmacy with the cigs. NO ONE ever had
an issue with it. Sounds to me like your just trying to find something
to whine about. Get a life lady.

Well, if Sioux hasn't already done so, I can at least clarify a few of
these (and I actually know this particular store, it's NOT a high
theft store).

Your husband made a return, that is why they broke the seal and
removed the wrapping. Video Games and DVD Movies are the most
frequently presented items by fraudsters - believe it or not, it
wasn't about you.

If you had informed the team member that you wanted to continue
shopping, they would have gladly had the game sent up to guest
services and held until you checked out. My guess is you never
mentioned this, so they figured this was all you came in for.

The Games that are on the end cap are typically the "Classics" games
that have been out for a while or have been deemed to have a lower
value than those in the case. You might have felt that Madden '08 was
more value, but that's not necessarily how the sales trends go.

How you look and how much you make are totally irrelevant and (esp in
Strongsville!) pointless to mention. The rules are enforced on
everyone the same no matter what their appearance.

Yes, these rules may seem more stringent, and they are, but as I've
posted before, the rate of fraud and theft has gotten so high that
they had to do something to keep it under control. Keeping a close
eye on electronic merchandise until it physically leaves the store as
paid is one way they can control that.

Inconvenient? Sure, but a necessary evil today.

Finally, I've said this at least 1000 times and I'm sure I'll have to
say it 1000 more - If you were doing nothing wrong, how can they make
you feel like a criminal? No one can MAKE you feel anything unless you
LET them.

What do shoplifters look like?

I've seen people who look like you in the back of police cars.

I'm wondering if this is just certain Target policies- I went last
night to the Target in Hillsboro, OR and bought a Nintendo DS,
accessories and Nintendogs for my niece. All but the accessories were
in the locked case. I didn't get escorted up front, that's why I'm
wondering if it's only certain Targets that do this. Maybe ones with
high theft rates?

If we knew what criminals looked like September 11 would Not have
happened...
1000 of people would NOT loose their life every day to criminals
because it could be prevented....
Prisons WOULD be empty...
Perfect world.....NOW BACK TO REALITY!!!!...
Sweet child, don't get offended for so little, life it's too short,
you got so many years ahead of you that if you start getting bitter in
your twenties there will be no room for patience, love, forgiveness,
kindness, trust, truthfulness, loyalty and those my dear are the
qualities that have to carry you most during your years

If we knew what criminals looked like September 11 would NOT have
happened and prison would be empty because we could prevent everything
from happening. Don't be offended. It's a store policy, they have to
somehow protect themselves.It's unfortunately but it's a sign of the
times we are living in. I am sure you will receive a letter of apology
from the store or even a gift certificate, but the young man was doing
his job and what was asked of him. Enjoy life because it's really to
short to worry about things like this.

When I worked at Kmart - any game that was locked up had to be brought
up front by an employee or purchased at the electronics counter. If
the customer still had shopping to do the game was brought up to the
front registers/service desk by the employee while the customers
finished shopping. Then when they were finished they could check-out
and let their cashier know a game should have been brought up for them
- the cashier gets the game and rings them up or completes the
exchange if done at the service desk. This was done for jewelry as
well. It's not that you look like a criminal - it's a storewide
policy for every customer whether they are 9 or 90.

Secondly, they broke the seal and opened the game because that is how
you brought the product in to be returned. Had the game not been open
you could have returned it for a full refund. You had to do an exact
exchange because of bootlegging. Once a cd, dvd, game, etc is opened
it can only be even exchanged. Just because you are honest, doesn't
mean everyone else is. Heck, I've bought ink at Walmart that didn't
work, took it back and when I even exchanged it she ripped open the
box and cut open the bag that holds the ink so I couldn't try to
return it as un-opened at a later date for a full refund. Guess what?
I didn't find this to be a personal attack but rather an employee
doing her job.

Lastly, you could have still shopped for the items you were looking
for. You could have completed the exchange (they would have given you
a bag and a receipt), which you could have placed in your cart while
you continued to shop...then when you check out tell your cashier you
did an exchange, show the receipt and be on your merry way. OR you or
your husband could have run the game out to the car then came back in
to do some shopping. It's not hard.

Don't be so defensive. They are just store policies put in place for
a reason.

Simple solution, probably already mentioned, but next time, wait till
you've done all your shopping, then return the game, be escorted to
the front, and pay for everything together

heck at least they broke the seal in front of you

As a teenager I find that offensive. People that are well dressed and
in their twenties also steal. Who cares how much money you make,
people that are well off steal too because they don't want to pay the
prices. If this offended you stay at home. They do that at every
store because of real thieves, if you had nothing to hide you would
not feel like a criminal.

West Siders... sigh... This is why I stay on the East Side.

They opened your game so you couldn't try to return it someplace else
while you had a bootleg copy of it at home. Which actually is
perplexing to me since I didn't realize you could copy video games...
oh wait. My friend has an insane hard drive in his X Box and he
copies games onto THAT somehow. His brother is a complete computer
genius... I forgot about that. Anyways, I digress.

Really, what's the big deal? You were escorted up front. It's not
like he held your elbow and shook his head at you. Some places
require you pay for all electronics in their electronics section.
Toys R Us does this. I don't shop at Target so I don't know if this
is their policy as well but I would expect to be walked up if that in
fact was their policy. And if it wasn't, it still seems silly to go
on about something so trivial.

And the reason is... because the store doesn't know what the criminals
(and there are a lot out there) are going to look like.

These letters get posted constantly. "I was treated like a common
criminal," "Ihe clerk acted as though I was stealing the item," etc
etc etc. Unfortunately, people take these experiences personally.
The store is just applying a uniform policy, and didn't behave this
way because you in particular looked suspicious.

Step down from your high horse for two seconds, and put yourself in
the position of the retailer. Would you trust someone who walked in
dressed and looking like you? Would you know who to trust, and who
not to trust? Would you discriminate based on a preconceived notion
of what honest customers look like and what dishonest customers look
like? Or would you have one policy to make things straightforward and
fair?

"Deeply offended"? I bet you would be deeply offended if you were the
retailer and on a corporate basis you lost millions of dollars each
year to fraud and theft.

"Deeply offended"? You've got a pretty high opinion of yourself and
your Husband, Kelly. Might I suggest with all your wealth that you
hire a personal shopper to take care of these issues for you so that
you are not subjected to the same procedures as the rest of humanity?

Games and electronics that are behind the glass are to be purchased at
the counter IN electronics. The people at customer service probably
called back there and told them you were coming and therefor they
escorted you back to the front. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

Our Target does this with electronics--iPods and digital cameras come
to mind. I'd buy one and be escorted to Customer Service.

As a responsible adult, I understand why Target does this. It's to
deter theft. Yes, this stuff is locked up, and one needs to purchase
the item at the Electronics counter.

Let's say that you don't pay at Electronics and don't get escorted to
the front. You've asked for a video iPod and put it in your cart.
You walk through the store and shove it behind some 12-packs of Coke.
Your accomplice comes up, rips open the packaging, and pockets the
iPod.

If you buy something from the locked jewelry case, you will also have
to drop the item at CS.

As an adult who makes good money, you should realize that sometimes
store policies are there to PROTECT the customer as well as the
store.

You were minorly inconvenienced. You could have trusted that your
game would be waiting for you when you'd completed your shopping. You
could have gone and put it in your car, then returned to shop.

It sounds to me that your situation was handled well.

Your insinuation made my teenager feel like a criminal.

Also, why were you unable to continue shopping. Were you escorted out
of the store?

It's a common ruse for people to buy a video game, decide they don't
like it and then try to return it as 'defective'. To deter this type
of thing, whenever you get a replacement for a defective game, the
store always opens it before handing it over so you don't come back
later and try to return an unopened copy for a refund or exchange the
new copy for something else.
If it's truly defective, this shouldn't be a big deal to anyone.
I've made many purchases where I was 'escorted' to a register or
customer service counter. I never felt like a criminal nor was I
'deeply offended'.

"My Husband and I make enough money that we don't shop at Target due
to the low prices..."
Well, big honkin' whoop. So you make gobs of cash, do ya? I'll bake
you a cake.

It sounds like you may be just a tad sensitive for shopping in the
real world. May I suggest online shopping from now on?

(As a final note, I think that the people who really need the training
these days are the customers. Seriously, it seems like the majority of
us leave our brains under glass before we step outside our doors and
head to the stores.)

Why not do your other shopping once done then do the game exchange?

You say you have bought many other media items before, but have you
ever EXCHANGED them before? This is standard practice on copyrighted
materials being exchanged due to defect. The store has to open the
new item. I have seen it done at Target, Wal-mart, Toys R Us, Best
Buy, KMart and I worked returns at Circuit City where this was also
our policy.

Did the Target employee really smell that bad that you couldn't stand
to have him walk with you back to the returns desk? Why bother to
lock it up, if they are just going to let people roam the store with
it willy nilly?

There was nothing unreasonable about the practices at this Target, and
you can feel free not to shop there, but any other major retailer has
the same policies and procedures for these type of items.

For the love of pete, get over it. Well-dressed adults of all ages
shoplift. I think it's completely reasonable that an employee
accompanied you to the customer service desk with an expensive game
that likely is the target of shoplifters. What do you want them to
do, pick and choose who LOOKS like they aren't trustworthy and escort
only those shoppers?

And what was keeping you from doing your shopping? Your husband
didn't need you to help exchange the game. You could have grabbed a
cart and gone off on your own to save some time.