Target, what the hell happened???

8:19pm PT, Nov. 5, 2008

Dear Gregg (Steinhafel - CEO of Target),

My husband and I recently created a Baby Gift Registry through Target.com. Unfortunately this has resulted in a very disappointing experience that I'd like to share:While a gift registry is a great help to those buying gifts for a baby shower, having a registry with Target has been nothing but a huge pain.

We received a $44.99 gift without a receipt, so when we brought the item to the store, we were instructed to print out a "purchase log" using a computer kiosk in the store. Our registry was created using my Amazon.com username/password, however we discovered that the in-store kiosks only accept Target.com credentials. Further, an in-store kiosk is the ONLY way one can generate a purchase log. You can't print one from your home computer and bring it to the store. And not even a copy of the registry, which clearly shows an instance of the item as purchased, is sufficient proof that the item was indeed bought from Target.

We have spent two hours on the phone with Target, between two separate occasions, trying to get this resolved. We were transferred back-and-forth between different departments and representatives, but apparently nobody in the entirety of your company has the authority to override what amounts to a technological oversight in your gift registry system, so that a frustrated pregnant woman can get a refund on a $45 infant co-sleeper. Needless to say we are very disappointed with Target.

Our decision to create a Target gift registry amounts to an exclusive business opportunity for the company. Sure, our little baby shower won't register on Target's quarterly earnings, but it represents a few hundred dollars that your competitors didn't get. A little flexibility and understanding would have been very much appreciated (especially since it resulted from a shortcoming in Target's own systems), but instead bureaucracy and indifference is the thanks we get for our patronage.

Baby Gift Registry Login (www.target.com, click on Registry, then Baby Registry, then click "manage or create registry", then click on "Amazon.com" to sign in (this is where your major issue lies regarding gift registries).

Please help us to resolve this issue quickly as we have been very loyal customers. We have been buying all of our baby supplies at Target to get ready for what is supposed to be a very happy event.

Kind regards,
Chica and Scooter
(names have been changed to protect us from being blackballed from Target!)

13 hours later...

Hi Marisa,

I'm having someone look into this today.

Gregg

3 hours later...

"Hi, Marisa, I'm Kelsey from the Executive Resolution Team with Target. I apologize for the frustration this situation has caused...."

Now...

The issue has yet to be completely resolved, but, I've been told to bring the gift to the Target store nearest our home and a gift card will be promptly sent to me. We'll see... Thank you Kelsey from Target for calling so promptly to help us resolve this glitch. And please, please make sure to ask your online team to fix this problem.

Thank you to Scooter (my husband) for writing such a great letter and helping to bring my blood pressure down.