My wife and I are huge Target fans. So big that we registered for our wedding there, and make an almost weekly trip to the nearest store. A good chunk of our clothing is from Target, and I’ve even started buying CDs there. We love Target. We love it except for one thing. They always try and give us a bag.
About a year ago my wife and I made a decided effort to rid our apartment of plastic bags. We knew we would end up with a stray bag here or there, but we were going to really try. We bought tote bags, and if we could carry the item we didn’t even ask for one. Our closet and Al Gore are very happy with us. Except maybe not so much with Target.
We noticed that every time we went into Target that the cashier would scan the item and then place it directly into a bag. With the exception of drinks which never get placed into a bag anywhere, but that is a different issue. No matter how big or small the item needed a bag. We didn’t really have a problem telling the cashier we didn’t need a bag, but we thought it was kind of odd that it automatically went into a bag.
The last straw came with the new Coldplay CD. It was the only item we bought that night at Target. A rarity for us. The cashier scanned the disc and placed it into a huge Target bag, and we both said we didn’t need one. She kinda looked for a second and then dug the disc out of the bag. While walking to the car we both wondered why she felt the need to place a CD into a bag?
I’ve worked in retail for almost eight years now, and every time someone buys a single CD or DVD or book I ask if they need a bag. Depending on the weather probably 70% of the customers say they don’t need one. It’s small, pretty light and maybe I have a CD player in my car. It makes sense. Also with all the “green” talk and a poor economy I feel that saving a bag helps the environment and my company. So why doesn’t Target see it this way?
The only explanation that I could think of was that the cashiers were told by management to place items into bags. I understand why you would do that maybe five years ago, but times have changed a bit. Global warming and a recession have made a lot of companies re-think the way they do things. Saving bags at each store could save a company millions of dollars. Target alone has 1,500 stores! It’s a really simple thing to do that Target seems unwilling to do, and I know this because of an e-mail I sent.
Every now and again I need to let someone know how I feel. So I decided to write Target customer care and let them know that I didn’t agree with this practice. It was very Grandpa Simpson of me. I figured that I would receive a reply about it being a store to store decision, or if they wanted to be truthful telling me it was an effort to get the Target name out there for the public to see. Instead I received a condescending reply about how Target bags are recyclable and if I needed to know how to recycle them it says so on the bag. Thank you for not answering my question.
I replied to that e-mail, but have yet to receive a response. I’m sure the answer won’t be to my liking. Does it mean my wife and I will begin a Target boycott? No. I don’t know if she could do that. Truthfully I probably couldn’t do that. Target is our favorite store, and to leave it over plastic bags seems ludicrous. We’ll just have to be on our toes, and make sure to let the cashier know that a bag will not be needed.
1 Comment
July 22, 2008 at 2:22 pm
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016