[backhawkdown]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeachheadMatt

I didn't say they were going out of business any time soon. My overall point is that you mock and laugh at your own customers....at your own peril.

And while Target has given their STORES a clean modern look, their Website/app is a joke. They are light years behind amazon and Walmart in terms of their online presence (and volume)

Lastly, the rotten apples point cuts both ways. A few bad stores/employees can spoil the whole bunch as well.

But what’s the likelihood that Target employees are initiating confrontations with collectors and making ridiculous demands of the collectors when the employees don’t get what they want?

[Jmacq1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeachheadMatt

I didn't say they were going out of business any time soon. My overall point is that you mock and laugh at your own customers....at your own peril.

And while Target has given their STORES a clean modern look, their Website/app is a joke. They are light years behind amazon and Walmart in terms of their online presence (and volume)

Lastly, the rotten apples point cuts both ways. A few bad stores/employees can spoil the whole bunch as well.

Target's laughing at a tiny minority of their customers who make a tiny minority of their market share. A tiny minority of their customers who are making outsized demands of their employees. (Allow me to drop the #NotAllCollectors here so people don't get all upset that they think I'm talking about all of us as opposed to a troublesome segment of us).

And if you want to play the "cuts both ways" card, I've seen the way some folks on these forums and others talk about retail employees, so that's a whole lot like the pot calling the kettle black.

The bottom line is: Don't be a jerk to retail employees, especially over things those particular employees have no control over. And even if they DO have control over it, you'll have a lot more success being polite than trying to browbeat them into doing what you want. The customer is NOT always right.

I will add, it is PERFECTLY legit to be upset with Target if you had a preorder cancelled or similar such experiences. Lord knows I was not thrilled about having my Vipers cancelled two days ago, but that's an issue with Target at echelons WAY above anybody wearing a red polo in the toy aisle, or much less across the aisle in electronics or sporting goods.

[captain mal]

I originally posted this thread just as a humorous anecdote. I found it funny hearing them talking about 'collectors' that way. We (or at least I do) tend to think 'collectors' as a small, annoying community. I thought it was funny hearing them openly talking about other collectors. Made me feel like maybe I am not such a dork - and not so alone in the frustration.

Then again, maybe I am just part of a bigger community of dorks...

[BeachheadMatt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by backhawkdown

But what’s the likelihood that Target employees are initiating confrontations with collectors and making ridiculous demands of the collectors when the employees don’t get what they want?

LOL. Na, that's not what I meant. I just meant they're being assholes also...but in different ways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmacq1

Target's laughing at a tiny minority of their customers who make a tiny minority of their market share. A tiny minority of their customers who are making outsized demands of their employees. (Allow me to drop the #NotAllCollectors here so people don't get all upset that they think I'm talking about all of us as opposed to a troublesome segment of us).

And if you want to play the "cuts both ways" card, I've seen the way some folks on these forums and others talk about retail employees, so that's a whole lot like the pot calling the kettle black.

The bottom line is: Don't be a jerk to retail employees, especially over things those particular employees have no control over. And even if they DO have control over it, you'll have a lot more success being polite than trying to browbeat them into doing what you want. The customer is NOT always right.

I will add, it is PERFECTLY legit to be upset with Target if you had a preorder cancelled or similar such experiences. Lord knows I was not thrilled about having my Vipers cancelled two days ago, but that's an issue with Target at echelons WAY above anybody wearing a red polo in the toy aisle, or much less across the aisle in electronics or sporting goods.

Just to clarify, I'm in no way advocating that customers should go into stores and be rude and disrespectful to employees.



Also, you assume that they're only laughing at collectors. I was just making the overall point that treating your customers poorly will eventually come back and bite you in the ass. Eventually, you reap what you sow.

[ShadowNinja]

Think Target or while we are at Walmart cares? They are huge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeachheadMatt

Also, you assume that they're only laughing at collectors. I was just make the overall point that treating your customers poorly will eventually come back and bite you in the ass. Eventually, you reap what you sow.

[BeachheadMatt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShadowNinja

Think Target or while we are at Walmart cares? They are huge.

I'm sure they don't, which is kind of my overall point. Many of these businesses don't care how they treat the customer....until it's too late. (Walmart can get away with it due to their size/power/prices/selection etc. Target, well, we'll see)

[Jmacq1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeachheadMatt

Also, you assume that they're only laughing at collectors. I was just making the overall point that treating your customers poorly will eventually come back and bite you in the ass. Eventually, you reap what you sow.

I would wager about 99 percent of the people that shop at Target on any given day aren't getting laughed at by anyone associated with Target in any way. They're not being thought about at all unless they do something to make themselves stand out (for good or for ill).

And about that same percentage are not leaving the store particularly dissatisfied even if they might not be overly thrilled, either.

Either way, laughing at/about a segment of customers isn't going to hurt your business if the segment of customers being laughed at deserves that or more. Those who act ridiculous should be ridiculed. Run of the mill Target employees aren't the bad guys here.

I have plenty of problems with how Target handles preorders and distribution of their exclusives. I never found a Viper in the wild despite considerable efforts and a lot of gas money spent to do so. Does this mean I'll never shop at Target again? No, it doesn't. Because as far as action figure collecting goes few, if any of the alternatives are much better (if at all), outside of paying "smaller online retail markup" and even then you often have to be quick on the draw or constantly haunting websites for the moment they restock.

[BeachheadMatt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmacq1

Either way, laughing at/about a segment of customers isn't going to hurt your business if the segment of customers being laughed at deserves that or more.

I disagree with this, quite a bit.

[troopertrailer]

Target sucks at far more categories than figure collecting. Their ppl never know what’s going on in my area and don’t know their store. With Amazon and Walmart out there Target can not really afford to treat any buyers badly in any way. Their distribution sucks in many aisles and they don’t care about it. Just my experience.

[pergola]

If I were a manager, I'd be beyond frustrated with the vendor stocked lines. They're a mess now. They were a mess years ago. In a sea of supply side issues, they're another unnecessary hassle.

But it's never right to take frustrations out on customers, and it's more productive to realize we're all on the same side. You can have store managers, customers, and brand ambassadors all saying there's an issue and taking all the steps they can take, and still result in a big pile of nothing happening.

Rationing on traditionally supplied inventory will probably phase out later this year as in-store shopping confidence improves. But I'd expect vendor supplied lines to continue to be rationed if the supplier is not doing their job getting product back onto shelves.