Eastern Utah
EMAIL ME AT: mgypsy97 at aol dot com

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Customer lines at Target

I'll stop short of writing a full-on rant about Target, but I'm considering boycotting them for good.  I probably waited in line for half an hour today.  There were several cashiers open and quite a few employees just standing there observing the checkout area.  I have no idea why one or more of them couldn't have opened another register.  There were 4 self-check registers which I refuse to use and obviously a lot of other customers do as well.  If they want me to spend my money there, then they should treat me like a valued customer and check out my merchandise.  They certainly don't offer the slightest discount for people who do it themselves.

The groceries have the self-check outs as well and I've even had employees offer to walk me through the process to the point of checking my items out themselves, but I refuse to use those registers.  Again, I feel that the ultimate goal is to get customers to do the work themselves and maybe they can hire fewer people to assist shoppers.  I will never go for that.

I thought many times about just leaving my cart and walking out of the store, but since I had carefully shopped for items on my "trace of iodine" list I didn't want to have to do it again somewhere else.  I should have just gone to Bel Air but Target was on my way home from the gym where I walked a little over a mile.  I have to return to regular exercise - it's so easy to get out of the habit of going and I'm the ultimate loser when I don't.

I'm going to switch cars with Ara this evening so she can drive mine to work in the morning, and I'll take hers in for a very much needed oil change.  She has waited way too long as it is, so I'm happy to do it for her.  It will give me a reason to get dressed in the morning!

It has felt chilly all day, indoors and out.  Things will start to warm up to the 70's and even into the 80's by the end of the week.  When it hits 80 that is my level of tolerance.  I am definitely not ready for summer.  We talked about a camping trip last weekend, but if there is a forest fire anywhere in this part of CA I won't go camping.

I took a short nap earlier which just makes me feel sluggish the rest of the afternoon.  The mail just came, so maybe a trip outside to retrieve it will make me feel more awake and alert!  Then I'll be depressed that it's just advertising and requests from charities for money.  I hate it when they send items along with their plea, because if they are decent you hate to throw them away.  I received one yesterday that contained a carefully folded large carrier bag - really sturdy and very nice quality.  I didn't want to throw it out so I will probably send them a donation, but with a letter telling them if they send me anything else it will go into the trash unopened.  I doubt if anyone reads letters like that but it will make me feel better by writing it!

12 comments:

  1. I got one of those bags 2 years in a row. I don't feel I have to contribute. I am mad that they try to lay a guilt trip on people. Doesn't work with me. It just gets my dander up.

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    1. You are absolutely right, and who knows if it even comes from a legitimate charity or otherwise. I haven't sent a donation and probably won't. If enough people don't respond to these tactics maybe they would stop or at least lessen. Thanks for reminding me.

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  2. If charities are spending money on trinkets then the people that are suppose to benefit from the charity get less.

    I don't use the self-check-out at any store, either. I could just as well order it from Amazon, usually for less, and have it delivered to my door.

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    1. I always like to buy local to provide employment for local people who pay taxes to their local government. But in the case of a major chain like Target, those self service registers don't generate anything for local people.

      I was scammed by the ultimate charity that constantly sent things I didn't ask for and letters requesting help for Lakota Indian children. I think one of the guys on CNN did an expose on this charity a while back. They finally quit sending me stuff, but I feel bad. I wouldn't mind donating money to worthy causes but the way they try to scam it from you is the problem. like you say, the donations are paying for the crap they send and the the letters asking for more donations. Everyone is getting their cut off the top, leaving little for children, handicapped, or whatever the charity.

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  3. YES! Years ago I got my first envelope like that. Return address stamps, writing pads, etc. I was furious. Wrote a letter and mailed it. Told them that I resented being sent things I didn't ask for, then, as you say, the guilt trip for not contributing. Of course, since then, I must have received hundreds of such envelopes. Just a few weeks ago, I got a stack of about 8 greeting cards, envelopes to match, and a ball point pen! As I ranted to my knitting group----what with all of these the "charity" sent out, surely they could have saved a bundle to use for their cause.
    The other thing is-----when you do give to a charity----and your name gets on their list!---- there is no peace. We have had that happen with St. Jude, and with the Smiles group. It is to the point we'd just as soon not give at all, since the alternative is to get requests for MORE donations several times a month! Oh. And another rant. Newspapers are going out of business. A couple of years ago the Dallas paper decided to deliver "free" newspapers to everyone! If you did not want the paper left on your lawn, there was a number to call. All I ever got was an an answering machine. Imagine all those yellow plastic sleeves on every lawn every Saturday morning! Homeowners, rightfully, did not feel it was their responsibility to pick them up, since they did not ask for them. When I walked my dogs, I would see some yards with an accumulation of 15 or so newspapers from previous weeks. Here lately I don't see so many, so maybe somebody got smart??

    Have a good day, Gypsy. I feel better after MY rant! Our Targets ars slow, too. I would be willing to use self-check, but there are none. Slow check outs is one reason Target doesn't get much business from us.

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    1. I agree with everything you've written. I just threw out a lot of sheets of return address labels. I usually keep one to use if it isn't too ugly, but who writes so many letters these days they need all those labels.

      I've decided to not feel guilty using what I want out of all the junk sent to me - if I didn't ask for it I'm not paying for it.

      I'm glad your rant made you feel better, and mine certainly made me feel better!

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  4. I agree with Rose, even ordering something from those catalogs starts a stream of more catalogs and yes then the charities start sending things. I just toss the lot in the trash. Why are they wasting all that money instead of using for the charity.

    haha this must be rant night.

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    1. The answer is if you didn't ask for it and they send it to you, it's yours. I have always felt guilty if I used such a product and didn't send a donation, but no more. If they want to send me free stuff, then let them.

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  5. I quit giving a long time ago because of them sending all that stuff. Makes me so angry and now we don't get any of it. Thank goodness. We do use self checkout at Walmart because it is so much faster than standing in line.

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    1. I think the only answer is not to respond to unwanted solicitations and don't feel guilty using the stuff or throwing it away.

      I'm stubborn enough to think that stores owe their customers a certain level of service. When was the last time you could find anyone who could answer a question, and now they want you to check yourself out.

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  6. I've found that if I call the company sending things and tell them to take me off their mailing list - all their mailing lists - they do. I don't ever pay for things I didn't ask for just like I don't talk to people who call me if I didn't give them my number. I just hang up. Getting really crotchety in my aging. Or is that what they call WISDOM? Don't put up with S*&% any more.

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    1. I don't talk to people I didn't call in the first place either. Sometimes I politely tell them I'm not interested and hang up before they can get a word in, and sometimes I just hang up.

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