Target — Local services in Asheville

Hey! I want to start this off by saying I love target. Target is one of those retail/grocery stores that has kept up with the times and offered quality items for those of us with lacking income. I often go to target after work to wander and browse or take friends and do the same. Today, I did the latter and brought my roommate with me just to look at sandals for the summer. We were also socializing her kitten so, we had her in a bubble backpack. However, you know how it is, we are adhd and started looking at everything. We would look at one section and remind eachother that we should check back in on another section for new items. We did this for probably 30-45 minutes looking at clothing, clearance, makeup, and lastly we actually rounded back around to the shoe aisle to look at sandals. And our little kitty started yowling. We ended up taking her out of the bubble bag and comforting her. In the process, my roommate set her items down on the top of the shoes and put her phone and vape into her bag, then she made room in her kitty tote for her kitty so she could be more comfortable and less stressed. At this point, I'll put it out there that my roommate and I don't look very conventional. We have tattoos and piercings. My roommate specifically has a neck tattoo and I have a chest tattoo. We also usually dress in skate-wear/street wear or an eclectic type of style. We have been blatantly followed in stores before due to the way we look before. We get it and know the drill. We conduct ourselves in an obviously non-thieving way for the ease of not having to deal with all that anxiety or a scene. Hands clear and Visible, no large bags or bags at all, trying not to hold too many things at a time without a basket (we all know we overestimate our load sometimes), no hands in pockets (if you need something out of your pocket, oh well), etc. We admittedly left some of our things in places we shouldn't have, which we don't usually do, but they were clearly visible we set them down and we were trying to be quick browsing to get kitty home. We both have worked retail or customer service all of our working career and know how to behave and that stealing is beneath us. Both of us have never stolen in our lives. Yet, that didn't stop an obvious secret shopper following us closely to the registers during the very end of our visit while talking very loudly about "preparing for a stop" on their walkie talkie. At that moment, we didn't think anything of it and I even go to me friend and go "ooh they're watching somebody" not know it was us. I'm a retail manager unfortunately, I know the lingo and what to look for lol. I pointed out a self check lane to my friend and she proceeded with the items she's had in her hands the entire visit and it's a 50$ purchase. It's nothing to sneeze at. It's payday and my friend jusy needed a little treat for moral. Then we hear the same person say "I think the items are still in her PINK PURSE" very loudly over the walkie talkie. And my friend and I look at eachother anf start looking for another pink bag but, no one but us had a pink bag. Then we start wondering "Does she think we stole something?!?". Mid-purchase we're having a mental crisis like, "did I accidentally put something in my bag or something??!" And "no, I was with you the entire time." We checked the bag thoroughly and there was nothing in it but a little trash and some old snacks. We finished our purchase and we started debating, how do we go about this akward situation because there was obviously a misunderstanding. We simultaneously decide to subtly shuffle by with her kitty bag open and ready and the shopping bag open with the receipt. But she refused to look at either as well as refused to look or speak to us in response. We are akward, shy people this is the best we could come up with under stress. When she wouldn't respond to us and wasn't stopping us like she alluded to on the walkie talkie. We kind of shuffled out the door slowly and watched her out the front door. We saw her fly into a surveillance. This was my...

After my last horrible experience at this Target, I had decided not to return, but I was given two gift cards and decided to take a chance that they had created a more organized Target, like others I have shopped at for many years. Sadly, it was even worse. The restroom was more unkempt than any rest area facility I've ever seen. Toilet paper and paper towels littered the floor. Two stalls were simply too disgusting to enter, much less use. There were no paper towels, but the trash can below was overflowing, as if not emptied for a long time. I decided not to risk using the toilet, but wanted to wash my hands, only to find the soap dispensers empty and two bottles of Target brand hand soap placed at two sinks, one empty, the other with barely any soap.Upon leaving, there was an associate standing by the doorway, so I mentioned it was time to clean the rest room, and he actually laughed at me. I ventured through the store, seeing associate after associate, chatting with one another, while the store itself, was a disaster. Finally deciding to check out with the items I found to use the gift cards where I found ONE register open. When I got in line, the cashier informed me, in a not nice tone, "I'm closing. You need to do Self Check Out". I said that I had gift cards to use and wasn't sure how to use them at the Self Check out and he laughed, commenting to the customer he was "helping" that - "Well, she better get used to figuring those things out for herself!" As I stood in the long line for Self Check Out, others were also complaining. I finally reached the register and scanned my items. When I tried to use my gift card it said "Invalid". I tried again. Same result. So I called over to the associate standing nearby to see if he could please help me. Thankfully, he was very kind and explained that those cards have two scan bars and a portion that has to be rubbed off to reveal very tiny numbers. In order to use it properly you have to cover one of the scan codes and then after rubbing off the back to reveal the tiny numbers, enter those on the screen. Needless to say, I was astounded that Target would expect customers to know how to do this! Ridiculous. I will never set foot in that Target again and plan to share this with their...

If you have ever tried to negotiate shopping in the isles of a big box retailer then you know how difficult it is to find an item that you are looking for. Target to its credit is a step up from the Wally Worlds (Walmart), providing as such a better visual and tactile experience for the retail shopper. On the negative side of things, Target lacks sufficient associate help and processes to control of their own store inventory. Upon a recent visit to their River Hills store I found many shelves visually empty and disorganized. When I worked for Walmart some years ago, inventory was controlled by in house associates. If a department was out of a specific item, department mangers had the ability to order a restock to be brought in. In casually speaking with the housewares department manager at Target, he mentioned that inventory was controlled through a national ordering process. If an item was out of stock, then he did not have the ability to order a restock from the local store level. He went on to say that this was Target’s way of being competitive with Amazon's model of business. From my own viewpoint however, this was done to solely save on overhead costs and provide you with an assuredly subpar shopping experience. With inventory controlled on a national level, associates are merely expected to function as floor stockers, filling shelves for what they have in their own in-store inventory. If true, this enables Target to cut a significant amount of overhead cost by eliminating much of their in-store management. Sadly this has become all to common experience for you the retail shopper at Target and at many other big box retail stores. In the name of bottom line profits, chronic under-staffing, management, and inventory control will continue to provide you the shopper with a less then optimum retail...