Target — Local services in Portland

Fort Target!

This Target location had no fewer than SIX security guards from a private company called IPS when I was there last. They had two sitting outside in SUVs (each had their own vehicle), plus four more inside patrolling. All of them were armed with multiple weapons, including firearms, clubs, tazers and pepper spray, and wearing military style uniforms with body armor.

What in the world do they need all this firepower for? Are they going to mow down a homeless person stealing some shampoo? Before we ask how many innocent people would get caught in the crossfire if these people who aren't even qualified to be cops start shooting at petty thieves, we should address the elephant in the room.

Some people think, as they have been told, that these stores are suffering from massive theft and need all this security to keep the store open. Yet, when I look at their job openings, each guard for IPS is making $40 an hour! This Target is open for about 14 hours a day, which means two shifts of guards.

Each shift costs them about two grand, and with two shifts they are sitting at around 4 grand per day. This is just the wages, of course, and does not figure in the overhead and profits for the contractor. While I cant find numbers for that, let's add in another grand just to be generous, since each guard is equipped with 3-5 thousand worth of gear.

Do they REALLY want us to believe that Janzen Beach Target is having over $5000 worth of goods stolen from it EVERY SINGLE DAY? That would be around 1.8 million stolen from one store every year. If you believe that, I don't even know what to say to you besides stop watching Fox News.

Meanwhile, the store has nearly empty shelves for lack of stocking has huge lines at the checkouts and is full of signs advertising job openings at 17.50 an hour. Everything is locked up, including items like toothpaste and deodorant that cost only a few dollars, and you have to summon one of the scarce, overworked employees to open a locked shelf to get almost everything. This only makes the staffing situation even worse! Wouldn't the 5 grand a day be better spent on more employees, then giving them better pay and conditions so they stay?

To add insult to injury, two Target employees were standing at the end of the self checkout, not helping customers but simply watching for theft as the checkout lines stretched around the corner. I know this is their job, so I don't blame them, but I question why the armed security guards couldn't do this and what they are doing instead.

I am not going to shop at a store where I am constantly shadowed by armed thugs in military fatigues, and can't even buy a tube of toothpaste without authorization. How is it that other stores in Portland manage to stay open without an entire infantry platoon marching around the aisles but this one can't?

I will not return to this Target again. In fact, I will make a point of avoiding it, and any other store that does this. It is not only unsafe (again, ask yourself how qualified these people actually are to be shooting off guns in a crowded store) but it is wasteful and actively hurts the customers...

PHARMACY REVIEW ONLY

The pharmacist here, I believe her name was Megahn was very rude and impatient and flat out lied. When I arrived I observed a very poor interaction between her and patient. The patient was confused and needed clarity re: their prescription and it was very clear that the pharmacist wanted nothing to do with helping. She even said the words “ok bye” in the middle of the guy speaking. Then it was my turn. I asked came in for flu shot. I don’t have any allergies but as a physician myself I tend to shy away from any situation where I may experience a bad reaction to any additives or supplements in a vaccine or medicine. I asked specifically if they have a vaccine without any preservatives in it. Both pharmacist said no sorry we don’t. I asked again, and they said even if they did my insurance wouldn’t likely cover it. I asked again. They then said they might have some but they were saving them for a clinic later. Bottom line if you haven’t check it against my insurance so you can’t make a statement like that until you check, I am a patient and I am there at that very moment. You can’t hoard medicine and lie about it to your patients. Just say you have a clinic you were saving it for not that you have none. That’s a blatant lie. Very disappointed with the experience. Ultimately, I got the shot with no preservatives, my insurance covered it 100%, and I’m back to work. (Funny thing is- as I was arriving I over heard the pharmacists ask the other one which vaccine she should use. Megahn said “don’t use the ones somewhere hiding. Use the other kind “ and her counterpart asked if she needed to make the patient (me) aware of the vaccine having any preservatives, Meghan said something like NO, unless their pregnant or something NO I am saving the non-preservative versions for a clinic) -how terrible! Someone needs to have a sit down patient interaction and...

I have sadly been watching this Target go downhill over the past few years. It used to be a decent store, and I live just down the road, so the convenience of having a reliable store so close was very nice. While it lasted😔 I have become fed up with the long lines and lack of product (and yes, its just Target, other store chains are well stocked). When there's a line for checkout all the way to the pharmacy, thats when you need to open more registers! And stop being so dependent on the automated checkout machines, they slow the process down. If you can have an employee standing there monitering the machines, then you can have that same employee running a register, and getting customers out the door much faster. And all these employees I see stocking baby clothes and lingering around the Customer Service Desk, when theres a line for checkout a MILE LONG, I dunno, maybe train them to run the registers?? This seems obvious customer service strategy. You will continue to lose customers if you make them wait. Especially when customers have frozen/ refrigerated food items that are melting/ going bad as they wait. I will be taking my business elsewhere, which means having to drive into Vancouver (much better shopping options there). Odd that this Target has plenty of money to spend on a small army of security, but cant afford to hire more employees to run the registers since they decided its such a great idea to close the self checkout lanes for no apparent reason at a certain hour every day. Its really sad when I can drive into the next town over, get my shopping done and get home FASTER than if I go to this Target, which is much...