Target — Local services in Poway

I've been satisfied with my past Target experiences; however, over the holidays just past, my experience was substantially worse. I found the backpack my daughter wanted for Christmas and ordered it online for pickup. On my way from another task, I stopped to check on my order. I was told it wasn't ready yet. Why I did not just go get the item myself, I can't say...too much on my mind! Later, in the car, it occurred to me: why didn't the Target employee suggest I retrieve the item myself? After all, Target is in the business of selling goods, right? As it turned out, Target cancelled my order, stating that someone else had purchased the item. Hello!??!! I was very confused since I had actually ordered the item and assumed (wrongly, it seems) that the item had been reserved for me. Hmmm. I selected another pickup location that purportedly had the item. OK, good. No, not so good, because when I went to the alternate location, the same thing had happened!! The backpack wasn't there because someone else had "snagged" it, according to Target's email. Not funny. It was Christmas Eve, and I had no backpack to give to my daughter. The employees who assisted me were helpful in confirming all of the above - including the emptiness of the backpack section! - but none of them offered any ideas on how to improve this process to give customers a better experience. May I suggest that with an online order, the item can be somehow "tagged" or "reserved" in Target's inventory system so that the person who ordered it is the person who receives it. Or, that as soon as an order comes in, a designated employee actually removes the item from the shelf and places it in a designated "orders for pickup" box so that when someone has time to process the order, they know exactly where...

This Target has been my go-to since my childhood, but today they impressed me so much, I realized I have never left a review.

I wish I wrote down the names of the people in the electronics department who initially helped me, but I failed. They were all amazing. First, the guy who helped me with my cell phone situation was extremely knowledgeable and kind. My questions and requests were not normal, but he totally understood and helped me find the right solution. There was another guy who helped also and a girl who floated around making sure all the customers were happy.

Honestly, I've never been that impressed with an electronics department in nearly any store, ever. It was uplifting, especially during the pandemic. I wasn't sure how I would solve my cyber situation, but this experience helped.

Then, when it came to the main checkout line, of course it's going to be long. This pandemic has caused all kinds of weirdness. But the store has a great setup for this and an employee assigned to direct checkout traffic.

Today, that woman did an outstanding job. I should have looked at her name tag so I could point her out! A customer in line behind me yelled at her for not having a sign for self checkout where she thought it should have been and the Target employee handled it extremely gracefully. I can only imaging the number of times that must happen every day and how taxing that might be on her.

Thank you for creating an overall amazing customer experience in an otherwise horrible time. It's refreshing and I hope that all the employees that made today stand out for me get recognition (somehow), because they were the real difference between a possibly horrible trip to Target and a truly positive influence on...

Horrible experience! RIDICULOUS customer service. Placed an order online and did the drive up for pick up.. except I had nothing to pick up!! It was busy, as it’s days til Christmas, so I expected the longer wait. I waited patiently for a half hour then tried to call customer service but phone just kept ringing. I then checked my email and saw that target just canceled my order “per my request!” Obviously I did not request it be canceled! I approached worker who was handing out drive up orders. She said she saw my order and asked me to go in store to guest services desk. Went in and found a looong line that I didn’t want to wait in as I’ve already waited a long time! Approached someone on floor and eventually got Emma who was supposedly a manager. I got an insincere apology, they cancelled my order coz it got lost! She couldn’t replace items as they were now out of stock but offered me substitutes. Santa was supposed to get my son a Lego Lamborghini and now he has a ford!! And she gave me $10 gift card for inconvenience! I was so insulted! How does $10 cover all of that?! I then tried calling guest relations and eventually spoke to a senior specialist. I just wanted the Lego lambo somehow by Christmas whether I come back and pick it up or pick up at a different location or have it delivered to my home. No one could help me. Senior specialist said they could have it shipped to my home but it would be days after Christmas and I would have to pay shipping fees!!! I couldn’t take anymore! I was so disgusted. Spoke to 5 people total, not one of them were respectful...