Dear Target... (You fail.)

Namasté.

The holidays are upon us! As such, most of us are buying presents. For my family, this year means lots of online shopping. We have a few things precluding the usual holiday store runs, and online shopping generally gives us the ability to get exactly what we want without needing to leave base.

As you may or may not know—depending on how many personal conversations we have and if you follow my social media—we are an avid Target family. They carry the types of products we need and love, and they are closer to our home when we are able to run in  the actual store. (No shade to our blue buddies; this is purely convenience.)

As such, I didn’t hesitate to take advantage of their cyber Monday sale. My little bear needed t-shirts and such, and Target has some really cute graphic tees for toddlers. He hates onesies, and because he is nearly 2 years old and every bit the big kid, I can’t say I blame him. Target’s selection of graphic tees includes our favorite characters, cute little guy-isms, and quality all in the small size he needs. (They are one of few retailers we have seen who have 12-18 month tees. Add in my princess’s affinity for Target’s gadget selection (she loves their stationery options, as she is a budding writer herself) and they have some of the tween must-haves that other retailers don’t.

I can generally keep both kids happy by getting their stuff from the Red Store. Happy kids equal happy parents. Need I say more?

However…

Included in the holiday price slashes this year? Free shipping on all orders! (Reasonable exceptions apply. They define reasonable.)

This was music to my ears. I like Target enough to pay their shipping anyway, but when it’s free I like them a wee bit more. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the store, but free shipping plus an online shopping day just made this mama much cheerier. (My holiday spirit has been in short supply this year. *sighs*)

Sooo…I placed my order. I ordered 8 items on one invoice, and roughly 20 items on another. (I separate my invoices because I pay with two different cards. The splurge card gets a real workout this time of year, to maximize those cashback benefits. I use our regular card for regular purchases—clothes, food, etc.)  I was content to know I’d be getting the kids their holiday pressies, even if not by traditional method. We won’t be making mall crawls but they will still have their tree and stuff. The holidays aren’t about those things but they are a part of our traditions. Our traditions have been interrupted EVERY. FLIPPING. YEAR. Since like, the inception of the Karunanithy family. *sighs* Yet we press on, and this year is looking as close to on-track as we seem to ever get.

All good, right?

Target processes orders really quickly, which I love.

What don’t I love?

The way they ship things.

Note: Prior to this transaction, I have always ordered my items and picked them up, so this whole shipping fiasco is really this new to me. And yes, I’m really this aggravated. Judge me, but only if your bathroom mirrors are clean and you’ve actually led a perfect life today. Or any day. *wink*

Free is lovely.

Alas…it could not be this simple, right?

Enter the fracas.

Sending an 8-item order in 5 separate packages, not so lovely. Not lovely one bit.

One, I generally have to rely on Hubby Namastè or our neighbors to retrieve said orders from the steps. I’m not able to, because I’m not home. And while my husband is a gem and my neighbors are true peaches, it is unsettling to me to tack one more honey-do on to everything else they are already helping me with these days. They retrieve my mail, sign for supplies at my store, the whole nine—and no one has asked to be paid or even accepted when I offer!

Two, the waste. I am pretty conscious about what I use and where it goes. I eat organic food because pesticides are bad for me, and also bad for the environment. I recycle wrappers and boxes whenever possible. (I make a mean papier-mâché, and I defy you to find a cooler box fort than the ones Kids Namastè enjoy periodically—drawbridges, towers, the works!) I take pride in not being wasteful. I don't like excess packaging. I don't like having tons of boxes lying around that I can't use, or plastic mailer bags that don't biodegrade. (Call me a hippie but I firmly believe in NOT ruining the planet. I do my part to reduce my carbon footprint whenever possible.)

All that packaging and boxing, for such small items?

Target, you fail. So hard. So very hard.

I understand about warehouses and such, as my family runs a couple franchises. I myself own a salon. I definitely understand that warehouses ship what they have, and some orders are fulfilled by a cooperative of multiple warehouses because not every item is stored in the same city or even state. (That should cover it for the emails I’m sure to receive about “giving Target a break” and “not being a poor sport.”)

What I don’t understand, is why a company that goes out of its way to be the “upper crust” big box retailer, priding themselves on providing the organic, carefully-curated items we environmentally-and-health-conscious families gobble right on up along with our kale and free range chicken, is so ignorant of how wasteful their shipping practices are?

Again, free is great.

However, I’d gladly pay to not have to track  22 shipments for 28 items. (Not an exaggeration.) I would also pay to not have to usurp more of my neighbor’s time, because when Hubby Namastè is unable to pinch hit for me, she and her guy step in without hesitation. Given the slight unpredictability of delivery times, she may end up watching their front window anywhere from all morning to all day!

..and let’s not talk about the weather.

I know it seems like a lot of bitching (pardon my German, but we are all adults and as I stated previously, I’m aggravated!) about a small issue, but I’ve already had to get things replaced due to rain, and even once due to heat damage. (Medical supplies don’t fare well when left in the heat, and most delivery people don’t check for labels beyond the address.) You’re welcome to be mad at me for being mad about a small thing. You're also welcome to move around and let me be, Debra, because my aggy-ness doesn't hurt you.

Thing is, it doesn’t feel small to me. It feels like I’m doing what I can do to bring some cheer to my family during a rough time, but Target’s laissez-faire attitude about the issue has left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t expect this from a company who generally provides excellent customer care—they don’t even refer to you as a customer! You are a GUEST.

Their shipping policies leave MUCH to be desired, though. I don’t feel much like a guest when I’ve explained exactly what the problem is and it is essentially being disregarded with a pat on the head.

(Y’all know I don’t like my hair touched. Target is touching my hair, darn it!)

I suppose I would be less aggravated if it wasn’t such a stressful time. I can generally take things in stride when I’m not in the throes of a life transition-slash-mild-crisis. Unfortunately, that isn’t now. And because I pride myself on being an honest person, I am honestly sharing how piss-poor this experience has been. I’m honestly mad about it, and I honestly can’t be troubled to care if it’s petty or not. It’s my current truth, and I’m okay sharing it.

For what it’s worth, I’ll keep shopping at Target. Just maybe when I can resume my normal routine and pick the items up, because honestly their crazy shipping is too much hassle. I just want to shop simply and not add to my load, so I can tick off my to-do list without ticking off me.

So this isn’t an attack.

No.

Just a vent about my 28 items and 22 shipments. Shipments I will diligently track and sweetly request my husband and neighbors to watch for and bring into the house, so they aren’t ruined by the weather or shady humans’ ill intentions. By next week’s end everything will have arrived and then I can breathe a little easier.

Target did NOT make my holiday shopping easier, but they did have what I needed in stock, at a pretty sweet set of prices. I can concede that much because I’m the Queen of finding the silver lining.

Don’t get me wrong. In the grand scheme they still suck, and their guest relations (since we aren’t just customers) could use some major tweaking…

…but I’ll tuck this bad experience in with the rest of life’s peaks and valleys fairly soon.

Just not until I receive my 22 shipments for my 28 items, *smirk* Way to go, Red Store.

Namastè!

--Tayé K.