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.
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