Does Target.com Hit The Mark or Miss It By A Mile?
Written: Mar 22 '04
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Pros: Easy to navigate site, gift cards, some good sale items from time to time.
Cons: Customer service is poorly trained and can’t provide answers to questions.
Being a hard-core shopper, Target is a store that I visit often for a variety of items. Their toy sales, snack food and sporting goods are just a few of the reasons why I continue to shop there even when the poorly trained floor staff and incompetent managers get under my skin from time to time. When I was looking for a certain Wild Planet Room Gear ATM Safe Bank this past holiday season I found a few of them at my local Target store and snapped them up, I needed a few more so I went to the Target website to see if they had them in stock. Lucky for me, there were plenty in stock and I used my stash of gift cards to pay for them. That was my first mistake, thinking that I’d be able to use my gift cards without any hassle; normally any purchases I make through the Target site are handled with no errors or issues and I receive my goods within a week however this was the straw that broke the camels back. I placed my order for three ATM Bank Safes and paid for them with my Target gift card. I had at least $100.00 on the card and didn’t expect there to be any trouble what so ever getting them within the usual time frame.
Being a somewhat paranoid online shopper I tried to track my order a few days later only to find out that it was cancelled due to lack of funds on my gift card. It seems that the items I was trying to purchase were from Marshall Fields, not Target, but I purchased them at the Target site. This meant that the gift card was “charged” the purchase amount to verify funds then when the order was placed – sort of like when you make a hotel reservation with your credit card and a certain amount is held until you pay for the room or cancel. When I placed the order online a certain amount was froze on my gift card in case I tried to go to a local Target store and purchase things with it. This is something that really screwed up my order, when it was ready to ship the card didn’t have adequate available funds to meet the purchase price total. The money was there but it was in limbo. This lead to a ton of phone calls, a lot of wasted time and four different “reasons” why this happened. At the end of the day I had to wait until the freeze was taken off for the items to ship out and if I had waited a few more days, I would have been completely screwed since several of the banks I received from my online purchase needed to be returned due to defects.
Target.com
Ask any person that has shifted from retail buying to making internet purchased why they choose to shop online and they will more than likely say “I don’t have to leave my house” or ”I can shop when I want and not have to deal with crowds”. The Target site is easy to navigate and the plethora of links to sections makes it easy to find what you want but they really need to find some way to update their inventory to reflect which items are in stock and which are back ordered. In the past I tried to order some clothes for my nieces and nephews and they showed in stock at the site but when I tried to add them to my cart I got that dastardly message “Item Not In Stock”. This isn’t just frustrating, it’s something that could easily be avoided with a little bit of inventory control. I am not sure if the partnership with Amazon.com had anything to do with the downward spiral of customer service and shipping but whatever the reason, it is pretty clear that something needs to be done about it. And if you are even thinking of falling for that “free shipping” line, read the details carefully and check your purchase total before you submit any type of payment information.
The site carries pretty much everything that you would find at your local Target store with the exception of food items, certain automotive needs and smaller items that wouldn’t be beneficial to carry. The site is constantly being updated with new merchandise – not in the manner of restocking goods, but rather adding new listings to the database. Again, you can have a million and one products listed at your site but it isn’t going to make a difference if you don’t have the in stock when a person tries to purchase it. The navigation is pretty simply but the links are a little on the small side so if you aren’t a careful clicker, you may end up in the wrong section. There is a floating toolbar at the top of the page that will magically teleport you to the section you wish to browse and getting back to the main page is as easy as clicking the Target logo. Most items come with a color photo, description and delivery information however if you are the least bit concerned about an item, it’s best to call customer service for more information rather than having to deal with making a return.
Gift Cards
These are available in a ton of different designs with denominations ranging from $25.00 to $1,000.00. Until recently I was able to order these from the site without a shipping fee but now they charge $1.95 to process and deliver the cards to the recipients. The cards can be used at any Target location or online. These make great gifts for people who seem to have everything, the best pick for teenagers or college students. You can also pick up partner merchant cards at the site however if you are planning on using these online, you may want to check their policy first to make sure that they haven’t changed the rules.
Customer Service
This is the one thing about Target.com that I have to really complain about. When I had the trouble with the Christmas presents and called to try to get to the bottom of it, I got so many different answers that I was ready to cancel the order and really give them a piece of my mind. I must have talked to at least five people about the free shipping promotion, purchasing the ATM Safe from the partner site and all the trouble that seemed to cause and each time it was a different story, even the “manager” was confused as to why the shipping fees were not showing up as “free” and why it was rejecting the gift card when it was pretty clear that the amount was there and the card was active. All of this could have been avoided if the two systems [Marshall Fields and Target] were on the same system and communicated with each other. When it was all said and done the only thing I got for my frustration and time spent on the phone was a half hearted “We’re sorry”.
Shipping
If you want to see a complicated shipping schedule, the Target site is a great example. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say this – if they were ripping you off you’d probably never know it. Every type of item has a different base cost for shipping then an additional fee based on the weight of the item. And that’s just for the ground shipping [cheapest]; you can also choose from one day and two day shipping however there are a ton of restrictions that go along with this so make sure you read over all the details before you place an order and even more so when you need something by a specific date. So what do I think about the shipping fees overall? Well, they are a little on the high side for some things but when they offer free shipping, you can make out on the deal – but – you have to read every single line about what constitutes as a free shipping item and what products aren’t eligible for this type of promotion.
Return Policy
For the most part, purchases made at the website can be returned to either your local Target store or to the online return center. Of course there are a ton of provisions that you need to know about – things that can’t be returned, items that must be returned to the online return center and what you won’t get a refund on. Like almost every other website, things like DVD’s, CD’s and VHS tapes can only be returned for a refund if they are still sealed, if they are defective you can return them for the same title. This prevents people from purchasing a hard to find movie or CD, copying it then returning it for a refund. The site doesn’t make it clear whether or not you need to provide an invoice when returning things to your local Target when the item was purchased through the website but it is always best to take the packing slip with you in case there are any disputes about the price. Seasonal items [Christmas, Halloween, Easter etc] will be accepted for a refund however if the item is on clearance you will not get the full price but rather the price it is being sold for. If you purchased something that is considered seasonal and it is defective, argue with them that is it defective and demand a full refund of the purchase price.
The Bottom Line
I have had both good and bad experiences at the Target website and it remains to be seen whether or not I’ll continue to shop there on a regular basis. They do have some great sale items from time to time but their lack of properly trained customer service has really left me wanting to find other sites to shop through. If you do not have a Target store in your area and can qualify for free shopping then by all means, check out the site and see what they offer but make sure you read the fine print and know exactly what is going on with your order from the moment you place it until it arrives at your door. Target used to be a store that prided itself on putting the customer first, after my dealing with them around this past Christmas I have to wonder if their partnership with Amazon.com was a step backwards instead of forward. Maybe it’s just another case of an internet site that bit off a little more than it can chew … and the customers are the ones that are paying the price.
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2004 Freak369
Related reviews …
Walmart.com
Kmart Online Store
Buy.com
Amazon.com
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Clothes, toys, gifts, gift cards.
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