A TARGET shopper criticized the retail chain for its absurdly long queues, comparing them to a holiday rush.
Target clarified that the long lines were due to recent checkout changes and was collecting feedback to improve.
Many Target customers have vented online about the disappearance of self-checkout machines from their local Targets, forcing them to wait in long lines for a cashier.
A shopper publicly criticized the retailer in an X publish from Thursday.
“Nothing like telling us we can’t use self-checkout and then making us stand in long lines,” she fumed.
The Target X account responded to her post within 15 minutes, apologizing for the customer experience.
“We apologize for any frustration with your recent Target Run. This is not the experience we want for our guests,” the retailer wrote, requesting that she DM the store with her email, date of visit and store location.
The shopper responded that it was not the first time she had experienced poor service at Target, claiming that she had seen it at two different stores.
“I understand why you wouldn’t want larger purchases at self-checkout, but then you need cashiers,” she said.
“It felt like Christmas Eve there tonight.”
Target thanked the shopper for their additional feedback and said the retailer “has made some changes around our checkout experience.”
“We are collecting feedback from our customers to see what is working and what needs to be done to improve,” the store responded.
SELF-CHECKOUT FIGHTS
Around the same time that Target implemented its limit of 10 items or less for self-checkout transactions, the retailer opened more staffed lanes for shoppers with larger carts and those who needed assistance.
Many customers, however, have reported that self-checkout at their local destinations is no longer open.
On a Reddit publish since February, a Target shopper said his local store had closed most of its self-checkout lanes because “the cashiers need more work.”
They were confused, however, because four self-checkout registers and only three traditional lanes were open.
What is Target Circle 360?
In April, Target launched its first paid membership program, Target Circle 360.
For $99 per year, members have access to the following benefits:
- Unlimited, free same-day delivery on orders over $35
- Another 30 days to return your items
- Free two-day shipping on 100,000 items
- 5% discount in store and online
- Automatic offers and exclusive benefits for partners
Another user said other Target locations had the same problem.
They claimed the stores were understaffed and had insufficient staff to manage records and monitor self-checkout.
One Redditor, claiming to be a front-end lead at Target, explained that this was a “self-checkout utilization versus narrow band utilization metric” and that self-checkout utilization needed to be less than 50%.
Although Target has closed many of its self-checkout lanes, customers are asking the store to open more checkout lanes to offset long lines caused by staff shortages.
“Damn, Target, you really dropped the ball by eliminating self-checkout,” fumed one customer.
They claimed that a Target run that normally took five to seven minutes now took 20 to 30.
“The line now wraps around the store before reaching the register with only three cashiers. Make that make sense.”
Self-checkout at other retailers has caused similar conflicts among shoppers.
Walmart followed Target’s limited self-checkout policy and customers threatened to “spend more” at Aldi.
Additionally, Kroger had to apologize for its “beyond ridiculous” self-checkout policy.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story