Responding to my criticisms of Target yesterday, MNB reader Anne Maas wrote:
I have been a Target loyalist for the vast majority of my life and it pains me to write this email.
I grew up in the Minneapolis area and have fond memories of my mom and I grabbing our free bag of popcorn, and spending part of an afternoon shopping our local Target store.
In my early 20’s I was thrilled to land a position at Target’s HQ in downtown Minneapolis. This was the early 90’s, which was an exciting time to be part of the team. I spent eight years with the company and was exceptionally proud of what we collectively accomplished during that time.
I continued to be a loyal Target customer over the years, shopping stores at least once per week. In 2015 my husband and I relocated to NJ. To say I was a bit disappointed with the Target stores in New Jersey is an understatement, however I continued to maintain my loyalty to the brand. When COVID hit, and continuously after that, out of stock product was always an issue, trying to find an associate to assist me required putting in 3K steps to find one, and don’t get me started on the condition of the restrooms. I did shop at Walmart a few times while living in Jersey, but the disappointment I experienced far exceeded that of my Target trips.
This past year my husband and I moved to Wilmington, NC and my experience at Target here in NC was pretty much on par with Jersey, except the stores are newer and cleaner. If I place a BOPIS order I typically go into the store to pick it up. Nine times out of ten there are no associates to be found at the customer pick-up area, and I again put in 3K steps just to find someone to assist me.
There is a relatively new Walmart not far from our home, so I decided to check it out. Wow – HUGE improvement over the Jersey Walmart and all Targets I have shopped the past four years. Items are in stock, associates are available when I need them, they’re friendly, and my BOPIS and delivery orders have been amazing in terms of communications, speed, and overall customer service. And prices are consistently lower for the same items found at Target. I now shop almost exclusively at Walmart for our essentials, shopping at Target for the few items that only they carry.
I want my old Target back – I feel like a traitor shopping at Walmart, but they’ve forced me to do it.
Thanks for sharing. I think that sums up a lot of people’s opinion of Target.
Speaking of being disappointed, MNB reader Dick Spezzano wrote:
My wife had a return for Amazon and she said it could be done at an Amazon Fresh store. I told her I needed a car wash and there is an Amazon Fresh store in that center and I would do the return.
This store has been open for about four months. I visited it a couple times when it first opened and gave it time to get their store in order. This is their new format which hasn’t changed much since their first in Cal that I visited 3-4 years ago in the San Fernando Valley.
I had the QR code on my phone and I entered the store and asked an employee where the Amazon returns were and she directed me to the pick up counter. I walked over and showed the gal the QR code, gave her the package, she scanned it and said “you are good to go.” It didn’t take two minutes. I decided to walk the store and here are my observations on a Tuesday and 2:00:
• The instore bakery products were almost OOS in a 8′ 3 shelf section.
• The self-serve deli bar was not very appetizing as they did not do the “stir” to freshen up the products.
• They had BBQ chickens of good size but not equal to Costco at $5.97.
• They had five different varieties of pizza under the heat lamps at $1.89 per slice. The size is about 2/3 of what Costco gives you but this Italian did buy one. It was like eating cardboard.
• The wall self-serve deli had about 40 OOS.
• The power grocery sections were very poor-Paper aisle had many OOS with about 6′ and three shelves empty.
• The soda and Gatorade type products had many OOS. Surprising as the sodas are DSD and vender stocked and by this time of day they should have been full.
• DSD beer section has many OOS and again this is stocked by the vendors.
• Wine section 57 OOS.
• Water section had significant OOS.
• Cereal section had 11 OOS.
• Dairy section low and egg section had about 20 dozen packages on display.
• Meat section had many OOS.
• The Produce section was probably the star of the store. Well merchandised, fresh looking, and impressive promotional pricing. The 2 lb strawberries at $3.99, medium sized avocados at 3/$1.00, 18 oz blueberries at $3.99. They had corn on last week at 4/$1.00 (great price), but they must have over ordered and they had a full end of very old corn but priced at 69 cents each. They should have held the ad price to clean up the over stock.
I bought 3 avocados and a melon and went to the self checkout. Both items had UPC’s on them but neither scanned so the clerks came over and looked up the items and entered the PLU for each. I asked why they didn’t scan and she said they usually scan on the full service checkout but not the self checkout.
Their pricing matched the conventional stores in the area but certainly not Wal-mart or Costco. There were eight customers and only one with their high tech shopping basket. There were two employees shopping for the online orders and there were four stock clerks but all were working the wrong products.
From a customer’s point of view, I could not see why someone would shop at the store. There is a well run Stater Brothers 1/4 mile away.
I would say that their operation has not improved from the very first store they opened to this relatively new store.
SHUT THEM DOWN.
I am struck by several things in your email
First, the number of out of stocks. This is something I see a lot at my local Amazon-owned Whole Foods, and I have to wonder how a company that is supposed to be a world-beater in logistics can’t keep its damned shelves full.
Second, this is store called Amazon Fresh, and yet they seem to be dropping the ball for the most part in this category.
Third, it sounds like this Amazon Fresh lives up to a description that I have used numerous times for this format – it is a dark store that happens to let customers in. From the sound of it, not even a very good dark store.
And finally … did you get your car washed? Was that a better experience?
On another subject, from MNB reader Steve Ritchey:
Today’s stories included Albertsons and their telling their vendors to basically eat the tariffs themselves.
There is a lesson here for ALL retailers. Most likely every vendor you buy from is having to import something, whether it be something they sell directly to you, or something they use in processing or manufacturing the goods they sell. to you. I know the company I represent imports a lot of raw materials, because they have to.
So, it behooves the retailer to work with the vendor on price increases, because they will increase, provided the vendor is being open and honest with you about their price increases, and can provide documentation regarding those increases.
But, to unilaterally tell your vendors they have to eat the increases due to tariffs is asking for trouble. You may find yourself on the short end of the stick where service levels come to bear. It’s a slippery slope and you may find yourself sliding in front of the onrushing train.
I know if I were a vendor and I had a retailer who was working with me as best they can, and another who’s being a jerk about it telling me to just eat it, if I have a limited amount of product and both of them need it, guess who I’m taking care of. Right, the one who works with me, the one who recognizes we are all in this together.
There’s also some really large companies supermarkets buy from. I doubt Procter and Gamble (or as we used to call them, Procter and God) took that letter very well. I’m sure Reckitt & Benckiser, Unilever, Nestle, Clorox, Kraft / Mondelez, Colgate, McNeil and a slew of others didn’t take kindly to it either.
Several decades ago, I worked for a supermarket chain that recognized their vendors and they were partners, and when one did well, the other tended to as well, that success for both was best for both.
I won’t go into my position on the effectiveness or lack thereof of tariffs, but retailers and vendors need to realize they are all floating on the same rolling waves, and have little control over what happens. So, it’s best they try to work together as best they can.
My coverage of the proposals being put forth by New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani – a self-described Democratic socialist – to open five city-owned supermarkets that will be ‘focused on keeping prices low’ rather than making a profit – what he calls a ‘public option’ for groceries, has featured commentary that is, to say the least skeptical. For lots of reasons.
MNB reader Joe Ciccarelli responded:
Your points are well taken. I would just add as far as Gov run businesses – can you say U S Postal Service? How many $ Billion a year are we as taxpayers subsidizing? Business has it faults, but Gov definitely should stay out of any type of business – especially in NYC. If this guy wins and is the next mayor I predict NYC will turn into a San Francisco on steroids.
I actually believe that the US Postal Service should be run as a public service. Maybe adjust service offerings, but don’t expect it to make money – just offer it as something to which every citizen has a right. You ought to be able to be in touch with the world if if you don’t have internet or a FedEx account. Just don’t expect it to make money.
From another reader:
Traveling down another road paved in good intentions. I agree with you that “it makes no sense for public institutions with no expertise in this area to start running before they’ve even had a chance to crawl.” But it begs the question, If the government can’t run a grocery store, why are we to believe that it can be good at running anything? Health Care and the Department of Education being two great examples. Did costs go down after Obama Care? Has the DOE been able to generate better test scores in our students in the last 30 years? Time and again, the “experts” end up causing unintended consequences only making things worse. Yet because of their good intentions we’re all supposed to just go along with it.
At the risk of drawing your ire, I believe it is a fact that while Obamacare did not drive down healthcare costs for Americans, since its inception prices have not been going up as fast as before. Part of this is because there has been some resistance to its existence from a number of quarters – it isn’t like we’ve all been rowing in the same direction. (Just the name Obamacare sets some people off.) There’s also a lot of resistance to the idea that every American ought to have health insurance, regardless of their economic circumstances – which I think is an absurd notion that works against the broader and long-term economic interests of the nation.
Have we figured it out yet? No? Does it need a lot more work? Absolutely. But until there is consensus that this is something that is in the nation’s best interests, we’re just going to tread water on this one.
As for the Department of Education, this is a much longer discussion. And not for here and now.
From another reader:
Mamdani’s plan is well-intended but perhaps impractical. Doug Rauch, former president of Trader Joe’s (east) opened several not-for-profit Daily Table grocery stores in the Boston area. Inventory was a mix of donated products, short coded, overstocks etc. A focus was on healthy foods versus not so healthy giveaways like outdated bread.
The sad part of the story is that in May they were forced to close their stores due to high debt, rising food costs and difficulty securing funding.
And from another reader, reacting to some of the rationales behind the Mamdani proposal:
If 30-40% of the food supply is wasted annually, cities should invest in the infrastructures and organizations to get that food to the people who need it. I would rather see my taxes supporting food rescue and distribution than government-run grocery stores.
Shout out to Empowering the Masses who operates a community market and offers career training programs – more of this, please.
Just for context, I had to look this up:
“Empowering The Masses is a full-service nonprofit agency proudly serving our neighbors in South Dallas, East Dallas and other underserved communities. Our mission is to educate, advocate and empower our community by providing resources to promote total health – physically, relationally, financially, emotional, and more. Key service programs include: Vocational classes and medical-career certifications, collaborations with local partners to provide access to community resources, and our Food Pantry that serves more than 200 families each week.”
And, one more:
My 2 cents – you can’t put a price on adding a second or third (more nutritious) meal for a child. We – communities/neighborhoods – have an obligation to lean in to make sure our the neediest in our community has access to nutritious food. There is more than one federal assistance program getting gutted as we sit and it’s appalling. National priorities have become a disgrace. So it’s up to the states, cities, neighborhoods, neighbors to do our part to help.
I agree. I’m just not sure Mamdani has it right.
Reacting to last week’s rave for ‘Ballard” on Amazon Prime Video. MNB reader James Kines, Jr. wrote:
Going off the detective genre covered by your piece on Ballard, I highly recommend reading Michael Mann’s Heat 2. It’s a sequel/prequel to the film and frankly, I couldn’t put it down. I’m not sure if you’ve already covered this book, but it was a blast. Can’t wait for filming to begin!
MNB reader Tim McGuire wrote:
You need to go back and read the “Ballard” series again. You said that Michael Connelly did not introduce in the novels the fact that Ballard had her career derailed by the sexual misconduct complaint she made, but that in fact was a central part of her character from the start. The first novel in the series was called “The Night Shift” because that’s the role Renee was banished to after the complaint was swept under the rug – the overnight shift as the on-call detective for late-night crimes. Later in the series she refuses a move back to the mainstream assignments, having decided she loves the freedom of the night shift.
I still believe the first novel was the best, as it featured Renee Ballard and explained her character and what made her tick. In the subsequent novels Harry Bosch was introduced and they became an informal team – I assume Connelly did that to drag Bosch fans into the new series, but it pushed Ballard into more of a background role and made her “just another detective”. The good news is that Bosch is fading out of the picture in the last couple of books in the series, so Renee is getting the chance to take the lead again. Her character is too powerful and unique to hide in Bosch’s shadow.
Three things.
1. You’re right. I think the TV show gives the sexual harassment issue a little more play than the books, but it certainly is in the source material. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
2. Disagree with you about the Ballard and Bosch books. I think they’re balanced nicely. But you certainly are entitled to your opinion.
3. The first Ballard book isn’t “The Night Shift.” It’s “The Late Show.”
And, speaking of “The Late Show,” lots of email about a different media property bearing that name:
Listening to your commentary about CBS’ cancellation of “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert made me think about how we shop in our local grocery store. Tonight’s dinner in my household will be made with ingredients sent to us from Hungry Root, our personalized grocery service. This includes the main course and the sides. Yesterday, after we received our weekly shipment from Hungry Root, we went shopping in our local supermarket. We spent about $50 purely on fill-in needs like milk and yogurt. Most of our weekly grocery budget went to Hungry Root. The local chain aggressively promotes online shopping and delivery, and they have dietitians. They should be able to easily add a similar, personalized meal solution service.
Business models don’t become obsolete overnight. First, they become troubled, and then go through lots of issues before they’re done. The smart companies address the issues early.
Of course, that’s not what happened at “The Late Show.” They just cancelled it, as opposed to trying to figure out a more efficient business model. Which suggests that CBS maybe wasn’t being completely honest in its disclaimers.
From another MNB reader:
I agree with almost all you shared about “The Late Show.” The only caveat – I believe much of the downfall was self induced. So, if you depend on the public for your success, don’t cut the public in half.
The thing about all comedy is, it works best with a point of view. There are plenty of comedians who are not my cup of tea, often having nothing to do with politics.
Maybe you’re right about the audience being cut in half. But Stephen Colbert is one of the most gifted satirists of his generation – asking him to not be satirical seems counterintuitive.
And finally, this email from a longtime MNB reader:
They got Colbert. “Coupe” comes up fast alphabetically.
I am aware. Come and get me.
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