Sunday, January 24, 2010

Kudos To Target in Amherst

Ok, those aren't words that come out of my mouth often!

I'm not anti-Target, but I'm not exactly pro-Target either. K-mart is much closer, but Target is a bright clean lovely store. But, I've had an issue where they didn't stand behind their brand of items. That said, on the other hand, I LOVE some of their Archer Farms snacks. If you're ever at Target, the highest three highest recommendations I have are:
  • Macadamia Nut Carmel Clusters
  • Spinach and Artichoke Tortilla Chips
  • Honey Mustard Savory Pretzels

I'm telling you, their snacks are good but these three are outstanding! RUN to your nearest Target and try them. They're a little pricey but I think these tidbits are worth it.

Now back to topic.

We were at Target on Saturday with a small list of stuff I wanted. One of the things was an accessory for our Wii, the Wii Motion Sensor. Damn Wii Sports Resorts game makes you spend more money for accessories. If I'd only known. But, I digress.

Like most stores, a lot of the gaming stuff is kept behind locks. If you go to Wal-Mart or K-mart, you have to hunt down an employee with a key to get your item. Target was different. There is a button at the end of the aisles that you can press to call for assistance. I pressed said button and was greeted with an electronic voice that stated something like they acknowledge that I need assistance and an associate would be with me in less than 60 seconds!

C'mon now, that's a bold promise for anyone to make! Being the smart ass I am, I timed the guy. If he wasn't there in 60 seconds, he was going to hear me give him a ration of crap over broken promises! Timer is going. I'm looking around. Ron is laughing. Work with me here, it looks like I was syncing up my watch for something important! Suddenly, I see an employee coming my way. That has to be coincidence! He can't be there because I called him! Sure enough, in 59 seconds since I pressed the button, he walked right up to me and asked "may I help you?" HA! He was extremely friendly and got a laugh out of the thought of me thinking Target was lying to me about him being there in under 60 seconds! I told him I was totally impressed with him on that, as well as impressed with Target. They definitely got Kudos from me for that.

We checked out of the store through a line with another great employee of Target's. She was personable, joked with us and was extremely pleasant while also being professional and helpful. Again, good for Target for hiring quality employees! It was just a great shopping experience at Target.

As we're walking out of the store, we hear someone shout out to us. What? We don't know than many people in Ohio! Who could know us at Target in Amherst? It was one of our neighbors from across the street! Even living just across the street, most times the most contact we have with him is waving at each other as one of us drives by. Well, the three of us stepped outside and shot the breeze for awhile. That was a nice catch up with him.

From Target we headed home. We did run another errand later to pick up some food at a new restaurant in town (I'm not ready to critique that one yet. I think we need one more try before I mention a name) then back home to eat a late lunch. It was now hours since we left the house for the first time and suddenly Ron realized that his work phone is missing! Not just the phone but the holster for it and everything! CRAP! This is not good. It's bad enough if you lose your personal phone but your work phone? Especially since Ron is on call 24/7. We both went into a panic mode.

First stop, outside. We had been in both of our vehicles yesterday, so Ron ran to his van, I ran to my car, and I called his phone, hoping one of us would hear it. His voice mail finally picked up but we heard no ringing. Maybe he lost it in the house!

We ran into the house and I called his phone again as we were sweeping each floor of the house. Suddenly, I hear "hello?" What????? My mind went blank. Finally I said, "um, we lost our phone today. Where is it?" to which she answered "it's here at the Target Store in Amherst!" Wow! She confirmed that she was in customer service and I said we'd be right there!

Sure enough, customer service had Ron's phone and his holster. We figured when he took his heavy jacket off in the store, he must have knocked the holster right out from his belt and we just never heard the dang thing fall. We asked if someone left a name when they took the phone to customer service, but no, they just dropped the phone off.

So, a huge THANK YOU to the person who handed Ron's phone in so that we could get it back in one piece. And, kudos to Target in Amherst. I may just have to change my overall opinion about you and start handing some more of my business over your way. Our experience with Target this week was definitely all good.

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