My Love Hate Relationship

If any of you saw my status on Facebook, you know who my love hate relationship is with. TARGET!!!!

I love walking down the aisles and seeing all the cute clothes, kitchen stuff, even the cute little humidifiers. Then you go to the end of the aisles and then there are the clearance items. Oh how I love the clearance items. I love that the store is clean (unlike our Walmart), and that the people out on the floor are friendly and always willing to help (also unlike Walmart).

Then we will move on to the other part of my relationship. It actually started before Mr. Genius and I got married. I had heard rumors that the return policy at Target was pretty strict so I opted out of registering there due to that rumor. No particularly bad run ins with them this time. Just a little annoying I could register there, since I like their kitchen stuff.

Then I got pregnant with Wild Man.

Well there are only 2 choices with registering in the 'boro for baby stuff. Walmart or Target. There is Toys R Us, which I did register at Baby's R Us but the closest location to the 'boro is in Nolensville (30 minutes away). Toys R Us only has 2 very small aisles of baby items that made only 5 items on my registry show up on the Toys R Us registry.

Any who back to Walmart and Target. Well I am not a huge fan of Walmart like I have already mentioned the dirtiness and well... it is Walmart...I didn't want to register there. So I had to register at Target. Which I did, and with my good friend Beth to help guide me through, I had a lot of fun. Then all the great gifts came. Which were so much fun to get, then you realize that you have over 100 bids. 20 bottles and a bunch of outfits that won't fit due to the fact that Wild Man was a huge baby. So Target thinks that the best way to deal with hormonal women, that are scared to death of this cute little body they are carrying around with then will blow at any moment, oh yeah and we are probably going on about 3 hours of sleep. To tell us that we cannot return anything that doesn't have a gift receipt.

With which I say well "I didn't get a gift receipt."

They respond " We ask every customer with every purchase if they would like a gift receipt."

Me "Well that is nice that you ask if they would like the receipt, but that doesn't help them get the receipt in the gift bag."

Target "Well you can always put on your invitations to please put receipt with your gifts."

Ok, in my response, I will admit this was not my most Godly moment and it didn't help with all the fun hormones bouncing around in me. But I do believe that I said something about that was the rudest thing I have ever heard, she obviously has never had a shower of her own or she would not even be saying that, Oh I also probably said something about her being from the north. Like I said... not my best moment.

Then devil Target worker said something about if it was on my registry I would return it with no problem.

*Great idea*

I will beat them at their own game. I grabbed the stuff went home added the stuff onto the registry and went back to Target and I returned it! Yeah I won!

Well for now.

Then I got pregnant with Romeo.

I thought no problem, I went to Target told then that I wanted to register. A different devil Target worker told me that you can't return things that are on the registry now. WHAT?!

Now that is ridiculous. So I ask that worker what I am suppose to do if I get a gift I got multiple things on my registry. She also mentioned that I should put on my invitations about gift receipts. Well all my feeling came back and I am pretty sure I had the same conversation about that worker being from the North too.

So Romeo is now here and my mother in law gave his a cute sleeper for him. When I opened the cardboard package I noticed that the sleeper was torn. So off to the devil Target.

Me: I would like to exchange this for the exact same thing even the same size. It has a tear in it. Here is the packaging it came in.

Target worker: Do you have your receipt?

Me: No I got it as a gift.

Target: Don't you have your gift receipt?

Me: That would be like a receipt, so no.

Target worker: Well i need your license and you will only be able to return on more item this year.

Me: Whoa, wait a minute! Why am I having to pay for something that your company did.

Target worker: That is just our policy, you can always ask for the gift receipt.

OH, these stupid gift receipts.

At this time I wasn't as hormonal so I just walked away. I think I also say a few people from my church too. I found a manager and she gave me the number to corporate to call and complain.

Now we are at today. Since I have been couponing I found out that on Target's website they have their own coupons. Now I just learned this but if a company has their own store coupons you can also stack it with a manufactures coupon to get even more saving. This is not illegal. This would be like it the item was on sale at the store and then you put your manufacturers coupon on the sale items.

Now what I did today is that Pampers are on sale for 2/$17. Great price by itself. Then on Targets website they have a $3 off pampers when you buy any diapers and wipes. So I printed out 2. One for the diapers and one for the wipes. (On the coupon it didn't say anything about 1 per transaction, just in case any of you are asking.) Then I also had 3 $2 off any Pampers products. Which meant I would be getting 2 diapers and a big thing of wipes for $10! I also had quite a few more items that had target coupons.

Also to save on ink I didn't print in the best quality and only in black and white.

So I go to check out. When I pulled out all of my coupons, the check out girl called her manager over. I handed the check out lady my coupons and both of them gave me really dirty looks. The manager then told me that we can't accept any coupons that do not scan. I told them that if they don't scan it if because I didn't print it on the best quality.

They rolled their eyes.

Oh this is going to be fun.

So most of my coupons wouldn't scan. I told them that I got these coupons from Target's website. She said that they should scan if they were.

EXCUSE ME! So she thinks I am a scammer. Ok well then I told her that I would only buy the items that had coupons with them THAT WOULD SCAN!

I didn't help her at all and the line was getting really long behind me. She had to completely go back through my items to see which ones had coupons that scanned. I turned to the people behind me and told them that Target is being stengy (spell?) with their own coupons.

They moved to other lanes.

So I ended up getting only a few liptons to go and a light bulb for .29 cents! But I was so mad. She tried to hand me back the Target coupons that wouldn't scan. I told her to throw them away. I will print more of then off of the TARGET WEBSITE. I wanted to say a few more things, but I was good and I think my tongue was bleeding from holding back.

Oh yeah and she also argued with me about using the target coupon with the manufacturer coupons. The manager came over and told her she was wrong. One little victory.

I came home (Mr. Genius is still home sick) I told him about my experience and he grabbed my coupons and went to the new Super Target in Smyrna. They took it all with no problem. No questions asked.

I wish there was something I could do. I wish I could start up my own Target store but not treat my customers like they are criminals.

Has anyone else had these experiences with Target or am I the only one?

Hope you all have had a better day then me.