Dark Secrets About Target

1. Target has faced accusations of creating misleading advertising campaigns

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Target has faced backlash and accusations of false and misleading advertising and these have led to a number of lawsuits that have been filed against them.  One significant lawsuit saw Target pay $4 million to settle it when they allegedly charged higher prices than advertised.

2. They were sued by a pregnant ex-employee

Image Source: Reddit.com

A former employee of Target sued the enormous discount chain store in a trial back in 2013.  She claimed that they violated her rights under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and she alleged that when she let her employer know that she was pregnant, it completely changed the way she was treated.

3. They've been criticized for their low wages

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Target is well-known for paying its employees low wages, and despite raising them in 2020 and then again in 2022 (because they were actually struggling to hire anyone), they have been criticized for then cutting its employee's hours so they don't actually benefit from the raise.

4. They have been accused of having insufficient employee benefits

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Benefits seem hard to come by for employees at Target.  You see, back in 2019, Target cut the hours of its employees and this was highly criticized by those who work there.  They said that their cut in hours made it almost impossible for them to qualify for health insurance.

5. They have contributed to the decline of smaller businesses

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When a Target store moves into town, other smaller and independent businesses seem to completely disappear.  Target is a super well-known chain discount store with huge advertising campaigns promising low prices.  These attract new customers who used to shop at smaller businesses so eventually, they have to close.

6. They've been accused of selling products from sweatshops

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Target is not very forthcoming with any information about its supply chain.  But it has been alleged and found that many of their clothing items and accessories have been manufactured in sweatshops where the workers work long hours for low pay and have very few rights.

7. Target's decision to stop selling firearms was met with mixed responses

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Target stopped selling guns and ammunition very early on back in the 1980s and this was met with very mixed responses as some people even boycotted the store.  But they did still sell toy weapons that looked so realistic, the police actually mistook them for real guns in two incidents in the 1990s.

8. Target's plastic waste and pollution contribution is high

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Target has often been criticized in recent years for its management of plastic waste and pollution.  Particularly with its choice of packaging and the continued use of plastic bags for customers.  However, Target Corporation has made some small steps to improve this, and their website states that their plastic bags are only made up of 40% plastic and advises customers to recycle them.

9. They have been accused of environmental degradation

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Environmental degradation is the deterioration of natural resources like air, water, and soil and also the destruction of ecosystems, and the extinction of wildlife.  And when Target Corporation opened new stores around the US, they have been accused of playing a huge part in these devastating effects.

10. They're open on Thanksgiving Day

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If you need an extra cooking pot, or lawn mower, or whatever your imagination can conjure up on Thanksgiving Day, you're in luck!  This is because Target stores are actually open on Thanksgiving Day!  Good news for their customers if they need to make an emergency purchase, but very bad news for their staff who might celebrate the holiday!

11. Target faced allegations of inadequate safety measures during the pandemic

Image Source: Mentalfloss.com

Target Corporation also faced many allegations of having very inadequate safety measures in place to protect their staff and customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Unfortunately, any public place having inadequate safety measures in place, of course, meant that the virus was said to spread more rapidly.

12. They track their customers

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It has been revealed from a number of sources that Target Corporation does actually track its customers across its stores.  If you've ever been into a Target store (who hasn't?!) you have probably noticed that there seems to be an excessive amount of security cameras and sources state that they use facial recognition software to track their customers.

13. Target has faced accusations of misleading customers about low prices

Image Source: Reddit.com

Target has faced many accusations over the years and there have been several lawsuits filed against them for their alleged inaccurate prices on their adverts.  They are mostly to do with how they advertise certain prices for products and it regularly turns out to be inaccurate and the products are, in fact, much more expensive.

14. Target donates money to political candidates and causes

Image Source: Reddit.com

Target Corporation was last reported to be worth just over 76 billion dollars.  And you might not know this but like many multi-billion dollar companies, some of this worth is actually donated to certain political candidates, campaigns, and even political causes.

15. They've been accused of not being transparent about their supply chain

Image Source: Reddit.com

If you're particularly conscious about what you buy and consume, you probably appreciate it when companies are transparent about their supply chain so you know exactly what the products' whole journey has been from start to finish.  But sources allege that you will probably find it very difficult to find this information about products at Target as their supply chain is somewhat murky.

16. They're watching you

Image Source: Reddit.com

So we have mentioned the excessive security cameras in-store and the facial recognition technology but there's more!  Some employees at some of the Target stores have shared information on Reddit about the presence of two-way glass in the stores.  But other sources have just hit back and said that it was left there when the stores used to be offices...

17. Employees have 15 seconds to respond to customers

Image Source: ABCNews.com

Employees at Target stores are scored on various parts of their jobs including customer care and stacking the shelves to name a few.  And one of the criteria that is an essential part of the job is that employees only have 15 seconds to respond to a customer's call for help!

18. Biohazard clean-up is part of the training for employees

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Interestingly, and it's difficult to see why, Target employees have to undergo training for biohazard clean-up.  But, unfortunately, it seems to be quite a common task for employees to complete.  Especially when it comes to cleaning the toilets inside the stores - they can get really messy!

19. Fancy a Target Starbucks?  Well, it's not actually Starbucks!

Image Source: Reddit.com

So even though the symbol on the cafes within the Target stores is the well-recognized Starbucks one, these cafes aren't actually real Starbucks.  You see, Target has a license to use the symbol and sell Starbucks products but it uses its own employees to serve you the coffee!

20. Target employees sometimes dread seeing certain customers come in

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Target employees can spot certain customers from a mile off, and understandably, they dread certain types of customers coming in.  One Reddit user said that they hate it when Funko collectors come in (you know those bobble-headed plastic figures?) because they are often recruited in the search for limited edition figures that can take an age to find!

21. Target has its own forensics labs

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Target currently has two top-rated forensic laboratories that provide services like forensic examinations.  They also assist law enforcement in investigations and it is said that they help to solve 300 cases a year!  They've even found evidence and helped to solve cases that were proving unsolvable, like salvaging a security tape that NASA couldn't!

22. The uniform is uncomfortable

Image Source: Reddit.com

The Target uniform is pretty casual and relaxed and really just consists of a red polo shirt or vest and trousers or jeans.  So, really, it looks quite pleasant to wear compared to some other examples.  But there are so many employees that say otherwise.  In fact, the polos are said to be quite itchy and it's really uncomfortable having to wear jeans to sort stock!

23. Employees are scored on their performance

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It seems that there are many happy employees at Target and many have scored their employer quite well on Glassdoor and the like.  But Target also score their employees on different elements of the job that they use in their regular performance reviews so the employees are kept on their toes!

24. Getting hired is such a long process

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The process for getting hired at Target is forever changing but there are mixed reviews on the length of time it actually takes to get hired from start to finish.  Some say it takes 1 to 2 weeks but others have spoken about the huge number of hoops you have to just through, including the application, phone screening, recorded interview, in-person interview, background check/drug screening, and orientation.

25. Employees have developed their own

lingo

Image Source: ABCNews.com

It's true that being around the same people with similar experiences, like at work, the group tends to create its own vernacular.  So at Target, they have words like race-track

(the main pathway around the store), and reshop

(when products are out of place).  They also dread a shift type that they refer to as the clopen!

26. Target is really good at price matching

Target is really good at price-matching products.  So if you find the same product for a lower price elsewhere, they will make the effort to refund the difference back to you.  This is if you can be bothered taking the product back and going through the process of getting a refund.

27. Hours can be hard to come by

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Now, we are not saying that employees do not get hours at Target but many people have cited on job sites that it is super difficult to get the hours you desire and in a lot of cases need.  That goes for the shift patterns you want and even the amount of hours you need!

28. Target has been criticized for its lack of response to customer complaints

Image Source: Reddit.com

If you have ever made a complaint to Target, especially online, you might have experienced radio silence or even a lack of action on their part.  Target has often been criticized for its lack of response to customer complaints, whether that is replying to them or taking action on their behalf.

29. Female employees seem to get treated differently by customers

Image Source: LinkedIn

This seems to happen everywhere but an employee who has worked at Target for a number of years has noticed a pattern of how customers treat the different genders.  For example, a female employee might not be trusted as much as a male employee with solving and responding to a query.

30. They really care about the 

Vibe

in store

Image Source: Reddit.com

It's true that employees are trained to really want to connect with you as their customer.  The corporate lingo uses the word Vibe

as a reference to how happy a customer feels after visiting a Target store and interacting with its staff members.  And it's all basically about getting you to buy more stuff!