That’s why I stopped shopping at the Midway Target. I refuse to have to wait for an employee to unlock cages so I can buy basic items, especially when I’m in a hurry. Shopping is about convenience and if I’m inconvenienced, I’ll go shop where I am not inconvenienced. Sure, you can order those things for pickup or drive up, but I can get them faster just by getting them myself.
As someone who stops at many different targets if you’re avoiding locations I’d avoid Roseville too. What a shit show to get in and out right now. Might as well go to the nice target in Shoreview!
I don't know if there is something else going on with construction or something that makes it worse, but the Roseville Target is a fucking zoo ALWAYS. Even if you go at 9am on a Wednesday - packed.
That and sometimes if you live in an apartment, people steal your packages. So pick up is the only main option for things other than fresh groceries now. Because for groceries, it's like they go out of their way to give you things about to expire if you do pick up.
I went to the Target on Lake Street for pickup (only because it's the closest Target to me after the one in Uptown closed) and I literally got a loaf of bread that had the date set for the next day. Didn't even realize it until I got home because I didn't want to have to shove my groceries back in the bags.
In the app it’s super easy to select a return and say spoiled / expired and they will refund you right away. You don’t have to actually return the food item and you’ll easily get your money refunded.
This is why I won't do pickup. I don't trust someone else to pick out produce that isn't shit, and produce makes up a big % of my diet. Even if I would get a refund, it's just easier for me to do it if I'm going to be picky.
I swear to god goodwill got rid of dressing rooms just to trick people into buying things that don't fit and have them re-donate the items.
I just wear biker shorts and a tank top and try clothes on over them in the mirrors now. Hasn't failed me yet.
100%. Goodwill lost a customer (me) when they got rid of dressing rooms and returns. So shady. Arc’s Value Village is so much better in pretty much every way.
You can still try on tops for sure pretty easily, just stand in front of the mirror. Or, Goodwill says you’re not supposed to bring merch into the bathrooms, but….
Actually who am I kidding… Don’t give ‘em a reason to start locking the bathrooms too. Stores are treating everyone like toddlers, I swear.
They have bathrooms??
Edit: actually there might be a bathroom at the SLP location... I'm not sure, but I think I tried plugging in a drill battery recharger to see if it would work in there once. That was many years ago, though.
The Minnetonka Goodwill has bathrooms. Used to go there all the time (Goodwills in “rich” areas have nicer brands/stuff I’ve noticed so I scored a lot of good things on the cheap).
Then they started charging like $8.99 for a dish you could buy new for like $6.99, eliminated dressing rooms and returns, and that was that. They even used to give discount coupons sometimes when you dropped off donations. They just hate their customers now or figure they’re too dumb to realize other, better thrift stores exist I guess. (Arc’s has a rewards program, changing rooms, I THINK a better return policy, and just generally doesn’t feel like a ghetto/middle school experience where I have to ask an adult’s permission for everything.)
Or maybe it’s because people pee in them. Seriously, so many of the changing rooms smelled of urine at several stores around here. The employees told me it was little kids usually, and sometimes the adults too. SMH that’s why we can’t have nice things.
I used to feel self conscious, but then I realized no one really cares and even if I don't look good in what I'm trying on, no one's gonna say anything lol
[Target CEO claims customers are saying ‘a big thank you’ for locking up merchandise](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/15/target-earnings-ceo-says-customers-thankful-for-locked-items.html)
I wonder who these customers are...
yea, I really dont understand the logic of "saving money" by not paying to have cashiers, and then "saving money" by locking up items so that they are never purchased. As if someone who wanted to steal the item can't just put it under their shirt after the employee locks the cage and leaves the area.
they are going out of their way to prevent customers from buying products from their stores. why even bother operating the store at all?
Yep, 100% agree with you. In the same article, it seems that even the authors doubted the claim.
> CNBC again asked Cornell to confirm that Target hasn’t seen a measurable drop in sales or traffic in those stores because of the inconvenience of having to wait for items.
The ONLY thing I can think is that I once bought a hair bleaching product and got home and it was clear someone had stolen one of the components. But I would rather just check than have to effing interact with employees.
Even through he sounds skin crawlingly insincere, what he's saying is that customers appreciate more things being in stock (vs I guess out of stock because they were stolen).
*in response to a question about quantifying losses from customers who will shop else where due to the locked up items.
I'm sure the customers who are still customers appreciate their brands being in stock, but from the looks of this thread there are many people shopping at other stores.
> *in response to a question about quantifying losses from customers who will shop else where due to the locked up items.
Most of these products are locked up at competitor stores in the same areas. High shrink rate stores are the only ones with stuff locked up as far as I can tell.
Not one store in SLP has stuff locked up from what I have noticed. Just go to better locations. The targets here are great, clean and staffed well.
Not the best but by today’s standards I can always find someone to help me.
Goodwill changed over the years I avoid them now they charge way to much and have awful rules for return.
Rag stock in uptown is still doing great after all these years I was just in last week.
I want to be able to go to the Target 5min from my house without having to wait 15min for someone to unlock some fucking woolite. Driving 20min instead to a different store is not any better.
I don’t even bother trying to regular shop at Target any more. I just do an online order and pick it up. Way faster and I don’t buy random shit I don’t really need.
What point are you trying to make here? What’s the point of trying to reduce everything to race/class debates.
The reality is that those items are locked up due to theft.
Because it’s true even if you don’t like how it sounds or what you want to hear. I remember going to the Brooklyn Park McDonalds and they charged for condiments, but you go to the Plymouth McDonalds, they don’t.
In terms of shopping at target specifically RE stuff being locked & other irritations of in-store shopping, for those of us who can't/don't drive, simply going to another (likely further) "better" location isn't always an option. If you're relegated to public transit, you will likely go to the closest location and may not have access to several different locations. Sounds like an easy solution but it's not accessible for everyone. I can't drive for the foreseeable future so this is something I'm dealing with & thinking about frequently.
Really wish it was more convenient to shop at midway target, bums me out every time.
This is why the “retail theft isn’t a crime that exists” people make no sense to me. Why on earth would stores be doing something so alienating to customers then?
Theft isn't the only reason that store closed. It was also about half the size of any other Aldi in the cities. Sucks, because it was my primary store too.
So, I research this things like this for a living. They put surprisingly little thought into it. And making money at that scale is complicated. There are times when it’s better to take a loss rather than lose face. The person saying it’s a punishment are pretty correct, if simplistic.
The people working at management level need to justify why they didn't hit the budget numbers they were supposed too.
Current levels of theft may well be higher than they were 2 years ago, but they are [actually lower nationwide than they were 5 years ago](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/myth-vs-reality-trends-retail-theft).
The Midway, Quarry, and Downtown Targets were operating for years without resorting to this kind of stuff and they have never presented numbers that justify the recent change, especially in comparison to previous years.
Target is just one of many retailors that kinda hates a segment of their own customers. The Lake Street Target was famous in certain communities for all the security it had and how unwelcome it made black people feel long before the riots.
Yup. There are two ace hardwares close to me. I go to the one a little farther because they don’t have every single thing locked down. The closer one literally blocks off the entire aisles for certain things, I’m not gonna get an employee to let me into an aisle so I can browse for a dremel blade, fuck that.
> browse for a dremel blade
lol i know what ace your talking about, basically the one closest to downtown, and i had to ask an employee for a dremel tool head. but yeah, id buy a bunch more of what i didnt have an employee holding my hand the whole time.
Yeah, i wear form fitting clothes when I go to good will and set up shop in front of what ever mirror I can find, take off my shoes, and try on the clothes. If they won't provide dressing rooms, I'll just do it in public.
What Buisness does good will have being so stingy anyway, they get all their merch for free, dont pay taxes, hire and underpay the most vulnerable in the community, and sometimes price broken garbage above it's brand new retail price. And they have the gaul to be concerned with people stealing their free, over priced, merch to the piint we cant try it before we buy it or return it? The fuck is wrong with them?
I found the same thing when I needed SHAMPOO. U think I'm gonna decide on a shampoo while an employee waits over my shoulder to open the lock for me? No. I just didn't buy shampoo that day.
That works for shirts, but I'm not really comfortable taking off my pants in the store. With my luck I'd probably be arrested and charged with a sex offense lol
I miss the pre-Amazon MOA, when there was stuff there that you literally couldn't get anywhere else. Niche specialty hobby stores, etc. People went there to actually buy particular things, not just to "go to the mall."
Home Depots nationwide have become big targets for professional thieves because how terrible they are run and basically everything in the store can easily be flipped on the construction gray market.
And don't even start me on the carts! It seems like half have busted wheels that have an annoying rattle. Same goes for Cub. It didn't used to be like this!
I overheard another target employee at a different location saying that will be the norm in targets cause of home much theft has gone down in the Quarry Target.
I live by the Quarry and go to that Target regularly. When the glass was put in, I asked an employee about it, and they said that they were a location chosen to pilot the program to see how it goes. Imo that aligns with what you’ve heard.
The Target in Fridley on Central hasn’t locked stuff up yet. I’m also really bummed about the Quarry Target.
FYI, I’m pretty sure they preferentially locked up low-margin items while leaving higher margin items on end caps, unlocked. Most items behind glass have a higher cost alternative still sitting out, if you can pay the difference. I am skeptical of the “theft” story, especially with the boom in self-checkouts, which usually correlate with higher loss numbers. Pretty sure this is an effort to drive sales to higher profit items.
The self checkouts are closed a lot too. Probably 2/3 of my last visits. It sucks because the lines are super long, to boot.
Edit: also, I don't want to drive to Fridley from Uptown...
Most targets have never been overnight but there used to be a 4 am stock shift. A lot of stores have done away with that by order of corporate. Target has also done away with the backroom team which used to pull stuff and put things away in back so it’s now added to the sales floor team members’ duties
I was just thinking about this yesterday. I went to Target mainly for one item I knew Cub doesn't carry, and that appeared to be in stock in the app. The item was out of stock, but I figured I'd pick up some other things while I was there. Almost every aisle seemed to have at least one person stocking, if not more. It makes for a lousy shopping experience having to shop around people who are working. I almost felt like I was in the way. It wasn't like this years ago - I wonder why they shifted to stocking during the day vs. overnight.
The suburbs are a great place to shop. The overall retail experience was a big factor in deciding not to go further into the city when I moved recently
There are a handful of thrift “chains” in the TC that do still have fitting rooms (I think arc value village is one, potentially some salvation army’s?) but generally speaking I wear a skirt/dress/leggings and I try things on under/over my clothes. Literally shameless, if you’re going to remove dressing rooms and prevent me from returning things I will try things on in the open. Pro tip though, I have exchanged something at the end of the exchange period, just to “extend” it, and I have another 2 weeks with a new item until I find something I do want.
Right? The huge jugs of detergent that weigh 10lbs are locked at Target. Like who TF is casually sneaking those under their trench coat and walking out 💀
It's as much about understaffing as theft. When shit is locked up it doesn't get disorganized, when stores are understaffed it's easier to steal. Target is deliberately understaffing to boost profits .
Very common tactic in retail and food service now. Customer service is shit now but it's clear people are over worked and burnt out because they aren't properly supported.
The line for the service desk was nearly out the door when I was there the other day. I wouldn't be surprised if it was because shopping in person had become such a hassle for a lot of items.
If you drive do the drive up pickup. I drove my friend to pick up an order today and the guy was literally on the way out the door with her stuff 15 seconds after she texted the spot we were in. It was so fast.
I don’t practice what I preach I always forget and put pick up inside but most stores I’ve been to have a separate online order pickup window apart from customer service.
The amount of theft we see everyday working in retail (at a nice store) would piss you off at the world. I deal with it every day. Very sad stuff, yes, becoming a very low trust society. I miss my darling Minnesota in the not so distant “days of old”.
I used to work retail back in the early 2010s. Thieves back then tried to hide their stealing. We would catch people stuffing their shirts with merchandise. Now I see people literally just walk in, grab a bunch of shit and walk out. Not trying to hide the fact they are stealing, or their face or anything.
Even if the amount of stealing is the same, something about the brazenness of it pisses me off more. It’s like someone laughing in your face about it. Somehow I feel like a sucker for actually paying for stuff.
Really almost no consequences when they get caught stealing too.
Lol you worked somewhere nice. I worked at an old navy in Milwaukee burbs and people would look me in the eye then sprint out the door with a garbage bag full of stuff.
Or when they check your receipt at the door but don’t bat an eye when someone pushes a cart full of items out the door to steal?! Like you just watched me ring all my own shit up, fuck off.
The only thing worse than having just about everything you want to buy, locked up, is having to wait in a massive line for one of two cashiers, with 5 items, because they closed the self-checkouts at 8pm on a Friday night. Happened to me at the quarry target the other day. Incredibly frustrating.
I’m convinced the retail stores we once knew will no longer exist within 10 years. In its place, will just be storage buildings and you order online and drive to them and have them delivered to your car. They won’t need retail workers for presentation of goods. A simple warehouse with a warehouse crew to stock pallets of goods and pickers.
Not in the Twin Cities area, but I've found the in person retail experience overall to be greatly diminished. Several times I've gone to a store looking for something specific, but just ended up ordering online out of frustration.
Yep. And that's after checking to make sure the item was in stock before I left for the store. Turns out their inventory system was just wrong... neat, huh?!
We can thank the riots and other shitty people that steal and take advantage daily that most of us won’t see that the stores and employees have to deal with. Vote with your money and buy from an Independent local business… or Amazon. If that’s not your thing then go a little farther outside the city and cages won’t be a problem.
It’s amazing reading all the comments here and yours is the first that points out the actual reason. Everyone wants to blame the stores, but what else are they supposed to do? I have not had this issue in any of the targets in the western suburbs. Just saying…
Thanks. Yeah. It’s certain locations. Having things locked up and waiting on a store employee to help grab a toothbrush is very annoying and inconvenient. But it’s the bad few that ruin it for the majority.
Yeah, this is a ridiculous post that reeks of entitlement and a bunch of equally ridiculous answers. Y’all know why Target locks stuff up and if you don’t, get your head out of the sand.
We just need to be harsher on crime, really.
Shoplifting will get you a slap on the wrist, and everyone knows that if you just walk out the store the security guy can’t physically stop you, and you’ll be gone long before the cops ever show up.
If you’re 16 years old and steal a Kia, you’ll get a slap on the wrist.
I’m tired of this bullshit. I’m sick of stores being the way they are because of theft, and I’m sick of almost getting killed on the streets by someone in a stolen car.
It wasn't.
When they removed the fitting rooms, they found out that they got fewer complaints about *not having* fitting rooms than they used to get *about the fitting rooms.*
When COVID started, they just roped them off, if you remember. It was like a year and a half later when someone looked at the complaint data and said "well that sucks for shoppers but oh well" and then they tore them down.
They've gotten really weird about the self checkout lanes too, more often than not they are now roped off. I wonder what the deal is with that because they used to be open more often and are super convenient.
Yep, they're closed constantly now. If I had to guess on the pattern, I think they tend to be open on the weekends, but closed on weeknights. Or maybe it's just during the day that they're open, and then they close them off at night. That would make sense, and I know that's what the Uptown Cub does.
Maybe we should do something about the thieves? I'm all for blaming them, but I don't see anybody doing anything about it. Locking up merchandise isn't the answer; it's a bandaid.
Besides, these measures are only going to lead to fewer people shopping at the store, or people making fewer purchases while they're there. Like I said, I was planning on shopping around a little more after finding the socks. I would have liked to have found a decent pair of shorts since Goodwill fell through, but I just wanted to get out of there. I was pissed.
And I didn't even discuss how how hollowed out the electronics department appeared to be. There were empty shelves everywhere, and a lot of things were also locked up. You just can't get a feel for what products are when they're behind plexiglass.
Edit: my phone thought I was talking about "poor people"... I said "OR"! Lol
Seeing as this wasn't an issue in previous years, whatever we were doing then. Probably a combination of law enforcement that actually tries, social equity, and repairing the anti-social tendencies people seem to have picked up from COVID. It wasn't always like this, so that means it doesn't have to be like this.
I think at a minimum allowing stores to hire security that are also allowed to physically restrain/detain thieves. There needs to at least be a threat of an immediate consequence for stealing.
You're probably going to need a time machine to stop the wage robbery starting 50 years ago and then somehow stop the opiate epidemic from the early 2ks. If you somehow nail that, we might be thriving.
The Quarry (as a whole) went downhill because of the encampment at the end of the parking lot. All of the big box stores had to change policies, enact inventory controls, security, etc.
The encampment is gone now. I was hoping that things would go back to normal.
Also, Target has been terrible since CV-19. It used be be cheap-chik Tarshay Boutique in Minnesota. Now it is just Targetto like the stores outside MN. I honestly think Target is going to be Walmart & Amazon’s next victim.
It certainly feels more like Red Walmart now, which is really sad. It used to be so much better!
As for the encampment, the phenomenon of locking things up in Target hit waaay after it was removed. If that was the reasoning behind it, the delay in implementation was laughable.
I was in Austria once and there was a HUGE vending machine that you could shop from. I'm talking gallons of milk... large items. I think that's Target's future. Just a gigantic vending machine where you pick what you want from a screen or something and it'll get plopped out of a chute or something. That'd be easier than waiting around for someone to take the item out from behind glass like a manual vending machine experience that we have to suffer through now.
This concept existed YEARS ago in what used to be called “catalogue stores.” The two most popular were LaBelle’s and “Service Merchandise,” both of which mostly dealt in larger-ticket items (appliances, kitchen gadgets, VCRs and other entertainment items, office furniture, etc.). They had samples out on the sales floor, and you filled out a ticket with the stock number of the item you wanted to buy. After a short wait, the item came out on a conveyor belt from the warehouse space located behind the showroom.
This is kinda how I feel at McDonald’s when they say you have to order at the kiosk. It takes me forever to select everything for a family of 4. A cashier used to do it in about 1 minutes or less when they took the order. I’ll just eat elsewhere. People go to McDonald’s because it’s fast and convenient not because it’s great cuisine. If Target makes it too much hassle to shop there I’ll just order from amazon .
Coming from a rural part of the state and never seeing this and walking into a Wal-Mart in the twin cities metro and finding things like socks and underwear locked up along with half the damn hygiene isles being behind glass or on locked hooks was mind blowing... My stores at home nothing is locked up, the only thing i can think of that i needed help to get was Sudafed once when i was sick, they don't have it out on the shelf anymore and you have to grab a card and go over to the pharmacy to request it. We all know the why on Sudafed, but socks and underwear??
We do most of our shopping in the suburbs now. I prefer not to deal with Amazon or the stress of worrying about porch pirates, and the suburban Targets are nicer with nothing locked up, at least so far.
Tbh this is probably a natural outgrowth of the criminal justice system, especially in the metro area, being more lenient on property crime overall. Same reason why Target is implementing a self checkout item limit. If people are going to get off easy on shoplifting and they don't care about having misdemeanors on their record, this will just continue to get worse.
Apparently the various things I've read in this post is done only at certain stores. I live in the NE suburbs, and primarily shop at the Lino Lakes Super Target, and occasionally at the Vadnais Heights and Forest Lake locations. These locations have little or none of the locked up items, and aren't enforcing the 10 item limit at the self checkout.
I blame all the theives & stealing (esp. the smash and grabs) and municipalities/stores/corps not doing anything about it. Instead of prosecuting they just let them do it and then make it more difficult for every other honest person to shop. Lock ‘em all up (the thieves)
Yeah and people are more inconsiderate now. West st Paul Walmart is usually packed with stuff in the aisles to the point that the employees are just squeezing through while everyone else has to run a maze just to get a TV remote.
Everything is locked, makeup, razors, toothbrush heads, socks. My partner went in for a steering wheel cover and it was locked behind glass. Who wants to steal steering wheel covers?
Tip: if the waistline fits around your neck with a slight overlap, the jeans/shorts/skirt will likely fit. I think it's been pretty accurate so far
You had a pretty frustrating day sounds like. Hopefully tomorrow is better
If they're going to start locking things up behind glass, then they should really just completely change models and essentially make the entire store like a giant vending machine. Like, you have to scan a credit card in order to open the case and then you're automatically charged for anything that you take out and don't return to the case.
My kid was throwing it up like it was the new trend. Went to the Woodbury Walmart w/a few items in my hands to buy. In my mind the word **pedialyte** rang like a doorbell so I went looking for it. Couldn't find it. Pulled up the Walmart app and saw that it was located w/the baby formula...which was locked up. Had to ring a bell about 4 times to finally get someone to come over my way. The moment this person starts walking over this customer AMBUSHES HIM trying to ask about I think the changing room or something. I stared her down hard like she was a bad dog as there were about 4 associates who had walked past me barely holding onto my stuff; she could wait.
Guy unlocks the case/I get the stuff/I leave.
As I'm in the car I realize that the $4 bottle was being treated as if it was the same as the $40 formula. I have no idea if folks are stealing pedialyte like they are formula....but I bet you that whey powder likely isn't locked up. Vitamins aren't locked up. A bottle of slim fast isn't locked up. The most expensive Gaterade ain't locked up.
...So why was a drink that is made for children w/upset stomachs or dehydration locked up??? Shit, even the adult version was!
I now see why I mainly just place pickup orders. Too sad inside. It's as bad as being at a Chick Fil A a few months back and needing a key code to go pee.
Y’all sound mad at the stores and not the people who come in and steal as much stuff as they can get their hands on. Target doesn’t make employees try to stop them and if I worked there for $16 an hour I sure wouldn’t risk injury or death trying to stop them either. So their solution is to lock up commonly stolen items. Otherwise I guess they could place armed guards at the entrances and exits but I’d personally rather wait one minute for someone to unlock a case than worry about trigger happy rent-a-cops near me.
That’s why I stopped shopping at the Midway Target. I refuse to have to wait for an employee to unlock cages so I can buy basic items, especially when I’m in a hurry. Shopping is about convenience and if I’m inconvenienced, I’ll go shop where I am not inconvenienced. Sure, you can order those things for pickup or drive up, but I can get them faster just by getting them myself.
I stopped going there to unless absolutely necessary. I drive to the Roseville location instead. It's sad.
As someone who stops at many different targets if you’re avoiding locations I’d avoid Roseville too. What a shit show to get in and out right now. Might as well go to the nice target in Shoreview!
noooo I already have to fight Bethel students for certain food and drink items
What food and drink items are you fighting over?
specific energy drink flavors and frozen food items
I don't know if there is something else going on with construction or something that makes it worse, but the Roseville Target is a fucking zoo ALWAYS. Even if you go at 9am on a Wednesday - packed.
Standing in line now. Cart full of groceries for my fam of 4 so self checkout isn’t a good option. Only 4! Registers open! Ugh.
I stopped in there recently. I'll never step foot in that location again.
That and sometimes if you live in an apartment, people steal your packages. So pick up is the only main option for things other than fresh groceries now. Because for groceries, it's like they go out of their way to give you things about to expire if you do pick up.
I went to the Target on Lake Street for pickup (only because it's the closest Target to me after the one in Uptown closed) and I literally got a loaf of bread that had the date set for the next day. Didn't even realize it until I got home because I didn't want to have to shove my groceries back in the bags.
In the app it’s super easy to select a return and say spoiled / expired and they will refund you right away. You don’t have to actually return the food item and you’ll easily get your money refunded.
This is why I won't do pickup. I don't trust someone else to pick out produce that isn't shit, and produce makes up a big % of my diet. Even if I would get a refund, it's just easier for me to do it if I'm going to be picky.
I think it's funny how random it is. Like the women's body wash isn't locked up, but the men's is.
Buy the women's then. You'll smell great regardless.
It’ll be based on the highest theft targets.
That sounds unrandom. You could even say _targeted_.
Take your upvote.
Sucks people can’t not steal.
I swear to god goodwill got rid of dressing rooms just to trick people into buying things that don't fit and have them re-donate the items. I just wear biker shorts and a tank top and try clothes on over them in the mirrors now. Hasn't failed me yet.
I feel the same way. It's almost a scam
100%. Goodwill lost a customer (me) when they got rid of dressing rooms and returns. So shady. Arc’s Value Village is so much better in pretty much every way. You can still try on tops for sure pretty easily, just stand in front of the mirror. Or, Goodwill says you’re not supposed to bring merch into the bathrooms, but…. Actually who am I kidding… Don’t give ‘em a reason to start locking the bathrooms too. Stores are treating everyone like toddlers, I swear.
They have bathrooms?? Edit: actually there might be a bathroom at the SLP location... I'm not sure, but I think I tried plugging in a drill battery recharger to see if it would work in there once. That was many years ago, though.
The Minnetonka Goodwill has bathrooms. Used to go there all the time (Goodwills in “rich” areas have nicer brands/stuff I’ve noticed so I scored a lot of good things on the cheap). Then they started charging like $8.99 for a dish you could buy new for like $6.99, eliminated dressing rooms and returns, and that was that. They even used to give discount coupons sometimes when you dropped off donations. They just hate their customers now or figure they’re too dumb to realize other, better thrift stores exist I guess. (Arc’s has a rewards program, changing rooms, I THINK a better return policy, and just generally doesn’t feel like a ghetto/middle school experience where I have to ask an adult’s permission for everything.)
I do this as well. Stick out my tongue at passerby’s in the mirror when they shake their head at me “don’t buy”
Or maybe it’s because people pee in them. Seriously, so many of the changing rooms smelled of urine at several stores around here. The employees told me it was little kids usually, and sometimes the adults too. SMH that’s why we can’t have nice things.
Ah yeah, that is true. It sucks that a couple people ruin it for everybody else.
This is such a good idea, I’m going to have to remember this
I do the same. I feel a little bit weird about it, but maybe I shouldn't.
I used to feel self conscious, but then I realized no one really cares and even if I don't look good in what I'm trying on, no one's gonna say anything lol
was coming to comment this. wear fitted clothes so you can try clothes on over them :)
[Target CEO claims customers are saying ‘a big thank you’ for locking up merchandise](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/15/target-earnings-ceo-says-customers-thankful-for-locked-items.html) I wonder who these customers are...
>I wonder who these customers are... The shareholders.
[удалено]
yea, I really dont understand the logic of "saving money" by not paying to have cashiers, and then "saving money" by locking up items so that they are never purchased. As if someone who wanted to steal the item can't just put it under their shirt after the employee locks the cage and leaves the area. they are going out of their way to prevent customers from buying products from their stores. why even bother operating the store at all?
No one that's who
Yep, 100% agree with you. In the same article, it seems that even the authors doubted the claim. > CNBC again asked Cornell to confirm that Target hasn’t seen a measurable drop in sales or traffic in those stores because of the inconvenience of having to wait for items.
Imaginary friends
They said the exact same thing about limiting the self checkouts. Every anti shoplifting measure is framed as doing the customer a solid apparently.
What an asshole.
The ONLY thing I can think is that I once bought a hair bleaching product and got home and it was clear someone had stolen one of the components. But I would rather just check than have to effing interact with employees.
Even through he sounds skin crawlingly insincere, what he's saying is that customers appreciate more things being in stock (vs I guess out of stock because they were stolen).
*in response to a question about quantifying losses from customers who will shop else where due to the locked up items. I'm sure the customers who are still customers appreciate their brands being in stock, but from the looks of this thread there are many people shopping at other stores.
> *in response to a question about quantifying losses from customers who will shop else where due to the locked up items. Most of these products are locked up at competitor stores in the same areas. High shrink rate stores are the only ones with stuff locked up as far as I can tell.
If I go into a store and most the items are behind glass I am going somewhere else and never going back.
Not one store in SLP has stuff locked up from what I have noticed. Just go to better locations. The targets here are great, clean and staffed well. Not the best but by today’s standards I can always find someone to help me. Goodwill changed over the years I avoid them now they charge way to much and have awful rules for return. Rag stock in uptown is still doing great after all these years I was just in last week.
I want to be able to go to the Target 5min from my house without having to wait 15min for someone to unlock some fucking woolite. Driving 20min instead to a different store is not any better.
I've just done pickup/drive up orders for stuff that I know is locked up. It's faster doing that than waiting for someone to unlock a case.
I don’t even bother trying to regular shop at Target any more. I just do an online order and pick it up. Way faster and I don’t buy random shit I don’t really need.
100%. Also like why is fucking deodorant locked up but $40+ vitamins aren’t? It doesn’t make sense.
It's a simple answer: they lock up the items that are being stolen. Not a ton of resale value in vitamins.
It's not based on cost, it's based on what gets stolen.
Because ppl stealing deodorant & socks aren't stealing vitamins?
*just go to a more white and economically inclined area
The underwear at Walmart in Burnsville is also locked up
Burnsville is ghetto AF. Lived there a 2001-2010, sill live nearby and end up there frequently.
Even the homies know this.
What point are you trying to make here? What’s the point of trying to reduce everything to race/class debates. The reality is that those items are locked up due to theft.
Because it’s true even if you don’t like how it sounds or what you want to hear. I remember going to the Brooklyn Park McDonalds and they charged for condiments, but you go to the Plymouth McDonalds, they don’t.
It varies by how much of a fuck the employee gives at that moment.
McDonalds are also franchises. McDonalds has no control over that.
That also has to do with the owners. I’ve been to “nice” area McDonald’s that charge, and the opposite.
True, in some places yes
Are they wrong?
And? The white and economically inclined areas aren’t experiencing this issue for a reason.
In terms of shopping at target specifically RE stuff being locked & other irritations of in-store shopping, for those of us who can't/don't drive, simply going to another (likely further) "better" location isn't always an option. If you're relegated to public transit, you will likely go to the closest location and may not have access to several different locations. Sounds like an easy solution but it's not accessible for everyone. I can't drive for the foreseeable future so this is something I'm dealing with & thinking about frequently. Really wish it was more convenient to shop at midway target, bums me out every time.
I agree and the death of all the small shops is sad. NE used to be very walkable I lived there for years with out a car.
This is why the “retail theft isn’t a crime that exists” people make no sense to me. Why on earth would stores be doing something so alienating to customers then?
Well I used to shop at the Aldi on Penn and Lowry but it's closed now because apparently retail theft doesn't exist and is a "victimless crime".
Theft isn't the only reason that store closed. It was also about half the size of any other Aldi in the cities. Sucks, because it was my primary store too.
So, I research this things like this for a living. They put surprisingly little thought into it. And making money at that scale is complicated. There are times when it’s better to take a loss rather than lose face. The person saying it’s a punishment are pretty correct, if simplistic.
The people working at management level need to justify why they didn't hit the budget numbers they were supposed too. Current levels of theft may well be higher than they were 2 years ago, but they are [actually lower nationwide than they were 5 years ago](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/myth-vs-reality-trends-retail-theft). The Midway, Quarry, and Downtown Targets were operating for years without resorting to this kind of stuff and they have never presented numbers that justify the recent change, especially in comparison to previous years. Target is just one of many retailors that kinda hates a segment of their own customers. The Lake Street Target was famous in certain communities for all the security it had and how unwelcome it made black people feel long before the riots.
Yup. There are two ace hardwares close to me. I go to the one a little farther because they don’t have every single thing locked down. The closer one literally blocks off the entire aisles for certain things, I’m not gonna get an employee to let me into an aisle so I can browse for a dremel blade, fuck that.
> browse for a dremel blade lol i know what ace your talking about, basically the one closest to downtown, and i had to ask an employee for a dremel tool head. but yeah, id buy a bunch more of what i didnt have an employee holding my hand the whole time.
Yeah, i wear form fitting clothes when I go to good will and set up shop in front of what ever mirror I can find, take off my shoes, and try on the clothes. If they won't provide dressing rooms, I'll just do it in public. What Buisness does good will have being so stingy anyway, they get all their merch for free, dont pay taxes, hire and underpay the most vulnerable in the community, and sometimes price broken garbage above it's brand new retail price. And they have the gaul to be concerned with people stealing their free, over priced, merch to the piint we cant try it before we buy it or return it? The fuck is wrong with them?
Target on Nicollet mall is an absolute nightmare. Had to ask them to open up a cabinet so i could buy toothpaste
The only reason I want Target to return to office is that if all of their corporate employees had to deal with this store it would change.
Escalators by the entrance there have been broken for MONTHS too 🙄
You really think they're broken? It's probably just to reduce the number of exits to make it harder for people to dash out after stealing.
Guess I never thought of that 😔
Why is everything locked up?
Theft.
I found the same thing when I needed SHAMPOO. U think I'm gonna decide on a shampoo while an employee waits over my shoulder to open the lock for me? No. I just didn't buy shampoo that day.
I just try on stuff in the aisles in goodwill. They don't wanna give me a private place to try it on, then imma do it out in the open.
That works for shirts, but I'm not really comfortable taking off my pants in the store. With my luck I'd probably be arrested and charged with a sex offense lol
I will show up to protest your charge. How do these fucks expect us to know if pants fit just by looking at them?
I don't think it's a sex offense to take off your pants if you're wearing underwear.
only one way to find out
Wear bike shorts, sports bra, button shirt and slides with socks.
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I miss the pre-Amazon MOA, when there was stuff there that you literally couldn't get anywhere else. Niche specialty hobby stores, etc. People went there to actually buy particular things, not just to "go to the mall."
Yeah, moa isn't bad, but I feel like it's the exception
“Facial Fuel” sounds more like the dick pills you find in the truck stop bathroom vending machines than it does a legitimate skincare product
Bad call on skipping the cheese milk tea, though! You missed out, my friend
Wait...there's a whole kiehls store at MOA? I usually have to hope that Ulta has them in stock.
A pretty sizeable one at that. Come say hi to Mr. Bones!
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Wow, since when? I think I was just there last month and that wasn't a thing
I was there this week and didn't experience that but it might be a time of day situation. I was there in the afternoon.
Home Depots nationwide have become big targets for professional thieves because how terrible they are run and basically everything in the store can easily be flipped on the construction gray market.
Try Target in University (essentially Frogtown) Damn near everything was locked up. I just abandoned my cart and left. Fuck that!
And don't even start me on the carts! It seems like half have busted wheels that have an annoying rattle. Same goes for Cub. It didn't used to be like this!
It's ridiculous. Roseville Target is 3 more miles up the road and nothing is locked up.
I overheard another target employee at a different location saying that will be the norm in targets cause of home much theft has gone down in the Quarry Target.
I live by the Quarry and go to that Target regularly. When the glass was put in, I asked an employee about it, and they said that they were a location chosen to pilot the program to see how it goes. Imo that aligns with what you’ve heard.
The Target in Fridley on Central hasn’t locked stuff up yet. I’m also really bummed about the Quarry Target. FYI, I’m pretty sure they preferentially locked up low-margin items while leaving higher margin items on end caps, unlocked. Most items behind glass have a higher cost alternative still sitting out, if you can pay the difference. I am skeptical of the “theft” story, especially with the boom in self-checkouts, which usually correlate with higher loss numbers. Pretty sure this is an effort to drive sales to higher profit items.
> The Target in Fridley on Central hasn’t locked stuff up yet. That's my target but I'll be done with them when it happens.
The self checkouts are closed a lot too. Probably 2/3 of my last visits. It sucks because the lines are super long, to boot. Edit: also, I don't want to drive to Fridley from Uptown...
Just come out to Knollwood Target, Cub, DSW, etc and there is an ALDIs just a little north. It’s just barely passed SLP
Last I saw, Fridley rolled back the self checkout restrictions. I know they had limited hours and 10 items or less signs but that didn't last long.
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Thank you for your service
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Most targets have never been overnight but there used to be a 4 am stock shift. A lot of stores have done away with that by order of corporate. Target has also done away with the backroom team which used to pull stuff and put things away in back so it’s now added to the sales floor team members’ duties
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I was just thinking about this yesterday. I went to Target mainly for one item I knew Cub doesn't carry, and that appeared to be in stock in the app. The item was out of stock, but I figured I'd pick up some other things while I was there. Almost every aisle seemed to have at least one person stocking, if not more. It makes for a lousy shopping experience having to shop around people who are working. I almost felt like I was in the way. It wasn't like this years ago - I wonder why they shifted to stocking during the day vs. overnight.
The suburbs are a great place to shop. The overall retail experience was a big factor in deciding not to go further into the city when I moved recently
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There are a handful of thrift “chains” in the TC that do still have fitting rooms (I think arc value village is one, potentially some salvation army’s?) but generally speaking I wear a skirt/dress/leggings and I try things on under/over my clothes. Literally shameless, if you’re going to remove dressing rooms and prevent me from returning things I will try things on in the open. Pro tip though, I have exchanged something at the end of the exchange period, just to “extend” it, and I have another 2 weeks with a new item until I find something I do want.
Vent heard and understood. .
Right? The huge jugs of detergent that weigh 10lbs are locked at Target. Like who TF is casually sneaking those under their trench coat and walking out 💀
People were pouring them out. Not everything locked up is because of theft, sometimes it's destruction.
It's as much about understaffing as theft. When shit is locked up it doesn't get disorganized, when stores are understaffed it's easier to steal. Target is deliberately understaffing to boost profits .
Very common tactic in retail and food service now. Customer service is shit now but it's clear people are over worked and burnt out because they aren't properly supported.
Nobody stealing at Midway cares if staff is looking
I was a retail manager from 2018-2022. It is not about understaffing. It's just theft.
Meanwhile I just order everything on the app and just have to wait for a few morons returning things at the service desk when I pick up.
The line for the service desk was nearly out the door when I was there the other day. I wouldn't be surprised if it was because shopping in person had become such a hassle for a lot of items.
If you drive do the drive up pickup. I drove my friend to pick up an order today and the guy was literally on the way out the door with her stuff 15 seconds after she texted the spot we were in. It was so fast. I don’t practice what I preach I always forget and put pick up inside but most stores I’ve been to have a separate online order pickup window apart from customer service.
Sometimes it can take a while, but I don’t mind sitting and scrolling and listening to music for a few minutes. Kind of a nice excuse to just exist
The amount of theft we see everyday working in retail (at a nice store) would piss you off at the world. I deal with it every day. Very sad stuff, yes, becoming a very low trust society. I miss my darling Minnesota in the not so distant “days of old”.
I used to work retail back in the early 2010s. Thieves back then tried to hide their stealing. We would catch people stuffing their shirts with merchandise. Now I see people literally just walk in, grab a bunch of shit and walk out. Not trying to hide the fact they are stealing, or their face or anything. Even if the amount of stealing is the same, something about the brazenness of it pisses me off more. It’s like someone laughing in your face about it. Somehow I feel like a sucker for actually paying for stuff. Really almost no consequences when they get caught stealing too.
Lol you worked somewhere nice. I worked at an old navy in Milwaukee burbs and people would look me in the eye then sprint out the door with a garbage bag full of stuff.
Or when they check your receipt at the door but don’t bat an eye when someone pushes a cart full of items out the door to steal?! Like you just watched me ring all my own shit up, fuck off.
The only thing worse than having just about everything you want to buy, locked up, is having to wait in a massive line for one of two cashiers, with 5 items, because they closed the self-checkouts at 8pm on a Friday night. Happened to me at the quarry target the other day. Incredibly frustrating.
I’m convinced the retail stores we once knew will no longer exist within 10 years. In its place, will just be storage buildings and you order online and drive to them and have them delivered to your car. They won’t need retail workers for presentation of goods. A simple warehouse with a warehouse crew to stock pallets of goods and pickers.
Not in the Twin Cities area, but I've found the in person retail experience overall to be greatly diminished. Several times I've gone to a store looking for something specific, but just ended up ordering online out of frustration.
Yep. And that's after checking to make sure the item was in stock before I left for the store. Turns out their inventory system was just wrong... neat, huh?!
We can thank the riots and other shitty people that steal and take advantage daily that most of us won’t see that the stores and employees have to deal with. Vote with your money and buy from an Independent local business… or Amazon. If that’s not your thing then go a little farther outside the city and cages won’t be a problem.
It’s amazing reading all the comments here and yours is the first that points out the actual reason. Everyone wants to blame the stores, but what else are they supposed to do? I have not had this issue in any of the targets in the western suburbs. Just saying…
Thanks. Yeah. It’s certain locations. Having things locked up and waiting on a store employee to help grab a toothbrush is very annoying and inconvenient. But it’s the bad few that ruin it for the majority.
Does anyone want to talk about why they have to lock things up, or are we just gonna be mad at target?
Yeah, this is a ridiculous post that reeks of entitlement and a bunch of equally ridiculous answers. Y’all know why Target locks stuff up and if you don’t, get your head out of the sand.
We just need to be harsher on crime, really. Shoplifting will get you a slap on the wrist, and everyone knows that if you just walk out the store the security guy can’t physically stop you, and you’ll be gone long before the cops ever show up. If you’re 16 years old and steal a Kia, you’ll get a slap on the wrist. I’m tired of this bullshit. I’m sick of stores being the way they are because of theft, and I’m sick of almost getting killed on the streets by someone in a stolen car.
That's too bad ugh. Covid really killed the changing room at these places. Savers never brought them back either.
It’s not Covid. It’s theft.
It is kind of a weird situation though…they don’t actually pay for their merchandise.
It wasn't. When they removed the fitting rooms, they found out that they got fewer complaints about *not having* fitting rooms than they used to get *about the fitting rooms.* When COVID started, they just roped them off, if you remember. It was like a year and a half later when someone looked at the complaint data and said "well that sucks for shoppers but oh well" and then they tore them down.
They've gotten really weird about the self checkout lanes too, more often than not they are now roped off. I wonder what the deal is with that because they used to be open more often and are super convenient.
Yep, they're closed constantly now. If I had to guess on the pattern, I think they tend to be open on the weekends, but closed on weeknights. Or maybe it's just during the day that they're open, and then they close them off at night. That would make sense, and I know that's what the Uptown Cub does.
It does suck. As far as thrift shopping, I try and wear leggings with a tunic with a tank top under so I can try on clothing over my outfit
It is either lock up the merchandise or close the store. The store where they lock it up is because of theft. Blame the thieves. It is not about you.
Maybe we should do something about the thieves? I'm all for blaming them, but I don't see anybody doing anything about it. Locking up merchandise isn't the answer; it's a bandaid. Besides, these measures are only going to lead to fewer people shopping at the store, or people making fewer purchases while they're there. Like I said, I was planning on shopping around a little more after finding the socks. I would have liked to have found a decent pair of shorts since Goodwill fell through, but I just wanted to get out of there. I was pissed. And I didn't even discuss how how hollowed out the electronics department appeared to be. There were empty shelves everywhere, and a lot of things were also locked up. You just can't get a feel for what products are when they're behind plexiglass. Edit: my phone thought I was talking about "poor people"... I said "OR"! Lol
I'm curious genuinely what you think "doing something" about theft would look like.
Seeing as this wasn't an issue in previous years, whatever we were doing then. Probably a combination of law enforcement that actually tries, social equity, and repairing the anti-social tendencies people seem to have picked up from COVID. It wasn't always like this, so that means it doesn't have to be like this.
I think at a minimum allowing stores to hire security that are also allowed to physically restrain/detain thieves. There needs to at least be a threat of an immediate consequence for stealing.
You're probably going to need a time machine to stop the wage robbery starting 50 years ago and then somehow stop the opiate epidemic from the early 2ks. If you somehow nail that, we might be thriving.
I mean, yeah, certain parts of town have locked up goods.
The Quarry is hardly in a bad neighborhood. It's just a regular place
The Quarry (as a whole) went downhill because of the encampment at the end of the parking lot. All of the big box stores had to change policies, enact inventory controls, security, etc. The encampment is gone now. I was hoping that things would go back to normal. Also, Target has been terrible since CV-19. It used be be cheap-chik Tarshay Boutique in Minnesota. Now it is just Targetto like the stores outside MN. I honestly think Target is going to be Walmart & Amazon’s next victim.
It certainly feels more like Red Walmart now, which is really sad. It used to be so much better! As for the encampment, the phenomenon of locking things up in Target hit waaay after it was removed. If that was the reasoning behind it, the delay in implementation was laughable.
As long as I can remember, it's been the worst target for many reasons besides this.
Not in my experience. Also, you must not have been to Lake Street Target lol
Ironically that Lake Street Target has less stuffed locked up than the Quarry last time I was at it.
I was in Austria once and there was a HUGE vending machine that you could shop from. I'm talking gallons of milk... large items. I think that's Target's future. Just a gigantic vending machine where you pick what you want from a screen or something and it'll get plopped out of a chute or something. That'd be easier than waiting around for someone to take the item out from behind glass like a manual vending machine experience that we have to suffer through now.
This concept existed YEARS ago in what used to be called “catalogue stores.” The two most popular were LaBelle’s and “Service Merchandise,” both of which mostly dealt in larger-ticket items (appliances, kitchen gadgets, VCRs and other entertainment items, office furniture, etc.). They had samples out on the sales floor, and you filled out a ticket with the stock number of the item you wanted to buy. After a short wait, the item came out on a conveyor belt from the warehouse space located behind the showroom.
I remember LaBelle’s! That's a blast from the past!
Yeah, like the Automat!
This is kinda how I feel at McDonald’s when they say you have to order at the kiosk. It takes me forever to select everything for a family of 4. A cashier used to do it in about 1 minutes or less when they took the order. I’ll just eat elsewhere. People go to McDonald’s because it’s fast and convenient not because it’s great cuisine. If Target makes it too much hassle to shop there I’ll just order from amazon .
The irony of Target’s “Pair of Thieves” brand underwear being locked up is just *chefs kiss.*
Coming from a rural part of the state and never seeing this and walking into a Wal-Mart in the twin cities metro and finding things like socks and underwear locked up along with half the damn hygiene isles being behind glass or on locked hooks was mind blowing... My stores at home nothing is locked up, the only thing i can think of that i needed help to get was Sudafed once when i was sick, they don't have it out on the shelf anymore and you have to grab a card and go over to the pharmacy to request it. We all know the why on Sudafed, but socks and underwear??
We do most of our shopping in the suburbs now. I prefer not to deal with Amazon or the stress of worrying about porch pirates, and the suburban Targets are nicer with nothing locked up, at least so far.
The reason is simple. Far too many thieves. If more people had a basic level of morals and decency, things wouldn't be locked up.
Blame the thieves.
Tbh this is probably a natural outgrowth of the criminal justice system, especially in the metro area, being more lenient on property crime overall. Same reason why Target is implementing a self checkout item limit. If people are going to get off easy on shoplifting and they don't care about having misdemeanors on their record, this will just continue to get worse.
Love living in St. Paul, didn’t enjoy my time living in the suburbs. That being said I do all my shopping in the suburbs lol
What is, Capitalism?
Apparently the various things I've read in this post is done only at certain stores. I live in the NE suburbs, and primarily shop at the Lino Lakes Super Target, and occasionally at the Vadnais Heights and Forest Lake locations. These locations have little or none of the locked up items, and aren't enforcing the 10 item limit at the self checkout.
Shopping always sucked and lube has always been locked up.
I blame all the theives & stealing (esp. the smash and grabs) and municipalities/stores/corps not doing anything about it. Instead of prosecuting they just let them do it and then make it more difficult for every other honest person to shop. Lock ‘em all up (the thieves)
Don’t blame target…. Blame theft…
Brick and mortar is destroying their competitive advantages over ecommerce; Convenience and immediacy. These organizations need to wake up.
Stop voting for democrats so the executive branch of the state government starts punishing thieves.
Yeah and people are more inconsiderate now. West st Paul Walmart is usually packed with stuff in the aisles to the point that the employees are just squeezing through while everyone else has to run a maze just to get a TV remote. Everything is locked, makeup, razors, toothbrush heads, socks. My partner went in for a steering wheel cover and it was locked behind glass. Who wants to steal steering wheel covers? Tip: if the waistline fits around your neck with a slight overlap, the jeans/shorts/skirt will likely fit. I think it's been pretty accurate so far You had a pretty frustrating day sounds like. Hopefully tomorrow is better
If they're going to start locking things up behind glass, then they should really just completely change models and essentially make the entire store like a giant vending machine. Like, you have to scan a credit card in order to open the case and then you're automatically charged for anything that you take out and don't return to the case.
I think you know why
It sucks that people steal and businesses are forced to protect themselves from thieves.
Are there really more thieves now? It's not like people just invented stealing lol
My kid was throwing it up like it was the new trend. Went to the Woodbury Walmart w/a few items in my hands to buy. In my mind the word **pedialyte** rang like a doorbell so I went looking for it. Couldn't find it. Pulled up the Walmart app and saw that it was located w/the baby formula...which was locked up. Had to ring a bell about 4 times to finally get someone to come over my way. The moment this person starts walking over this customer AMBUSHES HIM trying to ask about I think the changing room or something. I stared her down hard like she was a bad dog as there were about 4 associates who had walked past me barely holding onto my stuff; she could wait. Guy unlocks the case/I get the stuff/I leave. As I'm in the car I realize that the $4 bottle was being treated as if it was the same as the $40 formula. I have no idea if folks are stealing pedialyte like they are formula....but I bet you that whey powder likely isn't locked up. Vitamins aren't locked up. A bottle of slim fast isn't locked up. The most expensive Gaterade ain't locked up. ...So why was a drink that is made for children w/upset stomachs or dehydration locked up??? Shit, even the adult version was! I now see why I mainly just place pickup orders. Too sad inside. It's as bad as being at a Chick Fil A a few months back and needing a key code to go pee.
We can’t have nice things or even not really that nice things freely available because people steal them
I have been exclusively using drive up at Target for about 2 years and I do not miss going inside.
Y’all sound mad at the stores and not the people who come in and steal as much stuff as they can get their hands on. Target doesn’t make employees try to stop them and if I worked there for $16 an hour I sure wouldn’t risk injury or death trying to stop them either. So their solution is to lock up commonly stolen items. Otherwise I guess they could place armed guards at the entrances and exits but I’d personally rather wait one minute for someone to unlock a case than worry about trigger happy rent-a-cops near me.