How did this end?

Interesting that they could find it on the shelf. That's awkward.

I bet if you tried to walk out of the store with the one of the shelf it would start exsisting pretty quickly.

Well you can always get it at Amazon....oh wait, you can't today.

Idiots. all of them.

The woman in the picture is about 10 years old. I am sure this isn't Target policy. Did you call anyone at corporate? Too easy, Bitch to Consumerist.

Target's system does eventually drop discontinued stuff off the shelves. I'm a big fan of Target clearance, and follow the thread on Fatwallet listing what's on clearance. After a while, stuff will go to salvage and not be shown in the system - although employees usually can still look it up with a PDT. And given that the pictured item has a Target Home logo on it, it's pretty clear that it's from Target.

The lesson here, though, aside from Target's poor customer service in this case, is to not lose your receipts.

@APFPilot: Yeah, I would have grabbed all the lampshapes that don't exist and walk out with them :)

Seriously, this is why I hardly ever buy anything from Target, I hate their return policy, not even worth my time to deal with them.

Since you found the same item on the shelf then it's obvious they sell it. I would have asked them what they would've done if you wanted to buy the 2nd lampshade you found on the store shelf. would they have refused to sell it, give it to you for free, or find a price?

Same thing happened to me recently when I tried to return a gift (a rice bowl and chopsticks) without a receipt. They told me it wasn't in their system even though the packaging was covered with little white targets. I think this new hard-core return policy is new. I remember returning a used coffee maker with a friend a couple of years ago when she didn't have a receipt and they didn't even carry the model anymore, and they still let her exchange it for a new one. Way sucky new policy.

Around Christmas time I found a Play-Doh toy on the shelf with no price tag. I went to the price check scanner and it said item not found. I took to it to an associate who couldn't scan it either and she said she couldn't sell it to me because it wasn't in the system. There was a whole bunch of them on the shelf too!

Sounds like a philosophy discussion...

Manager: Prove to us this lampshade exists!

Customer (being clever): What lampshade?

Manager: Exactly!

Customer: Wait, shit...

I've returned $200 jeans at Bloomingdales with no questions asked, no receipt, nothing.

Wait, what? What kind of pair of jeans does $200 get you?

this happened to me at Best Buy and I had the receipt the item was on there yet the bar code on the product didn't ring up in their computer so it didn't exist. They accused me of fraud. Like I bought two, the one at best buy and the one I was holding and was trying to return the other one for some unknown reason.
I spent a lot more at Best buy then these folks at Target and brought that up with them and the corporate complaint people. They didn't care and didn't believe me. I'm never shopping there again over a $75 wireless usb dock.

I wish someone had the balls to say "ok great!" grab all the items off the shelf, and leave the store. Suddenly, they may find a reason to claim ownership of the item

I didn't know that spending $4,000 at target would mean that you get anything special. And if that is not the case then why point out how much money you do spend there? I realize that Target should take ownership on the problem but really what is trying to be said in this situation?

For what it's worth, the woman 'pictured above' looks like a dart board to me.

Ohhhhhhh...... Targettttttt! :)

Heh. I'd be tempted to walk out with a few of the lampshades from the shelves. If they said it doesn't exist then they can't accuse you of shoplifting!

There's probably something we're not being told here. Having worked in retail for 10 years myself, I can say that many things could have happened.

She brought an identical lamp shade back up there. But, was it the exact same one? Did it have the same SKU/UPC? If not, tough luck.
The one they were trying to return could have had a different UPC on it from a different store. Just because it looks similar to one they sell at Target doesn't mean it is the exact same one.

There has to be more to the story.

@APFPilot: Best comment of the week.

I had similar problem after my son's birthday. He recieved multiple Thomas the Tank LEGO sets, so we tried to return the extra set. Target insisted that they didn't carry the item, but after checking, they had the exact set in the aisle.

So, I purchased the set and came back later that day. I explained to the new rep that I had 2 extra sets, but only had a receipt for one. They accepted both with no questions asked.

@jscott73: My Fiancee and I are doing our registry for our wedding and were excited to do one at target but after the stories we've read here we decided to completely skip target.

I think that this just points up the fact that Target employees are not empowered to solve seemingly simple problems.A REAL store manager would have found a creative way to solve the problem,keep the customer and protect the company from getting screwed.A dynamic, go getter-type would have had that woman singing their praises to friend,family and ,yes, on this blog.

" There's nothing I can do for you " is the same as saying " Get the hell outta here until you are ready to spend more money"

Too late for the OP. But for the rest of us,knowing that Targets new customer service policy is " There's nothingI can do for you " is fair warning- Use at your own risk...

@calvinneal - Yes, my wife called and talked to 4 levels of customer service at Target who told us to take it up with Amex. Amex said they can get the receipt, since the purchase shows in our statement, but it can take up to 8-10 weeks.

@evslin - LOL, I guess I shouldn't compare Bloomingdales to Target.
But yeah, have you been jean shopping lately? $$$$

@G-16 - My point was that yes, while Target should treat all
customers equally, they're in business to sell stuff and they have to
watch their bottom line. It is plain good business to try to keep
good customers. The amount proves our brand loyalty, which they
proved they don't hold in high regard.

@Turd-Ferguson - Identical.

Best,
-Kirk Skodis

@G-16: +1.

The other thing that irked me about was:

I've returned $200 jeans at Bloomingdales with no questions asked, no receipt, nothing.

That's very nice of them but this isn't Bloomingdales. Never understood why people quote other store's return policies. What's the point in this situation?

I don't really understand why they should get a break because they spend $4,000 a year.

But if they did find the exact same lamp, that's just silly.

You must have gotten the one customer service rep who actually checks to see if stuff is in the system. When I worked at Target we had a constant shopping cart full of things people returned that we actually didn't sell, stuff that was obviously Wal-mart brand. A got a free comoforter that way - what else are we going to do with it?

@APFPilot: excellent.

Time to blame the customer.

Regardless of what the Target return policy states, it would be better to save your receipt. There'd be a SKU on the receipt that would help them identify it.

Having spent years in retail, I have seen customer's try to return items from the wrong store and get upset when you can't (read that: the computer will not allow a return on an item that doesn't ring up). I've also seen this self-righteous attitude of "I spend X amount of dollars in this store a year!" Unless you were just handing them money for no reason, you were likely getting merchandise for that money. You weren't doing them any favors. Further, the return desk employee has no personal stake in your petty grudges. Just because you're screwing yourself out of shopping at Target (which does have a generous return policy and decent prices and products from my experience) because you can't let go of the issue, doesn't mean they should lose some sleep over it.

And who spends $200 on jeans?!? Clearly you have enough money to waste that $24 should mean nothing to you.

@mechanismatic: It sounds like you're blaming this customer for the behavior of OTHER customers over the years. I agree with the poster above who says this is symptomatic of Target not teaching/empowering its sales staff to deal with even the smallest/most glaringly obvious problem. As the merchandise clearly was in the store, and Target does not require a receipt, the refusal to refund was their error, not the customer's.

And as for the "X dollars in this store" -- maybe it's a bad attitude, but OTOH, the regular customers are maybe the ones you wouldn't want to alienate.

Uhm...from the story it sounds like the OP was trying to return a $200 lampshade without a receipt.

If the OP had a receipt then Target is being stupid. If the OP has no receipt then the OP is being stupid.

@mechanismatic: Mechanismatic - "You weren't doing them any favors." Really?

If you still think that way, first off I can't believe you read
Consumerist, and secondly in this economy I am doing them a HUGE
favor with my customer loyalty. If they lose that, they'll be gone
fast and you can take that to the bank!

-Kirk Skodis

@BlondeGrlz: How do you process a return for an item you truly don't stock?

Gah, more misused quantum mechanical analogies, its like pulling my eyeballs out of my head through my nostrils! I hate being the guy who's constantly shouting "that's not what Schoedinger's box was about!" Stupid physics degree, stupid quantum classes, never bring me nuthin' but grief... *mumble mutter swear*

I thought Target sold their lampshades as part of a "kit" with the lamps. So you buy a lamp and you get the shade that goes with it. Maybe the lampshade is inventory, but it's not able to be rung out separately...they have to ring the lamp, then ring the shade for it to work properly.

To those who think that the customer was "self-righteous" for mentioning how much is family spends at Target, you seem to be missing the point.

In order to guarantee whatever profit they made on a $27 lampshade, Target's policy and actions in this case have cost them roughly $4000 in revenue per year (if the customer follows through and stops shopping there).

Given that simple math, do you think this was a good decision by Target?

You know although Target really screwed this up, the one thing I HATE is when people mention how much they spend somewhere like it should get them special treatment that someone who only spends $200/year there does NOT get. If a business is run properly they treat ALL customers the same regardless of how much they spend.

Did no one consider the possibility that she never paid for the lamp shade in the first place? That's the only way I can reasonably understand it not coming up when looking up the credit card.

mechanismatic,

if you've "spent years in retail" and think customers "[ar]en't doing [retailers] any favors" by shopping at their stores, methinks you might be part of the problem.

@geoffhazel: I guess if people really threw a fit you could over-ride the system and use 999 99 9999 as the item number, which is what the CSR mentioned in the article should have done since it was for an item they really did sell.

@jamesmusik - we have the Amex statement.

@linbey - Annual amount spent is a good gauge of customer loyalty,
wouldn't you say? Do you think a brand should be interested in
preserving customer loyalty?

-Kirk

@evslin:I've returned $200 jeans at Bloomingdales with no questions asked, no receipt, nothing.

Wait, what? What kind of pair of jeans does $200 get you?

In all fairness, I've been gifted things like jeans and shirts and other clothing that cost in excess of a couple hundred dollars (primarily at Nordstrom's). I then promptly return them and spend the $300+ on sale items that I actually like. Maybe that's why there was no receipt.

@ludwigk

Schrödinger's box, perhaps? Stupid English degree. *mumble mutter swear*

@G-16: Really? You don't think that being a loyal customer, even to an unfeeling monolith like Target, should count for anything?

Remind me not to shop at any store you ever own.

@mechanismatic: I've also seen this self-righteous attitude of "I spend X amount of dollars in this store a year!" Unless you were just handing them money for no reason, you were likely getting merchandise for that money. You weren't doing them any favors.

Actually, the OP kind of is doing them a favor. Why do you think so many businesses were giving an extra 10-15% on gift cards purchased with stimulus money? They want people to shop at their store. Profit means less/no layoffs means the store stays open means the company stays afloat. These days, most companies should be going the extra mile to retain the loyal customer base that they do have. In this case, it means having a satisfied customer versus having a complain posted on the Consumerist. Bad news spreads fast.

And, again, maybe he didn't spend the $200 on jeans. They very well may have been a gift, seeing as he had no receipt.

I don't say it much but I, along with many others, hate with the fact that some people just can't get through their day without blaming every problem on the OP. Perhaps your time would be better spent elsewhere.

Most register jockeys at huge stores have no interest in helping customers. If they have to think or do something that requires more effort than scanning a barcode they feel their meager salary doesn't warrant it.

But I'm sure they would complain very loudly if something similar happened to them in another retailer.

People are lazy and selfish and it is just more apparent when money and customer service are involved.

@Terd_Ferguson:

If you read it throughly, they scanned the one they brought from the shelf and it too was not in the system. The problem is not with the consumer it is with Target. When the product came in, some employee did not do their job and enter it into the system.

These issues can happen, whether with not being entered, or not being updated. I saw a Kmart with the PS3 for $599.99, they never updated the price in the system when it dropped.

The lack of receipt hurt this person's case. I am sure with running the card and checking back far enough, they could have easily have found the item if effort was applied. Once the customer brought up another one that wasn't being recognized either, and showed there was no fast one being pulled, this should have been quickly handled.

One other question, did they try to return it to the store they purchased it from? or a different one?

@jamesmusik:

You know, that actually possible. The person ringing them up might have never noticed, and neither did they. If it was never in the system, it is all so possible.

Chargeback time. How could Target be charging your cretit card for an item that does not exist. Good luck to Target fighting that one.

@mechanismatic: @linbey: Agreed, I can just see the consumerist post right now.

"Retailer X won't take back YOUR widgets because you dont spend $X a year there. New high volume return policy hurts orphans who like widgets."