So, I seem to have my own personal stalker at Target, or as my kids would say, "a creeper." He's a middle aged man, about my age, who is either a stock boy or some sort of low level management.Invariably, the dude is in the aisle that I need to get something from on every shopping trip. And he has to hound me. "Can I help you find something?" (Nope, just picking up some cotton balls, mister), "Lousy weather we're having!" (Yes, I'm not sure why I risked my life coming here today), and "I like your t-shirt; what does that symbol mean?" (Um, it's just a shirt I work out in). I don't know if Target employees are trained to pounce on their customers, but I really just don't like it. Today, he carried things a bit too far with, "Honey, is there something I can help you with?" Seriously? Do I look like I'm 8 years old? I'd appreciate it if 'honey' was reserved for my spouse. Sheesh.
I walked back to where the holiday/back-to-school goods are normally located, expecting to find their annual 'World Market' merchandise. You know, the home goods made to resemble pieces from Asia, India and Europe! Instead, my eyes were attacked with red/pink/yellow/orange signs proclaiming, 'No Membership Fees!!!!' It seems that Target is concerned by Costco's opening of a store in a 25 mile radius of that location. I was confronted with bins of $1 flip flops in assorted colors, gallon size goldfish crackers, and 20 roll packs of paper towels. I'm not a warehouse shopper, so none of it interested me. But I couldn't help being amused that they were probably just moving cheap dish sets and solid colored hoodies from one part of the store to another. Posers!
Mmmmm. . . yeah. . .
ReplyDeleteEvery so often I am reminded that the world comes to women in some ways that just never happen to me. . .
'Course, you could tell him that the symbol is the Sanskrit version of the middle finger. . .
I like Craig's answer!
ReplyDeleteI'm usually left alone in Target. Except for the occasional height challenged person asking for help.
What? You don't get the 100 pack of TP? It's the only way we have TP for more than a week.
I had one of those at the Fresh Market, except that he was so young it was cute.
ReplyDeleteBut the funny thing to me is that if it happened here, the "honey" wouldn't even be noticeable. Everyone says it all the time.
I read an article the other day that said Target is trying out a new marketing gimmick. It's only supposed to last a couple of months. Thank God!!
ReplyDeleteCraig - Well, I try to at least be polite and say, "I'm fine" or "No, thanks." I've even feigned deafness and kept right on moving.
ReplyDeleteRuss - My kids tend to not waste the TP at this age.
Agent - LOL....it's funny how different regions perceive things. Being called 'honey' is somewhat degrading to me when done by a stranger.
PR - Amen! I hope they try a different technique soon. This one is not impressive.
Creeper. Love that term. The chickadees use it too.
ReplyDeleteLuckily there are no stalkers at my Target, but they do have that section too. I like Sam's Club, and there is no way that Target can compete in that arena. They should just stop and go back to selling the Target stuff that we all love.
ReplyDeleteYou girls have all the luck with someone hitting on you. Our local Target just put in a grocery store to compete with WalMart.
ReplyDeleteI have to approach customers and ask them if I can be of any help, but I do try to gauge the situation before I do so, and definitely don't bum rush them. If they tell me they're fine, I wish them a good day and add that if they do decide they need help, I can be found nearby and would be glad to help then. Then I just walk away. Happily, for the most part, people are kind, which doesn't suck my soul out first thing into my shift!
ReplyDeleteI do have a few stalker-ish type customers who come in. I can sometimes tell the day of the week purely on who is milling around the department when I show up that day, and then I have to brace myself for the chats they want to have.
Laggin - 'Creeper' is so much more descriptive than 'creep.'
ReplyDeleteRhonda - I used to go to Sam's Club but that membership fee is just too much, IMO.
Mike - I seem to only attract weirdos though, so getting hit on is not really a good thing.
FADKOG - Ok, well most people go to a bookstore in search of a particular book. I'm at Target every freaking week picking up Kleenex. Since this dude recognizes me, you'd think he'd know that I'm extremely familiar with the store's layout and merchandise!
I agree. Creeper is a much better descriptor than stalker.
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