r/Anticonsumption • u/Healthy_Block3036 • 13d ago

Corporations Target foot traffic falls for seventh consecutive week after it dismantled DEI

https://www.retailbrew.com/stories/2025/03/21/target-foot-traffic-falls-for-seventh-consecutive-week-after-it-dismantled-dei
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701

u/avatarstate 13d ago

I have a friend in management there. He said they’re censoring surveys that mention DEI. Yet they didn’t do it when people cried about pride. They’re a shit company.

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u/Next-Introduction-25 13d ago

Did your friend explain what that means exactly? Censoring as in they know some people are unhappy about DEI but they’re not sharing that info with anyone else? Or censoring like like preventing anyone’s comments about DEI from somehow reaching them so they can claim it isn’t an issue? Just wondering if you mean that bringing up DEI to them is a lost cause. 

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u/momo6548 13d ago

Regular managers at the store who have no control over policy are the ones who answer surveys.

So, because there’s literally no response a store level manager could give to something like that, the system automatically removes any DEI related surveys from what the store team has to handle.

I’m one of the people who answers surveys at our store. People always seem surprised that the busywork of answering all the surveys falls to a regular manager and not someone in corporate.

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u/connorroy_2024 12d ago

I had no idea people actually read those surveys. I thought it was just placating people who wanted to complain and it ends up in a long lost inbox somewhere.

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u/darthmidoriya 12d ago

A lot of companies base your job performance on surveys now 😁 I rent cars and I got a talking to a couple weeks ago because not enough of my customers are shouting me out by name on their surveys

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u/TeenyRex89 12d ago

And the majority of people won't either.

Bought a mouse pad at best buy, was asked to fill out the survey for cashier

Submit an IT ticket AT work, asked to fill out a survey for the 3rd party contractor

I barely have enough time for my own job much less others' 😭

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u/connorroy_2024 12d ago

WHAT? That’s awful, I’m sorry. These companies shouldn’t be crowdsourcing their management and employee reviews… that’s the managers job :/ especially in retail/service

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u/snarkyxanf 11d ago

not enough of my customers are shouting me out by name on their surveys

WTF. I'm bad with names in general, and have never marked down the name of an employee in my life. I could hand write in a perfumed letter of love for the company and my customer service experience and it still wouldn't include the desk rep's actual name

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u/darthmidoriya 11d ago

I know, it’s insane. What’s even worse, is that only the fully satisfied customers count. So their survey has to be literally perfect AND they have to shout me out by name

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u/TheDevil-YouKnow 12d ago

LMAO. Are you kidding?! I am not a Target employee, but this is universal. The rankings are absolutely fucked too.

A level 1 survey requires like 4 level 9s to negate the one level 1. Anything between 1 & 9 basically just.. doesn't matter. You can be given 50 8 ranked surveys, and it won't do anything for the 1 ranked survey.

On top of this, depending on the survey, you have to reach out to the customer to remediate the situation. Either gift card, talk to the employee (young cashier usually here) that RUINED THIS CUSTOMER'S LIFE by bagging cat treats next to avocados! Or having a conversation with another employee ABOUT THEIR LIFE! And the customer heard it! Outlandish, terrible behavior!

But corporate doesn't care about the surveys, the ones that matter like, 'The cart pusher set my car on fire' leads to an investigation at store level, if it has merit, that gets sent up to corporate for risk solutions to figure out how to best cover our asses in a lawsuit.

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u/connorroy_2024 12d ago

I’m not kidding, but then again I’m not the type of person to leave a poor survey review for a retail worker making peanuts. Or any survey at all, really. Sorry you have to deal with that.

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u/TheDevil-YouKnow 12d ago

Yeah I hate surveys. They're a useless metric for all intents and purposes. You end up playing this game where you harass customers to fill surveys out if they seem to have enjoyed their experience, and wink wink explain that 9s are appreciated. And why? So you can combat the curmudgeon that shops 3+hrs a day, every day, because the only semblance of routine left for them is that 3 hour shopping trip. But they're bitter, hollow people, so they love to shit on the Hispanic girl for being too flirtatious, or foam at the mouth at egg prices, so they show up everyday to leave a 1 ranked survey.

Ka is a wheel.

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u/Next-Introduction-25 12d ago

That’s good to know. When I tried to reach out when they first repealed DEI, I was very frustrated that there didn’t seem to be any sort of companywide customer service system at all. No email, phone, or website that I could find. That feels really unusual for a corporation.

I assume they don’t want to include this information because then they can control the narrative to their shareholders and continue repeating lies like “no one cares about DEI; customer traffic is down because of the weather” (or whatever.)

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u/momo6548 12d ago

There is, it’s the Target Guest Relations phone number. You can find it on google or any store guest services desk can provide it.

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u/LivMealown 12d ago

Guest Relations doesn't answer their emails, though, it seems.

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u/I_burn_noodles 12d ago

Yet they're used to assess that manager. My friend who managed a retail store used to collect people's receipts by the garbage cans and fill out the surveys himself. It's a stupid process.

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u/Coolegespam 13d ago

You know, I willing to think that Target might have a chance to claw back some of my business. But after seeing a "20 year team member" say this bullshit:

"For those of you who believe our DEI initiatives were "cancalled", I would venture to opine they have simply been put back "in the closet" "*

Nah, forget about them. The rot is through that damn stores core. Half of what I bought there was useless shit anyway, and the other half, I can find elsewhere.

*I'm not going to link to the post, but I found it on another sub.

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u/mrhandbook 12d ago

Why shop at target when Walmart is cheaper especially if they’re going to emulate Walmarts shittiness.

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u/Coolegespam 12d ago

Why shop at either? There are alternatives, for most people anyway. If there aren't, maybe ask if you really need something or not.

If you really don't have any choices and need something, sure, I guess.

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u/minja134 12d ago

There is a huge chunk of the country where Walmart is pretty much the only grocery store they have. It's unfortunate, but a very real truth. It's why they have such a large hold on the country, literally by our stomachs.

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u/RoughhouseCamel 11d ago

As someone with options, I feel like it’s my responsibility to avoid Walmart. Some people don’t have that option because Walmart ran those options out of business.

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u/minja134 11d ago

Oh for sure! But the original comment was saying question if you really need something if you can't get it elsewhere, which just bringing up sometimes even just groceries a lot of people have little other options. Luckily not the case for me, Costco has more than earned our shopping here!

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u/indianapolis505 12d ago

wow had not seen that quote. where was it

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u/Fluid-Signal-654 11d ago

If it was useless shit why did you buy it?

That's on you.

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u/StepOIU 13d ago

Good. Then they'll continue to deny the problem and won't pretend to do some performative "jk it was a prank!" bullshit to get decent people back. I hope they hang on to their hatred all the way to the bottom.

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u/Plank_With_A_Nail_In 13d ago

My uncle works at Nintendo on the next Sonic game.

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u/Educational_Rope_246 12d ago

I have a few friends who work at Target corporate and they said that in the recent town halls, with all employees there to hear the state of the business, Target has not even mentioned the boycott. I think Target is hoping to just ride this out, but I don’t know if they realize they are easier to quit than amazon or even Walmart.

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u/slcbtm 10d ago

Fare weather friends, once they show their true colors there is no going back short of public apologies and a change of leadership at the top.

I used to love 🎯, I won't forget. I still refrain from drinking Coors 🍺 because the family donated to Colorado prop 2 back in the 90's.

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u/BlakeMajik 13d ago

Why would your friend still work for them? I don't understand why anyone still works there, based on the way this sub paints the picture. Everyone should just quit and leave empty storefronts nationwide. That'd show 'em.

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u/momo6548 13d ago

People need jobs in order to live. The vast majority of people are paycheck to paycheck and can’t just quit a job because they feel like it.

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u/BlakeMajik 12d ago

I was being facetious. The endgame for the boycotters seems to be to bankrupt Target so all these folks lose their jobs. Be careful what you wish for

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u/manyhippofarts 13d ago

Yeah people are pretty stubborn about food. They want to continue consuming it, so they have to go do things they don't like to do.

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u/LofiSynthetic 13d ago

Everyone should just quit and leave empty storefronts nationwide

This is wildly unrealistic. That’s hundreds of thousands of people across the US leaving their retail jobs that then having to find new jobs that meet their ethical standards (since in this scenario they left over Target’s ethics). Where are there hundreds of thousands of retail jobs open with companies that are ethical?

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u/BlakeMajik 12d ago

Of course it is. But the boycotters here and elsewhere think they're going to put Target out of business without considering the ramifications.