Business Insider - SHOSHY CIMENT - Mar 4th 2020
Target sent an email to store leaders across the US on Tuesday (3/3/20) morning instructing them not to change anything about how stores function, despite mounting fears resulting from the spread of the coronavirus.
"At this point, we're asking that teams continue to operate business-as-usual," the email reads. "Know that we have teams in place managing any potential impact to our business."
Business Insider spoke to seven current Target employees across stores in New York, North Carolina, California, Washington, Minnesota, and Virginia, all but one of whom said they had not received any information from management regarding the coronavirus issue.
"It's honestly a scary, stressful time right now," said a Target employee in Seattle, Washington, which is currently weathering a coronavirus outbreak.
"At Target, we've been prioritizing our team, starting by ensuring that all of our China-based team members have been able to work from home," Target CEO Brian Cornell said during Target's 2020 financial community meeting on Tuesday. "More broadly, we spent considerable time focused on the best way to support our team members all around the world to make sure they stay healthy and safe."
As retailers across the globe warn about impact from the coronavirus outbreak, Target is telling its managers to carry on "business-as-usual" in stores.
The company confirmed that an internal email sent out to team leaders across the US on Tuesday morning instructed them not to change anything about stores' functioning or communicate anything differently to employees, despite mounting fears about the coronavirus' spread.
The email, which was viewed by Business Insider, outlined best practices for healthy hygiene habits and acknowledged dwindling inventory in certain categories like cleaning and grocery.
"At this point, we're asking that teams continue to operate business-as-usual," the email reads. "Know that we have teams in place managing any potential impact to our business. If there are any changes to business practices, we will communicate as needed to impacted teams."
Employees feel like they are in the dark
The directive not to communicate plans to deal with the virus has made some employees feel like they aren't being equipped to fully handle it.
"We actually haven't had ANY kind of communication from management about ANYTHING related to this issue," a current Target employee, who is not in a managerial role, in a Seattle-area store told Business Insider in an email. "Everyone is just focused on selling and stocking."
This employee is one of seven current Target employees across stores in New York, North Carolina, California, Washington, Minnesota, and Virginia, who spoke to Business Insider about conditions in Target stores amid the coronavirus outbreak. All but one of these store employees, most of whom were granted either full or partial anonymity in order to speak frankly about the situation, but whose identities were confirmed by Business Insider, said they had not heard any information from management regarding protocol or contingency plans related to the coronavirus issue.
The novel coronavirus is affecting many major retailers across the globe. With more than 1,800 stores in the US, Target has become a major destination for worried shoppers to stock up on essentials in the event of an epidemic.
Six Target employees mentioned that hand sanitizer was either fully or almost sold out at their stores. Other staples like toilet paper, face masks, and cold medicine were also reported to be selling out fast.
An employee in a San Diego Target store said that working during the outbreak has been hectic.
"I've had a guest come in with a giant bottle of Lysol he brought from home and he would spray everything before touching it," the employee said. "I do feel like it's a hazard working here, because I always see kids running around sneezing on everything without covering their mouths."
During Target's 2020 financial community meeting and fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 earnings call on Tuesday, CFO Michael Fiddelke said that the company has not seen a large impact on the business from the coronavirus, adding that any adjustments made for Target's future outlook have been slight.
In response to Business Insider's request for comment, Target referred to CEO Brian Cornell's comments from the earnings call.
"Like all of you, we're monitoring this situation hour by hour as conditions evolve," Cornell said in the call. "At Target, we've been prioritizing our team, starting by ensuring that all of our China-based team members have been able to work from home. More broadly, we spent considerable time focused on the best way to support our team members all around the world to make sure they stay healthy and safe."
Paid sick leave is a luxury
Additionally, some Target employees are not offered paid sick leave. Adam Ryan, the liaison for the employee activist group Target Workers Unite and a current employee at a store in Christiansburg, Virginia, said that he feels too worried to take an unpaid sick day if it would have to come to that.
"Even missing one day has a huge impact," Ryan said, regarding how he does not get paid time off or paid sick time.
Patrick, a four-year employee of a North Carolina Target store who asked that Business Insider not include his last name, said his store also does not offer paid sick leave, though he said his workplace is not at the point of panic.
For the Seattle-area employee, being located in a coronavirus outbreak zone is causing him to become nervous about going to work.
"It's scary being around so many people, especially people with small children, who quite often come in coughing and sneezing, and they touch everything," he said. "And when there's an illness in the store it usually goes through the entire staff."
He said that panicked customers searching for items that are running out of stock have not helped the atmosphere in the store.
"It's honestly a scary, stressful time right now," he said.
Are you a retail employee working during the coronavirus outbreak? Email retail@businessinsider.com
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direct link:
https://www.aol.com/article/finance/2020/03/04/a-leaked-target-email-urges-store-managers-to-carry-on-business-as-usual-while-coronavirus-fears-create-a-scary-stressful-time-for-employees/23940044/
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2/29/20
Target
Target is the eighth largest retailer in the U.S. And, even if shoppers are getting tired of the Target brand, the big-box retailer is going nowhere.
Well, except for six stores, that is. Chicago’s south side is losing two Target locations. Tennessee, Wisconsin, New York, and Minnesota are also saying goodbye to Target.
However, while six stores are going away, Target plans to open 19 brand new Target locations. On top of that, the company has plans to remodel 300 stores in 2019 and give facelifts to another 300 in 2020.
Additionally, the company is opening small-format stores in downtown areas and on college campuses this year. Santa Barbara, Cape Cod, Washington, D.C. and Seattle will all boast of mini-Targets.
In an effort to stave off the Amazon threat, Target is adding “Target +,” an online marketplace that rivals Amazon.com.
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10/7/19
Target stores are getting surprise visits from company inspectors and managers following workers' reports of unsafe backrooms
Business Insider - SHOSHY CIMENT - Oct 7th 2019 12:34PM
- Target quietly cut overnight and backroom shifts in stores across the US, which workers say has created an increase in workload for those on daytime shifts.
- Many backrooms in Target stores have become overcrowded and even unsafe because of the changes, workers said.
- Business Insider spoke to 28 current and former Target employees who have observed or experienced the effects of shift changes on their stores. Following the publication of a Business Insider article that detailed the situation in many backrooms, four current and former employees told Business Insider that it appeared as though Target was looking into the issues reported.
- Target declined to comment for this story.
- Target's shift cuts have made the backrooms of many stores overcrowded and unsafe, workers said.
The changes are part of a general process of change that Target is implementing in stores across the country. Target previously confirmed to Business Insider that it eliminated backroom and overnight shifts in some stores to increase the availability of workers to assist guests on the floor.
Following the publication of a Business Insider article on Wednesday that detailed the overcrowded and unsafe conditions that workers said have resulted from the shift changes, four current and former Target employees in Arizona, Houston, New Jersey, and California told Business Insider that they have noticed or heard of changes happening in their stores to address the issues reported.
A current employee at an Arizona Target said that her district manager came to observe her store on Wednesday, October 2 following the publication of the article. She also said her store received a surprise visit from Target safety inspectors, also on that Wednesday.
"Our store manager did [a] safety walk with them in the backroom and made a list of violations that need to be fixed as well as violations on the sales floor," she said.
A team leader in a Texas Target said that all eight stores in his district received emails from the district team leader instructing them to immediately clean up their backrooms.
"Now everybody is under pressure cleaning the backroom," he said, noting that some stores in his district are even allocating extra payroll to get this done.
Another employee in a New Jersey Target said that his store received orders from district leaders to ensure that the backroom was free of issues highlighted in the report on Saturday. This employee's store was also warned that visits from the district manager in the future could be likely.
Business Insider spoke with 28 former and current Target workers for an article published October 2.
Some 13 of them said they felt that shift changes had turned their backrooms into an unsafe work environment. Most of these workers — some current, some former employees — spoke on condition of anonymity so that they could speak frankly about working conditions and the situation more generally at Target.
A former leader in an overnight inbound team who worked at a New Hampshire Target for three years said that changes in her store began last September and took effect practically overnight. She left her job in February.
"There was a point where my store should have been shut down due to unsafe working conditions," she said.
Target declined to comment for this story.
Link to article: https://www.aol.com/article/finance/2019/10/07/target-stores-are-getting-surprise-visits-from-company-inspectors-and-managers-following-workers-reports-of-unsafe-backrooms/23831003/
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8/25/18
Target Red Card Debit Transactions Blamed for Excessive Bank Fees
By Kim Gale August 24, 2018
Join a Free Target Red Card Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
If you have a Target Debit Card and you were charged fees for insufficient funds by Target and your bank, you may qualify to join this Target Red Card class action lawsuit investigation. https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/855387-target-red-card-debit-transactions-blamed-for-excessive-bank-fees/
Target Red Card Debit Transactions Blamed for Excessive Bank FeesDid using a Target Red Card debit card cause you to incur excessive insufficient fund fees at your bank? If so, you’re not alone.
The Target Red Card debit card is a store-branded debit card that offers cardholders five percent off purchases. The card is promoted as working like a bank debit card because the money used to pay for items comes from the cardholder’s checking account.
But some customers allege the Target Red Card debit card is not like a bank debit card at all. A bank debit card immediately deducts funds from your bank account, but a Target Red Card debit transaction initiates a process through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network. An ACH transaction is an electronic payment system that process large volumes of credit and debit transactions in huge batches.
When a customer makes a purchase with a Target Red Card debit card, the transaction can take three or four days before it is posted in the customer’s bank account.
Target Red Card Debit Card Allegations
A California customer filed a Target Red Card debit card lawsuit because he was told by a Target representative that the Red Card would allow him to purchase items and the funds would immediately and directly withdraw from his checking account.
Plaintiff James Walters said he was instructed to use a PIN number with the card as he would a debit card. Walters alleged that instead of seeing the funds directly come out of his bank account as he expected, his Target Red Card debit purchases took several days to post to his account.
He said by using the ACH network, the Target Red Card debit card more accurately can be described as a feature that initiates an electronic check, and not one that takes money directly from a bank account.
Walters alleged that to save money with the ACH transactions, Target waited and processed them in batches, which caused the delay at customers’ banks. Walters alleges the delay increased the chance that a customer’s checking account could become overdrawn by the time the Target purchase posted.
If a transaction attempted with a Target Red Card debit card is refused, Target charges Returned Payment Fees, just as a bank does. The difference is that bank fees are regulated by federal law, but Target’s RPFs are unrestricted.
Walters alleged that one declined Target Red Card debit transaction can amount to RPF charges of more than $100. On top of Target’s fees, the customer’s bank may also charge Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) fees for the declined transaction.
In some cases, Walters claimed, Target tries to submit the pending transaction to the consumer’s bank up to a total of three times, and each attempt can incur NSF fees charged by the bank.
Anyone who has paid multiple fees to their bank and to Target may find the five percent discount on purchases is not worth the cost of the fees. Walters argues most of the RPF and NSF fees could have been avoided if not for the several-day delay in processing of Target Red Card debit card transactions.
If you have incurred a Return Payment fee by the Target Red Card debit card and NSF fees by your bank due to delayed transaction processing, you could qualify for this investigation.
Join a Free Target Red Card Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
If you have a Target Debit Card and you were charged fees for insufficient funds by Target and your bank, you may qualify to join this Target Red Card class action lawsuit
investigation.https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/855387-target-red-card-debit-transactions-blamed-for-excessive-bank-fees/
Info on other class actions can be found at:
https://topclassactions.com/