Impossible Online Shopping Experience With a Retailer That Mistreats My Data
I got 2 Target gift cards at my baby shower. I don't shop there, but I decided to use them to buy some nursing bras my friends recommended. The nearest store was 25 min. away and out of stock, so I shopped online. I chose my items and tried to checkout as a guest, as I didn't want to make an account. Turns out, Target requires you to make an account to buy online. I tried to make one but couldn't. I called customer service and was told an account had been created in my name 6 years ago and then deactivated. (I have no memory of doing this.) The service rep reactivated my account and placed the order for me about 5:30 pm ET. I noticed 3 of the 4 bras were set for pickup in California at 7 pm PT. I live on the East Coast and wanted the whole order shipped to my home. The rep wasn't American, so I had to explain that I lived on the opposite side of the country and couldn't drive 2,500 miles to California in 5 hours to pick up the bras. Target wouldn't let us edit the order since it was already placed, so she canceled those 3 items and reordered them for me with home shipping. Placing my order took almost 30 minutes. Once my items arrived, I decided to delete my Target account since I was so unhappy with the shopping experience. But, Target makes that very difficult. You can't delete the account yourself; you must talk to customer service. I spent 20+ minutes in the online chat. The bot "didn't have the answer to that question." I finally got a person, who stalled before finally sending me a link to delete my account. I filled out the form and got an email saying Target "couldn't find my information" with no more details. Eventually, I realized it was because my married name was on my shipping address and my maiden name was on the account itself. I had to update my name and resubmit the form. That's when I realized my first request wasn't even for deletion. It was a request for privacy policies and data use information. Apparently, this link from customer service has a confusing, hidden toggle where you must switch from an information request to an account deletion request. The second time, a confirmation screen said my request would be processed within 45 days (a very long time). Then I got an email saying my request "has been processed." So, I'm unsure if my account really got deleted or if it's in progress. The second email also included a list of reasons Target will keep my data on file, even though I requested it to be deleted along with my account. It's as if they're holding my information as a digital hostage. The customer service reps were nice enough, but they're in foreign call centers and don't speak good English. All I wanted was some comfortable nursing bras so I can feed my baby, but to get them, I had to spend over an hour messing with things that should have taken less than 5 minutes. And I'm not even sure the issue is resolved. People act like Target is great, but it's one of the 3 worst companies I've ever done business with. I won't be shopping in store or online ever again. The next time someone gives me a Target gift card, I plan to find a homeless person and give it to them... hopefully for someone who's down on their luck, a little free money at a crummy store will be better than nothing!