Argh. The 20% off coupon can't be used for Disney Giftcards afterall. :(

[nervous1sttimer]

My friend is a manager at Target. I asked her about this, and she gave some information.
There is a possibility of the transactions that were wrongly discounted being voided when reviewed by headquarters. This means they will deactivate the value of the giftcards, and refund the money.
The managers overriding will be flagged, and loss prevention will likely interview them. Certain amount of overriding can lead to internal investigations, and possibly having them being fired or punished.
It also effects ALL the employees, because they will have to cut hours to make up for the loss of profits.

It's not that I don't believe your friend works for Target or that she actually said this, but I don't believe for one instant that this would ever happen. If someone pays for their trip in GCs that get voided by Target, who do you think would be the one to tell the guest that their payment was invalid? Disney. And who is going to feel the wrath of that embarassed/angry/shocked guest? Disney. And do you think Target will want to put what I suspect is one of their biggest vendors in that situation? I doubt it.

I am not saying this for my own benefit - I didn't get the 20% off any GCs myself. But I doubt they will retroactively invalidate the GCs and I also doubt anyone will get fired over it. These sorts of things happen in retail. You double-down on your training and get over it.

 

[FrostedSteph]

It's not that I don't believe your friend works for Target or that she actually said this, but I don't believe for one instant that this would ever happen. If someone pays for their trip in GCs that get voided by Target, who do you think would be the one to tell the guest that their payment was invalid? Disney. And who is going to feel the wrath of that embarassed/angry/shocked guest? Disney. And do you think Target will want to put what I suspect is one of their biggest vendors in that situation? I doubt it.

I am not saying this for my own benefit - I didn't get the 20% off any GCs myself. But I doubt they will retroactively invalidate the GCs and I also doubt anyone will get fired over it. These sorts of things happen in retail. You double-down on your training and get over it.

This. Some people have already used those cards TODAY. I cannot see that scenario happening. It would be a logistical nightmare for everyone involved.

 

[dpswift]

My friend is a manager at Target. I asked her about this, and she gave some information.
There is a possibility of the transactions that were wrongly discounted being voided when reviewed by headquarters. This means they will deactivate the value of the giftcards, and refund the money.
The managers overriding will be flagged, and loss prevention will likely interview them. Certain amount of overriding can lead to internal investigations, and possibly having them being fired or punished.
It also effects ALL the employees, because they will have to cut hours to make up for the loss of profits.

This is good thinking and wording. The 20% discount was to give people a little extra. $100 off $500 worth of stuff, great. Buying thousands of dollars in giftcards that is abuse. I seriously hope that this fiasco does not put an end to the 5% discount that we all enjoy. I am sure that we will not see such a great BF deal again. What a shame for everyone.

I know one woman who used her discount to buy $300 in cat food for stray cats. What a thoughtful way to use her discount.

 

[mom2brooke76]

I don't think that anyone is trying to twist wording. People are trying to get target to stick to the wording they have used for years. Also, people are angry that target used false advertising to get them into the store on black friday to spend money.

Look at the original black friday ad that target ran. It advertises, come into the store on black friday and spend $75 and receive a 20% coupon to use on ANY single purchase. No mention of any exclusions was placed in the ad
.
Target has not in the past classified those cards as gift cards in promotions. For years, they have excluded gift cards and allowed what target classifies as "entertainment cards". Yes they are gift cards for the company that they are issued for, but not to target, for target only target gift cards are gift cards. If for the last 5+ years target had included those cards when it has used the phrase "gift card" then I agree that they shouldn't be excluded, but Target chose to separate them into another category, so long time target shoppers, familiar with target practices put them in another category as well.

Target also knows they don't classify them as gift cards, otherwise why would they also specifically exclude iTunes entertainment cards. IF they wanted to exclude all gift cards, those should also be covered in the blanket language "gift card", no need to mention them specifically.

Why has it become so wrong to expect good customer service? At best target's ad was misleading, but seems to be a deliberate deception to induce shoppers in on a busy shopping day when there were so many better options on places to shop. Why shouldn't shoppers spending their hard earned money expect honesty and consistent language and practices from a multi-billion $ retailer. Surely they have the resources to know what the classify as a gift card and when.
Those of us who expect Target to honor their ad are not idiots, we know the cards are Disney Giftcards, sold on a rack labeled Gift Cards. But we also know that the ad said come in spend money and you will get a certificate for 20% off one purchase, that for 5 years Target has not included Disney Gift Cards when it has used No gift Card. And that practice has not changed as they have at least two other active promotions that use that language and that they honor the disney cards with.

The two other active promotions clearly excluded only Target Gift Cards. From the Red Card program rules:

5% REDcard Discount program rules (Scroll down for Free Shipping at Target.com program rules, REDcard Extended Returns program rules, and Target Pharmacy Rewards program rules):

When you use your Target Debit Card, Target Credit Card® or Target® Visa® Credit Card (each, a "REDcard®") at Target stores in the U.S. or Target.com, you will receive 5% off your purchases. If you use a REDcard in the same purchase transaction with another form of payment, the 5% discount will apply only to the purchase amount tendered to your REDcard. 5% discount applies to eligible purchases minus any other discounts and the value of any promotional Target gift cards received in the transaction. Target reserves the right to discontinue or alter the terms of this program at any time. 5% discount does not apply to the following:

Prescriptions, Target Clinic® services and Target Optical® eye exams
Target gift cards and prepaid cards
Previous purchases
Target credit account payments, Target Debit Card cash back and cash advances on the Target® Visa® Credit Card
Target Commercial Interiors® purchases
Gift wrap and shipping and handling charges on Target.com purchases
Where otherwise prohibited by law

From the Pharmacy Rewards:
Target Pharmacy Rewards certificates and promotional codes cannot be redeemed on purchases of prescription drugs. In addition, Target Pharmacy Rewards certificates and promotional codes cannot be redeemed for: purchases of Target gift cards, Target eGiftCards, Target Mobile Gift Cards or Target prepaid cards, Target Commercial Interiors® purchases, previous purchases, Target credit account payments, Target Debit Card™ cash back and cash advances on the Target® Visa® Credit Card, some partner businesses including Target Clinic® services and Target Optical® eye exams, or where otherwise prohibited by law.

The gift card exclusion for the 20% coupon simply excludes gift cards and it's hard to dispute that's what the Disney Gift Cards are.

To say it seems like a "deliberate deception" is irony at it's finest.

 

[mightyexplorers]

This is good thinking and wording. The 20% discount was to give people a little extra. $100 off $500 worth of stuff, great. Buying thousands of dollars in giftcards that is abuse. I seriously hope that this fiasco does not put an end to the 5% discount that we all enjoy. I am sure that we will not see such a great BF deal again. What a shame for everyone.

I know one woman who used her discount to buy $300 in cat food for stray cats. What a thoughtful way to use her discount.

Great idea, Then put it in the ad, "Come in and spend 75$ and we will give you a coupon for 20% off any single purchase up to $500" "Gift and Entertainment cards excluded"

Don't put out an ad that says come in and spend $75 and we will give you 20% off any single purchase, then after I come in give me a coupon that says, 20% off some stuff but not other stuff."

I don't care if target wants to exclude stuff, just be upfront about it. Don't come in after I have already come in and given them my money based on a promise and say, "oh but we didn't mean that. "

If the woman had bought $3000 in catfood would she have been abusing the system or being a samaritan? If I wanted to use the discount on a $9000 90" LCD TV would I be abusing the system?

 

[djmeredith]

My friend is a manager at Target. I asked her about this, and she gave some information.
There is a possibility of the transactions that were wrongly discounted being voided when reviewed by headquarters. This means they will deactivate the value of the giftcards, and refund the money.
The managers overriding will be flagged, and loss prevention will likely interview them. Certain amount of overriding can lead to internal investigations, and possibly having them being fired or punished.
It also effects ALL the employees, because they will have to cut hours to make up for the loss of profits.

Like another poster said, I believe that your manager friend said this, but there is absolutely no way that Target would void the cards after an innocent customer has paid for them. I do believe that an investigation COULD be undertaken to determine whether or not the customer and the overriding manager were in cahoots to criminally defraud the company. If that investigation PROVED that there was criminal intent on someone's part, they might deactivate the cards in question. However, that was not the case for anyone here. Target cannot "punish" an innocent customer for a manager's mistake by deactivating their legally purchased cards. Could Target somehow punish a manager for making this mistake? Absolutely. The mangers know the consequences of overriding when they should not (or at least they should know the consequences) and if they choose to override today, they did so because they too were confused about the definition of "gift cards" for purposes of THIS coupon.

The fact that so many managers willingly overrode the system on their own, or did so after calling the service line, goes to show you that even Target managers were confused by the language on this coupon. If the store managers themselves are confused about what is defined as "gift cards" in their stores how is the average customer supposed to know the difference? That makes my original point for me: truth in advertising issues abound with this promotion. Target has lots of high paid lawyers who could have and should have protected them from this type of confusion.

I applaud those customers who waited 1.5 hrs to get what was promised to them: 20% off everything except what was listed. Entertainment Cards were not listed. The fact that Target calls them Entertainment Cards has a legal significance. Consumer protection laws exist in every state for a reason: to protect the customer . Know your rights as a consumer and assert them; it's your money. You don't have to throw a fit, be nasty, or cause a scene to do that.

 

[rebbyparker]

Great idea, Then put it in the ad, "Come in and spend 75$ and we will give you a coupon for 20% off any single purchase up to $500" "Gift and Entertainment cards excluded"

Don't put out an ad that says come in and spend $75 and we will give you 20% off any single purchase, then after I come in give me a coupon that says, 20% off some stuff but not other stuff."

I don't care if target wants to exclude stuff, just be upfront about it. Don't come in after I have already come in and given them my money based on a promise and say, "oh but we didn't mean that. "

If the woman had bought $3000 in catfood would she have been abusing the system or being a samaritan? If I wanted to use the discount on a $9000 90" LCD TV would I be abusing the system?

Excellent post.

Look, it doesn't matter either way to me. But the way the BF ad was worded and interpreted is the reason we have these posts today. Some got the discount and some didn't, due in part to the way it was worded, and obviously poor training on Target's part. It should have been all or none across the board so I understand why some are happy and others are not. And that fact alone, that some stores did it, means that Target has some explaining to do.

 

[djmeredith]

Great idea, Then put it in the ad, "Come in and spend 75$ and we will give you a coupon for 20% off any single purchase up to $500" "Gift and Entertainment cards excluded"

Don't put out an ad that says come in and spend $75 and we will give you 20% off any single purchase, then after I come in give me a coupon that says, 20% off some stuff but not other stuff."

I don't care if target wants to exclude stuff, just be upfront about it. Don't come in after I have already come in and given them my money based on a promise and say, "oh but we didn't mean that. "

If the woman had bought $3000 in catfood would she have been abusing the system or being a samaritan? If I wanted to use the discount on a $9000 90" LCD TV would I be abusing the system?

Exactly!! A retailer offering a promotion has the right to put whatever restrictions they want on it. BUT there are laws in place in most or all states that require that retailer to make it plain and clear what those restrictions are. The fact that even store managers did not know what was supposed to be excluded with this coupon demonstrates that Target did not make it clear. I don't think Target intended to make it vague; I think their attorneys screwed up. If anybody should be fired over this debacle, it's the attorneys who approved the promotion, not the managers who did the best they could with a terrible situation.

 

[cats mom]

I don't think that anyone is trying to twist wording. People are trying to get target to stick to the wording they have used for years. Also, people are angry that target used false advertising to get them into the store on black friday to spend money.

Look at the original black friday ad that target ran. It advertises, come into the store on black friday and spend $75 and receive a 20% coupon to use on ANY single purchase. No mention of any exclusions was placed in the ad
.
Target has not in the past classified those cards as gift cards in promotions. For years, they have excluded gift cards and allowed what target classifies as "entertainment cards". Yes they are gift cards for the company that they are issued for, but not to target, for target only target gift cards are gift cards. If for the last 5+ years target had included those cards when it has used the phrase "gift card" then I agree that they shouldn't be excluded, but Target chose to separate them into another category, so long time target shoppers, familiar with target practices put them in another category as well.

Target also knows they don't classify them as gift cards, otherwise why would they also specifically exclude iTunes entertainment cards. IF they wanted to exclude all gift cards, those should also be covered in the blanket language "gift card", no need to mention them specifically.

Why has it become so wrong to expect good customer service? At best target's ad was misleading, but seems to be a deliberate deception to induce shoppers in on a busy shopping day when there were so many better options on places to shop. Why shouldn't shoppers spending their hard earned money expect honesty and consistent language and practices from a multi-billion $ retailer. Surely they have the resources to know what the classify as a gift card and when.
Those of us who expect Target to honor their ad are not idiots, we know the cards are Disney Giftcards, sold on a rack labeled Gift Cards. But we also know that the ad said come in spend money and you will get a certificate for 20% off one purchase, that for 5 years Target has not included Disney Gift Cards when it has used No gift Card. And that practice has not changed as they have at least two other active promotions that use that language and that they honor the disney cards with.

I don't know about twist wording, but I think plenty of people are getting nitpicky with semantics to try and get their way when it's very clear what the intention of the coupon is, at least by now.

I do agree that Target should have included the terms on the coupon in their pre-Black Friday ads. Would it really have been all that hard to include an asterisk that linked to that info?

As for your point about past promotions; while I don't know about all past promotions, I do know the one they ran last year around this time specifically used GiftCard in the terms, and GiftCard (capitalized as shown and all one word) is a Target trade mark and/or service mark for their store cards. Thus why that promotion worked on other gift cards.

The fact that the current promotion excluded gift cards, not GiftCards, should have tipped off "long time target shoppers, familiar with target practices" and if you read some of the discussions leading up to the redemption period, it did.

I don't think the fact that there was a special line item for iTunes cards means anything more than that Apple likes to make sure everyone knows their products are generally not included in sales that aren't authorized by them. That's not unusual. Sheesh, ever try using a Macy's coupon on anything remotely interesting? The list of designer brand exclusions is so long I seldom even bother with them anymore.

Believe me, I wish the 20% off would have worked on Disney gift cards, and Southwest gift cards, and Chipotle gift cards, etc, etc. but it doesn't and it clearly was not intended to, endless gift card / entertainment card discussions notwithstanding.

 

[mom2brooke76]

Great idea, Then put it in the ad, "Come in and spend 75$ and we will give you a coupon for 20% off any single purchase up to $500" "Gift and Entertainment cards excluded"

Don't put out an ad that says come in and spend $75 and we will give you 20% off any single purchase, then after I come in give me a coupon that says, 20% off some stuff but not other stuff."

I don't care if target wants to exclude stuff, just be upfront about it. Don't come in after I have already come in and given them my money based on a promise and say, "oh but we didn't mean that. "

If the woman had bought $3000 in catfood would she have been abusing the system or being a samaritan? If I wanted to use the discount on a $9000 90" LCD TV would I be abusing the system?

The markup on cat food is likely high enough that the store still makes money if they give a 20% discount on it. Same with that $9000 09" LCD TV. Target might pay $7000 for it, so if they give a 20% discount, they're still making a couple hundred dollars. The markup on gift cards is likely slim to none.

 

[mom2brooke76]

The fact that Target calls them Entertainment Cards has a legal significance.

How Target chooses to categorize their GIFT CARDS has no legal significance whatsoever.

I'd love to see someone actually try to argue the point in court that this is not a gift card.

 

[mistysue]

As for your point about past promotions; while I don't know about all past promotions, I do know the one they ran last year around this time specifically used GiftCard in the terms, and GiftCard (capitalized as shown and all one word) is a Target trade mark and/or service mark for their store cards. Thus why that promotion worked on other gift cards.

Funny thing about that promotion last year... the promotion was clear (written right on the coupon!) that it was ONE coupon per individual and per transaction. Yet people used stacks of them. It was posted online and people printed it dozens of times. Whether or not something is questionable on this coupon, people are going to take advantage of it every time they can talk somebody into it.

 

[DisneyFEB2013]

Funny thing about that promotion last year... the promotion was clear (written right on the coupon!) that it was ONE coupon per individual and per transaction. Yet people used stacks of them. It was posted online and people printed it dozens of times. Whether or not something is questionable on this coupon, people are going to take advantage of it every time they can talk somebody into it.

<<<<<< THIS!! I remember this last year....no one saw anything ethically wrong with printing out dozens of those coupons and taking advantage of the situation. Yes, I got the 20% discount today. Do I think Target was not 100% clear, yes. It is confusing. Yes, the actual card says gift card, but Target has been so inconsistent whether it is a gift card or an entertainment card. They created this issue themselves. I certainly did not expect the discount and was shocked when it worked.

I wonder if people would be so up in arms if the coupon was more successful across the board like last year? Hmmm....

 

[debloco]

I can't believe after all the posts stating they were denied people would push the issue with a mgr for an hour or more just for the chance to get the discount.

Because $400 off on a $2000 purchase is a significant amount of money to save, which is worth an hour of time.

The product itself clearly says "GIFT CARD" on it. It doesn't matter what is coded in their system or how they choose to word their barcode/price sticker on the shelf,

See mightyexplorers response. This is exactly the issue. It isn't about what the Disney company calls or labels them. It's about how Target has treated them, coded them, and allowed discounts on them on a consistent basis. This is about Target's classification, not Disney's.

Those of us who expect Target to honor their ad are not idiots, we know the cards are Disney Giftcards, sold on a rack labeled Gift Cards. But we also know that the ad said come in spend money and you will get a certificate for 20% off one purchase, that for 5 years Target has not included Disney Gift Cards when it has used No gift Card. And that practice has not changed as they have at least two other active promotions that use that language and that they honor the disney cards with.

People are trying to get target to stick to the wording they have used for years. Also, people are angry that target used false advertising to get them into the store on black friday to spend money.

Target has not in the past classified those cards as gift cards in promotions. For years, they have excluded gift cards and allowed what target classifies as "entertainment cards". Yes they are gift cards for the company that they are issued for, but not to target, for target only target gift cards are gift cards. If for the last 5+ years target had included those cards when it has used the phrase "gift card" then I agree that they shouldn't be excluded, but Target chose to separate them into another category, so long time target shoppers, familiar with target practices put them in another category as well.

And this.

The fact that so many managers willingly overrode the system on their own, or did so after calling the service line, goes to show you that even Target managers were confused by the language on this coupon. If the store managers themselves are confused about what is defined as "gift cards" in their stores how is the average customer supposed to know the difference? That makes my original point for me: truth in advertising issues abound with this promotion. Target has lots of high paid lawyers who could have and should have protected them from this type of confusion.

I applaud those customers who waited 1.5 hrs to get what was promised to them: 20% off everything except what was listed. Entertainment Cards were not listed. The fact that Target calls them Entertainment Cards has a legal significance. Consumer protection laws exist in every state for a reason: to protect the customer . Know your rights as a consumer and assert them; it's your money. You don't have to throw a fit, be nasty, or cause a scene to do that.

Again...exactly. Thank you. It is not about entitlement, it's about Target being held responsible and accountable for the situation that they themselves have created.

 

[htmlkid]

<<<<<< THIS!! I remember this last year....no one saw anything ethically wrong with printing out dozens of those coupons and taking advantage of the situation. Yes, I got the 20% discount today. Do I think Target was not 100% clear, yes. It is confusing. Yes, the actual card says gift card, but Target has been so inconsistent whether it is a gift card or an entertainment card. They created this issue themselves. I certainly did not expect the discount and was shocked when it worked.

I wonder if people would be so up in arms if the coupon was more successful across the board like last year? Hmmm....

I totally agree with the above, if it worked for everyone I don't think there would be that many complaints. I went to 5 target stores and the 5th one finally gave me the discount....and yes I purchased all 200 cards they had hanging on the checkout racks. When I was denied at a store I did not rant or ask to call corporate, I did try to state they were listed as entertainment but when I was told no i said that you and moved onto the next store hoping for the best. Did I take advantage of a mistake that target made....I'm not sure cause they allowed me to do it last year. All I do know is that I feel lucky that due to their mistake my family will enjoy a little more Disney magic then we might have without the $2000 savings.

 

[Fueledbycoffee]

I'm a retail manager (thankfully not Target)... The fact that people are upset because they aren't saving 20% on a GIFT CARD boggles my mind!

I don't care about the "entertainment card" argument, that is an issue of semantics not policy.

I feel SO SORRY for some of the managers right now... Customers (not guests because that would imply respect) are tying up countless man hours today trying to get a crazy discount. There are likely to be other associates that needed the manager to help them with something important instead dealing with this.

This is a season for stores to improve the stores bottom line. Generally managers will feel the pressure to protect it. Poor results can effect the whole store (raises, available hours for team members etc).

The managers are also people who have to go home at night & provide for their families. Part of the decision process when they override coupons/make exceptions includes the thought "will this cause me to loose my job?". Imagine how some of them are now feeling after hearing that corporate didn't intend for the coupon to work?!

For those that planned on the discount I would feel bad but not everything is easy...

Walking away now & won't be debating this because some Disney is better than no Disney.

FYI- Didn't have to coupon so I'm only speaking from a retail point of view.

 

[KathyTX]

Whether you call them Gift Cards or Entertainment Cards is immaterial. These are a vehicle for one company to collect money that is passed to the other company. They are not "merchandise", there is no inventory value, this is a financial service. They are Gift Cards.

When retailers sell these cards for other retailers, the program is managed through one of a couple of large brokerage companies. One is called Gift Card Mall.

The selling company (Target) collects money for the card. When you pay Target, they transmit that info to Gift Card Mall who sends it instantly to Disney (or iTunes, or Macaroni Grill, or whoever) and the issuing company activates the Gift Card.

Later, Target will transmit to Disney the money they collected on Disney's behalf. (It's a little more complicated than that, but you get the picture.)

Once that gift card has been activated, Target has no more control over that card. Target cannot void your Disney gift card tomorrow. Target and Disney could work TOGETHER to take an action like that in the case of fraud, but any adjustments to the amount or the status of that gift card belong to the issuing company once it's been activated; all relevant data resides in the systems of Disney or other issuer at that point.

The selling company gets a very small commission on the sale of these cards, I think typically 1-3% of the value. If there's a discrepancy between the face value of the card and the amount Target collected, either Target or Disney will be eating that. In a case like this, I'd imagine that Target will be eating the loss.

Not a good deal for Target...

 

[kaytieeldr]

Target has not in the past classified those cards as gift cards in promotions. For years, they have excluded gift cards and allowed what target classifies as "entertainment cards". Yes they are gift cards for the company that they are issued for, but not to target, for target only target gift cards are gift cards. If for the last 5+ years target had included those cards when it has used the phrase "gift card" then I agree that they shouldn't be excluded, but Target chose to separate them into another category, so long time target shoppers, familiar with target practices put them in another category as well.

Posters keep referencing the RedCard/Prescription discounts as if they're identical to a coupon. They're not. Those two standard discounts have their own set(s) of rules.

A percent off coupon is entirely different. When has Target ever allowed a percent off coupon (not progeam discount) to be applied to "entertainment" - really, gift - card purchases before?

If anybody's going to complain, compare apples to apples, okay?

 

[kaytieeldr]

This IS a valid complaint. It's not a reason to pressure a manager to override the system or anything, but is a reason to be unappy with Target. The ad should have clearly stated the coupon exclusions in my opinion.

I've never seen an ad about a coupon detailing the coupon restrictions. That's information found on the coupon itself.

And if they had put that in the ad I wouldn't have driven out of my way from my in-laws to stop at Target. They had no exclusion like that in the ad. It was only after I had spent the $75, and fought with the checker to get the 20% off coupon because she was out, that I saw the exclusions. I would not have spent my money there had they explained everything clearly from the beginning.

One option in that case would have been to have the cashier void the sale, or head right to the Service Desk and return it all.

 

[DarthMole]

I totally agree with the above, if it worked for everyone I don't think there would be that many complaints. I went to 5 target stores and the 5th one finally gave me the discount....and yes I purchased all 200 cards they had hanging on the checkout racks. When I was denied at a store I did not rant or ask to call corporate, I did try to state they were listed as entertainment but when I was told no i said that you and moved onto the next store hoping for the best. Did I take advantage of a mistake that target made....I'm not sure cause they allowed me to do it last year. All I do know is that I feel lucky that due to their mistake my family will enjoy a little more Disney magic then we might have without the $2000 savings.

Wow. I'm not sure if this is entitlement or not, but I think this is a pretty good example of what some are complaining about. I'm not sure what you were allowed to do last year, but most coupons and promotions were valid transactions at the register and didn't involve hitting up five stores looking for a manager to dupe into overriding the system. Just realize whoever approved this override is the one who made the mistake here, not Target.