JBot Mania

So yesterday was the day that Target (tar-jay) opened in my town. What’s better is that it is located about 10 minutes from any corner of this fair city. It’s quite the coup. Marshalls, Bobs, and now Target? I’m guessing it’s some kind of massive tax breaks, which is actually pretty smart on our part. There’s almost nothing else to bring anyone here other than shopping opportunities. We offer proximity to actual points of interest.

A Target is a Target is a Target, but there were some things that I noticed.

The good:

That new cart swagger. Very rarely do we get to experience that virgin shopping cart. It was solidly built to glide effortlessly from store to parking lot to car. Soon it will be run ragged like some cheap whore, but for that day, it was brand new.

Starbucks. Now on those rare occasions when I am tempted by a Skim Chai Latte, the trip is now minutes shorter. Maybe this proximity to the coffee bean God will make my house desirable to coffee addicts out there. If not me, then the Starbucks. Something to make my house a worthy destination.

Product design. I am continually thrilled with the amount of innovation that Target pours into their products, or at least into their search for innovative products. A few weeks ago, I bought a watering can with its hole on top, but to the side. Ah ha - no more fighting with the faucet to get under the handle. Yesterday, a cat collar that no longer had a belt buckle design, but rather variable sized fabric that widened and thinned to provide the tension that would hold the collar on. And the collar was like $2.00. You can’t beat that.

Sinful treats. They sell microwaveable pretzels! Oh how they saved the day, and saved me a trip to the supermarket for something I shouldn’t even be eating. I suppose this is a pro and a con.

But, with all Targets, there were some downsides:

Blatant cat discrimination. I counted three FULL aisles of dog food, dog treats, dog beds, probably dog wedding bands, and only one and a half aisles for cats. And the cat stuff had hardly any selection. The half aisle was shared with bird food. Who buys bird food? Seriously, you couldn’t put that in a quarter aisle and bring in some more litter and food options?

Poor entryway design. I’m not sure what possessed them, but they put the registers right in front of the entryway which gives you very little room to maneuver your cart out of the pen and into the store. Such a simple and yet poorly made decision. Come on guys, you came up with the watering can with the hole on the side. This should be child’s play.

Lack of selection. Not to say that they don’t have a wide variety of things, but their depth of offerings in any one area is small. I am sure this is guided by the idea that what they do offer is certainly the best, but I wanted a Dirt Devil type hand held vac and I was sadly disappointed to find only one like it, although Dirt Devil themselves sell a number of models. This is forgivable, I suppose, but I have been there at times when there was only one selection of garbage can. Simply impractical.

My conclusion:

This store should prove to be a welcome addition to my neighborhood and should elate at least as often as it disappoints. Now, I just have to get out of there just once with spending less than $60. It’s not as easy at it sounds. Everything is so pretty and seemingly so useful.