Almost immediately after his term started, the 47th president issued executive orders to end all federal DEI-related initiatives. He also pressured/encouraged businesses to roll back or end their own diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Target was one of the big corporations to capitulate and immediately announced that they would be ending their DEI policies and REACH (Racial Equity Action and Change) initiative. Consumers, especially Black consumers, felt betrayed and responded with their wallets. By August, Target reported a 19% decrease in profits and a huge devaluation of their stock price. As a result, their CEO announced that he’d be stepping down at the end of January 2026.
We’re entering the holiday shopping season and Target is desperate to get customers back into their stores. So, they’ve come up with a new policy they think will do the trick. They are going to bring people back by killing them with kindness! The new policy, called “10-4” mandates that if an employee is within 10 feet of a customer, they have to smile and wave. If they’re within four feet, then they have to smile and talk with the shopper.
Target customers will soon see more smiles and maybe even exchange more pleasantries with employees, thanks to a new staff policy the retailer has implemented, the company said.
The new policy requires employees who are within 10 feet of customers to smile, make eye contact, wave, and use friendly, approachable, and welcoming body language, the Minneapolis-based retailer told USA TODAY on Monday, Nov. 10.
If staff members are within 4 feet of customers, they must personally greet the guests, smile, and initiate a warm, helpful interaction, Target said. The requirements are part of a program called 10-4. The program is one way Target is trying to elevate the shopping experience, the company told USA TODAY. Target said the company wants to make sure customers truly feel like guests who are appreciated.
Adrienne Costanzo, Target’s executive vice president and chief stores officer, said the company has done a great job so far in creating a good in-store experience for customers.
“We know when our guests are greeted, feel welcomed and get the help they need that translates to guest love and loyalty,” Costanzo said in a statement to USA TODAY. “Heading into the holiday, we’re making adjustments and implementing new ways to increase connection during the most important time of the year powered by our team.”
The company did not say when the policy will go into effect, or whether employees will be reprimanded if they don’t abide by the policy.
Target said the new policy also aligns with incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke’s goals for the company…The company said he has advocated for investments into pay and benefits for the company’s team members.
Some Target employees took to Reddit to express their opinions about the policy, with some noting that they should be greeting customers anyway.
“Kinda what we’re (supposed) to be doing anyway, but still,” wrote Reddit user Ziglet_249. “I truly believe I promoted myself to guest at just the right time. Yesterday was my last day in the system, I am officially (retired).”
Another user, Odd-Face-3579, suggested the reason for the policy is because Target employees aren’t smiling enough on their own due to what it’s like working there.
“The problem isn’t that it’s a job requirement to smile (though the forced verbal greeting at 4 feet is a problem if you ask me.) The problem is that if your employees aren’t smiling at guests, it’s probably because your employees are wildly unhappy. If you fixed things for your employees to be happy, you probably wouldn’t need to announce a new plan mandating happiness,” Odd-Face-3579 wrote.
So, they’re forcing employees to talk and smile more in order to make shoppers feel appreciated? Of course it’s always nice to get a friendly little smile and nod from someone when you walk by. It brightens my day and I try to do it to other people if we make eye contact in an aisle. But when I go shopping I don’t need or expect workers to interact with me if the situation doesn’t call for it. If I need to know where something is, I’ll politely ask for help. Most of the time, people are friendly and happy to point me in the right direction.
Target has completely missed the point here. People stopped shopping there because they capitulated to the president’s and his administration’s bigoted demands. They betrayed loyal customers. You know what makes shoppers feel welcome at your store? Not donating one million dollars to a wannabe authoritarian’s inauguration and then showing whole communities that they weren’t that important to you after all. If Target wants shoppers to end their boycott, they have to earn that trust back (if it isn’t too late). They can start by recommitting themselves to their DEI initiatives and working with Black-owned businesses again.
Photos credit: Zoshua Colah and Shabaz Usmani on Unsplash, Instagram, Getty
This dumb-ass policy is gonna tank, and quickly. I’m here for it.
They should never have kissed the ring and got rid of their DEI policy. This new tactic ain’t gonna work!!
I know im a introvert, so not everyone may agree, but i find it quite annoying to have people constantly come up to me and ask to help me or start a conversation while im shopping. Ill ask if i need help and it otherwise does nothing but breaks my concentration.
There is a cvs inside my local target. There are times I have to get medication there. The last thing I want is for target employees to try to chit chat with me as I’m standing in line or whatever. I don’t run errands in the hopes of making small talk.
Forcing employees to smile at customers ain’t gonna bring those customers back. I haven’t shopped at Target since they took away their DEI initiatives. I can’t believe by how MUCH they are missing the plot.
It is so out of touch. Does this man not realize that retail workers are already required to smile at customers and offer help?! For crying out loud!
I too left and do not intend to go back. Which is too bad, I liked shopping there before they bowed to the fashy stuff.
As you said, smiling ain’t gonna fix it.
My company took DEI language out of the annual report. Trying to wind it down quietly, I suspect. Last round of layoffs was overwhelmingly women. White frat guys rule right now and they’re loving every minute of it.
Target was my go to until they capitulated to slob in the White House. One of the things l liked most was that the associates pretty much left me alone. I could go in shop and wander, pay for my shit and bounce. Forced joy will not dig them out of the hole they dug.
Wandering around Target unbothered was my go-to. To decompress after work or the gym on a weeknight, hitting it up on a weekend in the morning if I got a project inspo, or going late afternoon when I was lonely. My bestie and I would actually do Target wanders as a friend activity (we’d go in and split up and then meet at the register). I always went in for one thing and spent at least $100.
You reminded me! I miss that a lot, Costco is no substitute for the Target wander, though that is where I go now cause they kept their DEI programming.
I hope their corporate comms team is smart enough to listen in and collect these comments.
We, too, switched to Costco after Target went orange. It’s taken some getting used to, but I’m grateful to be in an economic position to shop my value system. (Our nearest Costco is a lot farther away and less convenient than Target was.)
That sounds absolutely hellish, for both staff and customers. Imagine walking through the store and having every staff member you see greeting you like you’re their long lost mother. It would be an extra reason, on top of all the other very excellent reasons, not to go there for me.
HARD AGREE, Jas! I am completely freaked out by this inhuman, and inhumane, expectation. I had NO idea that leadership minds at Target were this feeble. This is no more, and no less, than making the workers at the very bottom of the ladder try to make up for reversing highly popular and needed corporate programming that brought so much customer goodwill. It’s actually sinister, this policy.
Are they really so stupid as to not see what is plainly right in front of them? Reverse course, come out as acknowledging your mistake, reinstate DEI and we will come back. That is the ONLY thing that’s going to work.
I didn’t put a toe in or a dollar down at Target after they stopped their DEI programming. This just gives me a second reason, now one of pity, to continue to not shop at Target.
@NoHope- excellent points- esp that they are making workers at the bottom make up for the mistakes of those on top! Also, guys, the fix you need is right there! Are you not listening to your customers (I’ve done my darndest to avoid Target, which is hard in my small town, and this isn’t going to change my mind)
Yuck. I don’t think you can put “smile, wave and talk” in a work contract. This sounds hellish. This is Target’s solution for mistreating their employees? Jesus. Can the workers be fired for not being happy enough? Sounds like Orwell’s 1984.
Right, I don’t want people just randomly taking to me while I shop. That would annoy me so much. Luckily, I haven’t been to a Target in a hot minute since the DEI capitulation so it doesn’t matter anyways. But this new policy sounds annoying.
I’ve worked retail. When someone comes in, you smile and say hi. If you see someone wandering around, you ask “are you finding everything ok?” Once.
That’s it. It’s similar to being a restaurant server. Helpful but unobtrusive.
This makes me want to go to Target and wander around and see if they are actually doing it!
Glad I don’t work there.
Yes curtesy is one thing but this is intrusive and desperate to bring customers back. If they want me back there needs to be a very big apology and their previous policy re-instated! I won’t hold my breath.
Hellish is exactly the right word! I’d feel like I have to engage because I know it makes the staff look good to management, even though neither one of us wants the interaction. If I needed an additional excuse to avoid Target, this is it.
Ooh book recommendation: Help Wanted by Adele Waldman about overnight employees at a fictional Target (who themselves shop at fictional Walmart because they can’t afford fictional Target). Humorous with great character development and an interesting plot.
They could start paying their employees a living wage, wouldn’t that be great PR in this economy
“The beatings will continue until morale improves.”
.
Seriously, just leave me alone please.
That sounds like my worst nightmare.
Isn’t this a standard retail thing, to greet every customer? I’m supposed to acknowledge everybody at the hospital where I work, so I literally grin and bear it. I personally hate it when I walk into a business and get bombarded with “HI CAN I HELP YOU” but patients fill out those discharge surveys with comments about “I felt ignored” and “I couldn’t find anybody to help me” and so we get these aggressive acknowledgement policies.
I work PT retail at a high end kitchen goods retailer now and have on/off at other retailers over the years. It’s always been standard to have someone near the front door to greet people but it’s also, in part, to help minimize shrink (theft). Otherwise we mostly leave people alone, aside from checking in if it seems someone seems to need help or has a question.
This policy feels like basic customer service and it’s pretty telling that it’s a new initiative. Nevermind that it will also cut down on thefts…I’m sure that’s an “unspoken” part of this cheery policy.
This is completely standard in the retail/customer service world. I do not understand the outrage. My Target is an extremely diverse store and has not changed since the removal of DEI policies. A good chunk of the staff will make an effort to be genuinely friendly.
In comparison, think of how much people love Trader Joe’s super chatty cashiers? Do they not think that’s company policy?
Here to say the same thing. That’s just part of being in the service industry. I feel like the layout of every Target store is different, so if I’m not at the one I always shop at, I can’t find anything. The employees seem like they’re bothered if you ask them for help. I get that they’re busy, so I’d never complain, but they ARE there to provide help to customers in the store. I worked at Barnes and Noble for almost ten years and we had to do stuff like this. I don’t understand why it’s so surprising.
I dread the forced cashier chat at TJ’s. “So, what are your plans for the evening? Anything fun planned for your weekend?” etc feel invasive to me as an introvert.
@Elle – I feel like the TJs in my area have relaxed that policy because it’s much less crazy. I used to loathe them calling attention to my purchases. Like, the chipotle mango salsa isn’t for me.
Ive worked retail in a few different settings and it absolutely depends on the store.
Smiling and acknowledging the customer is fine, IMO. that’s not a big deal. Then if the customer has a question, they’ll follow up.
but actually greeting people within 4 feet and starting a “warm helpful interaction” is going to be off putting for many.
People go to Target to browse. they want to wander aimlessly. they dont want you to ask them what they’re looking for, they’ll find it meandering the aisles. Smiling and waving is enough to scoop the customers who do need help.
I’ve worked in very specialized retail stores and there we always asked what we could help them find, because no one was walking through those doors to browse. I’ve worked in big generic department stores (Macys and the like) and depending on the department, most people were browsing. And I’ve worked at more specific stores that still cater to browsing – think Loft, Gap etc. Sometimes people go there to find a dress for a wedding, sometimes they’re just there to see whats on sale and dont want you hovering. Customer service can actually be quite tricky in terms of finding the line between being available and being overly intrusive or hovering.
For Target, I dont see this policy being super successful. Why would they want to help people find what they need to get them out of the store faster??
Yeah, for me the ‘wandering aimlessly’ was my Target shopping MO for years, that’s how every trip to pick up $50 of my usual lotions, sunscreen, unscented dishwasher tabs and paper towels always morphed into a $250 haul of random housewares, toiletries, sleep ware and snacks LOL.
This new policy would annoy me, and likely limit my spending. But it will actually be a non-issue since I haven’t shopped there since Target preemptively bent the knee to the wee orange wanna be tyrant.
Yeah, I worked at a pet store, where it’s needed to help customers. But specifically, saying ‘at 4 feet, have a conversation’, sounds like someone up the corporate ladder is trying to save their job, because that’s micromanagement at a ridiculous level!
Target type guidance wasn’t standard when I worked retail at a drug store and at a local five and dime (a step up from dollar stores and a step down from Target). We were supposed to greet customers as they entered or approached us to check out, but not say “oh hi!” if we came across them elsewhere in the store. We were supposed to offer to assist in specific circumstances (like when I manned a register in cosmetics, if a customer entered the space and made eye contact, I was to let them now I could help if they needed anything, but if they were browsing to let them browse). We were expected to always be pleasant to customers, but we were never given such precise instructions as “wave” or “start talking to them if they’re within four feet of you.”
As an introvert, I avoid retail outlets with pushy talky staff. And there’s a difference between being helpful and being intrusive into my shopping experience, and Target’s policy as describe sounds very unpleasant to me.
I also think there is a difference between greeting a customer as they enter the store (that’s pretty standard) – and continuing to greet a customer repeatedly, wherever they are in the store, over and over again bc they happen to get in range of an employee.
Like, by the time I’ve wound my way to the seasonal items (they are in the opposite corner of the store from the entrance at my local Target), why would I need the 5th (or whatever) employee I’ve run into in the maybe 20-30 minutes of shopping I’ve done before I got there, to greet me?!
(I’m shy so I kind of hate it when I’m forced to make conversation with strangers, so maybe others will enjoy this more, but it still seems like no reasonable human needs to be, nor expects to be, greeted repeatedly on the same shopping trip, wherever they are in the store.)
And how are these employees supposed to get anything else done if they have to constantly be assessing whether they are waving or chatting distance from every customer they see in their peripheral? Can you imagine trying to shelve a box of items, and you have to stop and have a chat with every customer who walks into the aisle while you’re there? It will take at least twice as long.
And guess who will probably get in trouble when productivity slows as a result? Probably not the corporate fool who came up with this plan.
Yuck. I don’t think you can put “smile, wave and talk” in a work contract. This sounds hellish. This is Target’s solution for mistreating their employees? Jesus. Can the workers be fired for not being happy enough? Sounds like Orwell’s 1984.
Since this is the US there’s no work contract and most of us are “at will” employees so there’s no legal issue with stores firing employees for not smiling enough. I worked at Kroger and got in trouble for not talking enough to a secret shopper in my checkout line.
Welcome to working retail. And yes, petty customers will complain if you don’t acf exactly as they think you should. And corporate ALWAYS sides with the customer.
I can see this going wrong in so many ways. What absolutely asinine policy. Yes, as usual “leadership” misses the boat and are complete unable to read the room.
And personally, I don’t want a constant stream of hellos when I am shopping. At least with Walmart I can be left alone – never ever being able to find an associate to help me. 🤣
A lot of companies do this, and it just ends up with the employees basically being like if I don’t say something to you I’ll get written up. Which doesn’t make you feel welcome, it just makes you feel bad for them.
Target specifically though is looking to put a new paint of coat on a burning down house. Your issue is that your capitulation drove away your loyal customers who shopped there because you were better than the Walmarts and Amazons of the world. You drove away your customers, and the people who were mad at the policies you had still didn’t come.
I can’t speak for all black people because we are not a monolith, I know people that still shop at Target, do what you do. But I would say at large for the people that don’t shop there because of the decisions that they made, the general feeling is you’re going to have to fire that entire board that made that decision, and then maybe in a year or two we’ll come back. But honestly I think that they just lost most of those people for life. A lot more people have told me that they didn’t realize how much they actually didn’t need to shop there as much as they did until this boycott happened.
We never shopped that much at Target but now we buy even less. We only purchase dog biscuits that are cheaper there than at PetSmart We feed 12 dogs so every penny counts. However I know someone who told a friend of theirs that was boycotting Target about all the employees being laid off because of the drop in sales. “Now don’t you feel bad for boycotting them?” I’d have smacked him in the face! It’s not our fault. It’s the company’s fault for ignoring their loyal customers when they caved to the cheeto monster!
I’m the type of person whose heart kinda sinks when my neighbor holds the elevator for me. I don’t want any unnecessary interactions. So something like this? HELL NO. Leave me alone.
I’m friends with a Ukrainian woman, and she has said that retail workers and servers being overly friendly is one of the most bizarre American norms that she’s had to get used to, finding the fake smiling particularly unnerving. Adding waving to all that sounds almost psychotic.
I feel for your neighbour, whenever I used to visit the US from the UK I found the approach a lot (and I’m a pretty chatty person) and it’s so different to what we’re used to. Putting aside the reason they’re in this (self-created and well deserved) situation, let people shop in peace! I just hope customers don’t give employees a hard time because of something they’re being forced to do.
We screwed up big time. We’re losing customers and $$$. Let’s implement this dumb policy and put it on our employees – whom we don’t value or pay well – to save us.
I’ve been in Target 2x since they capitulated and have bought exactly zero items on both trips. I was only in Target those 2x because I was with someone else. I refuse to give them my money. I used to LOVE going to Target. There’s one 5 minutes from my house. But I understand the assignment.
Y’all, I worked at Target for close to a decade, most of those years as a manager. This is not new. We were always trained to smile and ask, “Can I help you find something?” If we suspected they might steal, we were to deter them with friendly attention and call a manager. The big reason why it’s a trained behavior is because the sales floor staff is OVERWHELMED. We never had enough payroll hours to get things done. As a result, those Target Team Members start working frantically and start to tune out the customers, who in turn get mad that the sales person doesn’t see that someone needs to unlock the deodorant.
I’ve never worked retail, so I try not to judge when customer service is less than perfect. I understand that Target has been increasingly short-staffed, with fewer employees on the floor each year, and it is clear they are stretched thin.
But over the last few years, I’ve genuinely started to dread going. If I needed help finding something the app said was in a specific location but wasn’t, actually locating an employee was hard enough. Getting someone who would respond with anything even close to friendly was almost impossible. Most of the time, I would get an audible sigh instead of a simple “Sure, I can help.”
The last time I tried to use the fitting rooms, they were locked. I pressed the call button several times and waited about ten minutes. When no one came, I went searching for an employee. I finally found someone, asked politely for help, and got another sigh. No acknowledgment, no “of course,” just a painfully slow walk back to the fitting rooms in total silence.
It got to the point where I would start apologizing before asking a question, and I should not have to do that.
The whole reason I don’t shop at Bath and Body Works and Sephora is the OTT employees greeting you and feeling borderline stalked (do I need a basket, did I see the buy 2 get 2 free, what are my hair/skin/makeup concerns, etc) as I shop. It absolutely drives me nuts!
I rarely go in Target but are they now going to ding employees if their productivity decreases (thinking people doing replenishment or floor set or straightening) because they have to keep stop what they are doing to say hello to anyone within 4 feet? And you know there will be the jerks who read about this policy and think it’s funny or try to “gotcha” to get something free because they weren’t smiled at/greeted.
I can imagine the collective groans across all levels of store employees when this stupid policy was announced. That they apparently already have “secret shoppers” deployed is really going to help morale. Eyeroll. How about focusing on better staffing/pay to keep stores stocked and organized because last 2 times I was in (different) Target stores they were a hot mess.
For many folk, this isn’t even a boycott anymore. I stopped shopping at Target years ago because the one closest to me closed and I wasn’t willing to travel farther to shop there. Because of that, I learned real quick I didn’t need or miss Target so the boycott was easy for me. I think many others learned that same thing. We don’t need Target so it’s a permanent end of a relationship which means we’ll never go back.
Target? I don’t know her.
@kiki I Love this comment!!!!
How is this even possible when they have maybe two employees on the floor and they are filling online orders?
Seriously! Where I work, the increase in buy online/pickup in store (BOPIS) and online orders (thru the corporate website) to ship have increased tremendously the last few years but payroll and staffing budget has not. Yet in addition to serving the people in the store we have metrics for time to pull and process those online orders.
The kicker is while it is taking our staff time and products, esp for BOPIS, the store does not get credit for those sales towards our corporate established annual revenue goals. I don’t know if this is the norm across the board but it’s incredibly frustrating.
Sounds like Stepford workers.
I am boycotting. The issue isn’t the employees in the stores. The issue is the high dollar upper management that caputulated to 🥭 and his evil minions. Until the higher levels of management, including the CEO, every executive and all the board members who cowtowed to the magats are gone and the company actually embraces the dei polices that made me willing to pay extra to shop there, Target can kick rocks and go bankrupt. Blaming the store employees for the abject failure of the executives is typical mediocre white male mentality.
Also, these vague policies are a means to harass and bully employees, especially in right to work states. I am sure these employees have strict productivity rules they have to follow. Small talk will interfere with how quickly orders are picked and customers are checked out. Aren’t friendly enough or meeting productivity guidelines, especially if you have worked long enough to accue raises and benefits, and the company will nitpick to get rid of store employees before ever eliminating the high paid executives who are actually the issue.
I never really liked shopping at Target because it’s so huge and overwhelming. Once they capitulated to Trump, I was a no-go. I did take my mother there once when I was visiting her recently because she basically just discovered it and thinks it’s amazing. Also, she needed a nightgown and it was the only place near her where I was sure we could find one.
I think a lot of retail places have policies like this, though. Personally I don’t like being accosted by salespeople when I shop, but I don’t mind an occasional friendly wave.
One of my go-to shopping spots is Ross Dress For Less. There is a guard by the front door who says “Welcome to Ross!” to literally every person who walks in the door, so that sometimes he’s saying it five-ten times in a row when things are busy. He’s clearly a guard of sorts but I guess this is meant to be a combination of a friendly initial contact and a warning that they are there and don’t take anything. They also check your receipt when you leave now.
And they also must wear at least 6 pieces of flair
LOL.
I haven’t been to Target since its capitulation. Costco is my go-to now. I truly enjoy shopping at a store that shares my values.
(If anyone’s interested, there’s a free app that gives you the breakdown of stores’ political contributions. It’s Goods Unite Us, and I’ve found it to be helpful.)
Another reason for me not to go into Target…. People talking to me.
I miss Target. It’s the one big box store in my town and it is basically the one place to get certain things. I’ve had to order off Amazon or drive to other towns to get to their Walmart (which probably isn’t great either). I wish that Target would go back to DEI friendly policies so I can go back, but… instead they do this. SIGH.
This is absurd. I stopped shopping at Target because they stopped being a decent and all embracing company. They know exactly why they are failing. They presented a false DEI narrative to reel people in and then flipped as soon as they could. I don’t know that they will ever recover.
My first reaction to this new policy is: They take away DEI, now they’re forcing the (wage) slaves to smile and grin up in people’s faces. This is major cringe, but it also seems very MAGA -focused and history-repeating-itself cringe. A good work environment includes comfortable, positive interactions with customers and between staff members. That’s not how I’m taking this.
As we head into the often frenzied holiday shopping season, I’m wondering if part of what’s behind this initiative is a plan for reducing theft. Instead of being left alone to shop in peace, customers will be very aware of the presence of grinning sales associates, lurking and waving as they measure the distance of their proximity. It’s too bad that instead of creating genuinely positive environments where stores are fully staffed, sales associates are openly helpful, and customers are left to shop freely, Target has chosen to implement yet another set of rules — that seem to emphasize subservience and servility over an atmosphere that supports genuinely helpful service.
I hope my take on this is wrong.
There ain’t nobody there for you to talk to…
There’s a small Target across the street from my office, so my husband and I have gone there at least twice weekly for 20+ years. The staff is lovely — always greeting us, some hugging us, some sharing photos of grandchildren. It feels less like a chain and more like a neighborhood joint. That’s why we haven’t boycotted our Target (though we don’t buy as much). I worry that the store might close and these wonderful neighbors could lose their jobs. But, yeah, having to watch Target employees fake it is a bit cringe.
Massive corporations are ruining everything in the US. No doubt the employees will get in trouble if they don’t get their tasks done on time, because they’ve spent so much of their work time saying hello to customers who surround them.
The policy is not gonna fix their PR problem, it’s just going to make things worse for employees and customers. People don’t want to be harassed while they’re trying to shop.
I have also been participating in the boycott so this is a thought experiment for me, but, this would totally turn me off shopping there. I am a browser. I check prices. I pick up and examine stuff. I ask for help if needed. I hate when I’m minding my own business and the salesperson starts hovering. It usually makes me walk out because now I feel like I have an audience and can no longer browse in peace. Making your customers uncomfortable is a bold strategy to win them back.
As an upthread poster commented, I cannot speak for all Black people, but I refuse to shop at Target because – long before they officially ditched their DEI agenda – they were already committing micro aggressions against me. I have never shoplifted in my life (except for the 2 cent Bazooka bubble gum at the local bodega when I was in grade school), yet Target employees would follow me around, not even attempting to be subtle.
So Target lost me years ago. Why would/should I spend money where I am disliked and mistrusted?
Target can miss me with its new “smile & wave” policy. Too little, way too late.
Say hello when I enter, If I approach you in the store or look a little lost, ask how they can help. Just be polite and helpful when needed.
And corporate Target can go jump in one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes
So it’s going to be impossible to get a Target employee to come within 10 feet of me if I need help.