Monday, November 25, 2013

[Consumer Rave] My first experience with @TargetCanada



I went to the new Canadian Target. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting beyond "Zellers with a new brand name," mostly due to all the flack and bitching I've been hearing.

Zellers was Canada's Wal-mart. It was a cheap product big box store. The quality wasn't great, but it was very much get what you pay for. The problem was, it was grungy. Its interior design was very crammed together and the colour scheme made you feel like you should power wash the whole place with bleach. It didn't help that none of the stores had probably had a face lift since the mid 80s. Their stores were often old and looked it. Target was bright, clean, room to shop, and had selection. I didn't feel like I was walking into Zellers at all.

I didn't do much exploring, but from the bits I meandered through, it was laid out similarly to the American Targets I'd been in, had similar product types and quality and had elbow room to shop with. Was it more expensive than Walmart? Yup. Y'know why? Because they don't treat their workers like they're in Victorian England. Their workers have better working conditions, better pay, better treatment all around. Also, when Walmart came to Canada, it got a deal with our government that keeps its costs lower -- Target didn't get that deal.

So, really, the choice isn't "Shop at Walmart and pay less or shop at Target and pay more for the same stuff" it's "Shop at Walmart and support the abuse of the working class, or shop at Sears, or Target, or HBC, or Real Canadian Superstore and support Canadians." If you want to shop at Canadian institutions, Sears or Real Canadian Superstore will happily accept your money. Walmart treats its workers and everyone to do with them like crap, every time you spend a dollar there you're supporting this. You're perfectly okay with people being treated like crap. Don't just post things to Facebook; talk with your dollar.

Many bitch they didn't have any choice but to shop at Walmart, well y'know what? You do now. I get told they can't afford NOT to shop at Walmart, try to have a few less wants. Superstore is on par price wise with food and home goods. Sears is more expensive but their clothes and products are also of a higher quality and will last far longer. HBC still has the most awesome blankets on the planet.

I give my local Target a thumbs up. All I need to do is find the yarn/crafting section.

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