Lilly for Target, an Online Shopping Nightmare

*footnotes at the bottom for those who don't want to read my long rant ;)


Have you ever been so mad you don't know whether to cry, scream, or throw something? That's where I'm at now...multiplied by 10. All thanks to the Lilly for Target collab.

But before I get into that hot mess, let's start with the good news - I snagged these two items from the online collection launch. No dresses but I'm hoping that the top and shoes end up being keepers. They were on my wishlist. Now I have to wait and see if I ever actually get these items sent to me.

 

And now the bad news...

Along with the rest of the women across America I was prepared and ready to shop the Lilly Pulitzer collection. I signed into my Target account, favorited must-have items, and refreshed my computer every few minutes so I could snag what I wanted the minute they were available. That was at 9pm (I'm on the west coast). Finally around 12:30am all hell broke loose as the items were released, then pulled back, then released again - all in while the site was alternating between acting a fool and crashing.

I had four items in my cart, but then they would disappear, only to return two seconds later. When I was able to proceed, two items were left in my cart. Annoying but a win in the scheme of shopping a designer collaboration online at Target. But then the real nightmare happened.

I verified my credit card and saw my address so I proceeded to checkout. I wasn't asked to verify in stages like normal, though (credit card, billing and shipping addresses, then conformation). Instead the order processed. When I received my confirmation email I realized somehow my old address was listed for shipping. I have no idea where that came from. I've had plenty of shipments in the last two years since I've moved. My current address is my default address. WHAT THE HELL?

I immediately tried calling customer service. Over and over from 12:45-3am. Each time my wait hit the 25-minute mark, I'd automatically get disconnected. Between all of the phone calls, I sent several tweets and emails to various accounts desperately trying to get help. I understand that the launch was a mess and they were overwhelmed but they should've been better prepared. If they can't host a collaboration without the site crashing like it always does, they should at least have resources to help people.

To make a ridiculously long story short(er), I finally got email responses and spoke to actual customer service reps on the phone - all of which led to the same answer, that I'm out of luck and they can't help. More like won't. Now my package is being sent to the wrong address and I have to hope the person who receives it will notify Target that they are not the correct recipient. Yeah, right. My old apartment is in Hollywood. That package will never reappear. I was advised by Target to contact UPS for shipping help but they saidnthey have to send to the address Target instructs them to. So I'm screwed. What I'll probably have to do is dispute the charge with my credit card company.

It took me over 12 hours just to get a "tough luck" response. How is that acceptable? They have my package and if there isn't a policy to update orders there should be. There's no way that I'm the only person ever to enter an incorrect shipping address - especially in the frenzy of one of these insane collabs where you have seconds to buy an item before it's sold to someone else. Target should be able to assist me and make this right. Instead I have to worry about paying for a package that someone else gets to keep.

I'm beyond livid. This treatment and runaround I've received is inexcusable. Unfortunately they don't care. Everyone shops at Target. They'll do as they please because alienating one customer among the masses is nothing to them.


Footnotes for those who don't want to read the whole post: Target is shipping my Lilly for Target items to the wrong address and will not update to the correct address. It took 12 hours for them to tell me I'm out of luck. Horrible customer service and purchase procedures. Big thumbs down to Target!