UPDATE

June 19, 2001

Mr. Robert J. Ulrich, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Target Corporation
PO Box 1392
Minneapolis, MN 55440

Re: Lullaby Club/Club Wedd Return Policy

Dear Mr. Ulrich:

I am writing to express my concern over the return policy you have for registrants in your Lullaby Club and Club Wedd gift registries.

My wife and I are registered in your Lullaby Club baby gift registry. We have gotten a lot of baby gifts, including many purchased at Target. As is common in situations like this, we have gotten a lot of duplicate items.

After returning the latest batch of duplicate baby gifts to Target, I received a receipt that said that I would no longer be able to return items without a receipt. I called the 800 number located on the receipt to confirm this statement, and this policy was confirmed. I attempted to point out the absurdity of this policy (which I detail below) for gift registrants to your customer service person and to get myself removed from this "customer blacklist" of Target's, but to no avail.

My question for you is this: if someone is a gift registrant at Target, and:

• Knowing full well that people typically buy duplicate gifts for registrants despite the best attempts to keep gift registries current, and
• Considering that most gift givers don't use your gift receipts, and
• Considering that it would be extremely ungracious and rude to ask a gift giver for any kind of receipt,

A friend of mine had registered for a television set in your Club Wedd wedding registry, and the television set that he was given did not work. He attempted to return the set and exchange it for an identical model, but the model had been discontinued by Target and no more sets of that model were in stock or expected for delivery. Target would not give him a store credit nor let him exchange it for a similar model and either pay or refund the difference. Instead, he was forced to call every Target store in metro Atlanta in an attempt to find a store that still had this set in stock, and exchange the set there (after driving it around in rush-hour traffic, sticking out of the trunk).

I ask the following:

1) Please remove me from your customer returns blacklist and please send me written confirmation of the same. My driver's license number is XXXXX, should you need it.

2) Please advise me as to how gift registrants should return gifts without receipts. Asking the giver for a receipt of any kind or relying on the giver to provide a receipt are not acceptable options.

3) Please change your return policy per the above to accommodate the returns and needs of gift registrants.

If you are unwilling to do these things, then I will not be able to purchase items at Target in the future with an acceptable degree of confidence, nor will I be willing to recommend the Target gift registries to others. I should note that one of your competitors in the baby-products market, Babies 'R' Us, does not maintain such a policy. I have had no problem whatsoever returning baby products to Babies 'R' Us. Costco Wholesale also has a liberal, no-questions-asked return policy, and has become my supplier of choice for electronics products.

Thank you in advance for your assistance with this matter.