Target Policy Asking Employees To Smile And Greet Customers Considered Cruel And Unusual Punishment By Some

 

The headline from something called “The Wellbeing Whisper” read, “Target’s Forced Smile Policy Deepens Rift With Workers and Shoppers.” Huh?

I almost never side with Target, but this time I must. The story revolves around Target’s new “10-4” policy, which urges employees to smile, make eye contact, and greet customers within prescribed distances-whether they feel like it or not. I was in retail management for 27 years. If an employee cannot—or will not—even smile and greet a customer in close proximity to them, they don’t deserve to have a job that involves interaction with customers. And they don’t deserve unemployment or welfare in my opinion, either. Or any other type of income redistribution. If the person being paid and otherwise compensated can’t even smile or say “hi” to customers that are in their store to hand over their hard-earned money, they aren’t going to be consistently competent and professional, let alone go above and beyond their position’s expectations.

Yet the article cites Allison Wiltz, a psychology Ph.D. and freelance journalist, who makes the preposterous assertion that “They [employees] shouldn’t lose the ability to make money or provide for themselves or their families just because they can’t muster up a smile.” It states that “surface acting,” or simply pretending to feel a certain way, “drains both emotional and physical resources; leads to exhaustion, lowered job performance, and reduced customer loyalty,” and even “emotional exhaustion.” I am emotionally exhausted after reading such complete bullshit. And I am not being paid for this. But wait, there’s more! Wiltz claims that mandatory smiles can “exacerbate racial and gender biases.” She claims that, for women, “the expectation to smile on demand is intertwined with relation expectations, making compliance a heavier emotional load.” Wiltz has obviously never met my wife. Also, pleasantly greeting customers, which is what you are being paid to do, subjects you to a “heavier emotional load?” Bullsh*t.

The indefinite article went on (and on) to state: “The mental health implications are serious. Emotional dissonance-when employees must hide their true feelings-has been linked to depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts in service industry workers. In one large-scale study of ‘pink-collar’ jobs, women subjected to emotional display rules and requirements to hide emotions had a 36% higher risk of depression. That risk spiked further when employers failed to provide health and safety information or support from colleagues. Forced cheerfulness, especially in the face of aggressive customers, compounds the strain.” That is so much horse hockey. Most studies show that “faking it till you make it” works more often than not. In other words, if you make an effort to feel better, smile and think good thoughts, you will most often quickly end up feeling better and more positive. In this case, as in most, a win for all involved.

No matter. The article even more preposterously continued: “Layered onto this is the racial dimension of customer bias in service encounters. Research rooted in aversive racism theory illustrates that the responses of majority customers to minority employees are often less positive, driving satisfaction scores and loyalty. When service scripts-such as Target’s 10-4 policy-are rigidly enforced, they tend to magnify these biases rather than mitigate them, especially if managers interpret compliance through a biased lens.”

Oh, bleep off.

Aversive racism theory? Illustrates that the responses of majority customers to minority employees are often less positive? That is the exact opposite of what I have seen, what I have experienced. For many years now.

And finally, “For Target, the path to regained loyalty does not lie in policing faces but in restoring the commitments that once made it a favorite of diverse shoppers. It means re-engaging with DEI in ways that resonate with real experiences, protecting employees against emotional harm, and fostering authentic interactions that benefit workers and customers alike.”

Our Father who art in heaven…

Smiling and greeting customers could cause “emotional harm?” My experience, as a customer and service employee, has been just the opposite. Yet customer service has gotten dramatically worse since the COVID lockdowns, with a few exceptions. For example, Hy-Vee, the wildly successful grocery store chain, touts its customer service with the motto: “A helpful smile in every aisle.” That is hyperbole but still an indicator of how it wishes to treat its customers.

So, imagine the emotional harm Hy-Vee is causing their new-- and legacy-- employees! Of whom the company has hired tens of thousands in recent years.

I thank God I don’t have to smile and greet anyone here. Can’t imagine the emotional damage that would cause.