Selling Target: On the Downside of the Passion Curve

Following a horrendous customer experience this weekend at Target, I was prepared to write a letter to the CEO, customer service and the store. After calming down, I figured a related blog post would be more cathartic.

I have been a Target shareholder since 2000 but will be no longer once the market opens. I put some money into the company many years ago given the passion of its customer base. Friends and family who patronized Target raved about it. I recall Julia Roberts making an unsolicited pitch on David Letterman.

That customer enthusiasm must have driven a proud corporate culture amongst Target’s workforce. Employees are always incentivized monetarily, but a workforce that demonstrates passion towards their work is the sign of an exceptional company with momentum on its side.

Passion may be a strong word for big box retail, but you would nonetheless expect some degree of pride from employees at a rising business. However, my experience today demonstrated complete apathy on the part of three separate Target employees, which was frustrating as a customer and alarming as an investor.

It is easier for startups to engender such feelings given the relative impact that an employee’s effort has on the company and co-workers. However, many great public companies have managed to uphold that sense of pride, maintaining an upward trajectory on their passion curve.

Amazon, for example, has done so with a customer centric, innovative leader in Jeff Bezos. The success of the Kindle, EC2, and the acquisition of Zappos, which is at the pinnacle of customer service, strengthen Amazon’s passionate culture. See Jeff’s enlightening presentation of the Amazon-Zappos acquisition here if you have not already.

Target will be losing my business and my investment. I will gladly send those dollars, few as they may be, Amazon’s way.