‘Catch me staying 11 feet away’: Target customers are already plotting how to avoid the retailer’s creepy new greeting requirements

Target just rolled out a new customer service program called 10-4, and people are not happy about it. Both workers and customers are complaining about the new greeting rules that tell employees exactly how to act around shoppers. The policy is based on how far away staff members are from customers.

According to the New York Post, here’s how it works: if an employee is standing within 10 feet of a shopper, they have to smile, look them in the eye, wave, and act friendly. When workers get within four feet of someone, they also need to say hello and start a helpful conversation. Target says they’re doing this to make shopping better and help customers feel welcome.

But lots of people think the whole thing is weird. Shoppers have been posting online about how uncomfortable the new rules make them feel. One person joked on Reddit, “Catch me staying 11 feet away,” showing that some customers are already planning to keep their distance from workers to avoid all the forced friendliness.

Target employees think the new policy will backfire

Workers at Target have been really vocal about why they think this is a bad idea. On Reddit, people claiming to be Target employees have been sharing their thoughts, and most of them hate the waving part. One worker asked who actually waves at customers and said if they were shopping, they would find it creepy.

Someone else said they’ve never waved at a customer before and would feel super awkward doing it. Another employee made fun of whoever came up with the idea, calling them an alien and saying no normal person would think waving at strangers in a store is natural.

One Reddit user who says they work at Target mentioned that the company has started sending more secret shoppers to stores to make sure employees are following the rules. Target hasn’t said when this policy officially starts or what will happen to workers who don’t do it.

One employee described the whole situation perfectly by saying that nothing says corporate joy like being forced to smile.

Customers don’t want this either. A lot of shoppers have said they just want to be left alone when they’re browsing.

One person explained that when they’re shopping, they don’t want anyone bothering them. Another customer even told employees they have permission to ignore the new rules, saying they don’t need to look at them or smile.

Target isn’t the only store with rules like this, though. Walmart has something called the 10-foot rule where workers need to make eye contact with customers. Disney parks have a 10-and-5 rule where employees smile and make eye contact from 10 feet away, then say hello when guests get within five feet.

But Target asking workers to wave seems to be taking things further than other places, which is probably why so many people online are making fun of it.

The upset over Target’s greeting rules is similar to other retail drama that’s happened recently, like when a dedicated Starbucks customer waited since 2 am for a viral teddy bear cup but didn’t get one for a crazy reason.

Store employees often get stuck between what the company wants and what customers actually like, just like a pharmacy employee who saw something unusual in a man’s eyes one night and had to figure out what to do.