More Barbie Manifesto

This is another one of my fish! Unfortunately I am not the kind of potter

that documents everything - or anything for that matter so

I don't know how I got this woo-woo metallic green glaze...

Well, I have delivered my message to two stores and wow, do I feel crabby. I sense that this may be harder than I thought. I assumed that people would hear my story and jump on my bandwagon....

Wait, wait, I forgot**************************


During one of my phone calls to Mattel one of the people told me that the "little books" that I was describing were not Barbie products and must have been pushed into the package. How do I deal with that???? I did then say that they had someone sabotaging their Barbie product and it should be corrected.

At some point I call Target and they handed me off to various people not knowing what to do with my complaint. So, I emailed them eventually. Since it is my email I guess I can put it in my blog... this is a response that I got from Target on 22 January 2004:

Dear Sheila,Thank you for your e-mail regarding the packaging for the Barbie yourpurchased at Target. Allow me to apologize for the delayed response. Yourpatience is appreciated. At Target we are always looking for ways to make the Target experiencebetter for every guest. I apologize for the situation you described andappreciate the time you have taken to contact our office. In order to fully research this issue for you and respond to your concerns,I do need some additional information. Please provide the 12-digit UPC number from the Barbie package or if youhave your receipt you can also find a 9-digit item number listed there.Also, if you can provide all of the details of this "subliminal message" sowe can fully understand your concern. I look forward to hearing from you soon and thank you for being a valuedTarget guest.Sincerely,Janine OTarget Guest Relationswww.target.com

and here is my response to JanineO at Target:

Dear Janine O, Thank you for your reply. I gave the Barbie as a gift before Thanksgiving so I cannot supply the box with the UPC or the receipt. I wish I could. The message was in a Movie Star Barbie on a little "book" (2 of them actually). In very small digital type printing one book said "Lose 10 lbs in 10 days" The other "book" also said "I lost 20 lbs and so can you". I bought two Barbies, one in the Bay Area at Serramonte Target and the other at a request of my 4 yr old granddaughter, hers I bought in Las Vegas. I hope this helps you. If you would like to see what I am talking about I can fax the image to you. I have the "books" here at my home. Thanks again. Sincerely, Sheila





I thought that this was a dead end and it was but Janine did respond sometime later with this nice email:

Dear Sheila,
Thank you for your e-mail providing additional information regarding the Barbie you purchased at Target.
We take pride in our products and strive to ensure that all the merchandise sold in our stores meets Target expectations for quality and outstanding value. We appreciate the time you have taken to personally bring this matter to our attention. I apologize that the product you purchased has disappointed you. Your comments and concerns with this item will be made available to our buyers for further review with the manufacturer.
I encourage you to write or call if you have future questions or concerns about the products or services at Target. We do value you as our guest and thank you again for making us aware of this matter.
Sincerely,
Janine O
Target Guest Relations
www.target.com





So much for Target, I had done what I could there; time to move on.
Did I mention that this was starting to become a Crusade?