An open letter to Target.

Dear Target,

I am one of the many faces you will frequently find walking around your stores. I probably don’t stick out. I am pretty boringly normal when it comes to my looks. I am 5’4” tall. I am blond. I am tired. I am a mom to four boys. I am also one of your most loyal customers. I drive fully 20 miles to go to your store at least once a week and I fought the city council in our “no big box store” town to get you here. They say you are coming…I’ll believe it when I see it.

Anyway…back to my original intent. I’m writing you for a reason, and I’m just going to come right out with it...

Why the hell can’t I get cell phone service in your store?

What is up with that??? I may LOOK like every other customer, but underneath all this normalness is the swelly brain of a mother who has three boys with Type 1 Diabetes. Because of the inner uniqueness, it is imperative that my boys be able to reach me AT. ALL. TIMES. I am not exaggerating when I say that it may even be a matter of life or death. I cannot be shut off from the rest of world for even one minute.

So why??? Why??? must the signal be lost by the time I reach aisle two at every single Target store I have visited north of the Golden Gate?

I’m not expecting you to fully understand all the nuances of being a parent to type 1’s…but because of the predicament you have put me in, I am forbidden to step foot inside your stores at certain times of the day. Between 9:50am and 10:15am. Between 11:40am and 12:00pm. Between 12:20pm and 12:40pm. That is pretty much my entire morning. These are the times of day my boys call me to check in with their blood sugar numbers. I tell them how much insulin to give themselves; I count the carbs they get for their snack and their lunch. These are jobs only I can do, as the wonderful state of California doesn’t think it necessary to have a nurse at our school for more than 4 hours, one morning a week.

Besides these scheduled times of day, my boys check their blood sugars whenever they feel the need. What if I enter your store at 9:00am, and one of my boys feels a dangerous low blood sugar and tries to get hold of me by cell…and I’m (gasp!) PASS aisle 2! That would be a bad predicament for sure!

Now, maybe there aren’t enough Type 1 parents in your customer block to make a change in your cell service blockage…that is ok…because I submit it hinders your sales even to those who aren’t tethered to their type 1 children.

What about business people who need to be available for important calls? They won’t be stopping by during their lunch hour. What about wives who want to call their husbands for their OK on a big ticket item for Christmas? They will leave without the product because they couldn’t reach said spouse. What about the husband who was sent to the store to buy one specific item, and needs verification he is grabbing the right thing. I have NOT bought a ton of things because I couldn’t reach a family member to make sure that item was the one that they needed.

No cell service HURTS your business!

I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but…

I get cell service in Costco.

I get cell service in ALL the grocery stores too…Safeway, Albertsons AND G&G.

I have even had to step foot in Walmart…and guess what? Three bars.

Why oh why oh why can I not get cell service in the bowels of ANY Target store???

Help a tired D Mama out!

Help yourselves!

Help me help you.

Please, make cell service available in all Target stores!

Sincerely,

Meri…who just happens to be at this very moment…quite contrary.