target exposed... themselves

First of all, kudos to Target for launching a fantastic charity campaign on Facebook.  Great campaign, good charities and a nice gesture.

But possibly more interesting than the campaign, are the conversations taking place in the Discussions tab on their Facebook Brand Page.

They are hilarious, obscene, unmoderated and quite possibly unread by Target.  Discussion topics run the gamut, from employee discussions and Target shopper experiences to rants around some of the oddities of shopping at Target - like the conduct of the obligatory rent-a-cops by the doors.

Is this extreme transparency good for Target?

As one employee wrote, "Weed... I've seen one dumb kid put weed in his locker and the smoke it and get caught on break."  As a Target shopper, I kind of expected this.  But "pair of shoes in frozen foods" is not something I want to read.
 
"i LOVEEEEE it when old ladies come through the lane with condoms and make the attempt to hide them under clothes. FUNNIESSSSSSSS" is not the kind of sentiment that fits the Target brand image.

And let's not forget, "LMFAO watch your wording!! but HBA is pretty shitty, but were always short of people so I sometimes end up getting two zones which sucks. Try balancing electronics and toys.  also domestics sucks ass."

For more goodies, check out "Oh the things guests say..." section.

Sure, there are lots of great conversations, thousands of engaged customers and staff members.  But what will Target do when they encounter their first Dominos moment?  When an employee or staff member crosses the line (if they haven't crossed it already)?  Are they listening?  Will they know about their problem before it's too late? 

Giving all of your employees a free microphone on your brand destination a risky proposition. 
Doing so without monitoring and engaging is absurd.