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Target quietly rolled out a new store program dubbed “10-4” that tells employees to smile, make eye contact and wave when a customer is within 10 feet, and to personally greet and engage if they come within four feet. The guidance is being framed as a way to boost holiday shopping experiences, but it reads like another corporate attempt to manage human behavior from the top down.
When people asked whether this is a mandatory rule or just friendly coaching, Target’s spokespeople hedged — calling the initiative a training guideline rather than an enforceable policy — which only makes it more Orwellian: a voluntary-sounding order that likely becomes mandatory through store managers and mystery shoppers. The company insists the goal is to improve service, but in practice these kinds of “guidelines” end up enforced and measured.
The rollout predictably produced an online revolt from employees and customers alike, with reports of increased secret shopper checks and piles of mocking reactions from retail workers who say the new demands are awkward and demeaning. Shoppers who just want to get in and out without being accosted have also voiced frustration, which proves what conservatives always say — corporate micromanagement of manners doesn’t solve real problems in stores.
This latest stunt comes as Target has been trying to wrestle with a string of self-inflicted wounds: falling sales, public boycotts, and the very public unpicking of past diversity initiatives after conservative pressure. The company’s leadership has repeatedly shown it prefers virtue-signaling and cosmetic gestures to hard work on operational discipline and customer trust.
Make no mistake, this is not about kindness — it’s about optics. When executives are focused on telling cashiers how and when to smile instead of stocking shelves, tightening loss prevention, and respecting customers who don’t want to be bothered, it’s a sign of priorities inverted by ideology and corporate theater.
Hardworking Americans deserve retailers that respect their time and privacy, not managers who treat basic human interactions like box-ticking on a corporate playbook. Conservatives should call out this managerial madness, support businesses that actually serve customers, and stop pouring money into companies that treat their shoppers and employees as props for PR stunts.
If Target wants to win back trust it should stop issuing awkward cheerleader memos and start fixing the things that matter: honest customer service, fair treatment for workers, and clear respect for shoppers’ comfort. Until then, patriotic consumers have every right to take their business elsewhere and reward companies that put real service over scripted smiles.
