Wtf, Target?
Read the rules, so I hope this post is okay.
I'm not a Team Member, but a long time TM spouse. Been lurking here for a year or so, occasionally texting a link from here to my girl. My wife has worked for five Targets in three states over the passed 20+ years. You could say I'm fairly well versed in the culture, at least from a family member. I know what a planogram is, I've been on the spousal sidelines for 22 Black Fridays (and the used to be Brown Thursdays, I remember when Store Team Leads were changed to Store Directors, etc. Overall, Target has been good to my wife and family.
Without giving too much personal info, my wife, along with dozens of other Team Members are being tasked to travel to another state to set planogram at a new Target this week. She'll be gone for 10 days.
Genuinely curious, I asked her how per diem worked with Target work travel, as I travel a lot for work with a smaller company (<300 employees) and Target is a huge company (#32 on the Fortune 500 list!). Typically, I get $198/day in most domestic locations, with some markets (DC, Seattle) being higher cost, I get $271/day.
She said that they do not get per diem.
Target has booked the Team Members two per room, in the cheapest hotel in town. I mean cheap, $41/night. No doubt they paid in the $30's with the amount of hotel rooms x10 days. So Target, one of the world's largest companies, is spending a whopping $20/night/Team Member. Luckily, the area is not a high crime area.
I've worked jobs where the customer booked the hotel (although not a $40 flop house), so I only got per diem for meals, $60-$75/day. I asked my wife how much she gets for meals. She said, “none”. Apparently they are expected to eat the hotel “continental breakfast”, which is crap shoot at best. Lunch is going to be sandwiches or whatever buffet-style ordered into the store. Dinner, bruh, for dinner, they get a COUPON. So they are getting coupons vouchers to buy dinner. She has no idea where she is allowed to tender the coupon for food. This sounds like some 1930's Mill Town stuff.
She leaves in 40 hours and doesn't know where she is allowed to eat. Seriously? I expect better Target.
Edit: BTW, ya'll have the cutest subreddit icon.