As I prepare to celebrate my first Chanukah as a Jew-in-training, I’ve been shopping for a chanukiyah. That’s what most non-Jews call menorahs–which they are. Chanukiyahs just happen to have space for nine candles (one candle for each of the eight nights of Chanukah, and one to light the rest.) I would love to buy my first chanukiyah from a Jewish store like Rosenblum’s (now in Skokie) or the Spertus Institute. But they happen to be much cheaper at Target.
Imagine my surprise when I clicked on a Chanukiyah on Target’s website and saw this:
Do you see what I see?
“Select Standard Shipping during checkout for delivery by December 24th.”
Really? Why? So I can use it next Chanukah? Chanukah 2010 begins on December 1st and ends on December 9th, and if a major retailer is going to sell products relevant for a Jewish–or any other religious–holiday, they should be mindful of when those holidays occur.
They should also be mindful of why they occur. Why on earth would it be important to a Jew for their chanukiyah to arrive by Christmas Eve? It would be far more important for Target’s chanukiyahs to arrive by November 30th. And if Target doesn’t know that, they shouldn’t be selling them.
Oy to the world, indeed.
___
UPDATE: The next day (today) I complained about this to Target via email. I said the same things I said above. I received back this tragically comic (and most likely off-shore) reply:
“Dear Michael Doyle,
I’m sorry for the trouble you had with the delivery estimates for the item you’re looking for and I’m not quite sure what’s causing it.
We’d like to help you out. But, we need you to call us first.
Can you give us a call at (800) 591-3869? It would be easier to take care of this over the phone and we’ll help you out in placing the order once we have a better idea of what’s going on.
Thanks for writing. We look forward to speaking with you.
How Did We Do?
Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:If yes, click here:
http://www.target.com/rsvp-y?comm_id=ryatdyyx3473552779
If not, click here:
http://www.target.com/rsvp-n?comm_id=ryatdyyx3473552779Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept
incoming e-mail.To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help section
of our Web site.Sincerely,
Sudeep V.
Online Guest Services
Target.com”
Guess which one I clicked?
Categories: Holiday Ignorance JEWISH HOLIDAYS JUDAISM
Mike Doyle
I’m an #OpenlyAutistic gay, Hispanic, urbanist, Disney World fan, New York native, politically independent, Jewish blogger in Chicago. I believe in social justice, big cities, and public transit. I write words and raise money for nonprofits. I’ve written this blog since 2005. And counting...
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That’s funny. I just got mine at Bed Bath & Beyond. It’s kinda expensive, but it’s a really nice menorah.
I would assume this time of year they give the shipping disclaimer on all items regardless of the product. It’s a very busy time for the retail business and their company doesn’t revolve around the Jewish population. I don’t expect them to go out of their way to ship me an item I need in a hurry. It’s Target. They don’t provide personal service. I ordered my Chanukiah from a Jewish company and still expected not to have it in time. I was pleasantly surprised to see it arrived three days after purchase! Very fast shipping but the product doesn’t look like the picture. I actually like the ones I saw at Target and I wouldn’t have had to pay for shipping. Oh well. I still like it.
I was just virtual-window shopping anyway. Though it would be very easy to enter the appropriate keyword into a product database to mark a Chanukah item that shouldn’t get a “Christmas Eve” blurb. That’s what irked me, it’s just laziness on their end.
Either way, I got a nice, modern chanukiyah in person at the Spertus Institute 🙂
I think next year I might buy another one. I mean, who doesn’t need two anyway?
I like the way you think. I could use a traditional one, too!
Wow…used to be that offshore call centers would give their CSReps names like, “Jonny” and “Carol.” Now they’re using their real, ethnic names since Americans are used to this.
M, if you want to make sure your menorah isn’t made in India or China (as 98% of them are), shlep a bus ride up to:
Hamakor Judaica
4150 Dempster St.
Skokie, IL
http://www.jewishsource.com
I found it comical that they’re selling the same menorah as Target for $35.
I’m not Jewish, so this blurb educated me. But I still find it terribly funny!
I know, right? I laughed, too. Then I thought about it and my Scooby ears went, “Hruh??”