Target hasn’t really faced too many crises, and if they had they have covered them up well.
The one crisis I did find however was a lawsuit filed in February 2006 against Target Corp.
by Bruce F. Sexton Jr. and the National Federation of the Blind. The
suit alleged that Target’s website was not accessible to people with disabilities using screen
access technology. Screen access technology converts documents and web pages into
synthesized speech or Braille. Target had not taken the necessary steps to make their website
compatible with these codes.
Target has agreed to a $6 million settlement with the NFB. As a part of the settlement
Target will establish a $6 million fund from which plaintiffs can make claims. Also
Target agreed to update their website to accommodate sight impaired online-consumers,
and to let the NFB regularly check those changes that have been made. Marc Maurer, the
President of the NFB said in a statement “We are pleased that Target has already taken
action to make certain the website is accessible for everyone.” Steve Eastman, President of
Target.com said “we have made significant enhancements to provide a pleasurable shopping
experience for everyone.”
Overall Target handled the crisis exactly as they should have; they took it with a grain of salt
and immediately took action to improved the problem, they apologized and moved on.
Disibility Rights Advocates, (2006, Feb. 06). Message posted to http://www.dralegal.org/cases/private_business/nfb_v_target.php
Havenstein, H. (2008, Aug. 28). Target agrees to $6M settlement of accessibility lawsuit. Computer World, Retrieved Nov. 30, 2008, from http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9113750
photo credit: http://tinyurl.com/656xou
