Mich. Target Workers Angry After Being Sent Prank Fortune Cookies Following Disappointing Pay Raise
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Employees at a Target distribution center in Charleston Township, Michigan, are speaking out after being at the receiving end of what some felt was a cruel joke.
A day after being informed that their holiday pay rate would be increased by $2 per hour, which was less than they'd hoped for, employees at the site said they received prank fortune cookies with strange comments inside, according to a report from NBC affiliate WWMT.
"I see money in your future; it is not yours though," one fortune cookie's message read, while another said, "The fortune you seek is in another cookie."
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"Not one of those that I read was uplifting, positive," distribution center employee James Campbell told WWMT.
Another cookie that Campbell opened had a message that read, "This cookie fell on the ground." He added, "Why would I want to eat that?"
The cookies arrived at their Target site earlier this month, one day after Campbell and his coworkers received an announcement from Target management pertaining to their salaries over the holiday period, which the corporation referred to as their "busiest" weeks.
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"It felt like a direct stab to the employees that work here, especially when I can leave, come back and make more money than I currently am," Campbell said of receiving the cookies after being informed of the $2 pay bump.
"It just doesn't quite feel right. The employees seem pretty disgruntled and disappointed by this and the fact it took the news getting involved to get any kind of apology."
According to the news outlet, the controversy led to Target officials calling a meeting at the center to apologize, saying the cookies' messages were somehow unintentional.
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"At Target, we take our team members' concerns seriously and we work directly with them to quickly address any issues," said Brian Harper-Tibaldo, a Target spokesperson, in an email to the news outlet. "We provided snacks to the team this week, including fortune cookies with pre-printed messages inside. We've looked into this and are confident Target did not have any hand in choosing the written fortunes; they were simply the messages that came in the fortune cookies."
Representatives for Target did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
"Someone dropped the ball, I'm sure we'll never find out who, but definitely a big fail," Campbell concluded, "and we should be treated better."
