I actually attempted to use the DCPI at my local Target earlier and almost came out with a full set of the four I wanted, only to be thwarted at the final lap. I went to the CS desk, asked the woman working the counter politely if she could check the DCPI and she did, finding that they had some in the back. She radioed the back and asked the stock person to bring the case out so I could get what I wanted, and I set off for the stockroom door to meet him.
When I met the guy, he opened the case and handed me a set at random (Sev/Yellow ARC) and started to close it back up, saying that Target policy said that you could not give any specific items and that one was all he could "give" me. He then said if I wanted to follow him back to the toy section, he would put the rest out and I could take whatever I wanted. So, I thanked him and followed him back.
When we get to the SW aisle (which, coincidentally is half-empty and hasn't been restocked in over two weeks with anything), he asks "where did you see these at?" (as in "Where on the shelf would these go?"), and then he scans a UPC on the bottom of one with his gun thing, and says, "Oh, these aren't supposed to be set until next week. Sorry." At this point, he closes the case back, but says he'll "let" me keep the one set he gave me but he can't let me buy anymore. I thanked him for his effort and paid for the Sev/ARC set and left.
Now, while I appreciate him "letting" me buy one of the sets, I have to say I'm a little irritated by the entire process I had to go through for the "privilege" of buying merchandise there. As I've said before a million times, I was always under the impression that you wanted stock, you know, on the shelves for people to buy it rather than keep it locked away in a room until some arbitrary date assigned to aisle resets. It felt like I was being expected to feel honored for being allowed to actually spend money there, and that bugs me.
I fully recognize the irony of me complaining given the fact that I actually did get one of the sets and there are far more important things to complain about than being able to buy a toy that a store didn't want to sell me until next weekend, but despite it all, this seems to be yet another case of Target acting very strangely toward their customers.