I've tried and I've tried and I've tried to like this store. Mostly because it is super conveniently close, and also because 80% of the people that work there seem friendly and professional. It's the other 20% that kills it for me. I think I won't be spending another $ at this store.
1. Lazy employees. I usually do my grocery shopping later in the evening. The crowds are gone & its a more convenient time for me. I understand that at the end of the day, I shouldn't expect the same stock as earlier in the day, but I do expect the same level of customer service. When I walk in, invariably there will be 2-3 employees outside smoking (gross, but whatever). Then another 4-5 standing around by the customer service area gossiping and paying no attention whatsoever to customers. Not a single register will be open. When it comes to check out (and mind, I'm doing some serious grocery shopping--a cart full of items--not simply a late night grab & go), I am directed to use the self-check out. Ummmm, no. This is YOUR job, why am I paying your wages to do your job for you? The self-check out is supposed to be convenient for ME, not YOU. Then I'm told that they will scan it for me. Yeah, ok. Except they don't, because they get called away and wander off to whatever little back room they have and never come out again.
2. The self-checkout is excruciating. Those times when I do opt to use the self checkout (because its more convenient for ME), it becomes a giant hassle. There is supposed to be employee at the kiosk to monitor the self-checkout registers to assist with errors (which are constant). They are never there, and when they are there, they wander away constantly! I've stood for 10 minutes at the damn self-checkout waiting for an employee to reset the register just so I can check-out a bottle of diet pepsi. I left.
3. Those few times when I manage to get a staffed checkout register, the employee never assists with bagging the items. When I ask them to do it, they balk. The bagging area is on YOUR SIDE OF THE DAMN COUNTER. Again, why am I expected to do your job for you? If I wanted to bag my own groceries, I'd use the self-checkout. I'd get exactly the same level of customer service as I'm getting from you. Except the machine is more pleasant to talk with. I don't understand why that if this is their level of customer "service", why they don't just do away with all checkout staff and install self-checkouts completely and do away with the middle man/woman. Then they won't have to pay them to not do their own jobs, when the customer can do it instead!
4. The produce is area is never well stocked (no matter what time of day) and it's usually not fresh. When I went today, there were a bunch of empty shelves, yet pallets of un-packed produce sitting next to them. Seriously?
5. Beer/wine selection is limited. The wine selection is slightly better, but the beer selection is terrible.
6. Sometimes the meat I've purchased from there has been a little iffy. The butcher selections are great. But the packaged stuff scares me a little.
7. I've come across refrigerated items that were not refrigerated. I don't know if it was a malfunction or misplacement, but its happened enough times that I avoid certain sections.
8. The layout of the store is confusing, and I often can't find certain items because it's unclear how they categorize things.
Anyway, I'm going to try shopping at a few other grocery stores for awhile just to compare customer service. Who knows? Maybe lazy employees are just a thing now. But if by some miracle there's another grocery store where the customer isn't expected to perform the employee's jobs for them, you can find me there. read more
