I live near this Kroger, so I was pleased to find it was one of the "fancy" Krogers - good produce that lasts more than a day, a surprisingly well-stocked Kosher section, and a nice cheese/deli section, etc., all without the higher price point of Publix. The jewelry store is a new one to me, but I'm often cruising their book section, so who am I to judge? I do find it strange that a grocery store directly across from a large mall would even bother to sell clothes, but perhaps the late-night shopping hours give it that needed edge. If you should find yourself out at 1 AM, hungry and desperate for new pants, sapphires, and maybe a crock pot, this Kroger has you covered.
Their grocery pickup service, Clicklist, has become a staple of my routine. For about four dollars, you can have all of your groceries bagged and ready for you, provided you arrive within the given time window. (Even if you run late, the time slots are flexible and the employees are still very friendly, but the pickup service does shut down much earlier than the store itself. Keep that in mind.)
My only complaint there is that for a store which has pretty much everything, the online ordering system doesn't actually include everything in stock. Clicklist is geared towards groceries, but even within that realm, you may find that something available in-store does not show up on the website. While sometimes irritating, it's understandable, as keeping an ever-changing stock list updated in two different places can't be easy. Especially since the Clicklist folks so often appear to be the same small team of people - I'd imagine they're overworked as it is, but they're always giving it their all and offering upbeat customer service.
The store also has regular sale items or coupons - both online and on paper - on top of its already reasonable prices. I joke about the clothing department, but it seems to always have something on sale or clearance. I've found more than one gem there.
The store is plagued by a few minor downfalls - the sheer size can make finding items on the shelves challenging, and the checkout lines can get remarkably long around weather emergencies and holidays. Peak hours can involve a bit of a bottleneck as well.
I also encountered a very specific issue with this store. Despite having an above-average Kosher food section (it even has a freezer!), and acknowledging Jewish holidays on their site more than most other Georgia stores combined, the staff at times can be weirdly clueless about the very same subject.
During Chanukah, a holiday that has maybe three entire foods associated with it, the bakery did nothing to supply the increased demand for sufganiyot/jelly donuts. They sell jelly donuts, but more than once I went to pick some up to find that they were either totally out, or had already pulled any remaining pastries to throw into mixed day-old assortments.
I found myself met with blank looks as the bakers tried to help, but it was obvious nobody had bothered to tell the bakery that demand for jelly donuts jumps during Chanukah.
Now, it's certainly not the end of the world, but if a store is going to go out of its way to draw in Jewish customers, they probably ought to brief their staff on what seasonal items those customers may buy.
Imagine if you showed up for Valentine's day shopping and they hadn't bothered to stock any cards or chocolate, saying you could come back in a few months to buy Easter candy. It's just weird.
However, on other occasions I've been met with exceptional bakery service.
I once ordered a custom cake with some allergy restrictions in mind. A concerned baker called me back to say she'd discovered that a specific frosting color was made using the ingredients I needed to avoid, and helped me find an alternative over the phone. Her diligence, and the team's willingness to double-check each other's orders, saved me from poisoning one of my friends. So that's good.
Overall, this Kroger sets out to be a lot of things, falls short at some of them, but still offers a degree of selection and service that is tough to beat. read more