We've shopped at Kroger for 40 years and when just going in to buy groceries I guess the experience is okay enough. We've had situations where we drive to another neighborhood because the Kroger in our neighborhood is dirty and staff are not so nice. The first other neighborhood we drove to was better in a lot of ways, but their handicapped carts were never available or not charged up. So, then we went to another neighborhood across the river in another state but still close enough to make it do-able, and that Kroger has been clean, helpful employees, enough handicapped carts that are usually charged up and if they are out of carts because it's busy the employees will get you seated comfortably until a cart is available and then they bring it to you. So, because of that third store we tried, I hate to say too much bad about the stores, because some of them are good.

My problem has mostly been with online shopping. Yes, I need a handicapped cart because I'm handicapped. I can't walk long distances, but I am still able enough that during a lot of this time I've been taking care of older family members who are in worse shape than me - so between me being handicapped enough that I can't walk long distance and being a family elder care caregiver, we were thrilled when Kroger began to offer online shopping - but it has been a nightmare far too many times.

When they first started offering order pickup at the beginning of the pandemic, I can't tell you how many times I drove to pick up my order and they didn't have it or a record of it even though I had a print out showing I had placed the order. It was also often wrong. Fortunately, with time they began to make improvements and that's not so bad any more - but trying to talk to someone in their customer service department was a bunch of blaming it on the customer but I guess they were listening as they blamed because things did slowly improve.

Then, they began to offer online ordering for delivery. So, I began to use that. I ran into a problem where I was getting error code RV9547. When you get this code, it won't let you place your order. You ahve to call customer service. Well, I called customer service and chatted with customer service several times, and each time they gave me a different answer as to why this was happening and since all of those different answers were wrong, it never got fixed. So, my husband and I talked and decided not to use my account online any more. We decided to start using his account. After a few orders, we got that same error code again. This time when I called, I was told that this was a security violation error code. That is the first time I'd gotten that information. And, I believe a lot of people are being misinformed, because there are articles on google about that error code, and the advice they are giving in those articles is the same advice I'd been given when calling about my own account. But, today when I called they finally told me it was a security violation code and they had to unlock my account. Honestly, I had suspected all along that it might be some kind of security issue, because it happened to my account after I made a change to my account information (updated my email address) and happened on my husband's account when I changed from his phone number and email address to mine since I'm the one handling the orders and need to get the information. But, before today no one I spoke with in customer service agreed with that. Today, I was told that was the problem.

The first person I spoke to was rude and wouldn't listen as I tried to explain the history from my account to my husband's and then he told me his computer was locking up and he was going to transfer me to someone who could help me, but he transferred me to a rating of his call survey that hung up on me. That was after an hour on hold to get through to him. So, I called back and the second person I talked to started out nice and did listen and try to help, but she started interrogating me like I was a criminal who was trying to hack someone else's account. After a long interrogation, she told me that she couldn't help me without my husband giving her permission. She asked me to do a three way call and pull him into the conversation. I told her I didn't know how to do that. So, she told me she'd have to give me a case number and have him call and give me permission to use his account to order groceries. I asked her for the case number and told her I would do that, but before I hung up I told her how upset I was that we kept being treated this rude and bad through me trying to fix my own account that they never helped me fix all the way to my husband's account, she then accused me of trying to force her to violate security protocol. I then explained to her again that I was willing to take the case number they were giving me and have my husband call but I wanted them to know how upset I was about how badly we'd been treated ongoing. I had to ask for the case number three times as she kept accusing me of trying to force her to violate security protocols as I tried to tell her that all I was doing was expressing my frustration and anger at how badly we'd bee treated all the way back to when this happened to my account and forced me to use my husband's account when they didn't help me with my account.

One thing she said that emphasizes how much they take a blame the customer attitude when you call in is that 36 hours prior we had an order delivered. We had huge problems with that order because I was getting this error code when I tried to place the order from my computer and my app, but when I told my husband about it that order went through from his phone app. But, the order had gotten so messed up while I was trying to get it to go through from my phone and my app that we didn't get the full order in. Since my husband had successfully gotten that order in on his app, I assumed it would start working. So, 36 hours later I placed an order to get the things we hadn't been able to get with the previous order that kept getting that error code from my equipment. She said to me then that it was my fault because they had a policy of not letting orders go through less than 24 hours apart. She had me so flustered by then that I didn't think about it until after I got off the phone, but the order was delivered around 11 AM on May 30 and I tried to put in the items that went missing as I dealt with this error code problem at 11PM on May 31, the following day. That's 36 hours later. A good example of how they too often try to blame the customer. I'm so sick of this.

I'm talking it over with my husband as to whether or not we'll keep shopping with them or go to Meijer or Walmart or something like that. If we decide we will keep shopping with Kroger (which will be my husband saying he wants to at this point because I'm done), then he will call them with that case number and try to get this resolved. My guess is it will be another nightmare that will have me posting a review again, but we'll see what happens. Maybe he'll have better luck than me.

Can a company get so big that it can shed customers at the expense of cost-cutting measures without consequences? Should the customer expect a certain level of service from the company or is the customer resigned to accepting the company's version of it in return for spending money with the company? Is the practice of customer service a lost art? Is the new norm just to have the customer lower his standards and expectations? Kroger supermarket seems to repeatedly send such a message to the customers: Give us your money. Bag your stuff. Next!
I stopped at Kroger this evening and when I went to check out, there was no one checking people out. I approached the young staff working the self-checkout and they told me that I had to use the self-checkout stands because they did not have anyone checking out people.
Personally, since I am not employed by Kroger, I refuse to do the work of a Kroger employee by checking out my own groceries and I told them as much. When I asked for the manager, a young person asked why I wanted one. I told him that unless he was the manager, it was not relevant why I wanted to speak to a manager only that he should direct me to one. He then asked again, and I again refused to answer his question. He then informed me he was the supervisor for the crew that was there. I asked him why he did not have someone checking people out and he said that the person at the checkout counter was on a break and if I wanted someone to check me out, I would have to wait about 10 minutes until she returned. I asked him why he did not simply replace her. His answer: "short-staffed". But then he added another comment that reaffirms my beliefs that Kroger simply does not train its staff. He said that if I had a larger basket of groceries, he would have checked me out. Where in the training program does it discuss that customer service is optional and based on the level of spending?
At this point, another young staff member walked in between us and informed the supervisor that he was going on break. I asked him why he rudely disregarded the fact that I, a customer, was engaged in a conversation with his supervisor. He gave a confused look because I was having issues with his actions. He and the young supervisor clearly did not see anything wrong with this interruption.
I looked around and only saw a handful of young people working or loitering about the self-checkout area. If there was a person there over 20 years of age, don't think I saw one. I left my groceries and walked out.
Employing the youth has always been a practice in most grocery stores. They, along with the fast-food businesses, typically represent the first job held by most teenagers. However, the sound practice is to have experienced adults supervise and not leave the customers to wade in the waters of untrained individuals that do not have much at stake in the business. I don't necessarily blame the youth. That is their purpose- to grow and learn. I blame poor parenting that did not teach proper manners and I blame management for not training them in their business. In any industry, bad employees are the product of bad management.
From the company's perspective, I understand the need to hire young people because they cost less and are willing to work later hours. I can also understand reducing full service by herding the customer toward the self-checkout stands. This also aids payroll because fewer people are hired to provide full service. If the customer does the work of the employee for free, why not seek to expand this model? In fact, Kroger is currently doing just that. They are now making self-checkout counters to include the conveyor belt. Now even if you have a full-size basket stacked with groceries, the customer can do that work. Supposedly there will be a courtesy clerk at the other end to bag the groceries. But we live in the real world; therefore, we know that the customer will end up doing that work also.
So where in this model is customer service? Where does the company take steps to make such changes and still think it can provide customer service? On more than one occasion I have had to track down someone to check me out. When they do have someone at the checkout stand, they have nobody to sack the groceries (that's the real world at my Kroger). Consequently, if the customer does not want to look like a spoiled diva holding up the line while waiting for the clerk to also sack the groceries, they will roll up their sleeves and start doing it. When I ask them about this, they tell me that management will not assign more people to help. When I spoke to the manager about this, I was told that middle management does not listen to that concern to allow for more staff.
Searching online yields plenty of complaints for Kroger on a variety of issues. One website showed almost 500 reviews and 65% were in the "bad" category. The point being is that this is not an isolated issue. Client-facing companies should care more about every encounter with the customer. However, when companies attempt to save money, they will cut corners. It seems that they not only try to hire cheaper labor, but they also fail to train them on proper customer service. They also promote managers and strip them of the power to act in problem resolution situations.
Kroger does not offer unique products that cannot be found elsewhere. Despite their marketing, they do not have the lowest prices. Competition is only a small drive away from every Kroger. Having a choice is the power of the customer. The next day, I went to another non-Kroger store and got excellent service from two employees there. Who deserves my business?
The fact that thousands of customers have taken the time to write negative reviews and complaints should be resounding evidence that they need to address their issues. How many customers have they lost to the competition because they simply did not return? How much money is spent on marketing to attract business just to have a poorly trained employee lose that customer? Kroger's revenue for the twelve months was $144 billion. Billions of dollars are made just by selling to the average person. I realize that if don't shop there any longer, it will not move the needle to those mammoth profits. However, I will take comfort in knowing that I will not contribute towards funding my own aggravations.