Dear Kroger

Dear Kroger,

I am writing you today to share some recent frustrations I've had while shopping at your grocery store located at 6702 Clinton Highway in Knoxville, TN. First off, I must tell you that I hail most recently from California where we have some comparable stores, such as Vons and Albertsons, although nothing under the Kroger brand that I'm aware of. That said, I've found some serious challenges in regards to the consistency of customer service between your various locations. Let me explain.

My lady friend prefers going to Kroger. She's big on the fuel points promotion that you've got going on with Shell, although I'm mostly indifferent to that as I'm simply pleased to be paying under $3/gal for gas out here as opposed to the $4/gal in California. I'd consider myself an Ingles man at this point, although the lady does get majority voice in where we do the bulk of our foods stuff shopping.

The Kroger at 5201 N Broadway Street is top notch in regards to customer service and I must admit that I enjoy going there. Even the security guard says hi as we walk in, and the cashiers are quick and efficient in what they do. The one on Clinton Highway, though? I dislike the layout. I dislike how crowded it gets. And most of all, I dislike your attempt at customer service.

Last night, we did some simple shopping. A few produce items, some starchy foods, and a little bit of poultry. Overall, we had less than 20 items. Opting to avoid the 6+ person lines that were staffed with a cashier, we went to the self-check out. I am against the self-checkout, but the lady swears by it. The problem last night is that multiple checkout stations seemed to be requiring the assistance of a clerk.

Now, I recognize the man who was working the self checkout as having been there before, and I've never been impressed with him. Two out of three times I've used this self check-out feature, I've had to walk over to this very man and ask for help as he apparently didn't see that we needed an attendant. Not only could he not acknowledge us beyond a faint mumble, but he was completely flustered and lost in what he was attempting to do. This has happened twice, and this man should not be working this station.

After waiting about 8 minutes, some guy with glasses and a sweater vest toting that Kroger is "No 1 in Service" comes walking over with his hands in his pocket, and asks your clerk, "So... what can I do to help?" By now, one family that had waited even longer than us was so fed up that they abandoned their half-bagged groceries and half-full shopping cart due to this lack of service. These two employees of yours opted to just stand there and discuss these abandoned groceries instead of trying to take care of the now agitated crowd. Your self checkout seems buggy, and your employees here are questionable.

Seriously, we are swearing off this location. I hope that someone is able to address these issues. I challenge you guys to pull the security tapes from about 6pm yesterday to see what I'm talking about.

Thanks for your time.

Daniel