My Kroger pet peeve

As some of you know, I have an almost 4 yr old that is Autistic. He recently discovered that he loves riding in the carts w/ the cars attached to them at the store. Believe me, this thrilled me because it's really hard to lift a 45 rock solid kid to get him into the seat. Anyway, my big pet peeve has actually happened several times now. When checking out they start putting my bagged groceries into another cart, eventhough it's completely obvious that I have a child with me. Mix being autistic with being 3 yrs old and it's the perfect storm of having a meltdown when you try to move him from one thing to another. Yes, it was my fault that I didn't ask them to move my groceries from the cart they had already loaded (and stupid me, I wasn't paying attention to where they were putting the bags between paying and trying to keep little hands from helping themselves to the candy at the checkout). I said something to the younger of the 2 baggers and all she said was "oh" and turned her back. So I called the Mgr. just to ask him to tell the baggers that when they see someone with a kid, put the groceries in the same cart. That's not too much right? Basically the response I got was "well, they're trained to fill the cart behind them, not look to see if there's a child in the other cart." Really?? Was I so out of line to ask such a question? I hate to shop at Walmart,but I've never had this problem there.
Btw..we did have a mild meltdown near the front door when i had to hoist him back up into the cart.

I was at Kroger tonight and I think they have already changed their policy. As I was unloading my cart the bagger walked up and began to "help" me. After my cart was empty he pulled it to the end of the line and began bagging my stuff. He said it was a new procedure that they had just started. I didn't think twice about it until I read this.

Which roger, Justin? Honestly, by the reaction of the manager on the phone I highly doubt they did anything. I can understand now why they do it by Annemarie's explanation, but it still ticks me off. I should have let Ben have his meltdown in the middle of their lane.

Hubbards Lane

I was annoying more than helpful. There is not room for 2 people to unload a cart in those narrow checkout lines.

My son works at Goss Ave. and they have been told they have to "assist" single customers unload their carts. He is not even sure why, but that is their marching orders. As to the 2nd card debaucle, I am sure the bagger was doing what he has been told to do. Kroger has become very rigid regarding what they percieve as "customer service" and speed.

I shop at the Kroger at Taylorsville & Hurstbourne, some times with the kids, and some times solo.

They have done that to me one time, when I had the kids with me, but they noticed, and quickly moved the bags into the cart with the kids.

I have started using the self check out though.

When I roll the cart into a regular lane, my kids will start reaching for the candy, and I have a heck of a time trying to unload, and keep the kids from reaching at all the junk.

When I use the self-checkout, the lane is wide enough, that they can't reach anything. I then can put them to work, by having them hand me items from the cart, before I scan them.

I usually Kroger by myself and no one (this week even) has ever helped me unload. I feel like I'm racing the cashier--it's kind of awkward.

The switching of the carts bothers me for another reason. I sanitize my cart at then entrance. The new cart isn't sanitized. Yuck!

I have no peeves with Kroger except the closest one is 25 miles away. I love living in the sticks but grocery shoppin' options are non-existent. The closest store to us is an IGA 5 miles away. Crap selection, surly staff and questionable cleanliness. A better option is a JayC store (owned by Kroger), still fairly limited selection and it is 12 miles door-to-door. I luv country living, but grocery store quality is a challenge. Plus prices at each of these places are 5-10% higher than in the city.
C'mon Kroger, move out my way where y'all will be appreciated.
Hillbilly Bill

Megan,

I share your frustration over this issue. It's the reason that I almost exclusively use the self-check lanes at my kroger (holiday manor). I have two small children and they were always freaked out when the bagger would pull the cart away from me to load the groceries or put the groceries in another cart. I didn't read the other responses, but it seems to me that Kroger employs a lot of people with unique challenges who might have trouble becoming employed elsewhere. So I decided it was just easier for me to change my behavior and avoid the cashier lines as often as possible. The self-check lanes are not entirely safe, though. The other day when I was scanning my groceries an aggressive employee started spraying cleaner and wiping down the scanner as I was standing there. I was holding groceries in my hands to be scanned, so I'm sure she could see me and it wasn't drippy meat or anything of that nature. I think Kroger is what it is.

Hang in there!
Jennifer

For a more pleasant shopping experience we:

Don't shop on the first Wed. of the month (Seniors Day).

The First of ANY month (self explanatory)

Friday's or Saturdays (self explanatory)

ANY Day between about 1pm and 3pm (The multi-passenger kiddie carts are rampant and the kiddies are late for their naps (bad combo).

ANY Day after midnight (The Zombies and other strange people come out to shop after midnight)...Not as bad as Walmart after midnight though

I guess I'm in the Zombie catagory- it's the only time I shop. LOL

Jen, I actually love that kroger employes people of all abilities. I actually would have not said anything if either of the employees involved fell into that category. One of the baggers had to be in her 80's and the other was another cashier I have seen before in her early 20's.

For a more pleasant shopping experience we:

Don't shop on the first Wed. of the month (Seniors Day).

The First of ANY month (self explanatory)

Friday's or Saturdays (self explanatory)

ANY Day between about 1pm and 3pm (The multi-passenger kiddie carts are rampant and the kiddies are late for their naps (bad combo).

ANY Day after midnight (The Zombies and other strange people come out to shop after midnight)...Not as bad as Walmart after midnight though

Sunday morning at 7:00. No traffic.

But my Kroger pet peeve. I've mentioned this before here - why are the people stocking product so unfriendly? The company could earn big intrinsic benefits from trying to turn those folks into ambassadors.

Maybe it's because it's Sunday morning pretty early.

Sunday morning at 7:00. No traffic.

But my Kroger pet peeve. I've mentioned this before here - why are the people stocking product so unfriendly? The company could earn big intrinsic benefits from trying to turn those folks into ambassadors.

Maybe it's because it's Sunday morning pretty early.

Hey, we're early Sunday morning shoppers, too! The big difference is that we shop at Not Kroger. Usually Meijer, where everybody, including the stockers are so damned friendly it's scary.

Although yesterday we shopped at Valu Market. We were the first customers there when they opened at 7.

The downside of early Sunday shopping is they don't always have the sale signs out for the new week, and some of the fresh foods (meat, produce) aren't always re-stocked.

The downside of early Sunday shopping is they don't always have the sale signs out for the new week, and some of the fresh foods (meat, produce) aren't always re-stocked.

Exactly. Kroger rarely has any seafood out at that hour (although I am neutral at best on their seafood anyway, so maybe that's fine).