Grrrr...

I'm in a foul mood having, once again, dealt with Kroger at Tates Creek. I'm tired of it. No more. Not until they get their act together, if ever, and I'm seriously considering getting my groceries and gas from Meijer's anyway.

A few days ago I called, after going to a Kroger that didn't have the challah we get for Sabbath, and asked the other store if they had any. I'd wanted to save a trip during rush hour from one to the other. I was told, after a very long delay in answering the phone, by either someone in the bakery or at customer service basically that the didn't have any bread at all and she couldn't look for anything for you' conversation which I reported to Kroger corporate, but of course it's come to naught as I couldn't get her name.

I went the other day to get a few things for our department potluck. Because it was before work, only U-Scan was open. I got to the end of my order, and went to pay and it was like 'help is on its way'. The lady (whom I suspect was actually the one who answered the phone the other day, as the voice was similar) had to scan her badge to go on.

Same thing today. I had four items, two orders. It stopped for each and the same woman had to scan her badge each time. I said something about how that was a little much and she said they're starting to crack down on theft. Here's an idea, have some lanes open for people with small orders. You have them. If an actual employee, who is being paid, scans it, I think we're good. I didn't say it, of course, I really didn't want to be rude, but it irritated me.

When I got to my car, I checked the receipts, and I have 465 June fuel points. You know, the ones that expire at the end of the next month, so in this case July 31st. I have gotten gas two times recently (at Tates Creek's fuel station) and was specifically told that I only had 3 cents off a gallon when I had enough for 40 cents. I will make sure I get my receipt from now on. That was on top of needing to wait 15 minutes to have them reset all the pumps because I wasn't sure I would get to the nearest Kroger gas station, since it was out of my way and I was pretty low on gas, and I thought I should have points by then (I hadn't paid yet...I don't use the pumps because sometimes it holds money).

I know, this is small compared with what other people deal with, but it's called customer service and they're failing immensely. It's bad enough they're making profits by jacking up prices way higher than they should be after the pandaemic [pretty much everywhere]. Or that they never have more than one or two lanes and the U-Scan open anytime I go (and I'm not working today, so I thought it might be a little better), and that's at Kroger, Meijer, Wal-Mart, etc., anywhere you go these days. Even CVS has a U-Scan now. But they all also put up barriers supposedly preventing theft or check receipts.

The only reason I've gone to Tates Creek lately is the only other Kroger near me is on Chinoe, a smaller store I prefer. To get to it now with the city's sewer work, I have to go to Centre Parkway the opposite way, Pimlico Parkway, Yellowstone, Alumni, Lakeside, Coltneck, Chinoe. Or go Armstrong Mill, Tates Creek, Albany, Montevista, Chinoe (overshooting it and having to go back up Chinoe towards the opposite way I'd been going). We've been doing this for months. It also affects how I go to work.

Sigh. I don't think I'm going anywhere else today. I have medication at UK, and I wanted to get a haircut, but those are going to wait till tomorrow. I'm irritated and there's no sense in making it worse trying to park in the hospital garage or anything.

I feel better now that I ranted. I even made it through without any of the profanity bouncing around in my head.

I have been doing customer service work for nearly forty years. This is not how you run a business. So, what's your favourite grocery or gas station?

I'm glad I went into the kitchen just now

I'd just gotten home, had taken the trash out (of course I didn't have time this morning), and had started the dishwasher. Remember those things I'd set to soak last night? They were in the right-hand sink, the one with the garbage disposal, because that's the only one I can truly seal. Which, of course, it was sealed, and then the dishwasher sent water that way and it was coming through the overflow thing on the top of the sink. I managed to unseal the sink (it takes a pair of pliers to get the plastic stopper out) and let it drain. I could have easily overflowed the sink and had water everywhere.

It's been that kind of day. I went to Rite-Aid on Richmond Road here in Lexington right after work today, running in to get two things--a night brace for my left hand, and a sharps container for home, since the last time I'd stopped by for one, they'd only had one in the store, and I use that at work. Now, in every pharmacy I've been to, including that one, the sharps containers are kept behind the pharmacy counter, so I got in line after selecting a brace (sadly, it does not match the other one, and it was the only one of its type, but I'll live), and then the lady in front of me asked about some over the counter medicine and the woman behind the counter came out to help her with that. There were two other people working, one running the drive through, and one answering the phone and presumably filling prescriptions, and at no point did either of them come to help me except finally, after about ten minutes, when the lady went off to look for something else and a guy grabbed the girl from the counter for help before she could return, finally, the older man who'd been filling prescriptions offered to help. I asked for a sharps container. He came out, went around the corner to a shelf I couldn't see, and pulled one off the shelf, then threw it onto the counter and went back to answering phones, not ringing me up at all. I took my stuff to the front of the store and waited again, behind about three people. The woman at the counter was nice, and it certainly wasn't her fault that her co-worker was totally rude, but when she asked if I wanted to use my wellness card, I told her no, that I wasn't sure I'd be coming back at all, and told her why. She apologised, of course, and I said, it's not your fault, I'm just really unhappy with the service at the pharmacy counter, and I left. I got to my car and was shaking so hard I started to cry. Now, as YKWIA has already pointed out, I did the passive Southern good girl thing. He would have made a scene, but he would have gotten results. I should have demanded service, and if not given, should have talked to the manager (or at the very least asked to talk to the manager after it was all over). But I didn't--I waited as patiently as possible and got trampled into the dirt. Isn't that how the line from Camelot goes--the meek inherit the dirt? Anyway, I won't draw a line in the sand and absolutely say I would never darken their door again, but I must say, I'm disinclined to go back. I'm glad the pharmacy I go to for my meds (but which doesn't have braces and doesn't always have sharps containers) is much friendlier. I suppose I'm spoiled by their service. I certainly would not consider switching my meds over to Rite Aid given the lack of service I experienced. No sense in giving them a fairly lucrative account, seeing as I take more medications than I can count on my fingers. I'll stick with my small, independent pharmacy, with great service and who, even on a bad day, go out of their way to help me. That pharmacy, by the way, is Corner Pharmacy on Alexandria Drive. They may be across town from me and they aren't open 24/7, but they're also not corporate drones.