Kroger — Attraction in Columbus

This is only 1 star because 0 isn't an option. Let's just hit the ground running. The pharmacy is not open consistently during posted hours. When they bother being open, they won't have your meds, or be able to find your account. The customer service desk is also not open according to posted hours. When it isn't open, they won't take returns, which from my understanding of Ohio law, is illegal. This becomes an even bigger issue when you get home and realize that what you were able to find on the shelves (it's been May 2020 in this store since way before May of 2020) is expired or rotten, and when you drive all the way back, they won't accept food returns. If you're going to shop here, check the dates and freshness of everything you intend to purchase. The good news? You'll have lots of time to do that, since no one seems to work here, other than the armed guard who is supposed to check your receipt (which really means waving white customers through and harassing everyone else). The one employee will be on their phone, and will also be very irritated when there is inevitably a problem with one of the 4 self checkouts that might be partially operational, but what do you expect when my 90 year old neighbor has to wait nearly an hour to scan and bag an entire cart of food by herself. I have gone to this store for milk which took me under 5 minutes to find, then proceeded to wait almost an hour to check out and have my receipt checked. I have also seen the armed guards go on break and lock the exit door so customers have to wait for them to finish vaping and talking on the phone to leave. This is a fire code violation. The store is always filthy, and frequently has an aroma that is not pleasant. I'm becoming convinced that this company's business model boils down to punishing people for having to shop there.

Also, I'm going to say this explicitly. If you are going close every register but self checkouts, you might as well put up a sign that says "Disabled? Yeah, we don't want your business." Not everyone is able to scan and bag a weeks worth of groceries. In fact a lot of people aren't able to do those things, especially after being forced to stand and wait for upwards of 40 minutes because a multi billion dollar corporation wants to pretend that it can't afford to staff a grocery store in a major city to reasonably accommodate all of its...

While this store is undertaking a remodel, that's actually one of the reasons it's unpleasant. Construction crews and equipment tend to block an already crowded store. One that is homely, unorganized, dirty, and tends to be out of items. Like lettuce.

Worse yet, the multiple entrances have been closed, leaving just one central entrance. While the store recently added handicap parking near this entrance, it's limited to only about 2 - 4 spots. The only other handicap parking is near one of the walled off entrances. The carts are still also congregated near the closed entrance, so one must walk quite a bit to get one.

While you do have to give Kroger some props for opening a store in this neighborhood, I always try to go near a store closer to work or somewhere else where I'm out and about. The Market Express up the street from this store, in the nice part of Bexley, is quite lovely, but after I spent $26 on a small bag of groceries, I brave this store instead.

Waits in the check-out line, especially during rush hour are long. And in the event a new line is opened, the checker doesn't pull those next in line, but those at the end, thereby forcing those who had been waiting to wait longer.

While some checkers and staff are nice, some are unfriendly or depressed. One checker I had told me she was because a co-worker or manager (can't remember which) was harassing her.

After rush hour, maybe one checkout lane is open. At least once, there have been none, with self-serve being the only option.

Let's hope with the remodel the everything is or it will just fall into being the substandard store...

Had to go to this Kroger to pick up my medicine that they didn't have at my regular Kroger on S. High St. Actually getting there was really easy coming straight off the highway. Again this store had a very small & very congested parking lot. It was not fun trying to maneuver through to actually be able to find an open spot. I dropped off my script & was told to come back in 30 minutes. So I basically waited in my car for the entire 30 minutes. I went up to their walk up window & they hadn't even started my prescription bc they didn't have my insurance card & didn't even call me to let me know bc I was waiting. It just seemed very inconsiderate to make me waste my time for absolutely nothing. So I have him my insurance card & then had to wait another 25 minutes for them to actually get it ready again & run it through the insurance. I waited in my car bc the parking lot was such a mess, I could only imagine what it would actually be like inside the store. At one point a big rig pulled in & I really thought that there was no way that he was ever going to get through to the receiving side. Actually it seemed pretty impossible. After he sittung there & blocking everything & everyone. Cars finally started backing up & the big rig started his tight squeeze to just get where he needed to be to make his delivery. But eventually I did get my medicine & finally headed back towards the highway, which again was very simple to get right on & had back towards home on the Southside of Columbus. I probably won't go all the way over there anytime soon, unless I have to go there for my medicine again....