H-E-B — Attraction in San Antonio

Like almost every other H-E-B I've been to, this place is just awful, from the products on the shelves to the parking lot and everywhere in between. I'll start with their selection...

Like a lot of grocery chains, H-E-B has their own in-house brand and if they make a certain product, they put it front and center and only have a very small selection of others, often times at the expense of the brands most people like. For example, I was at this store the other day and needed napkins but they only had two kinds, their own cheap Hill Country brand and Vanity Fair napkins, the smooth ones that do nothing but smear the food around on your face. Their Hill Country brand have a ton of products and it's like this throughout the whole store, a ton of cheaply made Hill Country products and a token few brand names. The ice cream section, like just about every other section in the store, is a complete joke. They have a ton of Hill Country ice cream, Dreyer's and then the most basic selection of Blue Bell, that's it.

The place is always a madhouse, because there just aren't any other grocery store chains here in the San Antonio area for some reason, so everyone near this store has to come here. The shelves are always in disarray and they do their stocking during peak rush hours, as if the place wasn't already difficult enough to maneuver in, they throw their stockers with wheeled ladders out there too, just to make it a little more fun I guess. They have one long cooler that runs just about the length of the store that separates the grocery Isles and the back wall that has the meats, cheeses, etc... The problem is, there's no break in the cooler, so instead of being able to shop up one Isle, all the way to the back wall, you have to walk all the way down to the other side of the store to get around the long cooler, making the traffic on both sides of it just ridiculous. It is the dumbest thing I've ever seen.

I don't think I've ever been to a grocery store that has an in-house bakery that didn't have brioche bread, until I started going to this H-E-B. Everything about this place just gets on my nerves, if another major grocery chain came to San Antonio, they would make an absolute killing. Kroger, Randall's, Albertson's, they all blow H-E-B out of the water and it wouldn't take long for people around here to notice just how much more pleasant your shopping experience can and should be.

To top it all off, the parking lot is on a huge down slope and except for the few spaces at the bottom of it, if you have more than a few things in your cart you have to hold it place with your foot so it doesn't roll down the hill while your putting your groceries up. If your cart is full, it can be a real hassle. I just moved to San Antonio and I know it sounds like I'm just being picky, but I have to go the grocery store just about every day and when you've gotten used to certain products and a certain way of shopping over the years, to have it all disappear basically over...

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO UPDATE.

In the Produce department, I weghed some I green grapes and printed the sticker. My price was $4.49. When I got to yhe register to purchase the gra I es ot prompted m e to leave the bag on the scale. My price for the grapes was $4.52. Why the 3 cent I b crease? Imagine if every weighed produce item co m es up n a few cents higher at the registet-- t H e b store ra K es in a nice little bundle over the course of a year. Either the scales in the Produce Department need recalibration, or the register scales need recalibration. Three cents = three cents. It's the principle of the matter

They also had their Hill Country Fare single sports drinks on sale. They only had 1 flavor, fruit punch, in stock, is that the flavor they have excess of. If they are going to have a sale and know the sales may be brisk, they need to make sure they have plenty of all flavors on hand.

Another glitch is their gas is $2.69 a gallon for unleaded and down the road, maybe 2.5 to 2.75 miles, at Thousand Oaks & Perin Bite,l HEB gas is $2.65. That's 4 cents a gallon.

For the three reasons above, the store gets 1 star today. Overall, the store was clean, well lit, and security was patrolling the lot. For these factors, the store gets 5 stars today.

UPDATE 8-5-2O2. 1.This store has all kinds of apples, yet you lack Red Delicious apples. It's niice to have a variety, but sometimes one just wants a good ol' Ted Deliscious apple. What happened to employees taking pride in themselves. The guy monitoring the quick checks is probably in his 40's abd looks like he ready yo mow the lawn; baggy jeans and an HEB t-shirt untucked. Why not require non faded, non baggy jeans and shorts tucked in.

Yhe guy stocking the impulse items at the registers looked like he just got outnof bed and threw on jeans and a t-shirt. His hair is all long and nappy looking. I don't care what he's sticking (cans, bottles, bags, etc.), do I really want him handling products. Looks matter.

Yo know how Buc-ee's touts they have the cleanest restroom compared to anybody, and the do. Uou say everything is better at HEB, so why not say you have the most caring employees, from caring about their own appearance, caring about having exceptional customer service (Efficient, Fast, & Friendly), caring about about having product knowledge, and this is what makes EVERYTHING BETTER...

I can not say enough about this HEB. While their parking lot, and traffic flow, are the cause of many accidents, everything else about this HEB is stellar.

I really didn't pay that much attention to my HEB until the "hurricane panic" hit San Antonio, followed by the "gas shortage panic". It came to my attention that, unlike every other vendor that was letting people duke it out over a loaf of bread, or a gallon of gas, my HEB, took complete control of the situation.

They had staff on hand to direct traffic at the gas pumps. That in itself was huge and made getting gas during a time of panic, tolerable. In addition, unlike everyone else, they would tell you when the next shipment was coming, so you could be in line early if you were hurting for gas. That alone should have gotten them some sort of award.

But when the food panic started, I remember coworkers telling me their children, who worked at HEB, were required to come to work during this time. Whether scheduled or not, if they didn't show up without a very good excuse, they were fired. At the time, I thought, 'wow, what jerks!' That was until I saw the chaos in all of the stores, and then how well my HEB handled it.

it was all hands on deck, with every single register working. Every manager was on the floor, jumping in to: give people breaks, bag groceries, or doing whatever they needed to do to keep the lines moving. They were getting people out so fast, I was in awe of what an extremely well oiled machine they had produced in this time of crisis.

Meanwhile, not one person looked angry about having to work. Everyone was happy and helpful, doing they job, as fast as humanly possible. They seemed to feel that what they were doing really mattered. And it did matter. They were all tired, but they worked hard to make it easy for us. With extra shipments of food, constantly stocking shelves, and every register open, it was a beehive of constant, yet organized, activity. It was a sight to behold, truly.

During those few days, the staff at my HEB became my heroes, working their tired butts off, to make it easy on us, while every other store, and gas station, were in the throes of chaotic madness.

Each person that worked during this HEB during that time should be proud of themselves. You are all heros in my book, and you are truly...