Kroger — Local services in Brentwood

I rarely visit this store. When I do, it's always rather uncomfortable. I feel as if the employees in the front are all over the place. The produce department is full of customers but no workers. I waited for about 10 minutes to get a balloon blown up. Of course no one was in the floral area. I walked around trying to find a product. The men in the meat department seemed as if they were to occupied to help me find a product. I decided to skip the product and proceed to look for the rest of my items. I was pretty confident and hopeful that I would find a worker as I roamed the store. Of course there was no one to be found. Furthermore, I dreadfully walked to the meat department. I then felt like a nuisance because it already seemed as if they did not want the help me the first initial time. I asked if they could find someone who knew where the product I needed was located at. He then called for a manager. I believe his name was Mullin or Collin. Not quite sure. He was a short man with a balding head. I hate describe him in such manner but he didn't even introduce his self. This is why I'm unsure of the name. He seemed VERY frustrated and SIGHED a lot like I was just another one of his issues. He still gave me a smile. It didn't feel very sincere. After searching, the manager saw the product was out of stock. It made me regret setting foot in the store. That product was the reason I even pursued to enter the store. As with the other review. I received Sharde as a cashier. The lines where running long and she signaled me to come into her line. Which I initially thought to be great. I was extremely ready to leave the store by this time. I was excited to finally check out. I thanked her and asked how she was. She just stared with a unamused face and said "fine". That made things uncomfortable. She didn't communicate with me after that. She was quiet the whole time except for when she asked me if I had a Kroger card near the end of the transaction.

I took my time to write this informative paragraph because things must change! I use this store as a last resort and it shouldn't be this way. I go to the Publix off Franklin Rd and pay more just so I can have a better shopping experience. Hopefully, the things will be corrected...

The Good: I LOVED the way Kroger transformed & expanded this store & their assortments. They kill the competition on vast assortments, even surprisingly on some better products. The Bad: They did NOTHING to improve their service. Now they have more traffic, lots of great stuff to buy, terrific prices, but no one with any training or standards where they need it. The Deli service is a disaster. If you want to try it (once a month I try, I really do), prepare to not be greeted, often having to wait for an unfriendly staff, & leave yourself tons of time. WHEN they have help there, they are so inept it feels like the world is moving backwards. But they rarely have more that 1-2 people there. Everything BUT the customer comes first. If you don't believe that pls try it yourself. Their deli meats are thrown into plastic bags after every use, never wrapped. They generally have to search the cases to find what you want. Today, a guy started slicing the wrong meat, & later the wrong cheese before I tried to stop him. That same guy was putting a plastic liner in a big garbage pail & finally asked me to wait til he was done which I did. he did NOT wash his hands, but thank heaven he put on gloves. The seafood dept, AND the meat dept. are often manned by the same person, so again, not enough help. What worse, they have NO idea what grade of meat they are selling nor what the origins of their seafood are. Training? non-existent. They blame much of this on trying to find good help, yet the deli people have been the same for over a year now! How is it that Publix usually finds people who smile, are clean & TRY? Oh-and don't ever try a special order. It's just and exercise in futility & frustration. Go for self-selected stuff-NOT for anything special or that requires a little knowledge and care. So...

While I'm not the world's biggest Kroger fan, I can appreciate when a Kroger location is exceptional, and this one all that and more.

For me, the mark of an excellent grocery store is the the appearance and the upkeep of the Produce department. Walking in the door near the Produce department is a very colourful, welcoming experience. The produce is well stocked, nicely arranged, and the area is kept very clean. It's not uncommon to see an employee or two tending to the area, making sure it's not just stocked, but stocked and arranged nicely.

In fact, this may be the cleanest, most organized Kroger I've ever seen. I've made over a dozen visits in the last year and I've yet to see a box out of place, a jar of broken (anything) in the middle of the aisle, or a broom randomly resting against a shelf.

The staff is seems focused and on-point. Whether behind the meat counter, stock shelves, or cashiering, I've never seen someone standing around scrolling or talking on their phones. While I freaking LOATHE self-checkout, if I've only got 2 or 3 scannable items (read that: items that don't need to be weighed or numbered) I'll use it. The one time I did I had a question and the person minding Self Checkout was on the spot, ready to assist

The parking lot is generally kept clean and carts (somehow) end up in the cart corrals instead rolling through the parking lot, denting cars.

If this Kroger were closer to home (Louisville) I'd definitely shop...