H-E-B — Local services in Houston

I am a frequent shopper at this location, and I’ve never had a horrible experience until today. While shopping for an event I’m hosting, I stopped by the area near the Meal Simple items, salads, and dips. I saw that employee Hector, whom I’m familiar with because I’ve seen him around in the store, plating samples of the sandwich sample tray that contained a variety of 3 meats (turkey, ham, and roast beef). I don’t particularly like roast beef, so I passed on trying that one, but I went ahead and picked up a small ham sandwich slice (with no greeting, nor explanation of what was being served for the day, as the employee normally does). After trying the ham, I wanted to try the turkey slice as well to decide if it was the kind I normally like to buy (H-E-B has a variety of turkey flavors), but I was told by employee Hector “There will only be 1 sample per customer”. I explained to him I had a party I was planning, and wanted to be sure I at least would enjoy the turkey before purchasing the entire platter, and his response to me was “Well I don’t know what to tell you. The platter is right there. You can either take it or leave it” verbatim. (In regards to me purchasing the $30 platter without knowing what it tastes like). In complete shock, I just asked for his name once again, and walked away.

I then headed over to the Cooking Connection area where I normally like to stop to see what new Fischer Weismann sauces they had out currently to try. I witnessed employee James speaking with another young man, so I decided to wait a while.. about 7 minutes had gone by before James walked over and said “Did you have a question?” verbatim In a tone as if I was being a nuisance standing, waiting patiently for a sample. I informed employee James that I just wanted to try the sauce for the day, and he proceeded to prepare a sample plate, and handed it off to me, while continuing on his conversation with the previous young man, and leaving me to read the sauce of the day and its ingredients to myself.

I am not sure if employee James and employee Hector didn’t have a great morning to start, but I was really trying my best to have a great morning, til I was met with the dismissive and hurtful behavior they displayed towards me.

I was directed to speak to a Mr. Fin (Cooking connection manager at the time) as it pertained to my experience today. When speaking wi the Mr. Fin, he displayed nonchalant reactions and body language toward my concerns. In the end, I informed him that I had just lost a friend of 12+ years 3 days prior, and I was pulling myself together to plan an event for our loved ones today. Mr. Fin, response was “Well I’m sorry about your friend, I lost a friend too….” verbatim

I am completely disgusted with the cooking connection staff at this H-E-B location, and I will not be returning. I would advise anyone who appreciates a pleasurable shopping experience to head over to the North Shepherd H-E-B location. The staff there is much...

*Update

Why not just close earlier if a large portion of the store is inaccessible during business hours??

This is my least favorite H-E-B location. I have shopped for groceries at H-E-B almost exclusively (across different locations) for the last eight years, and I go to this one almost every day.

First, I understand this store is probably busier and smaller than most others so it tends to be crowded. Totally understandable, though also inherently a little more stressful.

Most of the staff here seem to be younger than I have noticed at other stores. I used to believe H-E-B employees were of a higher caliber than your typical customer service associates. I have not found that to be the case here. While some are consistently very warm and friendly, most come off as indifferent and unwelcoming. No smiles, rarely a greeting, generally helpful but not to the standard I came to know and expect from H-E-B employees elsewhere.

I prefer to shop later in the day when the crowds have died down, and I understand re-stocking is completely essential and necessary for any store. Shopping here after 10:00pm makes me feel as if I am much more of an imposition than a welcomed customer. After 10, pallets of product often block aisles and shelves, making many items literally inaccessible. There are boxes strewn all over the floors and the stocking associates are everywhere, crowding the already cramped aisles. These crew members range from indifferent to downright unfriendly and rude; often throwing boxes and slamming pallets on the floor. The other Heights location is not like this and even shopping during the nightly re-stocking process at Walmart is not as unpleasant. I do not understand why the store remains open past 10 if shoppers are going to be in the way. This is actually a very serious potential safety concern.

Product selection here is limited compared to other stores. Maybe due to the smaller size? Still impressive for a grocery store but not great by H-E-B standards. The exterior of the store is often messy and littered. Carts are left out overnight by adjacent apartment buildings, not collected. Walking on the side parallel to Washington Ave. is difficult and not advised, mostly because of the busy traffic pattern, but even on the sidewalks there are carts scattered everywhere from the curbside service. There is sloppy looking outdoor seating in the space by the corner of Washington and Heights, which appears to be an employee break area; also unpleasant to walk by.

This location makes me want to shop elsewhere. The only reason I continue to shop here is because I literally live next door. I am sad when I think of how excited I was to move next to my favorite grocery chain. Major...

I had to stop by this HEB on my way home from work to get food supplies for home. It was close to closing time so I didn’t want to be out there too long. Overall, I was only really helped by two employees and it sucks that I didn’t get their names!

Before I was actually, genuinely, helped, I will tell you that when I was in there, I had one employee being rude and trying to start mess and another employee doing the same thing.

In the aisle where the seasoning and spices were located, I was held up looking for a small container of salt that was actually hiding at the bottom shelf, way in the back of the slotted area. The first guy was a jerk, running around with a loaded hand pallet jack, nearly running over my feet, expecting people to move out of his way, stocking the store by smashing packages on the ground, right in my face, all up in my ear. Not that he was the only one to be fair! I brought that to his attention and he simply ignored me as if I was just another nagging customer.

Afterward, the games really started when another employee got in my face, giving me the bug-eyed stare, after asking a simple question like, “where is the condensed milk”. I was assisted but, to be quite honest, the instance was actually frustrating since I was already tired after being out in public from the early morning to the late night of that day. Moreover, there is someone in that store sabotaging and damaging products to the point where you have to really search out which item isn’t tampered with. I was searching for HEB brand oatmeal and the majority of the containers looked like they were roughed up!

Besides all of that, the other two employees, that I mentioned at the beginning, actually helped and were awesome! One helped me locate the salt that seemed nearly hidden in a very isolated area and the other showed me where the precut apples were located. Because of that, I was then able to introduce healthier recipes to my personal menu to cook at home. Be weary shopping late night at this store. It is a great location and is always stocked but some of the employees at this location are really just instigative and...