Kroger Marketplace — Local services in Little Elm

TL/DR: Jamal is too good for this place.

Pick up was a mess today, and there was no management around to give anyone information or take accountability.

This negative review is not a reflection of Jamal, he was as helpful as he was able to be, but it is aimed at management and the whole system Kroger has in place for pickup orders.

We are heading into inclement weather, and Kroger was the closest store offering pickup same day, other nearby stores were booked. I placed my order at 8 am for a 6-7 pm pick up window. I received a text at work that they were behind and that my order wasn’t ready around 5:30pm. I grab my 1 yo kid from daycare and head to Kroger anyways because I can’t go home and unload her just to have to load her up again to go back in 30 min.

This is the part that was confusing. I had expected to wait until sometime after the end of my pickup window, so after 7 because they had texted me that it wasn’t ready yet, but when I pulled up the app to say I’m on my way, the app told me my order was ready. So now I’m not expecting to wait a super long time anymore.

40 minutes after I park and notify that I’m there, an employee tries to give me the wrong cart. His parking spot was right but the order was under a different name and it was not my order. Not his fault, something glitched in the system. By that time, I had heard from others waiting that they had been there 2 hours by this point. Having worked in the service industry, I was pretty sure this was an exaggeration, but I wanted to know how long I could potentially be waiting, as I have a 1 yo in the back who needs to eat dinner and go to bed. When I tried to get any information from the guy trying to give me the wrong order he just says he doesn’t know.

I understand when places are overrun or behind, but upper management needs to be alerted so they can get ahead of the situation. There were many people standing outside their cars getting upset at the front line workers who really didn’t have the power to do anything. This is where I got frustrated with the system. Whoever was managing pickup tonight hid out and didn’t talk to anyone, and let the front line workers who couldn’t have helped take the heat.

I asked if management was going to come out to give wait time estimates to everyone, and Jamal said, she’ll probably come out. She never did while I was there. Jamal handled everything and got me an estimate which was an acceptable 15-20 min. But the reason I had to wait was because they were still gathering my small order at 7 pm. There were only 7 items on my list. Which I guess doesn’t really matter if they had a million other orders in front of mine.

This is where now I’m faulting the Kroger pickup system as a whole. Their operations are at fault. Either they should not have had that time slot available for me to select, or their team training or other processes are inefficient.

I’m also leaving a bad review because when I tried to call the store to actually get ahold of a supervisor who could help, the phone never picked up. So more cowards hiding behind front of house. It makes me sick.

In total I waited an hour, from 6:30-7:30. Since I was already expecting to pickup after my pickup window, this is not that bad. But what made it bad was the vague text, the app telling me my order was ready when it wasn’t, the fact it took so long to even get to gathering my order, and that no management was available to get ahead of the issue and let people know how long we would be waiting.

I haven’t used Kroger pickup in a little over a year, because I find HEB has better produce quality for curbside. But, after tonight, I will not take a chance on Kroger again. If HEB curbside pickup is booked out, I’m just going to assume that Kroger’s should be too and that they’re squeezing in more orders than they can handle to make an extra buck.

Props to Jamal. He was great. he should apply to HEB where he probably wouldn’t have to deal with this kind of...

It is rare that I should give a review of one start, or even two stars. But today was that last straw - or egg in this case. Not quite two years ago I fell ill. Krogers preorder and they pack groceries was a gift. Then was my own game of ‘ how much did this really cost/ save me’ began. I must say something good first, so the hamburger and milk are fine and have good dates on them today. You know- the use by dates. But the dates for the eggs are in 2 Days ! As is a bent up carton of 18 eggs. Well, three are cracked, so I only have to consume 15 in just 2 days. Not likely and not healthy. The English muffins also expire in just 2 Days ! At $5.29.! The green onions/ scallions are shredded. How does that happen ? The in-store bread is for Today ! Not kidding. Now I have had this before and even worse. I have had my hamburger and chicken and milk and oh- so obviously badly expired fruit and vegetables put into my bags. All on the same show trip !! When I called the store I was told that I could return them with my receipt for replacement. Really !! I am now newly in a wheelchair and cannot even get to my car, less drive. I am absolutely certain that on the occasional days, the picker/packers just pull off of the shelves in the back marked ‘ Expired ‘, and drop it into your bag. I believe today was one of those days — again. I am Not impressed !!! I guess I should request, if they must give me expired or nearly expired foods , try to make it for the same planned meal. Best of luck to you Updated 3-16; yet again we received foods that are expired or expire tomorrow. The Campari tomatoes are many days past expiration, the bread is hard. And a new one- the box of health bars is open with a food packet missing. I am not ready to look at the meats. One day I will learn how to go grocery shopping while using my walker. Until then, I am in need of this store to up it quality. Too bad they do not read their reviews. Either foods are being picked from the ‘ remove from shelves’ box, or they have expired food for sale. But items are sometimes obvious. Icky looking wrinkles and smoosh tomatoes. Bread that is hard. Both of these are opposite from what you would describe them to be. Again, good luck, if you are unable to go shopping yourself, and are hoping for a service...

I’m writing to express my outrage and deep disappointment regarding a disturbing incident I witnessed at your store.

A customer attempted to purchase a BuzzBallz and was helped by an employee named Kaliyah (or possibly Kalia – an African American woman). The customer presented what appeared to be a Mexican consular ID, a valid government-issued form of identification, and was told by the employee that it was not acceptable. The customer, who remained calm and respectful throughout, expressed that she had used the same ID at Kroger previously with no issue and asked if a manager could assist.

A tall Hispanic male employee, who appeared to be a manager, came over and reviewed the ID. He confirmed that it was acceptable. As he did this, another employee named Cleo — who had been listening nearby — suddenly walked over, snatched the ID out of the manager’s hand, and hit him in the chest, insisting that the ID could not be accepted.

This behavior was beyond unprofessional — it was aggressive, hostile, and completely unacceptable. It is shocking and disgusting to witness physical contact between employees and such an embarrassing public altercation, especially in front of a calm and respectful customer who simply wanted to make a legal purchase.

What makes this incident even worse is the clear message it sends to the Hispanic community. A Mexican consular ID is a legitimate, government-issued identification, and refusing to accept it not only reflects ignorance, but also a lack of support and respect for Hispanic customers. To see this play out so publicly and aggressively is extremely disheartening. As someone who values diversity and fairness, I’m disgusted to see this kind of behavior tolerated in a Kroger store.

I have been a regular Kroger customer for years, but after witnessing this, I will not be shopping there again. I will also be sharing this experience with my friends, family, and community. This incident left a terrible impression, and Kroger needs to take serious action to address both the behavior of its employees and the policies that allow this kind of...