Grocery Outlet — Local services in Porterville

I love the store. Living in a poverty ridden community makes it one of few choices. We cannot afford NOT to shop there. There's some great management and employees there However the crew of eye rolling poverty shaming women running it at night are enough to sour anyone. If one triggers the biases these women blatantly wear on their sleeves you can expect an unpleasant experience. As a disabled adult with a brain injury who survived a drunk driver slamming into my bicycle at 40 mph I am fully aware there are days I don't button my shirt straight or may have not realized I left the house in slippers. After I woke up from my year long coma I had to undergo a lot of skin grafts and still am working on it. So yes, the bandages covering my arms and legs even in the hot summertime are for real. It's tiresome to be met without a hello...instead cringing as the call for security sweeps on whatever aisle I am walking down as loudly as possible with this group of bullies eye roll each other as they make it a point to single people out for unknown crimes. Mostly it's racial and economic profiling is the root because I've made it a point to observe for the last 6 months. They are especially hard on those they perceive as mentally ill. Because this treatment starts the moment the unlucky party enters the store. It's juvenile group think played out in classic Mean Girl style. I know customer service is kind of like a Unicorn and my expectations are set low. So when someone DOES deliver even a tiny bit of customer service I swoon. I don't give a pass when the employees spends time following people who are obviously disabled, low income, mentally ill or darker than them and shaming them when no crime has happened...is a good reason to NOT spend my money there. Shame on...

Three stars for the selection, but many reasons why I'm giving this place, which I come to A LOT, a low rating:

The employee turnover rate is HIGH and, because of this, they are replaced with lethargic, uncaring and low energy people that mostly don't know how to do their job or care about doing their job. They always seem annoyed to be there and asking for assistance is pretty much a gamble as they keep you waiting or flat out refuse.

The franchise owners are a mixed bag. I see the female owner a lot and she never says anything; super unapproachable and unfriendly. The male owner is kind of passive, but seems more receptive.

Their ads are really scattered in that it can take WEEKS for the items listed to appear in store and I asked about this a few times with some items I wanted and they said it was the supply chain issue. Fair enough, but unless you KNOW it'll be there, don't publish it; borders on false advertising and makes people angry.

Finally, a lot of prices aren't displayed on new items with some employees just making their own prices at the register because they can't find it in the system so, if you go in wanting the same thing at the same price they gave it to you for, you'll get the ACTUAL price and be annoyed that they didn't price it properly to begin with.

I really love this place, but it needs to...

I just had the worst GO customer service encounter. 1st, the Halloween sale ghosts are next to the impulse shelves in front of the register. The white crepe material got tangled up in the cart's wheel. Rather than drag it off the shelf, we asked Jezelle for help. Her reply? "Sorry". When asked if she had scissors or something, "No, we don't have that kind of thing". So, I tore the item so the cart could be moved forward. I apologize. 2nd, at the adjacent check-out line, a customer is asking that clerk to fix the printers because the receipts aren't legible. Jezelle gets on her mike to someone else and very LOUDLY restates the customers request. WHILE FINISHING OUR ORDER! The night shift leaves carts in the parking lot until closing time, which they start announcing 30 mins before posted closing time. What happened to the big management shake up? Jezelle needs lessons in CS and how to relay a message without shaming the customer. She said she turns her badge hiding her name, "Because men make her feel...