There are worse things than a wobbly wheel

I went shopping at Kroger's for groceries yesterday. I'm almost recovered today.

I used to enjoy grocery shopping. It was fun hunting for bargains and seeing what was new. But then.

But then they introduced the savings card. I resisted getting one as long as I could, but without it I'd spend about 25% more. Not because there is actual a "savings" with the card, but because they raised prices on many items to make up for the cards. The whole shopping experience took a nose dive with the introduction of those cards. I think it may be related to the emphasis on profit instead of customer service, because it's not only the cards that irk me, it's too many other things. (I know I'm easily irked, but there's only so much crap one person can tolerate in a lifetime and I met my limit several years ago.)

The Kroger carts are so deep that I practically have to crawl in them to get my groceries out, yet their plastic bags are so little that sometimes I pass up items (like frozen pizzas) because I know it will be awkward to carry them.

Which brings me to the 'bag boys'. Why don't they train these people, boys/girls/men/women, to bag groceries correctly? I don't want my bread squeezed into a bag with 2 boxes of cereal, frozen vegetables, and a couple packages of meat. I don't want squashed bread and I don't want cardboard boxes next to cold items that will get them damp. And why do they stuff one bag so full that the canned goods fall out before I get to the car? It's not to save money on bags because they might put only one item in another bag.

And don't get me started on the cart system they use when you're checking out. Let it suffice to note that I boycotted the store for over a month last year because they were especially annoying with the stupid carts during one visit. Why do they think it's efficient to block the check-out lane with an empty cart? Is it to make sure you pay before you leave?

This brings me to the matter of the staff. They aren't very friendly. It's not that they're actually rude, but I think if I went up to the counter stark naked with a colander on my head they wouldn't even notice. Yesterday, the young man bagging my groceries mumbled 'have a nice day' as if he were embarrassed at expressing a pleasantry.

And I didn't remember till I got home that I needed trash bags and yeast. But I'm not going back!