Kroger

2stars total.
4 stars for produce
–1 star for staff.
Came in today for the first time since Publix opened to find no carts in lobby. Mentioned it to customer service, no «thank you we’ll get right on it» just an «OK».
Got some ham from the deli. The guy didn’t check with me to see if he sliced it right just put it in a bag and ask if I needed anything else.

For the longest time, it felt kinda cheesy to check in at Kroger. But what the hey, I noticed this K-​Roger getting some bad press, and I felt like someone needed to speak up for it.
These changes are all recent, as Kroger underwent some fairly major remodeling about a year ago. For a few months in the interim, this place was a hot mess. BUT Y’ALL, DADGUM. It was worth it! Kroger now has a VERY impressive collection of sections dedicated to organic produce, artisanal cheeses, sushi (yes, it’s that crappy grocery store sushi, but whatever) and other goodies. They also have several lanes dedicated to natural/​organic/​non-​GMO food. IN ROME, GEORGIA. I used to have to trek all the way to Trader Joe’s, a 100-​mile round trip adventure, in order to get organic food without taking out a loan to handle it. Kroger has brought healthy groceries to a place that sorely needed them, and I for one am seriously on board with that.
There’s also a Starbucks inside this Kroger. Personally, I think this is sort of dumb. It seems to do good business, but honestly… Starbucks? Inside a grocery store? WHY? If I’m gonna blow 300 calories on a coffee drink, I seriously want to stop, collaborate, and listen to NOTHING but that coffee drink and enjoy every. last. sip. I do not want to gulp it down while I’m dodging kids-​run-​amok (I know it happens everywhere, but I swear to GAWD it’s worse in Rome than anywhere else, these parents just walk into grocery stores and immediately abdicate all responsibility as their curtain climbers wreak havoc. Happens everywhere; worse at Wal-​Mart, see below.)
Now onto the disclaimers… It is absolutely true that if you spend enough time in this establishment, you’re going to encounter some very interesting characters. But hey, y’all, Kroger can’t help the fact that they’re in Rome and native Romans are a very interesting crowd. The real reality show cast-​offs tend to congregate at the West Rome Wal-​Mart, though, so as long as you’re at Kroger during daylight hours you’ll be okay. I’ve seen some interesting things after hours, though, and don’t recommend it.
My real peeve, and this isn’t the store’s fault, is that I have gotten more dings on my car in this parking lot than anywhere else. It never ceases to amaze me that someone will walk all the way across a 200-​yard parking lot, unload their groceries, but can’t be arsed to push the cart the extra 20 feet to the cart corral. Inevitably, those stray carts are drawn to my bumper. LAZY BONES.
Still, it gets four stars because it is clean, the staff is usually friendly (you can only ask so much of teenagers, really) and most of all, Kroger is trying to bring healthy alternatives into a Rome, GA grocery store. For this, I gotta give ‘em props.

Kind of poor. This is a big olé store, and I’ll cut them some slack for it being poorly merchandized because it was the day before Thanksgiving and it was busy. (Still, good stores staff up and do better…)
On the plus side, the produce section was great — huge selection, mostly fresh looking stuff, and huge (yes, I said it twice). Very nice, thank you.
But on the cons side, I was looking for an item and even their stock-​person was all «uhhhh, I’m not sure… Did you look on (insert the aisle number I told him I just came from…)?»
And I know this sounds very judgmental of me, but I must say, the clientele at this location is just kind of rough. You will see some sights, some shocking, some pathetic, mostly all depressing. You will get run over in the parking lot, too.

i only like it because it has the nice starbucks the store it self is very neat its always bussy because its the only market in town ! PLEASE MAKE IT BETTER!

Their service varies as does the product selection. Frequently I have asked for specific products only to find out that it doesn’t even matter what the local manager orders — the distribution center decides what to send. Add to that, a very argumentative meat dept manager who refused to stock a common product variety that he could (and used to) carry. I guess Romans will never know about many of the delicious options that other locations take for granted. Thanks to the inconsiderate product management, I have to pack a cooler and haul down to Kennesaw to hit Publix or Harry’s to fill in the gaps if I want to have a better selection.
When it comes to bagging your groceries, if you don’t want hundreds of two-​object bags (I’m not a weak little ol’ granny, you numbskulls), you’re going to have to do it yourself — which, often, I find to be the case as all of the bag-​boys are hiding elsewhere in the store (they’re definitely not outside scooping up the carts).
Unfortunately for Rome, Kroger is as-​good-​as-​it-​gets around here. The two stars rating is due to the relative scale.

Pretty good Kroger but they could do better on their fuel prices @ the fuel center.