Gas drops; so does discount

I understand that some Richmonders take offense to all of us not being satisfied with UKROPS, but the truth is that many of us have complained about prepared foods sitting out there too long, poor customer service & how these problems seem to be consistent & at a few or more stores.

As a business owner myself ( 9 years ) if a client comes to me with complaints in a tasteful manner,  I am thankful to them for pointing out any problems! Most customers will NOT complain, they will just not go back or you will see them less & less. As for the comment about deli ppl being treated like “ dirt “ I have never treated deli ppl like dirt but I also expect you not to IGNORE me! or cop an attitude & whine that you need your 15 minute break to your co-worker. THese issues above are WHY! I now go to Whole Foods. The food is delicious ( EVERYTHING ) and the customer service is competent & prompt. Even at peak times.

I think it’s great that Ukrop’s has real competition for the first time in twenty years.  Unfotunately, I don’t think they have responded to that competition effectively. 

I’ve been particularly disappointed in Ukrop’s generic line of products.  I find most of them of poor quality, whereas Kroger brand products are sometimes actually superior to brand names.  Also, Ukrop’s seems to be actually replacing my favorite name brands with their inferior generics in the smaller stores where I shop, so I must go to another store to find what I need.

I really don’t care about having my groceries carried to my car, and the fuel perks aren’t worth the giving up quality and value in my grocery shopping.

I prefer to get great value for my money and want to be able to find the brand names I choose and trust the store’s generic brands to be of high quality. 

In my opinion, Ukrop’s needs to go back to their original goals of selling high quality merchandise at competitive prices.  I always loved the idea of supporting a local business, but I’m not willing to sacrifice quality and value for this reason.

I shop at several Ukrop’s stores from time to time, namely Stratford Hills, Mechanicsville, and Ashland, and the service has taken a nosedive at all three locations. Kroger, on the other hand, has significantly improved service at its Carytown and Mechanicsville stores over the last few months. I agree with bellaella’s observations about Kroger’s service. I’ve had a couple minor problems at Kroger in the last year or so and they have bent over backwards to make it right. It consistently takes a while to find someone at Ukrop’s who either wants to help or is empowered to do so; I can’t help but think I’m inconveniencing them by trying to shop there.

I regularly shop at both Ukrop’s and Kroger (mostly because I shop sometimes on Saturday and sometimes on Sunday).  I started keeping track and Ukrop’s is regularly cheaper.  That surprised me, since they have the reputation of being more expensive.  I also think they have a better and fresher selection of produce.

I like some Ukrop’s stores. I worked there for many years while I was in high school and part of college. Some foods you can’t get anywhere other than Ukrop’s. Like some of there prepared food and let’s not forget Ukrop’s birthday cake! Yum! Anyways recently though I do sometimes shop at the nicer Kroger stores like Hull Street and the one in Chester because most of the time their prices are almost the same as Ukrops. Some Ukrops stores don’t carry other things though that I need like organic items. Ukrops is definitely in a niche in Richmond. I commend them for what they’ve down for Richmond. Although corporate wise after college/during there wasn’t much room for high growth so I left and did a intern type thing my last year in college. Anyways I think it’s great the fuelperks thing that Ukrops was doing. With that new perk I have been making an effort to shop at Ukrops and Kroger, and sometimes Trader Joe’s when I want a lot of organic stuff. I had no idea though that Kroger was doing that fuel savings program though. I have never seen it advertised anywhere (like when I have gotten gas from Kroger). It’s almost like they didn’t want people to know about it?? Don’t know, maybe it’s just me. As far as low prices though I have noticed that Ukrops has a lot of deals lately that are marked by red sale tags on their groceries. In the past people have said Ukrops prices are higher but people that went there liked the experience of the customer service (i.e. the people and getting your groceries taken to your car). I admit that some locations are better/worse than others at this. Just depends on the stores!!