Kroger competitor in store shops

I have Aldi and Trader Joe in store competition shops. Our local Aldi and Trader Joes do not have store made chicken nor 8 piece chicken. They also do not have a bakery in store so all of the sweets and the artisan breads will be simply prepacked by other companies. Yet there is NO place on the form to say no such items in the store. As for the name of the deli and meat clerks, which must be provided on both Kroger and comp. shops the clerk's name tag is often obscured by the meat counter. The counter is about as high as where their name tag is- yet there is no place on the form to say tag obscured by the counter containing the product. Has anyone else noticed these issues? I have had a few Kroger in sore where I could not see the name tag at all- luckily I later saw the person come out behind the counter- but to try and see the name tag in a normal situation is quite difficult.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

You've always been able to put "unknown" for the name and there is a place to choose what the issue was preventing you from getting the information. And, "N/A" if there isn't a counter and therefore no employee. I haven't done one since the newest update but you should be reaching out to your contact for that shop for guidance if there are problems with the newly updated forms.

If I try my best and cannot read the name completely, I mark it, "Covered". IF I can see some of the letters, I put that in the name.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230

Please read the questionaire. it says to put N/A if there is no attendant. And to put Unknown if the attendant is there, but you can't read the name tag for whatever reason. I looked at all of the departments, all of them have an N/A option for no service counter in the department. I didn't go far enough for the fully cooked chickens, but I'm sure there is an N/A option there too. Even all of the Krogers don't do all of the things.

I could not snag a competitor in store this cycle..congrats for getting those two!

I do my first in store later today, It's not a competitor but there is no Service Deli or Meat. Typically the questionnaire will guide you to N/A a department. I would just evaluate the packaged bakery and sweets.

If clearly no name tag worn, get the description (see the questionnaire which you can view in advance) enter "Unknown" and Use N/A Badge Not Worn.

They have changed the specific badge obscured for the Meat Department to "badge obscured by coat".

There are more instructions on how to deal with a partially or unreadable name badge for the Cashiers, I'd review those and follow that guidance, entering a comment after Unknown.

Not sure if the schedulers have all of the answers yet. If you are filling out the questionnaire and it is unclear email your scheduler, describe what you found and how you will submit. They may not care much for competitors, but if you get a reply before finalizing your report you can edit it. Sometimes the scheduler will send a note to the editor.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2025 03:56PM by melg.

@Morledzep wrote:

Please read the questionaire. it says to put N/A if there is no attendant.

Exactly.

This is what causes schedulers to be snarky.

@BayShopper22 wrote:

@Morledzep wrote:

Please read the questionaire. it says to put N/A if there is no attendant.

Exactly.

This is what causes schedulers to be snarky.

No Attendant is not quite the same as No Department. And what if there is Part of the Category? I.e. No Service Deli but there is a Service Bakery?

Probably moot for TJs and Aldi. In my area there are no service departments at all, but there is an artisan bread display.

PS My scheduler Amy is never snarky!! No matter how often I bug her when there are new requirements.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2025 05:50PM by melg.

@melg wrote:

@BayShopper22 wrote:

@Morledzep wrote:

Please read the questionaire. it says to put N/A if there is no attendant.

Exactly.

This is what causes schedulers to be snarky.

PS My scheduler Amy is never snarky!! No matter how often I bug her when there are new requirements.

Sorry. I meant “in general”. Amy is not snarky to me either. I try to be respectful of her time.

I did my first instore today at the store with no service meat or deli.. When you fill out the form online there is a little more guidance. It wasn't terrible. Tomorrow I have a full-service store so that will be harder.

I really wish the forms could be more simplified. For example, did they: greet you, make eye contact, smile. Check which they did, rather than writing out all the different combinations.

I ran into issues with other staff greeting me. The options didn't really seem to fit my situation. For the most part, people are they stores I visit are just stocking the shelves.

This deli twist has been weird. The first one I did there was a staff member helping herself to onion rings and no one greeted me. I ended up going back to talk to someone because that would have just been too strange to write up. The second one, two staff members were busy chatting with each other. They actually walked away from the counter as I was standing there waiting with no other customer around. One eventually walked back over and greeted me.

I guess I wish we could report more of what was happening. I feel like it would be more helpful that staring whether or not they greeted, smiled etc. Also, as everyone else notes, the badges are often at the height of the counter so it can be really difficult to note.

I encountered the same problem as fatlady. The report form was definitely not geared for Aldi's. There were several areas where my only options were YES or NO, but needed N/A.

This past round, I don't think there were competitor shops available in my area. I'll have to look more closely during a future round. I'm very picky when it comes to in-store competitor shops.

Okie, we didn't get competitors this round.

Olympia, why did you stand around and wait? If they are by the counter, they see me, and they turn and walk away, I'm gone. I say that they did not greet, make eye contact, or smile at me and I pick one of them to describe, and if I didn't get a peek at the name tag, then they are Unknown, and the badge is unreadable, or no name tag. Unless you actually want to buy something from the deli counter, I don't see any reason to stand and wait if they walked away.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Kroger competitor in store shops

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine