Almost 500 in my area, so they must have just posted.

Yes, and the site keeps crashing.. BTW it is about 11 AM PDT. Not sure how to change the time stamp on the forum.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2023 06:03PM by melg.

It's going to be a long day.. I seem to only be able to get inside shops. Everytime I try to get a pickup shop it tosses me out of doesn't give me the option of requesting it, only tells me to contact my scheduler.

Make sure you have one instore for every pickup (try to select pickups that come AFTER your in store.) If that is not working, you may have a restriction from not sticking to that ratio on the previous round and need to contact the scheduler. Also you cannot select the instore and pickup at the same location on the same day.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2023 07:11PM by melg.

they locked out same day pickup and in-store at the same location(s) in my area. whoever posted about that last month was correct. bummer, a pickup and in-store shop at the last location was a nice way to end a day route of them.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2023 07:12PM by charleybuddy.

Yes, and there was also an email to that effect sent on August 28. And it is in the shop guidelines Overview.

duplicate

This really doesn't make much sense. Before I was mystery shopping I would place pick up orders at Walmart or Kroger and often forgot something and also had to go inside. This restriction will limit me to my very local area instead of traveling 20-30 min away to grab shops in smaller towns.

@charleybuddy wrote:

they locked out same day pickup and in-store at the same location(s) in my area. whoever posted about that last month was correct. bummer, a pickup and in-store shop at the last location was a nice way to end a day route of them.

You can still do pickup and instore on the same day, just not at the same store, so now I have to make two trips (one trip do instore at Location #1, Pickup at Location#2, next trip the reverse). I see that the store I used to do as a favor is still sitting there on the boards (all four, two pickup and two in store). She is going to have to raise the bonus on that one and a few others.

It's not unreasonable to do a pickup order and then pop inside the same store to get a few random things that you either couldn't get in your pickup order, or forgot to include in your order. There are a LOT of items that say "in store only," or "delivery only." and can't be purchased in the pickup order, but they are in stock inside the store.

I can understand not doing all three (pickup, in store and fuel) together. But blocking the two shops that naturally fit together from being performed on the same day seems counter-productive. And doing the 2 shops together makes even more sense for rural folks, like me and most of the population in this area, because we have to make plans to go to the cities to do our grocery shopping And for some of us this month is going to hurt us financially because of these arbitrary rules.

There haven't been pickups in my area in months.

In my area, the fuel stations are far away from the grocery stores. There is no way the attendant inside the fuel booth would realize that I had gone inside the grocery store or did a pickup. And what if I have a prescription? I'd have to go inside the store anyway. I wish they didn't have this restriction.

@Morledzep wrote:

It's not unreasonable to do a pickup order and then pop inside the same store to get a few random things that you either couldn't get in your pickup order, or forgot to include in your order. There are a LOT of items that say "in store only," or "delivery only." and can't be purchased in the pickup order, but they are in stock inside the store.

I can understand not doing all three (pickup, in store and fuel) together. But blocking the two shops that naturally fit together from being performed on the same day seems counter-productive. And doing the 2 shops together makes even more sense for rural folks, like me and most of the population in this area, because we have to make plans to go to the cities to do our grocery shopping And for some of us this month is going to hurt us financially because of these arbitrary rules.

I also find the new rule to be rather foolish. In one case, I did a pick up shop. The in store shopper reported that the paper towels that I had ordered was not in stock and that there were no substitutions available in the entire store!!!! Well, I really needed paper towels so I went into the store after the pick up and lo and behold was able to buy the very paper towels that were supposedly not in stock. I lost a lot on that shop as the towels were $10 and they were not provided so I lost the $10 reimbursement. A lazy in store shopper simply decided to hit not in stock rather than provide me the towels. Kroger should be made aware of this- yet there is no place on the report to indicate this.

On another pick up in another store,, I received a text at 7 AM no less which woke me up that the cat food I had ordered was out of stock and nothing was available to substitute. Once again, I really needed this item so after I picked up, I went into the store and lo and behold about 25 cans of the cat food I ordered were in stock. I needed the cat food so had to purchase it on my own, I was quite annoyed This is something that Kroger should be made aware of but no place on the report to indicate this!

So it is not uncommon at least for me to go into the store after a pick up to purchase the items which were reported as not in stock but which I needed. So this no in store and pick up on the same day seems foolish to me! The person who delivers the items to the car is NOT a cashier or someone who would meet you in the store. The orders are picked by one set of staff and delivered by another- so contact with the person who brought the items top the car is very unlikely!

The report form does not allow for comments- which I feel is rather foolish. If the people picking the orders are too lazy to do their job and hitting not in stock when the item is in fact in stock- Kroger should be made aware of this as customers might simply stop ordering from Krogers if this is occurring. My daughter in law who is not a shopper told me she stopped ordering from Krogers which is only a mile from her home as often the not in stock excuse was placed on the order. She also went into the store and found the items in stock- she now shops at Walmart and Target which are further from her home but which do not pull the not in stock excuse when something is in stock. Kroger lost her business due to the sloppy in store shoppers who are too lazy to get the items she ordered.

On the last few pick ups I did, I had MAJOR issues with the Kroger site. It persisted in saying I was being charged a $4.99 pick up fee despite the order being over $35. I wound up canceling an order and starting again and the issue persisted. On one shop I canceled the order 4 times as I could not get the $4.99 fee to be removed. In fact, once you pick up the fee is removed- but in the meantime it remains on the order site. . My digital coupons were also not taken off on the order site, which created a lot of concern on my part. I contacted the Kroger chat line during this $4.99 fee removal issue and was incorrectly told that as I was not a $59 a year customer that I would be now charged a fee as Kroger wanted everyone to signup for the $59 program.. This was Not CORRECT so that the chat person also created confusion on this issue. Once again nowhere on the report to comment on this.

Doing a pick up shop and simply reporting the name, age and description of the person delivering the order to your car seems to be rather foolish when there are SERIOUS issues with the on line ordering system and incorrect chat line info which Kroger should be aware of.

This is probably not at all the intended response, but I have had high dollar value items that are out of stock with no attempt to substitute. I have, on occasion, told the delivery person that I really needed x and could we look for a substitute. It has worked where I've been able to get them to add a different item to the order before they close it out.

I've said it before but I really wish these would just pay $32. I'm not sure why the shopper is penalized when items are out of stock. It's the same amount of work if you get your full order or are missing items. Actually, it's more work if you're missing items to have to report the issues.

In store, you have the power to pick items for yourself. $9 is a pretty low reimbursement so if you're looking for many protein options, you'll go over that amount. If you choose protein for your pickup orders it's really a mixed bag. If you order something like a roast, you're looking at a $20+ item that potentially will be missing from your order. I also get frustrated when there is something like BOGO chicken and the price estimate is $12. When you get your order, somehow the picker has chosen the most expensive and least expensive items in the case and you end up paying $19 and getting a $10 item for free.

I've been grateful for these shops since it's so nice to get a reimbursement for mostly necessities rather than having to earn the money and be taxed on it, but the issues with the website for accurately reflecting stock, the ineptitude or indifference of the pickers and the increasing complications of the shop restrictions make these shops a headache at times.

Olympia comments--...........issues with the website for accurately reflecting stock, the ineptitude or indifference of the pickers and the increasing complications of the shop restrictions make these shops a headache at times.

Bob agrees--That is exactly why I have avoided the pick-ups. In the mid 70s, I met an 18 yr. old Kroger bagger, who is now in her last yr. before retirement as a Kroger order filler. She stated this past summer, she is seldom able to complete an order as placed.

@shopperbob wrote:

Olympia comments--...........issues with the website for accurately reflecting stock, the ineptitude or indifference of the pickers and the increasing complications of the shop restrictions make these shops a headache at times.

Bob agrees--That is exactly why I have avoided the pick-ups. In the mid 70s, I met an 18 yr. old Kroger bagger, who is now in her last yr. before retirement as a Kroger order filler. She stated this past summer, she is seldom able to complete an order as placed.

If you are willing to order mostly $2-4 items that are common plus order a bit more than is required, you'll likely end up with $32 in your pocket at the end. But, ordering a larger ticket item makes the shops a bit of a gamble. When you could pair an in store shop with a pick up, you'd have the potential of walking away with $50 for the two. Just doing a pick up knowing there could be issues makes all the running around less enticing.

Looks like Fatady hit a glitch..

She's right though, the pickers are sometimes lazy. I've been offered fat free yogurt to replace the whole milk yogurt that I ordered. And I've been told that there was no substitution for an item that was fully stocked inside the store when I went in. And the last pick up order I did, the guy that brought it out finalized my order without asking for paper coupons, and took my paper coupons without adjusting my total or offering a refund. And I had to go to the service desk to get my refund, which does NOT refund the sales tax as it would if the coupons had been applied to my order.

A place for comments would be helpful, or questions other than, "did you get everything you ordered?" could be helpful. I have a hard time believing that Kroger doesn't want to know about these issues.

Absolutely- to do the shop without being able to make comments seems like a waste of time and money to me. A real kick in the rear doing these shops is if a picker decides to hit something as "not in stock no subs" and the order goes below the $35 order total triggering a $4.95 fee through no fault of the shopper. Happened to me a few times and I was quite annoyed as not only did I not get the full $32- I was charged the $4.95 fee when I did not get all the things I wanted. This should be of interest to Kroger but apparently not. I note that despite my doing fuel shops at one particular location the stocking of beverage and snack items is never improved. The same less than 50% of drinks and snack items is consistent.. I wonder if anyone actually reads the report thereby making at least some effort to correct noted defects.

I learned something interesting about the out of stock texts last month while doing a competitor shop. I received an early morning text that 3 of my items were out of stock but when I arrived 4 hours later the clerk said everything was available. I said great and I told her I looked at my texts when I arrived and I thought there were three items unavailable. She told me when the person filling the order does not find the item on shelf they mark it as unavailable and the computer automatically sends a text; however, they may have the item in the back. Due to staff shortages not all items are stocked daily. She went and found what I wanted in the warehouse and filled my order. I would have liked a comments section to note the employee's great service.

And... yes I too agree the new rules don't make sense, I would be interesting in knowing how the staff are identifying shoppers. Whether its a pick up or in store its an hour drive for me so I always go inside and use the restroom and then I buy fuel.

32.00? The pay is 25.00 plus 7.00 to cover the charge... i guess there is going to be alot of upset shoppers when this is figured out. Count your Kroger blessing and try to stop complaining.

@Fatlady wrote:

Absolutely- to do the shop without being able to make comments seems like a waste of time and money to me. A real kick in the rear doing these shops is if a picker decides to hit something as "not in stock no subs" and the order goes below the $35 order total triggering a $4.95 fee through no fault of the shopper. Happened to me a few times and I was quite annoyed as not only did I not get the full $32- I was charged the $4.95 fee when I did not get all the things I wanted. This should be of interest to Kroger but apparently not. I note that despite my doing fuel shops at one particular location the stocking of beverage and snack items is never improved. The same less than 50% of drinks and snack items is consistent.. I wonder if anyone actually reads the report thereby making at least some effort to correct noted defects.

There are about 100 characters to share any issues. Not too many!

You can always write to Kroger CS and have them waive the fee.

Fatlady did you need to post the same thing 10 times? Is there a way to delete all of the duplicates?

@melg wrote:

Fatlady did you need to post the same thing 10 times? Is there a way to delete all of the duplicates?

Nope mel, best fatlady can do is edit each one of them, erase her post, and put "duplicate" in its spot. Then sometime later the Admin may come along and remove the extra posts.

It happens a lot, when have to hit "reply" several times to get your post to go through, especially for us folks in rural areas that have low bandwidth. I try not to click reply more than twice. I will copy and paste my response, or abandon it completely if getting it posted becomes a chore.

Also, I found out today that sometimes Kroger fulfills pickup orders from the warehouse and drops the order off at the store.

Blue bags mean that they are fulfilled from the warehouse which could mean a whole different inventory situation where it could be out of stock at the warehouse but available in the store and not fulfilled. They can't mix distribution from what I understand. So either has to be fulfilled completely from the store or from the warehouse depending on when the order was placed and how close you are from the warehouse.

I often see the order fulfillment staff inside the store if I do both in the same day. Especially in produce, so I can understand why shoppers are being identified. That is the reason for the new rules. Apparently some of us aren't as clever as we think. Especially if you are interacting a lot with the pickup person eg how the cucumber or peach you got isn't any good, you don't want to pay for bags, you go into the store to correct a problem. They are going to remember you, and the managers know which days they were shopped. I think some store managers are good at figuring out who the shoppers are. Have some of you suddenly started getting greeted in produce? LOL.

Any thoughts on when this month's shops might post? I expected them yesterday based on what I've seen over the past few months.

I think yesterday was the end of the period.

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

I think yesterday was the end of the period.

I agree. I had one Tuesday.

I think so too, my son did the last 4 of his shops on the 27th.

I still have a few through the weekend. 9/30 is my last ones.