6 Supermarket Chains With The Worst Customer Service, According To Reviews

Now, we know customer service probably isn't top of mind when you head to the grocery store. Unless you're a leisurely food shopper, you're probably on a mission that involves getting in and out as quickly as possible, especially if you're doomed to shop amongst weekend crowds. That said, some stores stand out for having genuinely stellar customer service — for example, did you know that the ever-friendly Trader Joe's employees can even help carry groceries to your car? The chain with a cult following probably has some of the best customer service in the biz, but we have to admit, the bar isn't super high. Several other popular grocers fare way, way worse.

When you do need the occasional customer assistance, you'd better hope you're not at one of the stores we're talking about today. These stores have famously bad customer service — either it's seemingly nonexistent, or it'll put you in a never-ending cycle of phone rep transfers to solve a simple problem. We scoured various customer complaints sites, Reddit threads, and store-specific reviews to suss out some of the country's grocers with the worst customer service. We came up with six, and given the ubiquity of some of these brands, our findings may surprise you. 

This just in: Even if you're not shopping on the worst day of the week to buy groceries at Kroger, you may still be in for a poor experience. We're sure this sentiment doesn't apply to all Krogers out there, but we still can't ignore the company's 1.8-star rating on Trustpilot or its news callouts for having less than stellar customer service practices. One Kroger location made headlines for axing its self-checkout option; instead, it started operating a minimal amount of employee-manned checkouts, which led to absurdly long checkout lines. 

Some reviewers try to explain the lack of adequate customer service, citing a supposed failed merger and poor management on Kroger's part. Other customers complain about the Kroger app's functionality (especially regarding grocery deliveries) — more to the point, they say that trying to solve their problems with Kroger's customer service left them wildly frustrated. Reddit users who complain about the chain's customer service also back up employees, claiming they aren't well-treated or fairly compensated for their labor. Moreover, complaints about Kroger's inconsistent return policy and absurdly long waiting times when trying to contact customer service easily earn the chain a spot on this list. 

Next up is a probably unsurprising pick if you're familiar with the grocers under Kroger's massive umbrella. King Soopers is one such Kroger-owned spot, and unfortunately, it doesn't fare much better in terms of its customer service. We have to mention a shocking store policy change that's placed armored guards at exits to check receipts. Not a very encouraging customer service practice, if you ask us.

Moreover, an aggregate rating of 110 King Soopers locations sees the chain only getting a 2.6-star rating on Yelp, and many of the complaints have to do with the stores' poor customer service. Customers mention being refused refunds on items that were delivered to incorrect addresses, grocery pickup orders being ready nearly an hour after they should have been, and being treated with intimidation by the guards checking receipts. Rude employees and insufficient problem-solving by call center personnel are also reasons why King Soopers' customer service can be considered some of the worst in the biz. 

Ah, Walmart. While we love the chain's bettergoods product line and think it's a great place to stock up on some baking essentials, in terms of customer service, we sadly can't recommend it. The store has a 1.6-star rating on Trustpilot, and complaints about customer service dominate the negative reviews. One customer claims Walmart didn't act as the appropriate middleman when an order (placed through the website, fulfilled by a third party) arrived incorrectly. In-store complaints claim less-than-helpful staff and wildly slow checkout personnel. 

Reddit threads also cite poor experiences with Walmart's customer service. Some complaints take customers around in circles who are trying to figure out solutions. They keep getting transferred to different customer service reps before ultimately being blown off, the problem left unsolved. Others mention having extreme difficulty reaching in-store customer service after experiencing unexplained delivery delays. If you do shop at Walmart, we recommend heading to the store yourself, not needing any assistance while you're there, and using the self-checkout lane. 

A customer at a Food Lion location in Walterboro, South Carolina, took to Facebook to ask about the store's seeming lack of any customer service. They asked, "Still newish here ... but wondering is it common for the Food Lion customer service counter to always be closed yet five people hawk around you at the self-checkout area?" Users who responded said that, yes, that's not an uncommon experience. But it's not just this Food Lion location that gets complaints.

Food Lion also gets pretty bad reviews on Better Business Bureau, with customers citing missing order items, rude customer service experiences, and not receiving the refunds they were promised. Yelp reviews across hundreds of locations reveal a mixed bag in terms of customer service. Some report great in-store customer service at their locations, while others report incredibly rude or just plain nonexistent customer service employees. Yet another review said the phone customer service was terrible. If you need assistance with something Food Lion-related, we recommend trying to solve the issue at your local store (provided it gets good customer service reviews). Otherwise, expect a less-than-stellar experience. 

Texans seem to love H-E-B, which is based in their home state. Unfortunately, positive experiences may be limited to in-store shoppers who never need to come in contact with a customer service rep. Those who do need in-store assistance regularly have less than positive things to say about their experience with customer service, citing issues like rude or just plain inadequate handling of issues by representatives. 

Other complaints report awful experiences with customer service when trying to solve issues related to deliveries or curbside pickup, saying more often than not that their representatives just weren't helpful. Still more problems with customer service mention incredibly long wait times, poor experience with store managers, and even an alleged attempted theft of a customer's gift card by an employee. Moreover, H-E-B has reportedly refused to refund mislabeled products and bottle deposits, and customers have said that both the website and its customer service are unusable. 

Perhaps it comes as no surprise that Albertsons is the final pick on our list, considering the grocer was sued by fellow grocer Haggen for alleged sabotage. Unfortunately, Albertsons doesn't seem to find much favor when it comes to its customer service reps, either. The company sees a dismal 1.9-star rating on Trustpilot — aside from complaints about poor or nonexistent in-store customer service, shoppers also report multiple issues with both deliveries and pick-up orders, as well as unsatisfactory experiences with the customer service call centers.

Albertsons doesn't fare much better on Better Business Bureau. Customers report being unable to change or cancel orders (or being stuck in a call center loop when trying to do so) as well as needing to call customer service to get a coupon recognized — the customer was promised a refund in accordance with their coupon, but the refund hadn't been fulfilled as of their contacting BBB. Unhappy customers on Yelp report poor service at the meat counter as well as rude employees at the checkout lines. And if you need something that's in a locked case, be prepared to wait a minute to get someone to help you (or 10, as reported by one dissatisfied consumer).

Compiling a list of grocery chains with the worst customer service was, admittedly, not the easiest task. Chains are so widespread (not to mention the fact that consumers often find anything to complain about), nearly every chain out there will receive some complaints. However, the ones on this list seem to consistently get poor reviews on their customer service experience. 

We scoured sites like Reddit and Yelp, as well as consumer review platforms like Trustpilot and PissedConsumer, to see what grocery chains regularly got mentioned as having problematic customer service experiences. Of course, these won't be universal — maybe your Kroger happens to have stellar customer service. If you want to go to a spot in your area with good customer service, it's worth checking local reviews before you head in, especially if you're planning on going to one of the grocers mentioned above.