7 Changes Customers Wish Publix Would Make

There's a lot to love about Publix when compared to shopping at other grocery stores like Trader Joe's, but that doesn't mean that there aren't things about Publix we find mildly annoying. It turns out, we're not alone. Lots of customers have taken to the internet — and Reddit specifically — to complain about some of the issues they see at the grocery chain. We've taken a closer look at the problems that seem to come up time and time again, from the quality of the store's produce to seemingly lower customer service standards, to get a better sense of the changes Publix customers would like to see the chain make.

It's no secret that grocery shopping has become more fraught (and a lot more expensive) since 2020, and it's not clear that we'll ever get back to the glory days of pre-COVID groceries. But stores like Publix that seem to have somewhat fallen from grace in customers' eyes can make some simple changes to make shopping there slightly more pleasant, at the very least. Will Publix corporate actually listen to the complaints of the people? That's not entirely clear. After reading about the changes that Publix customers crave, though, at least you'll know that others feel the same way you do while shopping there.

The biggest change it seems like customers want Publix to make? Sell cheaper groceries. Yes, grocery prices have risen everywhere, but Publix shoppers are especially annoyed by the steep rise in prices at this particular chain — some even go so far as to call it price gouging. One Redditor, for example, posted a photo of a bottle of salad dressing that came with a $4.99 price tag at Publix. This poster went so far as to call the pricing "ridiculous" and wondered just how high the store would push its prices up. Another poster compared prices to identical items at Walmart and discovered that Publix was charging almost twice Walmart's price in some cases. Yet another poster even called the company "greedy," writing that "Publix is just really sticking it to people."

It's not just that prices are high and are making serious dents in people's budgets. There's also a sentiment that Publix is actively taking advantage of its customers, which seems to have bred a fair amount of resentment. A Reddit user even claimed that these price hikes aren't even due to inflation and called for others to boycott Publix until it lowered its prices. So, clearly, customers want to see lower prices at the grocer.

It's no secret that groceries from Publix can be pretty pricey. However, you might consider it worth the trip to the store if you can take advantage of some BOGO offers, which Publix is known for. In fact, some shoppers go there specifically for these types of deals. But there are plenty of customers out there who are calling for better, more practical BOGO offers moving forward. One customer said that there are some BOGO or similar deals at Publix that just don't deliver what most people are looking for, like requiring shoppers to purchase several 2-liter bottles of soda to get some for free. Who needs that much soda?

Another poster compared a BOGO cereal deal to standard prices at Costco, discovering that Costco actually sold the cereal significantly cheaper. For a lot of shoppers, it probably doesn't make sense to go to a store for a "deal" that's similar to the normal price elsewhere. Some have even speculated that Publix only features these BOGO deals to obscure the fact that they're often charging way too much for their products. Other Redditors have called these deals "shams" and "rip-offs," indicating that they feel played by Publix trying to present these prices as good deals. Ultimately, it seems like customers just want some actually sensible BOGO deals ... or at least for Publix to stop pretending it's doing them a favor by "reducing" the cost of massively overpriced items.

Once upon a time, customer service at Publix was legendary, and depending on which location you go to now, you could potentially still get that same kind of experience. But according to many Publix-shopping Redditors, the chain has generally slipped in the customer service department. A poster questioned what had happened to the store's customer service, saying that their experiences at their local store had gotten progressively worse. A commenter on another thread highlighted the fact that the company used to be known for its customer service but had found that was no longer the case. Another even wrote that the "customer service went to zero."

It seems like employees can even back up these complaints, with one Redditor who claimed to be an employee writing that even they'd noticed the shopping experience had gotten worse due to a lack of good customer service. Obviously, customers want to be treated well when they're shopping somewhere (and especially when they feel like they're paying premium prices). Hopefully, this is a change that Publix can make in the future, considering that excellent customer service was at one point considered the chain's bread and butter.

Who doesn't love a Pub sub? These sandwiches have legendary lunchtime status for a reason. But if you've been to Publix during the lunch (or even dinner) rush, then you know just how long the lines can get at the deli. It's this issue that several Reddit users have called out, hoping that Publix will make the changes necessary to get everyone through the line faster. A Redditor complained on the r/Publix subreddit that lines seemed to be getting even longer recently. They said they waited a whole 25 minutes in line for a basic turkey sandwich. Another complained about similar wait times, saying that they could expect to wait 15 to 25 minutes if there were a few people in front of them in line. This same poster questioned why the lines were so notoriously slow compared to a sandwich chain like Subway.

One Redditor even wondered where the "sense of urgency" was at the deli. They said that in the past, the deli seemed to run quickly and efficiently, but that no longer seemed to be the case. Another wrote that the long deli wait times don't even seem to be because of understaffing, considering that they saw plenty of workers there. We're not quite sure what Publix needs to do to fix this problem, but it's clear that customers are annoyed and that changes have to be made. Nobody wants to stand in line that long for some deli meat, no matter how good it may be.

When you're already shopping at a grocery store that's comparatively quite expensive, you at least want to get some perks from shopping there. We guess that's what Club Publix is supposed to be about. This is Publix's rewards membership program, which you might assume would be generous as a way of incentivizing store loyalty. But for a lot of people, it doesn't seem like Publix's rewards program is paying off very much at all. Some have complained about problems with the app. One Reddit poster said that they'd received discounts on their Club Publix account, only to find that they had inexplicably vanished the next day, after they'd already planned on using them. Other commenters on the post detailed similar problems with their rewards as well.

Some complaints are more focused on the quality of the deals themselves. For example, a Redditor pointed out that a Publix rewards deal that offered a potential $13 off $500 spent isn't really a very enticing reward at all. And even a Publix cashier admitted that the rewards don't actually take much money off for many customers. If Publix is going to offer a rewards program, customers want to make sure they're actually getting rewarded for shopping there when they could easily take their dollars elsewhere.

Sure, Publix might be known for its store brand products and tasty prepared foods, but that doesn't mean those items are the only thing customers are stocking up on when they shop there. Fresh items, like produce, are even more important in most shoppers' carts. Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of customers aren't exactly happy with the quality of produce they find at Publix these days. A Reddit-using customer posted a picture of a strawberry that looked good but was essentially flavorless. They added that the produce quality at Publix was downright bad. Another Reddit poster said that at the Publix locations they've been to in Florida, they've noticed a decline in the produce quality. They wondered whether the chain had new suppliers.

Yet another Redditor called the produce at Publix "basically garbage," also echoing the idea that the fruits and veggies at the store were better in the past, while a similar post also decried the declining quality, also adding that they'd stopped buying several specific types of produce from the store. Um, Publix, could the people have their decent-quality fruits and veg back? This is a change the store should make expeditiously, especially considering how high prices are. Customers aren't going to want to pay a premium for subpar quality.

Overall, Publix customers apparently just want to shop at a better-quality store. One Reddit user noticed a stark decline in the overall quality of the food and shopping experience, and they just seem to want the old Publix back. A Reddit poster whose mom worked in the bakery at Publix wrote that more and more of the baked goods now arrive at the store frozen, while that wasn't always the case in the past. Another Reddit commenter detailed some of the other ways in which the store has become worse over time, citing produce, prices, selection, quality, and service — so, it seems like some customers think the chain is largely failing across the board. A Reddit user even described the two local stores near them as "zombies," writing "R.I.P. Publix."

Publix customers seem to remember a time when the store delivered a much better shopping experience than it does today, and they just want to go back to those glory days. The changes required to fix a whole grocery chain on this many levels are many, varied, and probably not super simple. But if Publix was once the store some remember it as, it can hopefully reclaim its status as a beloved grocery chain once again.