Kash N' Karry again

One more comment from our neighborhood email group - as you can tell, we are prety mild in our opinions.

These concerns are why I told College Confidential not to shop there.


Okay... here's my "2-cents-worth"

...Last year, I was opposed to SESHCA participating in KNK's Cultural Fest, because I felt that this particular KnK was not a "good neighbor" ... ie ... poor customer service, dirty parking lot and store, illegally parked cars etc. I actually "shopped" the store a few times the week prior to the fair, and it was miraculous what I observed there! Clean store, sparkling floors, well-stocked shelves and pleasant, helpful employees. WOW! I thought I had walked into any other KnK across town, not OURS!!!

So, despite my original opposition, I attended the cultural fair. It was well-attended, and every BIG-WIG from KnK must have been there. So, I took the opportunity to seek out the "head-honcho" for this district, Mr. John Barnett. I had the pleasure of a face-to-face meeting with him for about a good 30 minutes, at which time I gave him the "down & dirty" of this "down & dirty" store. We discussed everything from the un-clean parking lot with cars clogging up the fire lanes and medians and the hazards it posed for pedestrians and vehicles alike. We discussed the poor quality of security personnel that Wackenhut Security stationed at the store, and their apathy to security issues. We discussed the lack of friendly customer service and slow check out process. We even discussed the issue of perishable food that perished the day you got it home. Mr. Barnett was very impressed by my concerns and seemed genuinely interested in making sure changes were made to improve all these issues. He thanked me for the time I took to enlighten him on what was happening there. All in all, I walked away from that meeting feeling a huge sense of confidence that these issues would be addressed and corrected.

The week following the Fair, it was back to the usual at KnK. The store stayed clean for about a week, but it was obvious it was not being cleaned as thoroughly as prior to the event. YES, it was being kept cleaner than before, but it was obvious that there was not a concern to keep it as nice as it had been for the Fair... the "dog and pony show" was over. Customer Service went back to the usual "I don't give a rat's behind about you the customer" attitude, and the parking lot was a labyrinth of illegally parked cars again. When I brought it up to the Wackenhut officer, I got the same old same old as I got prior to my meeting with Mr. Barnett. On one occasion, I told the security officer that there were 8 cars illegally parked outside. He said he'd go check it out. I stood outside the store for 10 minutes (YES, I timed it) and watched as the security officer continued leaning against a display of sodas and chatted with the cashier at the express check-out, while she slowly rang up customer's groceries. I finally got tired of waiting and watching, and went back inside and very abruptly intrerrupted the security guard from his conversation to remind him of the parking lot. Boy, did I make him ANGRY! Imagine that! He stomped outside and looked around. By then, there were 11 cars illegally parked. I had to leave. After all, it's not MY job to monitor this store. Maybe if KnK would like to PAY ME to be a babysitter, I might do it, but, otherwise, I have a life. Since then, I have boycotted KnK ... FOR GOOD.

My drive home from work every day takes me right by KnK, and every day I make it a point to look to the right as I drive by and observe just how many cars are clogging up the parking lot's fire lanes and right-of-ways. The scene NEVER changes. It's status-quo. I figure, if the outside hasn't changed, what makes me think the inside has changed? Then I make that extra 1.3 mile drive to Publix, where shopping is, indeed, always a pleasure.