Today in the break room they had posted old pictures from when they had taken pictures of employees in the store. I was surprised by how much more appealing the store used to look. It went from having pretty pinkish orange to a bare floor. In one of the pictures after the remodel you could even see a giant crack in the unfinished floor. They ripped up all the tiles and didn't replace them with anything. The store looks hideous and cold now.
Yup, they have been eliminating the tile floors, and just went to bare concrete. The tile floors look dated after a few years with grocery traffic, show cracks and cost more $$ for upkeep. I personally feel they look horrible in stores the previously had tiled floor and def. show all the previous remodels,saw cuts, etcs. The company has gotten away from "decor" also, just big boxes with some different paint on the exterior walls.
We used to have a Safeway directly across the street from us.
They had the same exact tiles we did. The same exact tiles. Except gleaming, unbroken, and spotless.
Our store was remodeled, all of our tiles scraped up, and new identical tiles were put down. Put down wrong. Any kind of old drain, cut off pipe, or cut off conduit wasn't flattened down first. In fact, nothing was leveled nor smoothed. Our whole store is full of cracked and broken tiles. Floor crew just smears filth around (or has their children do it). Trash carts leak sticky black slime all over the store, and floor crew just seals it into the wax.
Safeway's tile was the most gloriously maintained tile I've ever seen.
Seems to me it might be easier to find out what they did and do that instead of scraping everything off, polishing the concrete, and have a cleaning robot get stuck in the corner. Or probably not, as I'm not the one making the big bucks.
Yup, they have been eliminating the tile floors, and just went to bare concrete. The tile floors look dated after a few years with grocery traffic, show cracks and cost more $$ for upkeep. I personally feel they look horrible in stores the previously had tiled floor and def. show all the previous remodels,saw cuts, etcs. The company has gotten away from "decor" also, just big boxes with some different paint on the exterior walls.
Tiles might look dated after a few years, but the concrete floor already looks terrible now and will be terrible permanently. It's like they've just given up on making the store look nice. I kept wondering during the remodel when they were going to redo the floor but they never did, it just stayed the way it was, giant cracks, scuffs, stains and all. Then during the "grand reopening" they bragged about how much the remodel cost and how good the store looked like its not an eyesore now. I've only heard negative things from the customers, and it's a gloomy place to come in to work every day.
"Our store was remodeled, all of our tiles scraped up, and new identical tiles were put down. Put down wrong. Any kind of old drain, cut off pipe, or cut off conduit wasn't flattened down first. In fact, nothing was leveled nor smoothed. Our whole store is full of cracked and broken tiles. Floor crew just smears filth around (or has their children do it). Trash carts leak sticky black slime all over the store, and floor crew just seals it into the wax."
Yup, they have been eliminating the tile floors, and just went to bare concrete. The tile floors look dated after a few years with grocery traffic, show cracks and cost more $$ for upkeep. I personally feel they look horrible in stores the previously had tiled floor and def. show all the previous remodels,saw cuts, etcs. The company has gotten away from "decor" also, just big boxes with some different paint on the exterior walls.
Tiles might look dated after a few years, but the concrete floor already looks terrible now and will be terrible permanently. It's like they've just given up on making the store look nice. I kept wondering during the remodel when they were going to redo the floor but they never did, it just stayed the way it was, giant cracks, scuffs, stains and all. Then during the "grand reopening" they bragged about how much the remodel cost and how good the store looked like its not an eyesore now. I've only heard negative things from the customers, and it's a gloomy place to come in to work every day.
"Our store was remodeled, all of our tiles scraped up, and new identical tiles were put down. Put down wrong. Any kind of old drain, cut off pipe, or cut off conduit wasn't flattened down first. In fact, nothing was leveled nor smoothed. Our whole store is full of cracked and broken tiles. Floor crew just smears filth around (or has their children do it). Trash carts leak sticky black slime all over the store, and floor crew just seals it into the wax."
That sounds like the Kroger way.
I love the CLASSIC look of GOOD Polished, gleaming off-white or light-colored tile floors, if they are neat and clean. Yeah if they get cracked and stained really bad they can look tacky. BUT, a well-maintained bright tile floor can made the store look nice, clean, PROFESSIONAL, upscale, well maintained, hey, just plain CLASSY. I feel the tile floors definitely look better than the plain "BROWN CONCRETE" floors (like Walmart) which is what is in our newer stores around here. Not particularly appealing to look at.
I remember one of the Maintenance Men saying with new stores, they basically spend $$$ to correct the issues of the Contractors. Does anyone actually check the Contractors to make sure their materials or installations was correct? Recently, I have seen one remodeled stores received a new type of tile to replace the existing tile floor. I think who ever designed the remodeled stores must have been crazy, the stores previously had a open feel, now it seems closed in and doesn't give you a WOW feeling when walking in. Also, I remember a new store that basically has 5 semi trucks full of cases, shelving, displays and other related items that were double ordered or ordered incorrectly. Instead of sending them back or using them in another store they trashed them or auctioned them off.
Its seems like a lot of decision making people don't worry about the costs of some of their decisions! Yes, stores need to be updated, but do you really need to spend the $$ to moved a frozen/refrigerated case 1-2 feet? Do you really need to spend the $$$ to raise the ceiling 2 feet, and have to replace all the HVAC and piping that is now too low? Updating the feel of the store is fine, but a remodeled store is never going to be like a brand new build or have the same openness. Make these stores unique with other noticeable differences for the customers and same some $$$.
I wish kroger would re-model our store,at least the exterior.EVERY single Walmart and Foodlion in the area has been re-modeled in the last 5 years but our Kroger still has that early 90s look going for itself.There's another kroger not far away that still has the same exterior they did in the late 1960's!!!The interior of that store looks the same design as ours but the exterior is much worse.
Our store had its grand reopening about 15 months ago. The remodel took a little over a year because we're such a huge (two-story) store. When they redid the service deli (one of the first areas completed) they ordered a new heavy-duty dishwasher. It couldn't be installed because the contractors did something wrong. It still hasn't been fixed...it's just sitting there, almost close to two years now.
Our store had its grand reopening about 15 months ago. The remodel took a little over a year because we're such a huge (two-story) store. When they redid the service deli (one of the first areas completed) they ordered a new heavy-duty dishwasher. It couldn't be installed because the contractors did something wrong. It still hasn't been fixed...it's just sitting there, almost close to two years now.
This is almost exactly what happened to us! Except the dishwasher was installed right, but no one could order the right detergent for it. So it just sat there unused for over a year. Eventually the manager bought the right detergent for us, but after a while it ran out and it was 3 more months before we could use it again.
Our store had its grand reopening about 15 months ago. The remodel took a little over a year because we're such a huge (two-story) store. When they redid the service deli (one of the first areas completed) they ordered a new heavy-duty dishwasher. It couldn't be installed because the contractors did something wrong. It still hasn't been fixed...it's just sitting there, almost close to two years now.
This is almost exactly what happened to us! Except the dishwasher was installed right, but no one could order the right detergent for it. So it just sat there unused for over a year. Eventually the manager bought the right detergent for us, but after a while it ran out and it was 3 more months before we could use it again.
Its funny how any mistakes that Store Associates make is grounds for dismissal, but people ordering $$$ in incorrect equipment, keep ordering the incorrect stuff. With the store I opened, it was funny how GO-Store Design/Planning were not on the same page as the Divisions Team. The issues were so bad that one area of the store was built to the blueprint of a previous version, they had to then correct it at an additional expense. After it was all gone, one of the Store Designers came into the store and walked it with us and we pointed things out. Why do you need a 10x10 closed for one piece of equipment that is 2x3? Why was there a door installed with a lock in an backroom area that was completely open and you could just walk around to get into the area. I really don't understand why the company doesn't have a standard design for all stores being built.
With regards to new equipment (dishwasher, etc), unless it was the 1st to be ordered for the whole company, it should have been in the warehouse or ordered directly from the company. With the belt tightening its funny how one person is expected to know so much and supports 30+ stores.
