Peevish Pen: Kroger Blockade Again

I've posted before about problems I—an elderly cripple— have when shopping at my local Kroger. Blog posts on May 17, 2017; June 8, 2017; and June 7, 2018 address some of the problems I've encountered.

For a while—after several complaints—the handicapped buggies were unblocked as they had previously been. But one particular aisle—an L-shaped one where the organic snacks are—was still a problem. Several weeks ago, when I tried to go down that aisle, I got stuck because the end was blocked. I tried to back up but couldn't make the turn and kept backing into shelves. Finally I hollered for help. And waited. After a few minutes an employee came by and moved the abandoned shopping cart, pushed back a handicapped buggy that was plugged in, and repositioned the free-standing display. It was still a tight squeee to maneuver the handicapped bugy though, but I did it. I regretted that I hadn't brought my camera.

But I remembered to bring it on January 10, when that same L-shaped aisle just happened to be blocked again. I decided not to turn down it and forego my Simple Truth snack. (You can see the handlebar of my buggy). Since I didn't have to make a sharp turn, I was able to back out with only grazing the display to my left.

I took a picture of the other end where you can see the buggy blocking the end of the aisle (as well as blocking access to the fire extinguisher), the free-standing signs, and several displays just inside the back door.

On January 24, I encountered a different obstacle. A van was parked at the front door and it was blocking the dip in the curb where my husband usually lets me out. (I can't step high enough to step up onto the curb without shrieking in pain.) Normally, I use my cane to help me get out of the car, go in the front door, turn right and get the first handicapped buggy I see.

We figured the driver had parked there and gone inside (you yeally aren't supposed to park where there's a yellow curb) to pick up someone in worse shape than I am. After all, it was raining and someone in a wheel chair shouldn't have to navigate the wet road. We drove around the parking lot and thought surely the van would be gone when we returned. Nope. It was still there. Soon a 20-something guy came out of Kroger and opened the van's passenger side. Then he got some crates and took them into the store. My husband backed up to the back door, saw and an employee we knew, and asked him if he could get me a handicapped buggy. He did, and I piloted the buggy inside—past the security alarm/sanitizing wipe dispenser/Popchips display/plastic baskets/sign that block the end of the L-shaped aisle—and also block access to the handicapped buggy that's parked behind them

Just for the heck of it, I decided to go to the front door and see if the van was still there. Yep. It was. And the guy got some more crates out of the passenger side and brought them in.

That's when I accosted him in my best angry teacher voice that he had a lot of nerve to block to block the entry door so elderly and cripples couldn't get in. The guy didn't respond. Maybe the noise from the expensive looking earbuds he was wearing blocked out my voice. Others in the store heard me though. (And several shoppers fell into the category of elderly or crippled or both.)

And that's when I noticed the handicapped buggies by the front door. See anything that might be blocking access to them. . . .