I have both a Kroger and a Publix within a three minute drive of my house and within a couple blocks of one another. I willingly pay 25-50% more to shop at Publ

I have both a Kroger and a Publix within a three minute drive of my house and within a couple blocks of one another. I willingly pay 25-50% more to shop at Publix because Kroger is such a nightmare. The store is filthy, the meat section always smells bad, the produce goes bad within 24 hours if it's not already spoiled on the shelf, and they never open more than two checkout lines despite the fact that it's the busiest store in the area. You often end up waiting 15 minutes just to use the grimy self-checkout kiosks. This is also one of the "nice" Krogers with the fancy cheese section etc. Meanwhile Publix is always immaculate, the employees are friendly and helpful, they almost always have all their checkout lanes staffed, and the quality of the meat and produce is worlds better. I think Publix has been deliberately moving in close to Kroger locations in the south because they know they can jack up their prices and still find people practically begging to shop there because the experience at Kroger is so unpleasant.