1. They lie. 2. They use false and misleading statements in advertising. 3. They use false and misleading statements to the press (news reporters) ... even about private citizens who were customers and had complaints about bad customer service experiences and Kroger's misleading claim to "Gladly Accept Competitor Coupons" at their pharmacies in Columbus, Ohio ... when they would repeatedly hassle him each time he asked them to make good on the deal advertised on their signs at the pharmacy and in newspaper ads and other places. 4. They banned at least one customer (me) from ever entering any of their stores ever again for using coupons. Or at least that's what they said in the letter they mailed me. They would claim something else when a Cincinnati Post reporter called them. And they would make wild vague allegations that "other matters" were involved that would be "investigated" by the "proper authorities." Furthermore, they brought up that sometimes when a customer makes employees feel uncomfortable or threatened that they will ban that customer. During litigation of STONE v. KROGER defamation lawsuit, Kroger admitted that nobody at their company had ever filed a complaint about me and they admitted that no "authorities" (police, agencies, etc.) were investigating me. They claimed they meant that "Kroger officials" were the "authorities" they were referring to. And they said through their attorneys that the "investigation" was to look into my complaints (although my complaints had been filed a year or so earlier BEFORE I'd been banned ... I'd never filed any complaint with Kroger after being banned. I filed my complaint with the Ohio Attorney General's Office -- which had the Better Business Bureau investigate. They had Kroger agree to put their "Gladly Accept Competitors Coupon" policy in writing and be willing to hand it out to anybody who asked for it at the pharmacy. I know some people who have asked for it and been denied it. 5. If you want to use an Rx coupon at the pharmacy (even one of theirs), don't expect to be able to use more than ONE per day ... and 3 or 4 per LIFETIME. They have "blackballed" many customers so they can no longer use Rx coupons of Kroger or a competitor at some arbitrary point determined by the pharmacist or company. Their document (not the one they shared with Better Business Bureau but a later version a friend obtained for me from them) said that it's an "introductory offer" and is only intended to be used 3 or 4 times. Period. Ever. For your lifetime. 6. No free gas. Their fuel perks/points program is far less generous at most times than the one that Giant Eagle offers in Columbus, Ohio. At Giant Eagle, purchases of every $50 earns a 20 cent discount that you can use right away ... or let it continue to grow with every shopping visit ... and they don't expire until the end of that month, or the following month, but the month after that (in other words, points earned Jan. 2 are good until end of March). Kroger gas discounts require you spend quite a bit to save anything and wait until the following month to redeem them. In most places, you only get to redeem them once. In Columbus, you get to redeem them 4 times (most months). Plus, your discounts max out at 50 cents per gallon per visit. Free gas at Kroger? Never. Not that I'm aware of or remember. Free gas at Giant Eagle? I've gotten thousands of dollars of it from them. Remember: Purchases of prescriptions and gift cards (at both) count toward gas discounts. At least they did the last time I was allowed to go in a Kroger and check the fine print. ;-) Also, when you buy or get free gas at Giant Eagle's Get-Go, you earn FOOD PERKS -- and can get up to 20% off your groceries purchase. No such thing at Kroger. 7. No longer the market leader when you talk about QUALITY or INNOVATION in Columbus (they're just the one with the most locations still). Want to see the nicest grocery/supermarket in Columbus, Ohio? Don't waste your time at some place like the Kroger Marketplace in Dublin (where I met the rude, condescending pharmacy manager on their grand opening weekend and she told me "one per person" meant I could only get one gift card with a prescription purchase with competitor coupon ... in my entire life; she'd already made up her own policy of "one per day" going against what the corporate policy was as confirmed by a zone manager -- recording of conversation with her will be on her soon). Go instead to Giant Eagle's Market District Kingsdale in the Upper Arlington area just northwest of downtown Columbus. It is, in the words of my 10-year-old son, "Awesome." 8. Often charge much more than competitors. Though they have plenty of loss leaders they advertise effectively to make you think you're getting a good deal, make sure you compare prices on what you buy to what it costs at other groceries and other stores such as Target (where often the jugs of Tide, etc., are cheaper ... even though the Kroger world headquarters is sitting in Cincinnati a few blocks from the P&G world headquarters -- company that makes P&G products like Tide). 9. To be added later. 10. Their customer service sucks. At least in too many cases at Kroger, customer service and the way their managers answer (or not) when you have a complaint is disappointing ... in the case with the pharmacy manager at Dublin Marketplace of Kroger -- who left Kroger to work for Medco Health mail-order pharmacy where she won't have to deal with customers anymore -- I tried to call and otherwise contact her boss but he kept never calling me back until I had to go to his boss). In general at most locations at most times, Giant Eagle's customer service is far superior. So try the "Big Bird" of groceries ... Big Bear ... um, I mean "Big Eagle" ... ummmm, "Giant Eagle.":-) p.s.: They're not all bad. But you already know that. These 10 things were just things you likely do not know about that I wanted to make sure you knew about.