UPDATE: NEW KROGER MGR TRAINING: "Let Me Examine 'YOUR PACKAGE'"

UPDATE ON KROGER PROGRESS:

February 17, 2009:

As of today, I want to report that 8 days after the incident below happened, I received a voicemail message from a lady who identified herself as ELLEN from the Kroger Corporate offices in Cincinnati, Ohio.  She stated that before she spoke with me personally, she wanted to contact the local Food4Less store staff to find out more details.  I would say that it must be taking her quite a while to collect those details.  Wouldn't you say?   There should have been a video of the incident there at the checkout counter.  Right?  Her delay in getting back to me has me questioning if that videotape is still around or has it strangely disappeared?  Details?  What?  Do I have to give her an exhibition also?  I really do not mean to be so harsh sounding.  But a simple contact from them would have been nice and we could have all been friends.  But now?  I am still willing to talk.  However, I do need an explanation as to why the delay in getting back to me.  ELLEN, if you are reading this, please email me at vegaswatchdog@yahoo.com  or call 702-773-5809   .  I hope the rest of you will also assist me in contacting the Kroger people to get this matter settled.  Thanks for sticking with me through all the difficulties.   BILL

Las Vegas,  NV 01/27/09  09:32 PM

Food4Less Grocery Store; www.Food4Less.net

Location: 4001 South Decatur Blvd.

Only three steps from the checkout register with bag and receipt in hand, I was moving toward the double main entrance/exit doors of one of Vegas' Food4Less Grocery Stores corporately owned by the Kroger Company chain.

"Sir, wait a minute, " came the male voice behind me.  I quickly turned to see a husky gentleman with a stern look on his face dressed in a blue manager's shirt.

My mind instantly computed that perhaps I had failed to bag all of the items I had just paid for at checkout.  How nice of Kroger's Food4Less manager to be trained so effectively in assisting customers.  But I quickly realized I must not have heard about Kroger's newest approach on reducing business expenses of operating a store in such tough economic times.

"Yes," I laughingly responded to the manager's call for me to stop.

"Sir, what do you have in there?"

"Only four items I just paid for at the checkout register.  Here's the receipt."

"NO!  I mean what do you have...in there?"...pointing, not at my grocery bag, but directly at the area below my waistline.

"In my PANTS?"

"Yes, what do you have in there?"

Realizing this Food4Less pillar of discernment was accusing me of shoplifting by suggesting I had placed some of the Kroger copany inventory underneath my trousers over top of my privates, I tried my best to difuse the situation with a simple, honest, comprehensive answer.

"I have a large hernia that I've had for over 40 years, " I embarrassingly spoke up.

By now the manager and I were beginning to draw an attentive audience of customer and employee spectators behind us at the checkout counters and in front facing the main entrance.  It seemed my medical explanation to his intimidating accusation was not received or believed as he stood almost in a military stance staring directly at my crotch.

Never imagining what his next response would be, I posed a question to him in the midst of my uncomfortable frustration.

"Did you want to see it?"

I truly expected him to either apologize or ask me to go to a private office area where I could resolve the issue visually.

YES was the 3 letter word that came out of the mouth of this trained Kroger overseer of the Company Treasury.  I was so shocked that I responded with total unbelief that he expected me to undress right there in his store.

"What NOW?" Right HERE?"

I just could not believe the limits this fellow was willing to go to in order to retrieve what he perceived  was under my pants that he thought belonged to the "Company Store"....talk about a real Company Man!

With an affirmative nod of his head, his raised eyebrow gesture and fiery eyes piercing below my beltline, obviously he would settle for nothing less than what he had asked for.

"Okay, " I said while beginning to fulfill the task he had requested. 

There we stood only a few feet from the checkout counters and I realized this was the only way to satisfy this stoned-face manager who continued to refuse to look away from my crotch.

Within seconds I obeyed his demands by lowering my trousers so that this "Enquiring Mind" was able to make direct eye contact with the object of his curiosity.  Even though I have always felt uncomfortable in a locker room shower with other guys, I accepted the fact that in this experience I had run out of options.

"OKAY! Can you SEE IT?"

His face began to twist up in strange contortions seemingly of pain and pleasure while his eyebrows almost raised above his hairline.

As I continued to provide more and more visual proof that what he was seeing was not available on any Kroger Corporation Food4Less grocery shelf,  it finally reached his brain that people in his store were all observing the store manager staring intently at a customer's visible privates.  He spun around without a word, rushing back to another checkout counter register to count Kroger cash.  So I followed him.

"HEY Wait!" Here...This is what you demanded to see!  Why did you walk away?"

By now, the other checker's face was beet red.  But "Mr. Cool" just kept counting the Kroger cash as if nothing had happened.

When I asked his name, he reluctantly told me it was "HENRY".  Now understand, I have nothing against Henry.  He is probably a real nice guy.  But I presume Henry was just following the new guidelines of the 2009 Kroger manager training manual.  However, I hope Kroger supplies their managers with some of those heavy duty Playtex gloves on aisle # 8 for their new tasks.

At the time of this writing, I have not received any type of response from the Kroger CEO, David Dillon, who was contacted immediately by me after the event described above.  I left a detailed message explaining it all for him, but maybe he feels the Kroger Food4Less manager was acting in the company's best interest by following the new policy.

If you thought screening at the airport after 911 was a hassle, wait until your next trip to the grocery store.  But remember, the Kroger corporation has found the perfect solution to reduce store expenses. 

1: Eliminate the Customers. 2: Thereby, closing the store.  3: And all store operation costs are no longer a burden on the corporation.  Brilliant!  Maybe they should be running the government!  Maybe they are!

Welcome to America 2009!