I never thought that I would mourn the passing of a grocery store chain, but every time I see the Martin's paid sticker I yearn for the good old days of Ukrop's. Ukrop's was part of the community. They treated their customers (and employees) like friends and neighbors. They trusted you enough to just give you your stuff if you didn't want a bag without putting a bright orange sticker on it. While I would occasionally get a tad annoyed by the cashier chatting away with somebody after everything had been bagged and paid for, I miss a store that values a customer as a person and not just a revenue source (that can't be trusted). The customer came first at Ukrop's. Corporate policy comes first at Martin's.
I never realized how different Ukrop's was until it was gone. I've never been one to bemoan the rise of large corporations, but seeing that a company could be successful and human makes me wonder why more companies don't value their relationship with the customer. We're constantly being manipulated by marketing tactics. Why not give me a good product and nice experience. Put your money into making my experience better rather than dumping it into some inane ad campaign.
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