I believe this goes further than the giant groups of customers...storewanderer wrote: ↑November 26th, 2023, 8:38 pm Publix Stores do not appear to get the wear and tear of a Wal Mart or a Target type store (fewer giant groups of customers shopping there) and it is rare/unusual to see bashed up fixtures or falling apart counters etc. in their stores due to the this.
I am wondering how often they replace refrigeration. We could be reaching a point where Publix is sitting on a lot of 00's or 90's era refrigeration which until recently would have looked pretty good, and it is time to replace this as it starts to get old, rusted, paint chipping, noisy, etc.
I visited Florida this past summer and went into about 5 Publix stores in different locales (Orlando, Gainesville and Lake City, to name a few). What Publix has is consistency of appearance across their stores. Unlike Walmart, who will let a cooler rot before they repair or replace it, Publix keeps up with maintenance and repairs - they have a general sense of pride about the stores. Employees are owners, so they take more pride in what happens there. Walmart just gave up long ago. My local store has the glass door of a cooler broken out about once a week; the repair for about a month is black duct tape and cardboard. The floors in Publix are no accident - terrazzo is easier to maintain and can be made to look perfect quickly.
In general, when it comes to store appearance, Publix (or almost anyone) can beat Walmart any day. Walmart has become too big to respond as quickly as they once did.
Truth be told, I would take a Publix with a 93 or even an 85 over a Walmart with a 98 any day.