Publix slogan says “Where shopping is a Pleasure“. This page shows incidents where Shopping at Publix turned out to be a Pain in the Ass including senior abuse of being ridiculed by Publix staff, taking shopper’s groceries while using the restroom, people being falsely accused of shoplifting, a Publix employee who struck a senior with a train of shopping carts, causing “substantial and permanent injuries” and other abuses.

Per a Google search for “Publix employees abuse towards customers”,  Reported incidents and concerns include the following:

• Physical Altercations: There have been lawsuits and reports of physical violence between employees and customers, including an instance where a customer was badly hurt by an employee over allegedly abandoned items, leading to a legal case about employer responsibility. Another incident involved a law enforcement officer working as security who allegedly beat a customer in a Miami store.
• Verbal Disputes and Poor Demeanor: News reports and social media discussions mention heated verbal arguments, cursing, and employees exhibiting a poor attitude. Some employees and customers on platforms like Reddit and Facebook complain about a decline in customer service quality and a lack of enforcement of store policies, which can lead to friction.
• Verbal Altercations (2025): Reports indicate instances of high tension at checkout, with some customers describing interactions where staff or other patrons were rude or unprofessional.

Publix has a Code of Conduct that outlines ethical standards and respect for customers; however, the enforcement and effectiveness of this code are subjects of ongoing debate and occasional legal action.

Additional complaints include:

• Deceptive Pricing Allegations (2025): A class-action lawsuit filed in February 2025 alleges that Publix uses deceptive tactics, such as keeping expired sale signs up and improperly weighing items, which disproportionately affects customers who trust the posted prices.
• Declining Service Perceptions: Some customers in 2025 expressed that Publix has not maintained its reputation for “premier customer care” noting that staff sometimes fail to smile or acknowledge shoppers.

Based on a search of public records, lawsuits, and customer complaints, instances of alleged mistreatment by Publix employees range from rude behavior to serious safety failures. A jury recently found Publix 80% responsible for a 2025 shooting involving a customer in a parking lot, noting a breach of trust.

Common Customer Complaints and Allegations of Mistreatment:

• Safety Failures and Negligence: A 2025 jury awarded a customer $2.55 million after being shot in a parking lot, finding that employees knew an individual with a gun was outside but failed to warn customers. In a separate 2010 case, a family sued after an employee was shot by a coworker, alleging managers failed to act on known threats.
• Physical Assault by Staff: A customer reported being attacked by an employee in an Orlando store who claimed the customer’s cart was abandoned.
• Rude and Discriminatory Behavior: Customers have reported being humiliated by staff, including an incident where a manager publicly shamed a customer’s appearance on social media.
• Aggressive Enforcement of Policies: Complaints exist regarding “mean and nasty” behavior from staff, particularly regarding policies that prohibit bagging in certain instances.
• Pharmacy and Service Refusals: Complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in 2024–2025 have included issues with pharmacists and cashiers refusing to accept legitimate payment methods (like UCard) or displaying a hostile attitude, prompting investigations by loss prevention.
• Discriminatory Treatment Claims: Past lawsuits have alleged that, aside from external customers, black employees and female employees were mistreated, passed over for promotions, and subjected to a hostile work environment, which can affect the general atmosphere of service.

Retaliation against Staff Who Complained:

A lawsuit alleged a worker was fired after reporting that coworkers were changing expiration dates on meat products. Employees have reported that management failed to take internal complaints about harassment seriously, often siding with store-level management.

 

2-17-2026 Employee at Silver Springs Blvd Publix  Saying “Fucking Creep” to a Senior trying to get Biscuits

On 2-17-2026, I went to Publix to pick up 3 items. The first problem was not having enough help at the deli. A guy ahead of me and another customer ordered one thing after another at the deli (about 5 items), while a line of people were waiting. It wasn’t until about 12 minutes, that another employee stepped in to help other customers.

After getting the item I needed at the deli, I went to the dairy isle to get canned Pillsbury biscuits. A white male employee (guessing 20 something) was kneeling on the floor putting items in the cooler so I waited for him to finish. While I was waiting I heard him say under his breath “Fucking Creep”, while putting things in the cooler.

He didn’t look at me while saying it, so I wasn’t sure at that moment if it was directed towards me or someone he was thinking about. In any event, it was offensive, unprofessional, insulting and unwarranted. I immediately reported the incident to a manager and he said he would talk with the guy.

As hours went by, the more I got to thinking about it, the angrier I got because it seemed clear that the comment was directed towards me. So I called, asked for a manager and told him about the ordeal and pointed out how this wasn’t the first time I had endured abuse from Publix employees at this same location. The manager said he would talk with the employee and let me know what he had to say.

I never heard back from that manager so I sent a letter to Publix customer service and the President of Publix. A few days later, (2-26-2026) I received a email from the main store manager (a female) who apologized about the long wait at the deli, but not a word about the employee who said “F***ing Creep”. So I sent a letter by mail directly to the store manager telling her I appreciated her response but she didn’t address my primary complaint. To date, there has been no reply from her or the the President of Publix.

As I mentioned previously, this isn’t the first time I suffered abuse from Publix employees at this same store. March 24, 2019 I had a shopping cart full of items which the cashier rang up. I was looking down to use my credit card to pay for the items and when I looked up, I was SHOCKED to see the cashier and bagger both looking DIRECTLY at me and laughing. I immediately reported that incident and was informed by the manager that he would he would “have a talk with the guys”.

Publix employee’s conduct could be considered Senior Abuse, as defined by Google; “conduct which causes harm or distress to a person typically aged 60 or older”.

I can honestly say that Publix is the ONLY store in my lifetime where I have been treated with a lack of respect. Before moving to Florida, I shopped at Kroger’s for years with no problems. No problems at Walmart either. I mind my own business, treat others with respect and expect the same in return. There’s no excuse for employees of Publix engaging in abusive conduct to their customers.

IMO, employees who engage in abusive, disrespectful conduct towards customers deserved to be fired. There’s plenty of people who needs jobs and would be grateful to have a job.  In the business world, employees who are unable to conduct themselves professionally are called “Loose Cannons” and are a liability, not an asset. So it’s difficult to rationalize why Publix management would want to keep employees who behave unprofessionally. If they abuse one customer, they are likely to abuse others.

Complaints has been sent to the CEO, President, Customer Service and store manager of Publix. NONE has had the decency to respond or take any action.

Since no action was taken against the Publix employees who laughed in my face for no good reason on 3-24-2019 … after being called a “F***ing Creep” by an employee at this same location on 2-17-2026, and no action being taken after filing complaints to customer service, the store manager and the President & CEO, Publix management has proven they don’t give a damn about their customers by allowing their employees to engage in insults and abuse with no consequences.

While I’m sure there are many who stands by Publix and say they’ve never endured such abuse, consider yourself lucky.  Just do a search for ‘Publix employees abusing customers’ on the internet and you’ll find plenty of stories and complaints like those posted further below on this page.

Every customer & senior who has been abused by Publix employees should document their abuse and send their stories to every major newspaper and news outlet in Florida and send complaints to AARP.

Also, lets not forget how Publix prices are substantially higher than other stores like Walmart.

IMO Publix should be PICKETED, BOYCOTTED and PUT OUT OF BUSINESS

 

 

MORE COMPLAINTS ABOUT PUBLIX

Elderly man accuses Ocala Publix employee of striking him with cart train

An elderly man has filed a lawsuit against a Publix in Ocala, claiming an employee struck him with a train of carts near the entrance of the grocery store and left him with “substantial and permanent injuries.”

Per the above article: “An elderly man has filed a lawsuit against a Publix in Ocala, claiming an employee struck him with a train of carts near the entrance of the grocery store and left him with “substantial and permanent injuries.”

Kent Sloan and his wife, Melodie, filed the lawsuit against Publix Super Markets, Inc., in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County on July 22. According to the complaint, Mr. Sloan was shopping at the Publix located at 3450 E Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala on June 12, 2025, at around 12:08 p.m. While Sloan was near the entrance area of the grocery store where the “carts are kept for customer use,” an employee of Publix was “pushing a group of grocery carts” into the same area.

The lawsuit alleges that the employee pushed the carts “directly into Kent Sloan so that the carts knocked him over and severely injured him.” Sloan was allegedly “taken by ambulance to Shands Hospital” immediately after the incident and sustained “substantial and permanent injuries,” according to the complaint.

Sloan’s attorneys claim that, as a “direct and proximate result of Publix’s negligence and the actions of Publix’s employee that occurred on Publix’s premises,” their client suffered bodily injury and “resulting pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of earnings, loss of ability to earn money, and/or aggravation of a previously existing condition.

The Sloans are seeking in excess of $50,000 in damages, exclusive of interest and attorney’s fees.

The lawsuit is one of many that have been filed against Publix locations in Marion County this year. In fact, Marion County Clerk of Courts’ records show that through July 30, at least 11 lawsuits have been filed against the state’s most popular grocery chain.

A couple of weeks before the Sloans filed their lawsuit, another elderly man sued a Publix in the Grand Oaks Town Center after his cane got caught on a shelving unit and he tripped near a bathroom.

In June, another woman claimed she “slipped and fell on a transitory substance” at the Publix within the Canopy Oak Center in southwest Ocala.

In May, a woman claimed she allegedly slipped and fell while she was “walking down the aisle” of a Publix in Dunnellon after her foot became stuck to a “sticky, spilled/leaked substance on the floor.”

In April, another individual said she slipped and fell on pudding while walking through a Publix in Ocala.

Before those filings, at least four other local residents filed slip-and-fall lawsuits against Publix locations in Ocala dating back to the beginning of the year.”

 

Publix facing three new lawsuits from Marion County residents over alleged injuries

Three more local residents have filed lawsuits against Publix, seeking damages for various incidents involving a falling shelf, a child’s injury, and a high-speed grocery cart assistance that resulted in an alleged faceplant.

Per the above article: Publix facing three new lawsuits from Marion County residents over alleged injuries 

“Three more local residents have filed lawsuits against Publix, seeking damages for various incidents involving a falling shelf, a child’s injury, and a high-speed grocery cart assistance that resulted in an alleged faceplant.

The first lawsuit was filed on February 16, by Marion County resident Jessica Santiago following an incident at the Publix located at Pearl Britain Plaza (2655 NE 35th Street) in Ocala. According to the complaint, Santiago was waiting in line in the deli department on February 5, when she was struck by a section of shelving that fell.

Santiago’s attorneys allege that the falling shelf caused their client significant bodily and permanent injuries, mental anguish, and a loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life. They argue that Publix failed to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition and failed to warn customers of a known dangerous condition. She is seeking over $50,000 in damages.

A second lawsuit was filed on March 2, by attorneys representing Carlos Aldama on behalf of his minor child, identified as “X.A.” The complaint stems from an incident that allegedly occurred on May 26, 2025, at the Publix at the Belleview Regional Shopping Center located at 10301 SE US Highway 441.

Aldama alleges his child suffered bodily injury to extremities, resulting in permanent scarring, disfigurement, and the activation of a latent medical condition. Aldama’s legal team claims the grocery chain was negligent in its maintenance of the store, creating a foreseeable risk of harm to the child. The suit also seeks damages in excess of $50,000.

The third lawsuit involves a resident of The Villages, Eileen Donnelly, who filed her complaint on February 17. Donnelly claims she was injured at the Publix in Mulberry Grove on February 29, 2024, after a Publix employee offered to help her take her groceries to her vehicle.

According to the filing, as Donnelly navigated a ramp toward the parking lot, the employee allegedly began pulling the front of the cart forward without warning, causing it to accelerate.

Donnelly claims she was unable to keep up and was pulled forward, crashing “face first onto the pavement.” She alleges the fall resulted in a physical handicap that prevents her from living independently and she is seeking more than $80,000 in damages.

All three plaintiffs have requested trials by jury in Marion County to determine the final value of their claims.

The lawsuits filed this year represent a fraction of the open cases between Publix and local residents. Dating back to the beginning of 2025, Publix is currently fighting at least a dozen active lawsuits against Marion County residents”.

 

 

Publix Taking Groceries While in Restroom

I had a few items I needed to get at the Publix at Churchill Square, 303 SE 17th St Ocala, FL 34471. I was using a handheld Shopping Basket. After picking up most of the items I needed, I had to go to the restroom so I sat my cart down in the canned goods isle where I was going to get the last of what I needed. I was only gone for about 3 – 4 minutes tops. To my horror and outrage, I found that my Shopping Basket was GONE.

I began asking employees where it went. I asked customer service to make an announcement to have my basket with items returned to me but they refused to make any announcement. In short, I received NO HELP. It was like… too bad, so sad, sorry about your luck (but not really).

My only choice was to get another Shopping Basket and get the items I needed all over again.

If they thought it was an abandoned cart, they could have at least taken the cart to customer service for a few minutes before returning the items. I did call and talk with the manager of the store about this while driving home.

 

 

HERE’S JUST A FEW COMPLAINTS ABOUT PUBLIX FROM COMPLAINTS BOARD 

 

Publix Super Markets Shoppers Reviews 2026 – ComplaintsBoard

Read 8 real reviews and 308 complaints about Publix Super Markets – rating 1.7/5. Share your experience on ComplaintsBoard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Defamation of character issue

Defamation of character issue. I was at Publix Young Circle on November 7,2022. I am a frequent shopper there because I reside on Hollywood Beach which is about 1.5 mi. Across Hollywood Blvd going East to the Beach. As I was inside of the store I met a uy and started a conversation with the guy about the Powerball Numbers. After the conversation because since I was getting a sub from the deli I asked if he was hungry and wanted something to eat, which is what I do when I meet a homeless person. So as I proceeded to the deli, I placed my order and afterwards proceeded to the checkout counter. Once I was in line the guy that I was purchasing a sub for had a cup of soup in his hand, little did I know that the guy decided to walk out without paying for it. So when he left the store and I checked out she (ChiChi) asked me if I knew the guy and if he was with me. I didn’t know the guy, I was just being nice to the dude by treating him to something to eat., so therefore technically he was not with me because I ran into the guy inside of the store on the way to the restroom. So as I was exiting the store I overheard (ChiChi) asking the bagger named Phil if the guy was with me and he said yeah I saw them come into the store together. Now that was a blatant lie because as i stated previously that I was already inside before the guy even came into the store. He only said that or assumed that because he saw us talking over by the rest rooms, which was an incorrect assumption. I know it may seem like a minor incident but I reported the baggers false accusation to the Manager Kurt because it means a lot to me not to have my reputation in Publix nor the community,. Tarnished by this baggers (Phil) false accusations. I am an upstanding member of the community, self employ and very respected in the South Florida area. What someone else does inside or outside of Publix has nothing to do with me. I was trying to good by buying a homeless person food but somehow the good turned into bad. Go figure! So today 11/09/2022 when I approached Phil about what he had said to Chi Chi he became beligerant and hostile calling me a bunch of name, talking about my mommy and giving me the finger. Now I have been going to Publix for 20+ years and have never had an employee represent Publix in such an unprofessional and hostile manner. Having people such as Phil as the face of Publix is a total disaster and I feel s though Phil should stick to bagging and collection of the carts instead of wasting Publix time and money on him trying to be security manager, etc. And furthermore demand an apology from him as well as the Publix organization

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g34296-d8010058-r867844939-Publix-Hollywood_Broward_County_Florida.html#

 

Woman Falsely Accused of Shoplifting, Tased at Jacksonville Publix

Black woman falsely accused by of shoplifting from a Publix Store at 103rd Street Jacksonville, FL was tased by a police in the parking lot in front of children.

For those who may say ‘why didn’t she just show the officer her receipt’?

Per a Google AI search; “Tawanda Crowell did not have a strict legal obligation to produce a receipt to the officer upon request.  According to legal analysts and general Florida law regarding retail: No Mandatory Law: In Florida, there is no law requiring a shopper to show a receipt to store employees or security upon leaving a store unless there is “probable cause” to believe a crime has been committed.

The Incident Context: The officer approached Crowell in the parking lot, not inside the store, after an employee claimed they did not see a receipt. While the officer felt he had “probable cause,” the subsequent arrest for “resisting without violence” was dropped, and she had a receipt for all her items”.

 

Woman suing Publix after being accused of shoplifting, shocked with Taser in parking lot in front of children

Tawanda Crowell ended up spending 24 hours in jail, even after the officers saw the receipt showing she purchased the items, her attorney says.

Per the above article: “A news conference was held in Jacksonville Thursday to announce an update in a lawsuit against Publix that involves its reported use of off-duty uniformed police to work in its stores. Attorney Ben Crump and co-counsels Steve Combs and Jamie Holland hosted the event on behalf of Tawanda Crowell.

The legal team said that Crowell, a black woman, went into a Publix store and bought dinner for her goddaughter that she was raising, as well as her nieces.

When she returned to her car she was reportedly accosted by one of these armed police officers.

JSO identified the officer as Officer K. Munger.

Crowell reportedly told the officer that he lacked probable cause to ask for her grocery receipt and she did not give it to him. She was shocked with a Taser and knocked to the ground in front of her young goddaughter and nieces, the lawsuit alleges.

Crump says that although the arresting officer found the receipt verifying her purchase of the food, she was still arrested and was jailed for 24 hours.

The legal team announced that it will be investigating Publix’s use of armed police officers, allegations that the grocer doesn’t provide additional training to off-duty officers”.

[source: 13newsnow.com/article/news/local/lawsuit-black-jacksonville-woman-publix-florida/77-f1deb899-08df-40ea-858c-366cd100c72e]

 

Tawanda Crowell Suing Publix After Being Tased Over Shoplifting Allegations

Crowell is suing the supermarket chain for $50,000 in damages after she was arrested, tased and accused of shoplifting food she purchased last year.

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