Is HEB going downhill?

Before the pandemic, HEB was my favorite grocery store. I started using curbside pickup when it was first available at my local store (2018, maybe?). The food was excellent, the service was quick, and the prices were marked up a bit, but they seemed fair since I was saving time by not going into the store.

Since the pandemic started, my HEB's service level has steadily declined. This morning, I arrived at my scheduled time and waited over 20 minutes for my pickup order to arrive, even though the pickup area was swarming with workers and there were only a couple of other people waiting for their orders. I normally wait between 15 and 20 minutes, and the wait is even longer if I go during peak times.

In terms of process management and pricing, HEB seems to be falling behind its competitors. The HEB app didn't tell me that they had changed my order until 10 minutes after I arrived. (The HEB app is generally terrible, but that's a tangential point.) The prices at HEB for "free" pickup are borderline extortion, sometimes nearly double the in-store price, and the selection for pickup is smaller and smaller. Our local Kroger and Wal-Mart stores are providing a much better value, and I never wait more than a minute or two for my pickup order anywhere but HEB.

What do you think? Is HEB slipping, or is my experience atypical? Are certain HEB-exclusive products (I'm thinking of Whataburger sauces, but insert your favorite product here) worth this kind of hassle? Is there an HEB store in the Houston area that does an especially good job with pickup orders?