Safeway

Nobody is going to fall in love with or at Safeway, but it does the job. This location is a bit grim (at least as far as the lighting goes), but it has a solid selection and the produce is ok (though you’ll find nicer produce across the street at New Apple Farms, or for a price, at Whole Foods).

During my transaction I had Kelly M. as my cashier
I inserted my mastercard and verified my pin number but at the end the chip reader had an error, when I asked for a redo she told me to use the magnetic strip to purchase. She then took my credit card and started look at the signature on the back (it had fainted over time) and said that it’s illegal to purchase in Canada with credit card without a signature on the back. She then threatened to take my credit card if I didn’t present my ID. I was confused but signed the receipt, this has never happened before.
She handed me back my card to sign and when the pen she had given me was without ink she told me to never come back without my ID. As I grabbed my bags she had «forgotten» to hand me my receipt as I left. She could’ve apologized and said I wasn’t allowed to purchase without an ID but she made me feel like a criminal as others were watching and dealt with me in a very hostile and unprofessional manner. She had made me feel upset even though I was not buying cigarettes or anything of that sort. Everything was under grocery, produce, and deli and totaled $ 10.44.
I am not alright with this type of behavior and I feel uncomfortable ever coming back if this is how a customer will be treated.
If you see a dirty blonde 45+ woman working the till, stay away.

It seems there’s a trend going on with this Safeway. I don’t know if it’s the fact they have direct competition right across the street which forces the store to constantly be looking at the bottom line, which in turn cuts into staffing, which in turn makes it a miserable place to work for. That really comes through in a lot of ways when you walk through the doors. I should know because I’ve worked at some really awful places, and I recognize the vibe. Plain and simple, this is a pretty terrible place period, let alone a place to buy food from.

If it were possible to give this Safeway location less than one star, I would.
Tonight, I decided to stop by for a few items such as soap and mouth wash. Once I entered the store, the security guard started following me around. I was shaved, wearing a turtleneck and a wool jacket with jeans. I didn’t look any shabbier than any other Kitsalano resident. The only reason I could think of is that my skin was darker than the usual people that drop by.
This man followed me and watched me as I was doing my shopping. So if he wanted to watch, I thought I should take as long as possible. If I was going to be made uncomfortable, I was willing to make him feel awkward while standing in every isle. I even walked up and asked the pharmacist simple questions to pass the time. I eventually left the store once he got bored of me. Too bad, because I was tempted to talk to him about the $ 300 smart watch I was wearing at the time. Surely I was there to steal $ 4 soap, and he had thwarted my devious plan.
So I will not shop there ever again. I do not want to fund that man’s paycheck, if I can help it. The prices aren’t that low to begin with. Go to Save On instead.

Whenever I am in this Safeway, all of the employees treat me as though they are judging me because of my age. I’m 21 years old, and I witnessed this happen on at least three occasions:
I’m standing in line waiting to purchase my groceries. The cashier is chatting away at some middle aged customer and they are having a great conversation. The employee is super friendly, asks for their air miles card and bags their stuff. Then it’s my turn. The cashier won’t even look me in the eye, won’t ask if I have an air miles card (assuming I am too young to have one) and doesn’t bag my items! Wth! And then as I am standing there near the end of the transaction paying, the cashier starts up a conversation with some other middle aged person behind me! As though talking to a twenty one year old is beneath them.
They are seriously the most ageist jerks I’ve met. Almost every single employee there is middle aged or older, and they only want to chat with people their own age. Very immature.

Been resident in the ‘hood since forever was once a steady customer of this place but gave up when they introduced the membership card system-​not my preferred way of doing business.
Then I read on line that they’s deep-​sixed that idea so today I stopped in and had a look around.
First impression-​darker/​more cluttered than ever and Staff looked harassed/​shifty eyed one was actually trying to escape from a customer who was pursuing him down an aisle saying loudly ‘Excuse Me Excuse Me’-he claimed he hadn’t heard her and had no idea what she wanted was all the time refusing to look her in the face.
Not Good.
So I did some price comparisons and that’s what really soured my stomach-they’re charging TWICE what No Frills does for the same product-​I saw this over & over & over just plain avarice.
I actually wanted to buy a small bottle of OJ for dinner but I could buy 2 liters of a better product @ NF for less than Safeway charges for 300ml-​this was @ the advertised sale price-​what a joke.
I beat a hasty retreat into the rain.
I’ve read online that the Safeway brand might be imploding and I believe it-​too much competition/​not enough people stupid enough to pay their ridiculous prices means the writing is on the wall.
Can’t say I’ll miss them.

As Leah V says below, we all end up here because it’s central, and has long open hours. Other than those two facts, plus the friendly cashiers, I sort of hate that I ever come here.
While the cashiers are nice, I find it very difficult to find any other staff members, and when I do, there’s a good chance they don’t know where/​what I’m hoping to find is. Their pricing is quite expensive, particularly for pretty average quality food-​stuffs, and if I didn’t still use my dad’s Clubcard number, I would be appalled by the typical total of my bill before discounts.
They are often low-​or-​out of eggs by 8pm-​ish, and they generally don’t have any kind of selection on similar products: ie usually no natural or organic alternative to the Kraft or Safeway Select options. The quality of the produce is poor. They also don’t carry many foods that you’d expect to see in a supermarket.
While Whole Paycheque makes me want to scream with it’s smarmy f*ckin attitude and insane prices, they have comparably great produce and a solid selection of ingredients to cook a great meal with. And so, fellow kits-​ers, Safeway, Apple Market, and Whole Foods end up splitting my grocery dollars almost equally each week.

Alright admit it kits-​neighbour, you also like to stay within the 4 block radius known at the «heart of kits; and for this very reason this is why we both continue to shop at Safeway.
The location is great — it has a huge lot for parking if you’re a driver (but be warned, if you step off the lot you will get a parking ticket — they’re all over it here!)
It’s your typical grocery store (although it seems to be half the size and half as nice as the Safeway on Broadway and MacDonald).
Not sure how safeway does it — but they have managed to hire and secure very dedicated cashiers. It’s nice to know that when you go into the store, you’ll always see the same cashiers and they’ll remember you time, after time again!
Helpful pointers: Get a Safeway club card — it will get you the club price on all the groceries — which adds up to HUGE savings.
Also, the first Tuesday of every month they do 10% off all groceries or 20x your base points for airmiles. [Nice little perk — that was new to me when I first moved to the West Coast]

Smallish branch for this chain but good selection of groceries needed for everyday shopping. Very good at putting on sale with from 25% to 50% discounts on close to «best before date» food. Daily shopping yields plenty of variety for good low cost eating. Sadly some store employees don’t get the idea of customer service very well at all with some taking an excessive amount of time to process purchases at checkout. And returning containers for recycling can be a real nightmare depending on which employee is supposed to be looking after shoppers.

At first glance, it’s kinda ritzy & kitzy to come here, as it’s a place to see & be seen, but the parking issues & tight aisles, sure does get hectic after work & weekends. Plenty of eye candy to go around here.
Be careful about parking here if you’re planning to shop elsewhere on 4^th, they’ve got parking nazis that will give you a ticket so fast before you know it.

Worst safeways of them all. They always put hot items in the same bag as frozen ones and care more about grooming their hair and chatting than working the line. I’m not sure why Safeway insists on having 10+ checkout lines with only 2 of them open. If you feel like waiting in line for 10 minutes then this is the spot for you.

i think the majority of people (including me) that live around this area shop at Safeway because it is the closest grocery store, not because they choose too. I would much rather go to save on foods or the best grocery store in the world, thrifty foods!
It does the job i suppose. still waiting for that redevelopment into a new grocery store chain!

Not the cheapest grocery store in the neighbourhood, but not the priciest either. Hit up Caper’s or Jackson’s for luxury goodies, the green grocer across the street for cheap produce, and Safeway for your basic pantry fare or Club Card sales.
The selection isn’t the greatest but I have seen worse at Safeway locations elsewhere. They have all the basics: bakery, deli, etc and their ready-​made food section is pretty good. I am also a fan of the Starbucks here, which has a great staff of baristas and the caffeine kick makes the whole busy grocery shopping experience less repugnant.
My biggest issue with shopping here is that it is very popular and you can get stuck in a very long line-​up at checkout. But most of the cashiers are good at what they do.

Some of the staff are not entirely friendly.

I love safeway — it’s big and I expect the place to have everything I need, including awesome deals and loads of variety… and most importantly, it is like Christmas morning when you punch in your safeway number and you find out how much you save like a great big surprise!
… however… how do you NOT HAVE BOCCACINI… when you have brie, camenbert, marscapone and other fancy fancies, I consider boccacini to be one of the usuals… i swear i walked around the cheese island at least 5 times. I did not see a sign, a tag, a price listing it to show me it was sold out.
(at least capers was next door and I could try looking there).

Haaaaa do convinient. I get off the bus from work and I’m right in front of it. They have decent specials, but some of the regular priced items are quite high. IThink the dairy product and yoghurts are always well priced :)

This Safeway does provide a nice compliment to the butcher, baker, and fishmonger across the street. It’s large and the Starbucks does make grocery shopping a little more relaxing.
I’ve had trouble getting staff assistance here, even from management. It’s annoying being told they don’t carry an item I’m convinced I’ve previously purchased here.
The plant section can be quite good at particular times of the year with good sales. September/​October has done me well for houseplants at this location. And the prices are affordable at about $ 7 for a quality plant (all of which have been going strong for two years now).
The Safeway parking lot also ranks as a great spot if you’re, ahem, parking for an excursion down Fourth. But do grab a loaf of bread or something, in case you’re busted. I also recently noticed that this parking lot is maintained by a service that will retrieve keys locked in the car or provide a boost if you need it. Have never had occasion to call, but an interesting addition to the typical grocery service.