Haggen Food & Pharmacy

It’s really shocking how bad this place is. It’s clean. Well lit. Well stocked. And ridiculously high priced. I mean, how do they think that they can get away with charging 30% more for EVERYTHING! And nothing is on sale! I’ve never had a problem with the service here, but I can see how it might be bad. I didn’t see anyone going out of their way to help or anything.
I live across the street so I am SO HAPPY that they are closing down and hopefully, someone else will open a grocery store. Or heck, maybe someone will open a golf superstore and it’ll still be an improvement (I don’t golf).

So bummed to have lost my Albertson’s now that Haggen’s has taken over prices sky rocketed!!! my weekly grocery bill has essentially doubled!!! Terrible chain!!! I will no longer be shopping at Haggen’s which is so sad because I live a block away and will now drive to a different store…

What a catastrophe has been since the Haggens corporation took over the Albertsons stores in southern California. It begins its introduction to our region by implementing massive layoffs in our community; putting our neighbors, friends and families out of work at a time in which our economy was finally improving, introduces higher prices, and now bad customer service due to low staffing (layoffs don’t really save money!). I recently order a cake for my boy’s birthday party and not only I had trouble submitting my request and updating it days before the party, but what a terrible surprise it was to come by the store to pick up my son’s cake to discover that this was sitting on the counter!!! For how long was this sitting on the counter??? Who knows as there was no one in the bakery! In the past, we would pick up our cakes and an attendant would get it from the fridge. The cake was cool and would be tasty and in great shape. Please note that this is the summer and cakes «melt» within a few minutes during transportation so the colder they’re, the better! Also, food that is going to be consumed cannot be non refridgerated for more than 2 – 4 hours as it can go bad and cause harm to those who eat it. And I had to serve this cake!!! The cake ended up being good in flavor but I was nervous the whole time. Haggens corporation:
You need to hire back those employees that were laid off to provide good customer service. Saving money in the short run is a poor strategy. From now on, I will go to Vons (further away from my home) to avoid your poor management and treatment of Californians!

Not much has changed since Albertsons. Oh, except prices. They’re higher. The most irritating part is how awful some of the employees were and still are.
One guy who’s been there since Albertsons, is consistently rude to the point where he won’t even acknowledge customers’ presence and will continue conversing with other employees and not greet you or say a word to you. I don’t know why he has lasted so long at this job, but he is obviously quite disgruntled and should reevaluate his chosen career path.
Last week I went to return something for the first time and waited patiently for a little while at the service counter. The ladies at the register were talking and laughing, and when one finally came over she said something like, «next time let us know you need help.»
Oh-​kayyy… I wasn’t making a fuss about waiting at all, but you can clearly see me standing there…
Couple nights ago I popped in for some things which included glass bottles of root beer, and the girl at the register hardly said a word, practically threw the glass bottles into a bag, and roughly put the bag on the counter. Not a word. Very awkward.
I work in coffee & food service and customer service, and I’ve worked with negative nancies who hate the world and take it out on customers before, but why are so many of these people like this? Nearly every encounter here is fraught with negativity.
Get it together, haggens. Your employees’ bad attitudes are toxic.
Someone in a previous review mentioned this is like a ghost town and they were right. I guess everyone else got the memo too.
This Haggens location is very convenient for me, but I will go a little further for a pleasant shopping experience.

I’ve gone back twice since they initially opened and I was pleased with the customer service this time around. Looks like they took notice of the negative reviews ?
More friendly staff and an actual smile ! :) Yay !!
As far as groceries, I didn’t find anything out of the usual from when it was Albertsons. I do shop organic and their prices can be steep. I did manage to get some good deals with their organic grapes for $ 2.99/lbs. since they’re in season. I do find Ralphs can have it much cheaper as low as $ 1.99/lbs. But I do find the quality of the produce here much better.
I really wish they had a self checkout machine, but this place is usually dead anyway so the lines are hardly ever long.
Business doesn’t look too good (financially). Only time will tell… hopefully more improvements can be made since this is close to home.

should be 0 stars. The butcher shop employees blast rap music (I like rap the real stuff 80 – 90’s), shelves not full, at least the cashiers are friendly. The prices are not close to being competitive. Make up your $ 31m and a additional $ 5 million to Albertson’s somewhere else. 4.29 for Doritos, Went to Ralph’s 1.88 if u buy 3 SCORE! Haggens over $ 7 for diet coke wooooo is there gold flakes in their, Ralph’s 6.49. Wake up Haggens it’s not the money only principle.

I was actually excited when I learned Albertsons was becoming Haggens. However, from the first day opening to today, I continue to be disappointed.
Oh — where do I start:
First: there was very little change in the layout of the store, just some new green signage and new employee dress code. It was very evident the prices went up. Just one example: A block of fresh mozzarella that was $ 6.99 is now $ 9.99.
8 ounces of Buratta cheese was $ 10.99. Ouch! I don’t think it’s that much at Whole Foods.
Second: Haggens touts a fresh bakery, which excited me. I often go to Whole a Foods for bread and desserts. It happened to be my daughters birthday so I went in a couple days prior and ordered 18 cupcakes. The girl taking my order was new and kept saying, «no one trained me» when I asked about flavors, frosting, decorations etc. she did tell me the cupcakes were baked fresh which was my number one concern. I HATE previously frozen, cold cupcakes. The day the order was supposed to be ready I go in to pick it up and, no surprise, they have no record of my order. The girl I talked to was there and went in back when she saw me. The head baker came out to help as I was concerned how she was going to bake and decorate 18 cupcakes in 15 minutes. She proceeds to tell me the cupcakes aren’t bakes fresh, they are frozen and then thawed and decorated. Ewww! I thought this was a fresh bakery. I had no choice but to buy 18 pre-​decorated, cold cupcakes. I expressed my concern to the head baker and she said they had to hire a lot of temps for the re-​opening and they aren’t very well trained yet.
Third: Most of the employees seem genuinely unhappy. This is such a change. No one offers help on the floor, they just walk past you. I was in the wine section and wasn’t even acknowledged by the person stocking shelves and they were literally next to me. Albertson’s had much better service.
Now there are a few positives:
I love the chips and salsa from El Napolito and they are local
The produce is more $$ but waaay better quality. I thought Albertson’s produce was gross. Not fresh like they advertised.
The seafood section doesn’t smell and the variety is better than what Albertson’s offered.
I really hope Haggen’s gets their stuff together. It’s super convenient for me but when I go I there lately the store is a ghost town (cue crickets). Plus I don’t want to buy seafood from a store that’s practically empty.

Since Haggen took over this former Albertson’s we’ve tried it twice but never again. You’ve lost us as customers after 10 years of frequenting this location. First problem is that the prices are much higher now than they were when it was Albertson’s. Second, customer service is non-​existent. I assume the employees are not happy about the new owners and it shows. Third, nothing new has been added that would make me want to come here and pay the higher prices. No awesome prepared meals, no expanded organic produce, no awesome baked goods, no awesome marinated meats, nothing. Basically, same store as before but with worse prices and worse service. Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, Whole Foods and Jimbo’s (and even Von’s and Ralph’s) are going to bury you and it is unfortunate because this location was convenient for me when I would go into that area for other things. Hopefully, Sprouts will take it over. We need one there.

We have given them three chances — strike three! Adiós Haggen. You don’t know what you are doing. You are incompetent and you are getting your head handed to you in San Diego. Welcome to CA — it ain’t Oregon (where folks apparently like to overpay for groceries, and don’t mind rotten produce.) Your PR firm apparently did a fine job telling the SD Union Tribune what a great grocer you are — but the reality is sooooooooo different. So much for all that great, fresh produce you promised but have completely failed to deliver. Please close this store and turn it over to Sprouts. We need one here and it will do fantastic.

Very bad experience. Ever since Albertsons was replaced, Haggens was failed to impressed me. First off, they did give us an abundance of boxes for moving. But service was absolute garbage. I sat in front of the deli selection waiting for my service for about 7 minutes. Very un polite when I ordered. And THEN when I went to check out, lane 4 was lit green. I walked to be checked out and no one was there. Very unpleased with your services Haggens.

After this place took over Albertson’s last month, everything is down hill.
The prices on EVERYTHING I usually buy spiked up by a dollar. On top of that, the service got terrible, the workers have a mean attitude not like they used to have here. I don’t even see the people I used to see.
Today, I bought a bottle of Pinot Noir, and they carded me, as expected, however, the cashier actually manually inputs my CA Drivers License into their computer. What the hell is that? I’m guessing they want to keep a record of anyone who buys alcohol from them to use against them? I don’t know.
All while doing this, not a smile, a greeting, a thank you, anything. Zero courtesy.
Edit:
OK, well I’m reading up about this whole thing: Albertsons was FORCED to sell due to their merger. FORCED. Haggens only had 18 stores before buying these hundreds of Albertsons and Safeway stores, which explains why they’re managed so shitty. I’m reading that Albertsons probably sold to them, because they’re small and shitty and probably going to fail thereby freeing up competition for Albertsons… looks like Albertsons plan is working.

This former Albertson’s used to be nice as they’re right off the 56 freeway and they had some cool employees that used to work here. Key words being ‘used to’. The remodel to Haggen isn’t all that much. I guess that could be comforting to customers who grew accustomed to the layout and design of this location. They mostly pulled off anything that had Albertsons on it and then replaced it with a Haggen banner.
I stopped by today to take a look inside the new Haggen and the entire vibe of the market felt off. I stopped by the bakery, meat, and wine department and not one employee said hello or gave a greeting. No biggie as I’m sure everyone is still adjusting but it made the market feel more like a ghost town.
The pharmacy was even worse. What used to be a friendly department now seemed distant and unfamiliar. The pharmacy tech I spoke to was unfriendly and worst off, unwilling to answer questions I had in regards to r/​x and how the new ownership would effect r/x’s. It was disheartening to see a lack of understanding from a pharmacy that proved to be quite awesome back in the day (which was just, like, last week right).
Sis mentioned the meat department no longer carries the cold cuts or sandwich meats she used to go to them for. Oh, and the chicken wings are no longer available in the hot deli department either. So changes to this location seems to have effected people in different ways.
Haggen just opened so it’s understandable that there will be kinks and issues to work out. Hopefully they can (re)connect with the neighborhood and make themselves a brand supermarket that customers will want to visit.

So excited about having more of these around. Amazing stores and people. Going to elevate the quality of goods available to the area over time.