Safeway

This has been my go-​to grocery store for over 10 years as I live about a half mile away. However that’s about to change! It looks like I need to find myself another grocery store… For the past several months I’ve noticed a huge drop in quality and service. For example in the dairy section I often come across items (yogurts for example) that have long been expired (2 weeks or more). If you don’t pay attention you end up purchasing expired products… Sometimes the non-​expired items are hidden in the back of the shelf while the expired items are in front. Looks like the store is trying all it can to still sell these expired products… I have pointed this out to an employee once and he didn’t even bother removing the expired items! Buying organic milk is also a hit or miss. Sometimes they have some sometimes they don’t. When they don’t and I ask an employee if they maybe have some in stock in the back I usually get a negative answer. How can a grocery store be out of milk??? Depending on the day or time of day I’ve also noticed that items are in stock or not. I usually shop in the late afternoon between 5−7pm like most working people and often run into everyday items that are sold out. Really? Is it really that difficult to manage inventory? Finally I’ve had a few instances where all my items don’t get bagged and end up being left at the store. I’ve learned my lesson and inspect bagging during checkout so that items are not left behind. All the while making sure that items are being rung at the correct price as I’ve noticed this being an issue at times as well. Lately I’ve also end up with someone else’s receipt a couple of times. How is this possible??? Don’t employee get trained… I agree that this store is usually clean and the Starbucks is a nice touch but in the last several months something changed (my guess probably with management?) and made this store sub-​par and nowhere close to the level that it used to be. I have attempted to voice my opinions and concerns to management but seem to be hitting a deaf ear each time. It’s a huge disappointment as I will have to go further for my groceries now and it probably will not be a Safeway as there isn’t another one nearby! (I’m giving it one star now but would have given it 5* a couple of years ago)

This Safeway is my go-​to grocery store as it is conveniently located between my work and home. I can stop by on my way into work or I can stop by on my way home. It is a win-​win for me. The only downside is that it used to be a fancy Safeway with a fancy nut section but then they remodeled and removed the fancy nut section. I honestly miss those nuts. (Sure, they have a small nut selection in the produce area but it isn’t the same.) On the plus, they have a Starbucks inside and I will admit I stop here more often than I should. The other plus is that their meat selection is rather good and I enjoy the bakery. (I love their single slice servings of chocolate cake.) The produce section is hit or miss. I usually only buy a few produce items from here and then do my hard-​code produce shopping elsewhere. Overall, it’s a decent grocery store for both light and extreme shopping.

This location has a Starbucks, redbox inside, water filling outside, Wells Fargo bank and ATM. One of the only places selling full gallons of organic milk. Used to have a natural section but it went away and the products were spread out throughout the store.

Horrible service at this store. Deli staff seemed more concerned about chatting and laughing than getting request correct on all three orders, meat department was unfriendly and cashiers were rude to people ahead of me and took no care with my groceries — meat containers broken, etc. Completely unnecessary. Back to Frys even if it is further away.

It is clean and have the nicest employees. They have plenty of selections on just about everything. Love all the ice cream selection…

This store continues to go downhill. My husband was in there tonight looking for a frozen pizza for our daughter, who is vegetarian. Well, guess what? Not a single vegetarian pizza. Not a one! They appear to have discontinued their Amy’s Roasted Vegetable Pizza. It’s the one that doesn’t have any cheese on it. I believe they have carried Daiya pizzas in the past, but not any more. It is becoming a joke to shop in this store. Every time we go in there, they have discontinued something. We continue to make the mistake of going in there because it is our closest grocery store. Well, not any more. We have absolutely had it with them. This, after shopping here for 11 years and dropping tens of thousands of dollars here. I guess the bottom line is they just don’t care. Undoubtedly, we are not the only customers who feel this way. Perhaps Safeway will pay attention when they start to lose customers such as myself and their profits start to tank …

Best Safeway I’ve been to. When the staff sees there is a long wait to checkout, they always jump in to help. They seriously take my time into consideration. Everything is so clean, and well layed out. Its a great store all around!

I’m probably thinking what everyone else is thinking– reviewing a grocery chain?
One of my favorite things about this store is the seafood area– not because of the variety or presentation (both okay) but the employees keep that area so clean it’s unreal. At the end of the nite its spotless. And for me that means people care about the job start to finish.
So what needs to change– imagine this… the deli area had fresh salads. I noticed that the olives in the olive bar looked way fresher than the deli salad with the black olives. So I asked why the difference. Well as it turns out the ingredients used in the supposedly «fresh» salads COME IN PRE MADE!!!
WTF– you have the freshest vegetables right in front of you and you use prepackaged produce? Yeas it seems like to much effort in the section that is named «deli fresh» that something is actually fresh (don’t even go there with no homegrown representation).
Now I don’t want to hear from any corporate accounting types that «economy of scale» or it makes sense «because of the volume» to use other than fresh ingredients.
Isn’t that what a deli is all about? Really Safeway you can’t even make a fresh salad at a store but want to dump mediocre quality from a bag and mix it up?
My suggestion like I do every time I’m there is tell the manager over and over again to force change for better quality and better standards.
And lastly, for a long time Safeway had their fresh roasted nuts and homemade peanut butter. Great as it should be. Sadly a «corporate» decision eliminated the fresh roasted nuts and peanut butter. But don’t worry shoppers, Safeway still has mass produced «Jiffy» peanut butter with great home additives you need a chemistry degree to interpret and fresh roasted nuts in a bag with a shelf life of 2+ years. After all why buy fresh and homemade when you can have prepackaged, chemically added, corporate margin friendly food items.

Nicest people, always clean and organized. Open late. Cashiers are always quick and friendly. Shelves always stocked.

This is the only place I grocery shop. Friendly staff. The deli dept makes the best sandwitches. It’s also very clean. Fair prices, especially water.

Clean store, helpful staff

Bakery staff not friendly or helpful at all. They act like they don’t need your business. Wanted to order cupcakes with the frosting top smooth/​flat and frosted sides. The first lady I spoke to in the store said it would be ‘easier’ to call in the order the next day in the morning. Called the next morning and spoke to the baker. She hemmed and hawed about having to frost them individually instead of piping the frosting from a bag. I asked her if she’d like me to drop off a picture of an example. She said no. Picked the cupcakes up and I could’ve done a better job at home.
All the other departments at the store are friendly and helpful. Wish the bakery could get their act together. Will drive to further location or order from Basha’s next time.

I’m a regular shopper at this Safeway since it’s so clean, customer-​friendly and close to home. This year, they decided to open their doors on Christmas for half the day which is really convenient for shoppers who live nearby. Yay, Safeway! They were open till 3:00 that day — you knew it immediately because two women were standing at the set of automatic doors that hadn’t been blocked off, frowning and shouting at customers, «We’re closing in 30 minutes.»
I know, i know, no one wants to work on Christmas — even those who are probably getting paid double-​time, but as a regular customer I expected the same level of customer service and professionalism that I usually get on my trips to Safeway. When I worked Christmases you can bet I delivered the same care and even a little extra cheer, but that wasn’t the case at Safeway.
Because so many people were busy blocking off doors and preparing to get the store ready for close, half-​an-​hour-​early, it was impossible to find a grocer/​associate to ask questions to while you were shopping. Meanwhile, a chain of announcements of when they were closing went on and on over the grocery intercom.
The fridges and shelves in most aisles were half-​empty and hadn’t been restocked at all that day, it felt like shopping for food during a zombie apocalypse, (which was kind of cool, but not really). The only redeeming quality was the cheerful guy behind the deli counter putting things away — at least he was polite about it.
As we were leaving the automatic doors, still five minutes before close, the same two women who were on the verge of harassing customers were turning them away. The younger woman asking the other, (possibly a manager?) to just go ahead and lock the doors five minutes early. A woman who was pushing her cart out at the same time commented that they tried to keep her from going in at 2:40, when she saw others being allowed.
Three things:
1) Don’t stay open on Christmas if your Grinch staff doesn’t support the idea and is going to harass customers. I’d rather be sad that you’re closed, than sad about how you’re treating your customers.
2) People shouldn’t be manning the doors half an hour before close to try to keep customers away, they should be trying to help their loyal customers inside with any questions to speed up their purchases.
3) The nice man in the deli clearly deserves a raise or extra New Year bonus for being the friendliest person working there.
This is only a three star review because I’ve seen Safeway on better days.

The wine guy was very helpful and they have an overall good selection. The prices are rather high though.
I will avoid this store in October as they are over the top with this breast cancer charity scam. They really push it and I find it repulsive that they continue to support a disease that ONLY affects women and less than 1% of men.

Located in my neighborhood, it’s my ‘go to’ spot when I buy regular groceries. Besides groceries, I like to come here for:
+ Banking — there’s a Wells Fargo located on premises.
+ Buy lottery tickets — Powerball & scratch offs
+ Rent movies using Redbox.
+ Buy flowers on special occasions.
The staff here is friendly and the lines are short most of the time.
Return Factor — 95%

I have stopped shopping at this Safeway because of the Deli workers. They don’t seem to be trained in their jobs, nor do they know the products they sell. I asked for a simple request (oven roasted turkey), and the man behind the counter looked like his head was about to explode. He stammered and couldn’t start to complete the order.
On another occasion, the woman working there put my order directly on the scale without any paper. I don’t know what was on the scale, and when it was last cleaned.
I would rather drive farther to another store than deal with the poorly trained staff at this store.

My favorite Safeway there is. Always clean and the staff is always helpful. Great selection of gourmet cheeses and wines. I love the olive bar and the wide variety of nuts they have. The vegetables are usually fresh, unlike other grocery stores I have been to in the Valley.

This Safeway store is a lifesaver.
When I first moved to Arizona in late August, I rented a condo around the corner. It so happened that I came from a climate where the summer temps were basically no higher than 75 that year and my first week in Arizona the highs were consistently near 115. I was about an hour away from driving myself to the hospital due to heat exhaustion but I decided to get some cold drinks and ice cream at Safeway to cool off. And when I opened that door to the ice cream freezer I decided to stick my head inside and cool off for about a minute. I don’t know how many weird or disgusted looks I got but that blast of freezing coolness snapped me out of my funk. True story.
This Safeway seems to be open all the time and carries about any item you might need. Plus I love how they have the self serve registers. It’s a way to avoid the crowded check out lines during pregame buying frenzies or during holidays.

Believe it or not, this Safeway is a decent spot for breakfast. There’s a breakfast sandwich with eggs, (yellow or white) your choice of cheeses and Ham, bacon or Sausage for only $ 1.99. This combines with their small, in-​store Starbuck’s will get you a great breakfast for under $ 5
There’s even reasonable seating!

In the US today, we’ve seen a contraction of the choices available in grocers, but not here in the valley. We have Fred Meyers (Fry’s), Albertsons, Safeway and local Bashas, as well as the upmarket speciality stores like AJs (Bashas), Fresh & Easy, Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Sprouts.
Safeway has always been safe, middle of the road choice for me. When I’m looking for something unique, I know I can find it there. The employees are very helpful, actually they go out of their way to find stuff for you. When was the last time a store manager offered to check the warehouse for an item and order it if it wasn’t there?
They’ve recently upgraded and modernized this store while improving on their already good wine & cheese section and have added a gourmet nut section.
Enjoy!