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Disgusted at Safeway
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
| I've found expired food (tofu and whole milk in particular) at Whole Foods and have had issues with Trader Joe's foods that go bad very quickly. Worth always checking dates. I never used to. |
Anonymous
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I'm in the VA burbs and there is a SW less than a mile from my houst and I drive 3 miles in traffic to shop at Wegman's. The SW is terrible and food is ALWAYS expired. THe bread and milk isles are SHAMELESS. I've thought of calling the health department. Is this the place to call, since they are selling expired food?
I suppose the SW has to cut hours and people because Wegman's is kicking their asses (at least in my neighborhood). Ever since Wegman's opened up, Giant and SW are ghost towns. There is no shortage of shoppers at Wegmann's and I have never ever seen a single expired item on their shelves. The customer service is excellent there. I love to cook and often am in need of unusual ingredients such as Chantrelle mushrooms or fresh figs, I LOVE the fact that I can call Wegman's on the phone while i'm doing my meal plan, ask for the produce section and immediatly get a knowledgeable human on the phone. Some goes for the meat section. I'm often calling before my trip asking them to grind some lamb for me to pick up at the counter. I hope them wipe SW and Giant out of business and expand their presence in the area. One time a bagger forgot to bag some mozarella cheese and ruined my dinner plans and Wegman's sent someone to my home with the cheese and a $25 gift certificate for my troubles. That is customer service!! |
Anonymous
| Lately I have noticed issues with freshness in all of the above mentioned stores. I guess everyone is hurting in this economy and grocery stores are no exception although it is totally unacceptable to sell expired food. I am glad I am came across this forum as now I will be more diligent in checking expiration dates - I was commenting and noticing the fruits and veggies - it is almost impossible to find any tomatoes, or green peppers that are fresh and any fruit I buy seems to go bad in less than a week - I know it was not like this a few years back. Anyone have this experience with Costco and the above issues? I dont shop there but am considering starting. |
Anonymous
Is this the Safeway near where the Tower Records used to be? If so, I'm surprised since I always thought it was relatively new and we used to shop there when we lived in the apartments not too far from there. |
Anonymous
Wouldn't that be racketeering? I highly doubt that the workers' union keeps the other chains out. Harris-Teeter is throughout the DC area (several inside the Beltway in VA), and it is not unionized. The real reason we don't get a Wegmans has to do with economics. They need a very large area and real estate is pricier inside the Beltway (not to mention the lack of large swaths of land). Not easy to find that much space, and with grocery store margins as low as they are, well - it's a tricky proposition. |
Anonymous
I'm no expert and certainly have NO IDEA how unions would play a roles, BUT I do know that strip malls in this area are owned by primarily 1 or 2 management companies. It is SOOOOOOO annoying, but they make agreements to open a certain set of stores in each one. Primarily here the "flagship" grocery is Harris Teeter, then the sprikle it with Subways, Taco Bells, a cell phone store, ect. At least in my area, Harris Teeter dominates. They negotiate these nationwide contracts and basically one grocer gets a monopoly. RE Wegman's. They actually have a far reaching suburban expansion model. Their go to market strategy does not include densely populated inner suburban/urban centers. Suprisingly, Wegman's is the most profitable large grocer in the country per square foot and they have the lowest prices, even beating Shoppers. This is because they are making most of their margins on the "Marketplace" which is their prepared foods. Also intersting is that they have a high retention rate, are consistently voted one of the top companies to work for by Fortune magazine (#5 this year), and are not unionized. The people that work there are happy, I always notice that, it really is remarkable. They really have figured it out. Whenever I shop there, I see NO indication of an economic down turn. The place is always packed and people's carts are stuffed. I noticed when I go to SW most people are just buying a few things, they are probaby just desparate so they resort to SW for a quickie. |
Anonymous
The Harris Teeter is in Adams Morgan. And yes, it has been hard to attract supermarkets in cities because they traditionally insist on larger land parcels than those available... and might also refuse to open a store without dedicated parking. Maybe something about tax/rent incentives, too... I think DC is not very good about recruiting businesses aggressively. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| The Safeway at West Ox Rd. in Fairfax is horrible. There are always long lines & the managers don't seem to care. I actually saw a manager attempt to close a long line & the cashier refused to do it. It was great. The manager turned the sign to "close" right in front of a customer & said "sorry" or something to that effect. When she walked away, the cashier turned it back around & said "come on", I'm not doing that. The manager was pissed, but didn't do a thing. |
Anonymous
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The West Ox Road Safeway is managed horribly. I feel sad for the workers there. I have seen a chubby balding gray haired man, who is a manager there, stand and simply loom over cashiers. Several people I know won't even shop there anymore because they tell me of things they have observed that man do.
One thing is hardly comprehensible. My husband observed this man berate an employee over not ringing a bag of dogfood underneath the cart first, right in front of customers! The employee must have been so embarrassed. The lines are ridiculous and there are no self check outs. I have been there with only 2 checkstands open and had to go clear back to the meat department and down an aisle to wait my turn. I noticed people who tired of waiting simply abandoning carts and walking out. Sad. Yes, Safeway is a union shop, but in Virginia its "Right to Work" so as my understanding is, an employee does not HAVE to be in the union, but is governed by a contract negotiated on behalf of all employees. A few days ago I was there around noon. I wandered with my cart into Produce and talked briefly with a nice young man with a small mustache. Turns out he is that department manager. I had a question on the avocados and gradually I asked him about why the lines there get so long. He said the company has cut hours back in all departments and hardly anyone can get there jobs done. The store actually looked good though, so I mentioned that and how it seems things were getting done. He said people in that store work their butts off because of the customer, not the management. It is a person like him that keeps me coming back. Their meat also seems to keep longer that a few other local stores. My recommendation is to do as I did and take the cards that they have to write a post paid comment on. Those I am told, if actually mailed, go to a part of Safeway that monitors customer feedback and takes it seriously. I recently wrote this and dropped it in the mail. "I love shopping in Safeway, but cutting back labor will cause your company to lose business to better staffed chains, such as Wegmans. " I rated employees well, but wait times poor. I have not heard back yet, but have been told they do respond if the matter warrants it. Like anything in this world, sometimes a wake up call is needed. Use the comment cards they have. |
Anonymous
| Absolutely fill out comment cards and contact corporate headquarters. If you have a problem and the store manager treats you with such contempt, kick it up the food chain. If you dont speak up then things don't change. |
Anonymous
| i am the OP..I wrote a letter to the safeway main office and got back a form letter saying they strive to meet expectations, blah, blah, blah...I haven't been back to Safeway though I switched to Shopper's Food Warehouse and the selection and prices are much better. |
Anonymous
| Glad to hear that there are problems at your "wealthy" Safeways !!! |
Anonymous
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I have also been really annoyed by my safeway on many occasions. If you're noticing a marked decline in service and products, I think you can blame the economy as much as anything else. Safeway has taken a huge hit from what I have heard from their workers. They've had lay offs, don't have enough people to cover the shifts, the workers are disgruntled (of course they are) and even the manager's are overwhelmed (not to mention most of htem are simply not up to the challenge of dealing with the huge crisis of customer wrath facing the chain).
Not defending, just noting a cause and effect. Google safeway and economy. |