Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Giant has more local produce and dairy, whereas Safeway (national chain) seems to lack a little of that. And for some reason Safeway's milk has always been disgusting. Otherwise they are pretty darn similar.

They are both national chains. Actually, Giant is owned by Royal Ahold in the Netherlands.

Of course Giant is a part of an international conglomorate, however their produce and dairy purchases continue to be done by region. Safeway's do not appear to be done similarly, unless they have changed their ways in 30 years. In season produce at Safeway comes from California and S America. Giant's comes from the eastern shore and PA. Big difference in quality.

Near us the Safeways are smaller than the Giants. Also I way prefer the hand held checkout devices at Giant. And I like Boar's Head meats and cheeses which are at Giant. Giant is basically now the same as Stop and Shop, which I really like when we are in Massachusetts.

Anonymous wrote:The people working at Safeway are always very friendly and helpful. That is the main reason I go there more than Giant. The people who work at Giant are generally rude. I do like the selection better at Giant. For some things Giant is less expensive than Safeway and vice versa. I also like that Safeway is smaller than Giant. It makes shopping quicker, especially if I foget something and need to go back to an aisle.

It is the opposite for me -- the employees at Giant near me are nice, and the store is well-staffed. Safeway is a different story.

I even emailed Safeway's corporate office once and got nothing but a canned reply, which irritated me more. In the after-work hours, it was a 40-minute wait to get through a non-express lane, and I think they only had one open. If you've ever tried to do self-checkout with a cartload of stuff, it's a PITA (and those lines were just as long anyway). I told them it wasn't fair to their customers OR their employees to have such poor staffing at the busiest time of day. Wasn't expecting a freebie, just wanted them to be more considerate to their customers and their check-out clerks.

The people working at Safeway are always very friendly and helpful. That is the main reason I go there more than Giant. The people who work at Giant are generally rude. I do like the selection better at Giant. For some things Giant is less expensive than Safeway and vice versa. I also like that Safeway is smaller than Giant. It makes shopping quicker, especially if I foget something and need to go back to an aisle.

Anonymous wrote:Giant has more local produce and dairy, whereas Safeway (national chain) seems to lack a little of that. And for some reason Safeway's milk has always been disgusting. Otherwise they are pretty darn similar.

They are both national chains. Actually, Giant is owned by Royal Ahold in the Netherlands.

Giant has more local produce and dairy, whereas Safeway (national chain) seems to lack a little of that. And for some reason Safeway's milk has always been disgusting. Otherwise they are pretty darn similar.

Anonymous wrote:While I don't love either, in my neck of the woods (NWDC), I have found Safeway to be consistently more expensive than Safeway.

I meant Giant!

While I don't love either, in my neck of the woods (NWDC), I have found Safeway to be consistently more expensive than Safeway.

I think Giant is cheaper.

Over the years I became a Giant shopper because that's what was near me. We've moved and there's at least one Safeway nearby that's nice. If you shop both what differences do you notice or is it really a matter of the particular location?