Sobeys Jefferson Square — Local services in Richmond Hill

This store has a serious customer service problem with most of the staff including the manager. I was having trouble scanning a rewards card at their self-service checkout machine, which I had only resorted to using because there was only one check-out cashier line open with a line of 3 in front of me other than the person currently paying for their purchases. (Thr morning at around 9 am). Waited at the terminal area vainly for someone to help for 10 minutes (selected the check-out "help" - "request help" option multiple times over this period). While I was waiting, because the period of inactivity was so long, the terminal prompted me several times if I wanted to continue with my purchase. Finally decided to try to walk away to the service desk to ask someone there for help. After she helped, I walked over and asked to speak to the manager. The lady who claimed to be the manager expressed surprise that I was standing waiting for 10 minutes for help and said they were all 'around here'. This statement was true, she certainly had walked by me earlier as I was standing looking around for green-apron-wearing Sobeys staff (which she wasn't wearing). She didn't stop to offer any help though it was clear that I was standing there looking for help, and the control terminal would have shown my multiple requests for help if she'd bothered to glance at it. What happened to the customer service person who was assigned to help in the self-service checkout? She was outside. One insincere apology later from the manager and I walked out with the one thought that I would actively try to dissuade everyone I knew from shopping there. I realize now that I should have tried more actively to move away and find someone to help earlier, but my experience demonstrates how inadequate this store's self-service check-out process is. I'll also say that this store's fresh food sections (veg/fruit/meat/milk/bread) is always less than adequately stocked except on their busiest weekend days (bare shelves/displays are the...

This review is not for the entire Sobeys store — only for the balloon department, and in particular, the older lady working there today.

Today was my child’s birthday. We were hosting a party and came to Sobeys to buy balloons. Along with the balloons we purchased in-store, I politely asked the lady if she could also help inflate a few balloons we brought ourselves. I even offered to pay for the service.

Her response? A flat-out “No,” delivered with a tone so cold it felt like I was asking for a personal favor instead of being a paying customer. When I asked why, she simply said, “We don’t take responsibility.” I asked what kind of responsibility she meant — she had no answer. She just repeated that they couldn’t do it.

Her attitude was downright unpleasant. She even told me to “go to Canadian Tire, they’ll do it.” Honestly, the entire interaction felt like I owed her money or had done something wrong, when all I did was make a simple, reasonable request — as a customer who had just made a purchase, no less.

Well, I did go to Canadian Tire. And guess what? Their service was fantastic. They gladly helped inflate all the balloons — including the ones I brought — and their prices were better too. The exact same balloons were cheaper there.

So here's my advice: If you're preparing for a birthday party and need balloons, go straight to Canadian Tire. You'll be met with friendly service and fair prices. But if you go to this Sobeys and happen to run into that same grim-faced lady, be prepared to have your day — and possibly your child's special day —...

I’m incredibly disappointed in Sobeys and honestly a bit shaken up by what happened. I grabbed a pre-made Caesar salad for lunch thinking it’d be a convenient, no-fuss meal. I should have noticed something was off when the lettuce had a chemically unwashed taste but I overlooked and thought it was nothing. But halfway through eating it, I noticed something that made my stomach turn — a dead bug buried between the lettuce leaves. I immediately vomited. I'm so traumatized.

This is absolutely unacceptable. Food safety and cleanliness should be the bare minimum at a national grocery chain. The fact that something like this made it into a packaged, ready-to-eat item shows a serious lack of care and quality control. I trusted that what I was eating was safe. That trust is now completely gone.

I will never purchase another pre-made item from Sobeys again. This experience has ruined any sense of confidence I had in their food safety standards. It’s not just about this one salad — it makes me question the sanitation of everything in their deli and fresh-prepared sections.

Sobeys needs to take this seriously. This isn’t just gross — it’s a health risk. Management clearly needs to revisit their food safety practices and implement better inspection protocols. It shouldn’t be on the customer to discover contamination after eating the product.

I won’t be returning unless I see real accountability and improvement. Shoppers deserve better.

xx...