Safeway — Restaurant in Maryland

I have been going to this Safeway for a long time. I go there at least 2 – 4 times every couple of weeks, depending on what I need. It has always been nice and clean. For the past few months I have noticed the decline in customers. I was there a few days ago, and the place was like a ghost town.

I have noticed that the cashiers have become non-existant. A few weeks ago I stopped by to get a money order. I waited at the desk and no one showed up. I walked over to the only cashier that was working on #1. All of the other lights were out as usual. I asked if I could get some help at customer service. “I’m sorry but I am the only one working and I have to do the line.” I asked it I could speak to the manager, she said, “I am the manager.” I waited until her line got low, and she came over to help me.

Before I go any further, let me get on the matter of the disgusting ladies bathroom. It is always dirty. I have never notice it clean lately. I am not going to blame it on the customers, because the lack of paper towels, toilet paper and that nasty baby changing table should be cleaned by staff.

While shopping there a couple of days ago, I decided to get some fried chicken from the deli, the 8 piece, for dinner. I got home, made some sides and planned to warm up the chicken. I decided to give my dog some chicken first, thank God! I took out a thigh and was getting ready to cut it into small pieces (he’s a small dog). When I pulled it opened the first thing I saw was blood, the chicken was undercooked. I checked several pieces, all of the other pieces showed signs of being undercooked. No, I did not give it to my dog. Needless, to say, I had to send my husband to a local carryout to get chicken wings for dinner. I called the store and spoke with the manager, I told her about the chicken and she assured me that she was going back to check the chicken.

I decided to bag the chicken and put it in my fridge to take it back to the Safeway. I didn’t throw it out because I didn’t want to walk in with just the receipt and not have proof. As I arrived at the customer service counter…there was no one to help me as usual. I stopped a young man and asked if he could get someone. “Oh, customer service it closed.” I asked if he could get a manger. “Let me see if I can find her”…find her? I often spoke with the regular manager, but this young lady was new. She was very nice and refunded my money.

I had already decided that I was not going to buy the chicken anymore, and decided to get turkey. The first thing I noticed was that the usual deli staff was not there, and noticed two new people. I asked about them, and the guy had no idea who I was taking about. I had always had great service from the deli manager and I don’t remember the other guy’s name, but we always talked.

I can’t remember the name of the turkey I chose, but it’s one that is cooked in house. I ordered one pound and the price was $12.99. The guy held up as slice of turkey and asked how thick/thin I wanted it sliced. He wrapped it, handed it to me and I put it in my cart. When I got home, I put away my groceries and put the turkey on the shelf in the fridge.

Around 1:30 pm today, my husband asked for lunch. I had prepared the toast with everything lettuce, cheese, etc. I pulled out the pack of turkey, opened it up…and thought, “Oh, God not again.” I have included pictures below of what I found! How did the guy cutting the turkey, not see this! I have it all wrapped to take back to the Safeway tomorrow for my refund again. When I leave out of there, I will never be returning again! I hope no one got sick from the undercooked chicken or the spoiled turkey.

Also, don’t know what is going on with the Signature Select Brand Refreshe Spring Water. Lately, It has an awful taste.

Someone from Safeway needs to check on this store, especially the deli department before someone gets really sick.

Below are pictures of the turkey...

The only reason I use this store is because it's right next door to my workplace. If there were ANY other alternatives, I would not choose to shop here.

The checkout service is one of the worst out of any supermarket I've been to, including other Safeways. I usually stop by at noon for lunch, or to grab a drink. There's no self-checkout so waiting in line for a cashier is the only option. 9 times out of 10, there are only 2 cashiers working, one in regular and one in express. They are slow to scan items, count money and love to waste time chatting with other customers and each other. What's worse, I see cashiers strolling around in the back doing god-knows-what; they only seem to work when they feel like it. Meanwhile the checkout line gets longer and longer, sometimes even reaching halfway down an aisle. The longest I've waited was 20 minutes for a can of Monster. Not even Costco has such ridiculous wait times.

Apart from the dreadful service, the produce section is pretty low quality. Fruits look like they've been sitting on the shelf for a week. Vegetables aren't any better - I use green onions a lot in my cooking, and I'd love to restock at Safeway before heading home, but all the green onions here look like they've been flash-frozen and then run over by a truck.

When this place first opened in 2016, I was excited to have a supermarket so close to work. But after the first month of opening, service has gone dramatically downhill. Now I loathe shopping at the place because I know I'll have to deal with the terrible checkout line. I've completely stopped getting lunch here, despite it being cheaper than going to the surrounding restaurants. I do after-work grocery shopping at a nearby Latino market or Wholefoods instead, even though it's a bit of a drive. And I foresee it'll stay this way unless customer service and produce selection take a drastic...

Cashier, short light skinned with spots all over her face and dreadlocks made an attempt to transfer frustrations onto me. She decided it was okay to bully me, a disabled woman sitting on the scooter and not close enough to put my items on the belt, into putting items on belt knowing I was not close enough to reach it. She yelled at me for no reason and was quite indignant, rude, and ignorant lacking a single hair of interpersonal skills. You get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. I'm guessing she was the last to know and did not get the memo on customer service and ethics. She even had the audacity to call security for no reason and tell me that I could get out of her line if I couldn't do what she said. I think she took my disability for a weakness as I was the ONLY customer she talked to in such a manner. She even went so far as to ask me if I was trying to be special or something and then yelled "You ain't special!!". Security, with the Bob hairstyle, was nice enough to help by placing my two (2) items on the belt. The cashier's attitude toward me was unnecessary. Plus, I could have been out of that store had she not messed up the transaction of the customer ahead of me trying to engage me in mindless banter. I'm guessing her feelings were hurt since I disengaged her and made it clear that I don't do other people's foolish drama. I'm firm on my standpoint that buying groceries should not be a traumatic experience fueled by what is clearly personal aggression that she could not transfer successfully.

#RespectYourElders...