Safeway

This Safeway is in the center of Downtown San Leandro, but it’s fairly small in terms of size and considering how popular of an area this is. It’s almost always busy no matter what time of day you go. Otherwise, I didn’t have any problems getting through the self-​checkout lanes.

I should give this Safeway a zero star. Waited 20 minutes to get someone to open Liquor case. Horrible employees. Lousy management. Do not shop here.

Terrible service. Placed an order over a week ago for a corsage… the girl in floral said she didn’t do corsages, but that they do nice ones… I placed the order paid and said I would be back today a week later to pick it up… came in same girl at the counter… no one made the corsage… now I’m waiting for the inexperienced clerk that helped me last week do it!!! Foolishness… While in line another lady said they are known for not having an order ready… they need zero stars!!! Oh and I am still waiting… Been here awhile while she figuring it out! Oh and did I mention no apologies or consideration, just said if you don’t want to wait… she knew it wasn’t made when I walked up… I could see it on her face…& the manager was refusing to help!!! Manager said she only does her own orders… dumb!

Sandwich dept is pretty bad. Alice can’t make a sandwich to save her life. I ordered a turkey pesto avocado sandwich which came out to a WAY TOO MUCH Pesto and small amounts of turkey/​avocado sandwich. And this is after she had to remake my sandwich cause she screwed it up the first time. I threw it away after I ate about a ¹⁄₃ of it because of all the oil from the pesto. Safeway’s deli dept just lost my business.

This is just for the florist section of the store! The cheapest place to get flowers on Mothers Day or Valentines Day hands down! Usually 10 or 12 dollars everyday, where most place gouge you on those holidays. And it’s a dozen roses for that price, red, white, pink, or yellow roses or mixed up, and on those days especially, they have more than enough. Lots of people on those days, but the line moves fast!

It sucks they don’t do the free cake for baby’s first birthday anymore! They use to do it couple years back cause I got it for my two sons.

The lines here are terrible! Those signs hanging up top where it says «threes’ a crowd» and they’ll get more checkers are a lie. They barely have enough cashiers to do that and the lines are a complete mess. People here are never sure how to line up because the lines gets too long that it goes into the aisles and then blocks the passageway. This location needs to figure out a better way to get people in and out of the lines. Of course part of the blames goes to the customers as well, as I’ve always seen customers paying by checks (wth? who does that nowadays and why!?), or they’re scavenging for coins in their tiny coin purse while they have tons of people behind them.
But I do go here often as it is convenient to where I work and there are no other grocery stores around.

I just wanted a Safeway club and no one was at the customer service desk so I waited in line. The cashier informed me that I had to go back to the customer service desk so I informed the cashier that no one was there. The cashier told me that they would call someone over so I walked back to the customer service desk and waited. No one ever came.

Safeway what can I say except when I need to shop for the everyday groceries I end up here. Safeway is close to home and despite the constant challenges in the parking lot I keep coming back.
The cashiers are friendly enough and have longevity. I like to interact with the same people year after year it is nice. Safeway usually has what we need and when we need it which is convenient. They have one of those coin machines for those once a year times when I need to convert our coins to cash so that is convenient also.
I have only had one experience at Safeway where I really had to wait a very long time in line but that is the exception, usually despite a long line I get through fairly quickly. Sometimes I buy my flowers here also since the prices are very fair and the flower selection is okay.
We usually avoid the bakery cakes and sweets though since they are usually overly sweetened but the fresh breads are fine when we need to have a bread and cheese and wine quick and easy dinner. We will be back.

OOOOH, CHILE! These prices be SKY high!
OK, it’s not the prices so much as it is the inability to park anywhere near the store except for very early or very late. I figure there are a lot of BART riders who suck up all of the parking spaces… for the entire business day.
As with the other San Leandro Safeway, «Express» lane means nothing. And the checkers take everyone… from the ones who have a handful of items to the ones who’ve crammed their carts full… in the «Express» lane. Why bother.
BTW, the new Safeway Monopoly Game is about as fun as having one’s buttocks rotated. Who designed this piece of sh*t?

This Safeway has bad customer service, particularly at the deli. Forget trying to get a sandwich made because they take forever, way longer than most other Safeways. Whenever I’m around the deli, there is always at least one person complaining about service. Even just asking for a package of mayonnaise and mustard takes at least 10 minutes of waiting for someone to help you and that’s even if you are first in line. Most of the employees will have their backs towards you.
The other day I had to get a money order and I waited in line for 15min. The other employees would just look at me and walk away. They don’t care. Like «it’s not my problem» attitude. And there was a lady in the office (with a window) the whole time. Finally took another employee to tap on the door to get her out.
The only way I can stand this Safeway is getting my own shit like pre-​packaged sandwiches and soup and going through self check out.
Tl;dr — Most employees act like helping you is a hassle to their jobs.

Small Safeway and usually very crowded. Tough to find parking. Employees seem nice and helpful

I have to agree with what most people have to say about this place… it truly is horrific here. It doesn’t matter what time of the day it is, it always seems busy as in lack of necessary checkers which backs everything up. Don’t get me started on the self-​check out area. Or the parking in this plaza. Or the deli-​area. I cannot count all the times that I’ve seen frustrated people leave from the deli line from waiting so long.
I thought the Safeway on Bancroft was bad, but this one takes the cake. Stay away if you can.

I actually give this place ZERO stars but that’s not an option so 1 star will have to do. By far THE WORST Safeway I’ve ever been to AND I live in East Oakland. No one ever knows where anything is and there never seems to be more than 2 check out clerks at one time which makes for extremely long lines and the clerks have the nerve to give attitude when you finally get up to pay.
Additionally their deli department needs Jesus because no one knows what they’re doing. I was waiting in line for about 15 minutes (I was the only one in line), then it took Furaha another 15 minutes to make my sandwich and another 7 minutes for her to ring me up because she disappeared in the back for whatever reason.
How this store is still in business is beyond me. Management needs to do something because at this point I rather drive to Castro Valley for better service than down the street from my house.

My wife and I have been shopping at this store for over 20 years. In that time, we have watch this store steadily decline from a good store into anarchy. The problems start in the parking lot and continue through checkout.
We typically do our shopping between 8−9am on Sunday’s. Trying to find a parking place can be difficult at times. Once you have a space, good luck finding a cart. We complained to the manager about this and were told someone had stolen half of their carts. At times you have to stalk another shopper to get their cart when they are finished with it. Once you’ve secured the cart, you have to run the gamut of panhandlers to get into the store.
Walking into the store you are immediately confronted with the huge line for the Starbucks. At least the SB staff are friendly. You then enter the obstacle course of pallets and such from the stocking crew. This is especially bad in the dairy department at the back of the store. When I worked retail, we had overnight stocking crews that got the store ready for the next day. I guess this is no longer standard practice.
The Produce Department needs a new manager. The staff is always stocking the department, clogging up your ability to shop. Finding plastic bags can often be an exercise in futility. I like the Safeway cashews, but finding them in stock is hit or miss.
Once you’ve secured your purchases you start looking of a decent checkout line. This store is severely understaffed during peak periods. I’ve waited up to 30 minutes to checkout. Some of the checkers (Tom, Anna, and Rosie) are very friendly and efficient. Other are efficient, but not very talkative, others are just there earning a wage. Most of the baggers are people with special needs disabilities. Big snaps to Safeway for hiring them.
I shop at this store because it is close to my house, but am starting to rethink this decision. I’ve been to a couple of the Safeway stores in Castro Valley and may start shopping there. Safeway, if you read this review, please fix this store!

With two other Safeways within 5 or so miles, there’s no need to shop here.
Poor service from the manager on down.
No help from the staff.
Long, slow lines from either incompetent or poorly trained clerks.
It’s usually faster, and a better shopping experience for me to drive over to the Castro Valley Safeway and shop.

This is the worst Safeway I’ve ever been to in my life. Customer service is non existence. They are extremely RUDE, UNPROFESSIONAL and all need to be retrianed. I usually DO NOT shop at Safeway and now I remember why. Honestly, there isn’t one good thing I can say about this particular location.
I’ve had two associates hang up on me when I’ve called with questions. I’ve been placed on an indefinite hold when asking for a manager. I boughuht one of Safeway’s salads only to find a dead lady bug inside. When I called to let them know, no answer. When I went there to advise them in person with pictures the manager nonchalantly offered me a refund as if I was being a pest.
After today, I will never spend another dime at this Safeway. This location disappoints me every time.

Best time to shop here is during off peak hours – when most of us are busy at work. My hubby tends to do most of our grocery shopping needs here since his schedule is more flexible than mine. If you come here after 5 pm on a weekday, parking lot is a madhouse, the store is a madhouse and there are not enough cashiers, so you end up waiting in long lines. That’s just not something a hungry woman like me should be dealing with after work.
All those negatives aside, there are some good things about this Safeway. They seem to be carrying more organic veggies and products. The Asian groceries section is decent. I can get most of the basic stuff I need for Asian home cooking. The Just for U app for the iPhone gives you more discounts on items you buy. I like to buy slices of their Tiramisu and Tres Leches Cake. They now carry packaged Illy Coffee. I can also get Semifreddi bread from this store. The meat department now carries beef shanks and oxtails. They also have some packaged organic and grass fed beef. I’ve also been able to get wild shrimp and wild salmon here in the past. Their selection of craft beer is decent too.
This is a smaller Safeway compared to others and its too bad they really can’t expand. It feels cramped in there and when people are in line to pay, they pretty much block the front of the store. Also, I’ve pretty much given up on getting anything from their deli case as there is always a slow line for it. They really should have dedicated people helping you with the salads and hot food. Instead, the clerks are usually busy making sandwiches for people. The sandwich area should be separate from the hot food and salads area. If Safeway would add more clerks at the check stand and deli case, I think more people would like shopping here!

This safeway is in need of some help. They literally need more employees that are personable and willingly to help customers who frequently shop at this location. Lines are always super long and some of them appear very fatigued.
I can name one person who is super helpful and when she is there she makes things smooth and with low effort. There has not been one time whenI came to this location and she appeared exhausted or irritated. And frankly that has been my experience at this location. I think going here at night may make a difference and it definitely is a way to avoid the after 5pm rush and I flux of shoppers.

This update is quite a bit late, but still relevant.
Came here the night before Halloween with my dad looking for a last-​minute pumpkin for our jack o’ lantern. I walked up to a woman who was extremely busy manning the completely deserted self-​checkout and engaged in conversation with a fellow employee, excused myself, and asked if they had anymore large pumpkins, because the only ones in the produce department were tiny. She said, «No, sorry,» and went back to being very, very busy doing absolutely nothing in her chair.
Walked back over to my dad, who was talking to another employee, and I said, «They don’t have anymore big pumpkins, just small ones.» The employee goes, «You need a big pumpkin? Over in the meat department there should still be some left on the floor under the meat.»
Sure enough, walking over to the meat department, there were multiple large pumpkins chilling on the floor under where the meat is kept.
Upon checking out, the same incredibly helpful, very knowledgeable, very busy woman from the self-​checkout came up to shoot the breeze with our cashier, because at that very moment she needed to show her her ID from her «ratchet» days — conveniently, she didn’t acknowledge the very huge pumpkin in the bagging area literally under her nose, or us for that matter, nor did she make any effort to apologize for giving us the wrong information due purely to her laziness and ineptitude.
And this confirms why I dislike this Safeway.