Safeway

You will save time if you drive a few miles to another store. They are consistently under staffed, the soup is out by noon. The management staff is hiding during lunch rush. I’m not sure why people keep going to this store. Their prices are the same so they should be able to maintain as much staff as everyone else. There IS one notable exception, she is a kind, together, African American, cashier.

They have pirates booty only sometimes. The produce selection is pretty poor. Forget getting fresh strawberries. Poultry and beef sections satisfy on a whim. I mostly stick to dry goods at this particular location. The staff is always friendly though!

I’m bumping them folks, all because a girl named Zulma! She was checking me out today (in that professional front end lane sort of way, not the personal way) and as is typical from Safeway employees asked if I found everything I needed. To which I replied, no actually I did not. You see now that I’m on this paleo kick I’m trying to find natural substituions for things I love, like chocolate. And I read online that Safeway carries a brand of chocolate chips called Enjoy Life. They’re sugar free, dairy free, gluten free and soy free. What’s in them? Not much; chocolate alcohol, non dairy butter fat (non dairy? I don’t get it really) and evaporated cane juice. (I know, cane juice is sugar!) Dear Zulma darted away to see if the manager was in his office to ask him if they carried them, but he wasn’t there. And so she proceded to walk pretty much the entire store (bakery sections, baking aisle, healthy/​weight loss aisle), but didn’t turn up anything. By this point there was a line, a long one, waiting for Zulma to return, and then felt like «that guy» the reason people were going to go home and write two star reviews for a supermarket that didn’t ever have enough checkstands open. On her way back to the front I explained that although the Enjoy Life website says that Safeway carries their products in AZ, perhaps it’s not every store. I thanked her for checking and decided tomorrow am I’ll call Enjoy Life and see what’s what. I still put this Safeway at the bottom of my list, trumped by Grant and Silverbell and Campbell and Broadway, but Zulma was a game changer and I love the image I still have of her hauling ass to find healthy chocolate chips.

Pretty nice store onside but they need to take Carr of the exterior better, it just looks iffy. THR inside is nice and the staff is super nice; but you know Safeway, they charge noticeable higher prices and have a very limited selection of fresh and international foods. Vegetables are expensive, and so Is the general merchandise.

I wish I were writing a good review of this Safeway — it used to be my favorite Safeway. It is my neighborhood and I’ve been going there for 17 yrs. For years, employees would greet you and genuinely seem to care whether you were having a good shopping experience. The employees seemed happy, too. The lines were short and and the shelves were well stocked — and the produce was among the freshest in Tucson.
Though I still live in the neighborhood, I now dread going to the store. They have rotated the long time employess out of the store. The remaining ones always look stressed out and seem annoyed when you the customer asks them a question.
The last time I went I stood in an «Express Line for 15 items or Less» for 15 min. When I asked the checker if this was an express line, since the woman in front of me was checking out about 30 items totaling over 100 dollars, he snapped that at this time of night (7pm) I had to take what I could get. Then, he went on talking and laughing w/​the female customer who the 30 items.
When the checker finally got to me, he was very open about his displeasure with me (the custormer) asking whether there was an express line for people w/​fewer than 15 items.
The politeness and genuine good customer service at Safeway seems to be a thing of the past. I head over to Albertson’s now, a mile farther than Safeway. There, I feel that they at least care that I’m paying a customer and it might be a good idea to try to answer my questions with courtesy.

My friend once told me a really good rule that he lives by and that is to never go into a store where one of the letters in the main sign is missing. Too bad it applies to this Safeway… It was a good attempt in the re-​flooring but the rest of the store was too Janky. Safeway club prices aren’t even that competitive when compared to Frys and with a nicer Albertsons a mile away and a much nicer Safeway on Grant I’m not sure why anyone would do the majority of their grocery shopping here. Sure I understand that convenience and location are nice but if I was spending 60 bucks or more on groceries I’d rather spend it at a cleaner/​nicer one.

In their «Signature Café,» they have these really good and filling noodle/​salad bowls and some of them are vegetarian too. So $ 3 for a lunch mmmm.
Safeway has some extremely expensive items like the cheese and they don’t really have the ground turkey/​fish/​shrimp I usually want.
The Starbucks is not that great — the workers usually charge you the price of the similar drinks (you want a misto, we will give you a latte and add for all the extra add-​ins). Sometimes it is a hit and miss with the flavors too.
The staff are nice, but I have never been in a short line — there are always 3 – 4 people ahead of me no matter what time of the day. I think the Albertson’s up the street is a slightly better experience…

I decided to check out the new starbucks inside the store. I wish I hadn’t. Too slow, and I asked for no whip, but I got whip. The only good thing is that starbucks had a promo today, and I got my 2^nd drink that I ordered free!

Finally getting a little cosmetic overhaul, the store is small and had the normal grocery items.
The fact that there are tamale sellers outside the doors doesn’t bother me, in fact I have picked up a few every now and then.
good prices and a helpful staff.

This is one of the old and ugly stores that is still in existence. Time to remodel…