Safeway

This grocery store leaves a lot to be desired. It’s generally dirty, poorly stocked, and the staff is rude and disinterested. Aside from convenience and scarcity of options in Southwest, this Safeway wouldn’t do half the business it does. That said, the hot and ready rotisserie chickens are great for a healthy meal on the fly.

My only beef so far with this shop is the fact that they charge customers for plastic bags, and they’re not even of extra quality. How much they charge is not even relevant, but since we have only ever shopped here purely out of convenience on the way back in to VA from MD or DC, it is a fair grievance for us.
On the positive side, there’s parking with a ticket that can be validated in store, and the shop generally looks clean, and the prices seem competitive compared with other Safeway stores in the area. Should we bring our own bags? Will they give us grief? Oh god.

This is the most conveniently-​located grocery store for me but that’s really the only good thing I have to say about it. Aside from location, this Safeway is perhaps the worst grocery store I’ve been to in recent memory.
While the inside is relatively clean and modern, everything from the produce to the customer service is unacceptable. On numerous occasions, I’ve come across produce that is basically rotting on the shelf as a result of being over-​saturated with water and left in place for too long. And while I avoid obviously bad products, I’ve definitely unknowingly purchased spoiled or expired dairy and frozen foods on numerous occasions. In fact, I recently purchased a spoiled item and returned it only to receive another spoiled batch of the same. There’s clearly no quality control in place here.
The store itself seems poorly organized given the ample space available and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the hours of the deli, bakery, or self-​serve buffets (e.g. olive bar). Often there are no staff to be found behind these counters and when I’ve asked about when the olive bar opens/​closes, I’ve gotten mixed answers that seem to indicate it’s essentially on the whim of whoever happens to be working that day.
The checkout counters are almost never adequately staffed during commonly busy hours and lines are exceedingly long at all hours of the day and night. Staff seem generally disinterested in their jobs and even less interested in actually serving customers. The customer service desk itself is intermittently staffed and requires long waits while a cashier calls over whomever is supposed to be working there.
I’d venture to say that there’s a problem with management at this store but upon reading reviews of other Safeways in the area, it seems Safeway has little interest in improving their practices. What a waste.

This store is hood wrapped in gentrified garments. Long lines, unorganized staffing, everyone seem like they’re just there. Customer service like a dollar store.

There is ALWAYS a long line at the registers. Expect to wait at least 15 minutes in line to check out. The produce is lacking and the staff is inattentive (with a few exceptions).
I’m looking forward to the Harris Teeter and WholeFoods which are opening down the street.

I wanted a sandwich so I went in to this Safeway but there was a long line for the delicious sandwiches so instead I wondered around for a while and looked at how nice and clean the store was and then I got one of the pre-​wrapped sandwiches and was pleasantly surprised because it was good then I got on Unilocal and wrote a really long run-​on sentence.

PROS:
— relatively cheap prices
— big store, wider aisles, etc. than other DC safeways
— lots of self checkout lanes (although sometimes they are broken)
— fairly nice staff at regular check out lanes
CONS:
— produce is not great – beware of spoiled foods
— prepared/​deli food selection is just meh

Smaller than the Publixes I’m used to in South Florida. Loved the self checkout. It was a little crazy, because we were there as a snowstorm was about to arrive… although not much different from when a hurricane is on its way here. :-D

It must have improved since these last reviews. It’s not an amazing or heavenly Safeway, but what can you expect from a grocery store that serves a busy city?
It does have wine, and I have never been followed around while shopping. In fact, at my last trip, one of the guards helped me take my bags to the taxi that was waiting outside. To me, a native Sconnie, that’s the kind of hospitality I’m used to.
My only advice is to not go late at night: it’s a popular hangout for high school kids, and that got annoying fast.

Worst Safeway ever. And that’s a low mark to beat.
There are more security guards here than cashiers. Not a single one will answer any questions. They will follow you around the store to watch you shop. They don’t sell alcohol, but no employee would actually answer if they did. The food refrigeration is suspect. Food selection is random and also sucks. As crappy as this place is, you’d at least expect low prices. Absolute fail on every possible level.
I feel sorry for people who have to shop here. Easily one of the worst grocery stores in America.

This is definitely not the ideal grocery store. The service is usually extremely unfriendly, the lines are always long, and it is definitely not the cleanest store. To top it off, they do not sell alcohol of any kind.
Unfortunately, when living in SW DC, this is really the only option that I have for groceries, but it is definitely the worst grocery store that I have ever experienced. Picking a few things up usually ends up taking at least a half hour because of the lines. Every once and awhile you will get a friendly cashier, but most just seem to hate the world. I guess I would if I had to work there as well. One of the highs (or lows, depending on who you are) is seeing what sort of strange people are congregating in front of the store. It seems to be a social hang out and I’ve seen more than one odd person just loitering.
If you can get anywhere else to get groceries, do it. If you are stuck here at the SW Safeway like the rest of us… well, I’m sorry. We’re all in this together.

If you like finding human decency in your fellow man and you appreciate great shopping, head elsewhere.
HOWEVER, if you like seeing a 65 year old Black man in a too-​tiny cowboy hat and elastic chinstrap singing one line repeatedly of, «Down in the Valley,» or you like having unintelligible clerks demand that you remove your own items from the basket that’s directly before them on the conveyor belt, here’s your place!
There are a few wonderful folks here who go out of their way to be of service. They’re spitting in the ocean though… Most of the help here is surly at best, and you’re sure to be accosted by people begging you for money.
This Safeway gets my highest GHETTO rating: 5 of 5 crack pipes.