Safeway

Today my elderly auntie and I stopped by this Safeway to buy her a bowl of the freshly made chicken noodle soup. So, I go to get bread and I can hear my auntie asking the 2 young Asian workers who work behind the deli. Auntie’s question when is the «new tub» of chicken noodle soup will be out, since the current one on floor is empty!!. I go back cause I can see my auntie’s face getting annoyed. I asked what was the problem?! The elder Asian woman GAVE me a attitude facial smart ass look and her tone of voice. Saying it will be out in 30min. and Yes! rolled her eyes at me! WTH?!! I took my auntie’s hand and Left… went to Whole foods at Ocean Avenue and bought better made soup with Taste! :D And way better Service!!. Managers, your deli staff just stands around chatting and not being Customer Pro-​friendly. To the Management Team. really is this where your investment goes to employees like these?!. For those who read the other reviews. they are NOT making it up!:(

I have gone in feeling fine and leave angry. One of the worst supermarkets that I avoid and drive further away to get my shopping done. Some staff, no staff, angry disgruntled staff, lots of registers but never more than one or two open. Stocking habitually off missing core items. Shopping carts? Right who needs a cart to shop? There is plenty of reason to have a market here.

Thank you for being convenient, Safeway, by being open ²⁴⁄₇. And thank you for your large array of organic options. However, those are about the only positives I can give this store!
The worst part of shopping here is that it takes you longer to check out than it does to actually go shopping! The check out likes are always down isles and clog up the whole front of the store. They need to open more registers and figure out a more efficient system!
The store also desperately needs a cleaning!!! Desperately!!! I’ve seen on many occasions (5+) a rat running through the store isles or over the fruits/​vegetables. Yuck!

Terrible management.
Went in today to get one item at 5pm after work. Did some shopping. Went to get the item (batteries) but found them behind a lock box in the front of the store. I waited in front of the lock box for 5 minutes, keeping an eye out for an employee to assist. No employees passed by or offered to help. I checked the nearby western union desk to see if anyone there could help me, but no one was at the desk the entire time. Finally I had to interrupt a cashier to ask for assistance. She said she was sending someone… he went to the WU desk and then disappeared for another 5 minutes. Finally an employee showed up at the WU desk. I asked her about opening the lock box… she couldn’t find the key. Then the guy that was trying to help said that they’d lost the key… they did not have a spare. He said he would have to go ask the manager for assistance, so I asked to speak to a manager to complain about the lack of employees in the FOH during peak hours. The manager was unable to speak to me, so I left without purchasing any items.
Shame on you Safeway management for being short staffed and disorganized!

Don’t like this Safeway, there was a rude brown hair cashier female person when I went to this grocery store on 11÷08÷15. Only went here because parents like this place, and it’s closer to were we live me not so much favorite place to shop for grocery.

2 Words. Organic produce. Their organic section is bigger than Castro Safeway! Thank you for being the first market in the hood to offer organic.

Don’t shop here. It’s hideous. Thanks to William in produce — the only smiling employee in the whole place. This is a store of misery; shop elsewhere.

I hate this store period bad management
Always a mess and people are very arrogant
And don’t want to help

Wow corporate you guys need to check this branch like now. I came here looking for vanilla sweetener I nicely asked the worker if they had any more bc they were exposed. She to a coworker of hers had a chat (not related to the product) n said no befor I could ask her to check the back room or get me a step stool (I’m 5.3 and the product is in the top shelf) she said that the product still good and expiration dates don’t matter. I work in retail n I know that’s not what you say to customers! I knew there was more in the back of the shelf but I count reach it and no employe helped me.

I live about 15min walk from this store. And I just move to SF so don’t have a car yet. Basicly this is the only store I go to. Anyway, I never get what I need in this store. Too many people inside. Customer center never has a person in it. I mean I need to go this store for grocery but as soon as I got a car, I’m going to other ones.
I saw a lot of negative review for this, but they never change. I think is because even though it is a dump, people still need to go. If there is no person going anymore, they will start to change a little.

Someone told me that when they have the sign no money orders it’s not that the machine is not working but it’s due the long lines and they don’t make much money from it so the use that person to help near the checkout. Doesn’t seem fair they can go back when their line is done.

Are there negative stars because this place deserves 5 negatives!!! We waited in line for over 30 mins because the manager refuse to hire more cashiers. Every single weekend this location is like this. For a densely populated area like this, they should be well prepared for a busy weekend. This is the last time I do any shopping at this location!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!

This Safeway is always a nightmare. Plan for a ½ hour wait whenever going. Lines can easily take double that. I’ve waited upwards of 30 minutes before walking out.
As far as products, their selection is limited compared to other Safeway locations. For example, they only carry the most basic of staples. One such example is baked beans. They carry regular, but not vegetarian.
Other than their lack in adequately representative market selection and the lines, they are acceptable in a pinch with a ton of time to wait.

Probably one of the worst safeways there are. There is always a long line. They never have all the registers open. They need to start doing the threes a crowed again. No matter what time I go, morning noon or night there’s always a long line.

You can tell the Safeway corporation doesn’t prioritize this store. They are always out of basics, like half and half. Sometimes entire sections are empty.
(I do remember this store before the remodel, when it was a straight-​up mess, so it actually has gotten more organized.)
Good luck finding cage-​free eggs or any other similar products. The most dominate brands are the terrible in-​house labels like «Open Nature» and «Lucerne.» I once bought some Open Nature crackers, not realizing they were Safeway brand, and they were so awful I actually tried to return them. Unsurprisingly, Safeway doesn’t stand by their products and wouldn’t take them back.
The employees are nice, skilled, and do their best, but as others have said, they have to deal with the same endless lines we customers do. There should definitely be more workers during peak hours.
As for the Unilocalers complaining about people selling tamales outside– give me a break! I’m sure those tamales are 100x better than whatever prepared garbage this supermarket is selling!
Also, I have never met anyone who refers to the area as «Mission Terrace» and there is def. no «Outer Mission.» There’s the Excelsior, and there’s Crocker Amazon, which starts at Geneva.
That being said, the Excelsior residents (and the Safeway workers) deserve a better store.

My star raring does not match the chicken pic, that’s for sure. They would get the full 5 if it weren’t for the Filipino guys in the deli. Frustrating. I’ve been standing here for almost 10 minutes and they don’t even look over to say they’ll be right with me. I’m normally the type to cuss someone out but since this is my local Safeway and I’m a regular to everything but the deli, I’m keeping my cool.
Anyhow, avoid the deli if you see older Filipino men.

I’m probably being overly generous with the stars here, but this store ain’t that bad, and you’ve got to look at the overall picture.
The positives
Employees– Some are actually really friendly and nice, which is amazing when you consider all they have to put up with for not a lot of pay. I was reading the police blotter once and it said one of the store managers got punched in the face by a would-​be shop-​lifter! I’ve also heard them take a lot of abuse from rude customers, and still, they’re mostly polite and even make me smile sometimes.
Inventory– decent selection at reasonable prices. Lots of stuff on sale, though it doesn’t always seem to compute the way I was expecting at the checkout (I’m not the type to catch it while they’re ringing me up, but occasionally notice on the way to my car when it’s too late). I also get items that were on sale without me knowing it, so it kind of goes both ways.
The negatives
Checkout– If you’re there between 4:30 — 8:45pm you will almost assuredly get stuck in a very long line at checkout. The lines are short (or non-​existent) before 3pm. You just walk right up and they’re checking you out as you put your stuff on the belt. Evenings are a total nightmare. They should know that’s when people are getting off work and shopping for their dinner, but they seem to have the same number of checkers at 7am as they do at 7pm.
In the evenings they often have only one normal line open and two or three express lanes. Once a checker told me that the express lane rules don’t apply after 8PM (and another time a checker said the same thing to someone telling the person behind me to get out of the express lane). If that’s the rule, they need to say so on the sign. I went in the express lane after 9pm with about 20 items once, because there was only one normal line open open and three express lanes. The lines were all really long by the time they rung me up, and I felt like such a jerk, I haven’t done that since.
They really need to fix their scheduling so there are more checkers during peak hours, and there should never be three times as many express lanes than regular lanes open.
Sidewalk solicitors– Between rogue signage in the parking lot (just tacky) pan handlers, fundraisers, the occasional campaigners and those d@#n tamale peddlers, getting into the store can be a hassle. I know– the tamale ladies are just trying to make a buck, but you can’t just nod them away– they continue their sales pitch until you say «no thank you» and they get you both coming and going.
It may seem trivial, but I’m going shopping, I don’t want to have to acknowledge them and be polite. They’re right in your face, still trying to make a sale after you’ve already given a non-​verbal response. Plus they aren’t permitted; they have no health department oversight. They’re selling food they’ve prepared by hand at home and selling it out of a grungy looking cooler. How do I know they don’t make them on the same counter they use to change their baby’s diaper?
And lastly– while the store seems pretty clean, they have some pest problems. I know, cities have vermin, but on two occasions they had rats in the parking lot that were so big I thought they were cats at first glance. The first one I saw was drinking from a pool of anti-​freeze in a parking stall, so problem solved. Recently a HUGE one leapt out of the bushes right in front of me and scurried over to the backside of the building where I lost sight of it. They also have tons of flies buzzing around the deli section during the summer, but I’m not sure what they could do about it.
I wouldn’t shop here if it wasn’t so close to my home. But considering what they have to work with, I think they deserve 3 stars.

Worst Safeway ever. As in 45 minute wait to check out. How slow could an employee possibly be? I’m not exaggerating that the cashier has left my line and has been gone for 5 mins while I’m sitting in line writing this review. Like seriously how does Safeway corporate not come in and shut this store down for the simple purpose that it destroys the Safeway reputation. The DMV is managed better then this Safeway. I’m going on 23 minutes in line and I’m still backed all the way in the frozen food aisle. Please if you work here or if safeway inc reads this review please clean house. Shut down. Re group. And install plenty of self check out stands since your current employees are incapable of handling a weekday night crowds.

This Safeway almost never has got soup to go. That’s a big slap in the face when I was really craving soup and didn’t want to get the cold one. Not sure why they even have the warmers out and falsely display them.
Aside from that, this is like your any neighborhood supermarket. Crowded around the holidays and weekends. There’s usually people right outside the door selling chocolate or pupusas right out of a cooler.
Being right next to a busy street, it can be tough to get on because the entrance and exit is located on the busy street that is Mission St. Be careful trying to leave because this location is notorious for car accidents.

I love this Safeway like a mother loves her child no matter how ugly it is. It might seem ghetto compared to others, but it doesn’t deter me from easily saving up to 50% off my grocery bill every time I shop here.
I always use Safeway’s website to load coupons from the weekly ad onto my Safeway card that get automatically applied at checkout. The Just for U Program online offers additional discounts based on your shopping history that can also be loaded onto your card. I pay $ 0.59/lb. of bananas instead of the regular $ 0.79/lb., for example. The $ 5 Friday deals also provide great savings, and they can be extended for the whole weekend by simply loading the Friday deals onto your card.
Check out the clearance rack they occasionally have out near the pharmacy. They mark up to 50% off items like granola bars, cake mixes, dog food, and more to clear their current inventory for newer items. I saved a great deal stocking up on snacks when they had $ 1.50 boxes of five-​count granola bars.
Make sure to check your receipt before leaving. Sometimes I accidentally buy the wrong items that look similar but aren’t actually on sale, or they might have made a mistake inputting the item. Getting a refund at their customer service desk is quick and easy.
Some might consider it a ghetto Safeway, but it’s still my ghetto neighborhood Safeway! I just shop during daylight to be safe.