Safeway

For a big brand store it is quite friendly and staff are very helpful. The staff do not set the prices so don’t freak out on them. I really enjoy the self checkout; there is always a staff member there to assist — I do not know why people complain about that for I am a regular shopper (3 — 5 times per week) and there is always someone to assist. Usually I am on foot then I hop on skytrain, walk or take shuttle bus below on 8^th street to return home again. When I drive I park in the park lot.
I expect high prices — that is the way of the big chain grocery stores. Has a lot of conveniences but people leave the only restroom a cesspool. I don’t understand that at all. Beef and chicken is safe to eat. They sell Jamie Oliver’s sausages. Husband likes that for sure. Produce fresh. There is a pharmacy, potted plants and fresh flowers for sale. Bakery, deli foods and cafeteria style hot food service with a Starbucks to boot with tables, chairs and outdoor area! It is not a restaurant so don’t expect the food to taste 5star. People need to get a grip on reality. Don’t like it? Don’t eat it!
Really helpful courteous people work there and I like that a lot.

This is my second review of this Safeway located in New Westminster Sky Train station:
1. I still have not changed my view about the hot food to-​go deli. The staff are still not wearing plastic gloves and their hair fall over their faces. I’ve been to T&T Grocery in Metrotown and I was impressed with the protection of food preparers and handlers there but Safeway is far from that category. Safeway couldn’t still compete with its neighbor grocery Save-​On for cleanliness and safe food handling.
2. I still think their pharmacy staff are great people except the one I met (again) Rachel. Rachel.Rachel. (Pharmacy Assistant) Very rude, very condescending and inconsiderate of old people. She is a pharmacy assistant and has very poor customer service. She’s dangerous to be working with medications.
3. I checked out the rude deli staff and they must be having a good day as they’ve really been friendly to the customers. What happened?
Perhaps those rude Safeway staff think that because people come from the Skytrain, they’re dealing with thugs. But they should realize that a lot of those people taking the sky train are decent, working people, students, senior citizens, people with cars but find the sky train more efficient and faster so they take the sky train.
As well, many people in that area live in high rise buildings that cost over quarter of a million. Did they realize that? The people around are rich people just taking the sky train?
So stop the thinking that your customers are nothing but Skytrain people thugs. We are rich enough to live in those high rise buildings and pay your union wages. Shame on you.(Rachel)

I used to come here on the way home when I lived in Coquitlam to drop off some empties, get a bus pass and to get some produce if they were on sale. My issue is not with the cashiers who were nice but every time I waited at the customer service booth it was always a long wait when the line was only 2 people deep. They always seem to be under staffed at this location. Actually they seem understaffed at all locations but that’s a story for another day. I used to deal with the same lady every time, all of which she was a grumpy cat. I cannot blame her as the staff are over worked with little to no extra help. I even complained to the manager that the store was understaffed.

Safeway: POOR Quality, HIGH Prices
New Westminster is seriously lacking in grocery shopping options. New West has (includes Sapperton/​Queensborough) 3 Save-On’s, 2 Safeways & a Buy-​Low. All run by
. They love to play pricing games!
Sure this location is great if you ride transit and live close by and can walk to the store, BUT IT IS SERIOUSLY OVER-​PRICED. Everyone knows it too; you can hear the discussions in the aisles. One day I noticed a product that was $ 2 more than the exact same product sold at Army & Navy (canned goods) on Columbia Street, a few blocks away.
I find the worst department is the MEATS. Their ground beef is the most disgusting compared to other grocers. They do not properly separate the meat from the «other stuff». One day I prepared ground beef for hamburgers and the stench was unbelievable. I had never smelled anything like that before it smelled like rotten flesh. It took forever to get that smell out of the house — even with the stove-​top fan going. Another time I found weird tubular looking pieces (veins?) in addition to the hard gristle chunks and other matter that does not break down when you chew — it’s NOT all meat friends! Interestingly enough when I went to Customer Service to report the issue, there was another customer reporting an issue at the same time with another meat product.
The public BATHROOM here is a HEALTH HAZARD — drunks and drug addicts use it leaving behind empty alcohol bottles and bright orange needle caps, with dirty toilet paper/​garbage all over the floor and never mind the SMELL — yuck! When I reported the issue to Customer Service/​Security they have a very lackadaisical approach to my feedback. They always have excuses such as we just cleaned it. But whoever is cleaning it does a poor job because you can see «crud» built up which is accumulated over time. So this tells me that cleaning is not being done properly. Have a look yourself the next time you are in the store. Often times, you’ll find they just put up an «out of order sign» to deal with the issue.
Most staff at the tills are friendly. But the other day I was at the DELI and heard a staff member openly complaining about going on a break and being approached by numerous customers asking for assistance. She mocked the situation by loudly saying that she tells customers, «she doesn’t know» or «go to customer service». The attitude is often poor with some of the more «crusty», hard-​nosed employees. The prepared foods sold in the DELI are INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE and lacking in flavour/​nutrition. Essentially they make foods using poor quality ingredients — like store brand products or expiring foods — and then over-​charge you. The salads are often overdone with excess sauces (e.g. mayo, oils, etc.) which makes for an unhealthy salad which is too runny (e.g. potato salad).
The BAKERY staff are hard to find and you have to hunt for personnel who often don’t have the answers to ingredients (e.g. real whipped cream or oil-​based whip cream, pricing or where the goods are coming from). The Italian Ciabatta buns are previously frozen and put on the shelf. I thought they were made fresh in the store. But this is not the case — SHOULD FOODS BE LABELLED «PREVIOUSLY FROZEN?»
The PRODUCE is nothing to get excited about. The selection is boring and more often than not I’ll purchase fruits that don’t ripen properly or have ZERO FLAVOUR. You really have to be careful when selecting your produce to be sure you are not buying spoiled or rotting items. Especially pre-​bagged items like their red, green and yellow peppers — some are just better than others. I bought nectarines which were on sale and although ripened nicely, were tasteless.
OVERALL I don’t like Safeway. I only go into this location to buy sale items and even then I’m very choosy. I don’t recommend a big shopping trip here. In fact I’ve never seen anyone here with a large shopping cart full of groceries.
Walmart is opening soon at 8^th/​6^th but I wouldn’t get too excited over that since their grocery items are not all that great and their goods tend to come from outside of BC and not «local friendly». Alas, New West has a long way to go in terms of offering quality, nutritional and affordable food options. When I have time (weekends), I’ll go outside of New West to Lougheed/​Commercial Drive/​Metrotown and occasionally, Surrey to do major shopping trips.
In this economy, we have to save $$$.
Happy Canada Day!

I’m not sure how loss prevention agents (read: assclowns) are compensated, but if it’s commission based on how many people you falsely accuse, I guess I can see why they’re so eager.
I bought a greeting card and paid for it using the self-​checkout. Instead of using the pin pad, I decided to tap my card because that takes all of three seconds. I took my receipt and left. As I make my way to train platform, I’m suddenly tugged backwards by my backpack. Honestly, the only reason I didn’t react as any sane person would when they think they’re being mugged – that is, violently – is because I live at New Westminster Station and thought a friend had played a joke on me.
Now I’m being told that I didn’t pay for my card, that a clerk saw me walk out without paying. After the perfunctory «Yes, I did» and «No, you didn’t», I show Robo Rent-​a-​cop my receipt. He then merrily saunters off and I’m left wondering what in the bleeding hell that was all about.
I understand grocery stores will employ plainclothes loss prevention drones, and I will produce a receipt if I am asked to do so – that’s the not the problem. To start with, Assclown didn’t identify himself, his only formal introduction was an accusation, not to mention immediately getting physical. When a scruffy weirdo in a hoodie confronts me, my intent is to hurt him before he hurts me. A simple ‘excuse me’ to get my attention would have sufficed. If I were a smarter, more logical person, I would’ve asked for his name and given Safeway customer service a bollocking right then and there.
Innocent until proven guilty isn’t just a fancy legal term you hear a lot in movies, it’s also a good way to go about behaving with people you think have just stolen something. You may not end up looking like the fool you are.
I’m giving Assclown’s employer two stars because they recycle plastic bags. You morons know fuck all about loss prevention, but at least you’re doing something right.

I used to be a regular Safeway shopper, but not since Sobey’s took over management, and not since my home store (at 6^th and 6^th) was closed, making this my new home store location.
Yes, it is in a Skytrain station, so it is great if you are traveling by transit, and don’t need to pick up anything heavy (ie. 8 lb of cat litter, or cases of pop). However, if, like myself, you are forced to drive either because of poor transit access to your home, or the necessity to make heavy purchases, this store is NOT WORTH YOUR WHILE.
Parking costs money and you have to be organized with change. Yes, Safeway will «reimburse your parking» with proof of purchase, but chronic understaffing means you have to wait 10 — 15 minutes to speak with someone at customer service. Alternatively you can spend the same amount of time waiting in line to ring your purchases through with a traditional cashier who can reimburse your money, but there are typically only 2 traditional lines open (and usually have long lines) while there are 6 self-​serve machines. Either way, it is a huge waste of time, and a pain in the butt, though the consequence of not paying is an $ 80 parking ticket.
Since Sobey’s has taken over, prices have noticeably creeped higher, and selection has diminished, so shoppers with a vehicle are better served by travelling the extra 2 mins to either Save On Foods, or Donnald’s Market.

No long winded review here, good store, right on the skytrain making it the most convenient large grocery store in the lower mainland, friendly staff, a typical Safeway. The parking is a pain but they do reimburse the cost so I can’t complain too much.

Hi, this your Safeway speaking. I contain all of the food n’ stuff of a regular Safeway, but I am surrounded by a big transit station. You might have noticed it as you walked through with feet on the way here from the train or the bus or the street. I am the SkyTrain Safeway! I even sell transit tickets. I am all about the convenience! (There is a parking garage down the mall, but it’s not actually mine, so I don’t think I owe you money if you want to park there and shop here.)
If you need to find something, just ask. If I don’t have it, you can go somewhere else. (I am not your organic/​fair trade/​local niche market store, I am all about the crowd-​pleasing BIG brands.) Oh, and was that you who made a mess in my customer washroom? It’s practically the only one you’ll find «in» a transit station, so take care of my biffy because it can be taken away. Thank you, PSA over. Don’t forget to scan your Club Card for «savings.» Have a safe day and be on your way!

This has to be the worst Safeway on the planet !!! This was my second and final attempt to pick a few things up on my way home. There is No staff on to assist you if you’re looking for something. Only one cashier on so there is always a line up as the cashier moves so slow. Self check outs are useless you end up having to wait for ever !!! for any help when the scanner won’t read the bar code. Where is my 10% off for scanning my own groceries? The bakery department is always a mess as well as the produce department due to a combination of lack of staff and staff not caring at all. Prices are very spendy thought I was in a pricesmart or save on. Produce extremely expensive not worth looking at. Quality doesn’t meet the price. Sorry Safeway won’t be back.

This place can get pretty busy after work hours with lots of people getting off of the Skytrain and heading home. The store is clean, the food and non-​food items are plentiful, and the staff are very helpful. It would be nice if they could open additional lanes when it gets busy but there almost always seems to be a wait in the checkout aisle. There’s plenty of covered parking at this store and it can be validated up to two hours with a minimum of $ 25 purchase. If you’re going to be there for up to an hour and buy any item at the store, you can skip the pay parking kiosk altogether. Don’t try to be sneaky and go to another store instead of Safeway during this time because there are security guards who could give you a hard time (and possibly more).

They forced IGA out of business (come end of June) so I guess I will be using this Safeway. I live just up the hill. I don’t care to pay two bucks for parking even if I get it back. There are frequent issues with no labeling in the bakery or wrong labeling in the deli so you might get a little surprise when you check your items out. It ain’t gonna be less, I can guarantee you.
The staff? Fairly friendly and helpful in a perfunctory way. Maybe internal politics make the job onerous. Not that I care one way or the other if these people made a good career choice or not. Their last contract was ratified at 3 dollars over five years. Bummer, but as I say, so what? I got my own problems.
Too bad I didn’t live closer to Superstore. If you don’t mind bagging your purchases the savings are significant and the deli is fresher and better by far, using the sushi as an example. Nothing worse to me than stale sushi. I mean with the rice hard and fishy tasting.
It is also annoying to be asked to contribute to various causes. I give on the first request and now I’m at the point of asking, «How much did you give?» Seriously, does Safeway match?
Welp, that isn’t a glowing review but if you don’t like it just read some of the gushing ones on top of mine.

Prices make me give an «A-​OK» only. Very convenient location and large selection of products, but definitely on the pricey side even with the Safeway card. Quality is not always there either, especially for fruits and veggies. One-​hour free parking for those who drive.

Great to have this new addition to our neighbourhood. Not always the best alive, the cleanliness, appearance and selection of this Safeway is fantastic. They are giving away tons of Airmiles this first year, spend $ 100 and get 250 Airmiles.

This place is new and it shows.
While the store itself is nice and big and clean, the staff… well everyone seems pretty clueless. I stopped in here on evening on the way home to grab one thing and once I got to the only checkout that appeared to be open I stood there for about 5 minutes while several cashiers debated over who was running that cash register. Once they figured it out, I paid for my one bottle of pop with a $ 20 bill and received $ 18 in change back because apparently none of the registers contained any bills? Irritating.

Since I travel exclusively by Skytrain and the occasional bus, it’s the most convenient grocery store for me. I wasn’t expecting it to be the size that it is but it does have everything I’ve come to expect from a good Safeway. They even have hot Chinese food as well as actual sushi people, which I have only ever seen at the Robson Street store in Vancouver. The Meat Department looks fresh and appealing and it seems this is now the only place in New Westminster one can buy live fresh clams, mussels and oysters from a major retailer. Service wasn’t just attentive, it was refreshingly honest and homey like a small town store. I’ve seen more staff around at other Safeways but suspect since this is a brand new location hopefully that will change. Best time to shop was early to mid afternoon to avoid the post work dinner rush and crush.
On my most recent return trip I’ve been informed Safeway will now cover the cost of your first hour’s parking on ANY store purchase. Even though I don’t drive this might be useful information to those who do. I was told those who pay for parking and have their proof of payment with them at time of check out should mention to their cashier they parked downstairs and Safeway will reimburse your first hour parking. This will not work however with self serve check out though, only with a manned cashier I was told. My barber and the nice Korean folks that own the dollar store uptown with the Lower Mainland’s lowest priced cigarettes both had approached me as a matter of light discussion about parking concerns so I’ve passed that onto them and am glad to share it with all us Unilocalers too. This earns the last star and I’m going to just allow the entire New Westminster Plaza 88 mall development unfold as construction is still ongoing and hope to hear feedback from my fellow local friends.

I don’t know about the parking issue or signage from 6^th but living at the Quay I was able to walk there in less than 5 minutes which makes this a fantastic option. With gas prices the way they are, any reasonably priced grocery option within walking distance the «bomb». I am sure that once all the construction is done. as it’s not, then the parking will probably be better but that is just me surmising.
Anyway, we went today as I had a few items to pick up for my cake decorating class I am taking. When we walked in there was security inside and at both doors, which is so nice. I used to work at the Uptown store many moons ago and because of rampant theft we were never able to use the second set of doors but I digress.
I like this Safeway. It’s your typical Safeway but so much nicer than some of the old dingy ones that one runs into now and again. Most of those have been fazed out but there are a few still out there. When you walk in the doors from the overpass side there is the Starbucks, which if you are going to the train in the morning from the Quay, one has the option of hitting it up there for their morning caffeine fix.
Being that it just opened it was busy but honestly any Safeway is busy on the weekend. What impressed me the most, well one of the things that impressed me, was that they are open at 6am so my husband can pick up a fresh, hot lunch on his way to work. They also carry fresh sushi and Asian food in the hot food area where you will also find the battered chicken.
The other thing that impressed me was their equal opportunity hiring practices. My cashier was an older man who is also hearing impaired. He was über nice and not in the fake way.
I will definitely be back as it’s terribly convenient and less expensive than the IGA.

New Westminster, BC/​New Safeway
What a nightmare. I have no idea who is responsible for signage for the new Safeway in New Westminster, but whomever it is… is not doing a very good job. We entered from 6^th because it said Safeway Entrance… it was the loading area. So we went around Columbia again, just missing the teeny sign saying Parking. So down Sixth again to Columbia to enter the lower parking area. Once in there, we proceeded to where it said To Safeway… only to encounter a dead end. In frustration we drove around the parking lot trying to see where it goes up a floor. Of course, it doesn’t. Then we noticed that it was paid parking. We asked a worker about that and he said Safeway pays for the parking. So we paid and then tried to find our way upstairs… with three other people that didn’t know either. We finally asked another worker who pointed to the stairwell. When we finally got to Safeway with 1 hour parking… we were in a rush and barely saw the store… I have no idea how this is ever going to work… My guess is that we would have to buy 2 hours every time so that we don’t have to worry or rush. Then trying to find our way back down to the car did not work either as the area’s were not marked well… so of course, we got lost again… On our way home we noticed you can enter the parking to the mezzanine area from the overpass but only when going North. I guess when you come out, you would have to go North, as well… taking us away from the Quay where we live. I am not thrilled with how this all looks… nor understand the terrible signage… It was one frustrating day. I suspect we will more then likely go to the Safeway uptown as it is free parking and less confusing… which is unfortunate because we were looking forward to this area being developed.
Thanks