Safeway

Delivery service used to be great, but my last 2 deliveries have never arrived. Far too much time spent on the phone with the customer non-​service department. Time to find another grocery store.

I am giving Safeway four stars because it’s close to home and clean. WiFi extends to the outdoor patio. I am withholding a star because, while this store offers a generous dining area, there is only one electrical outlet, currently loose and protruding from the wall, if you need to charge your computer or mobile. Fix that like I asked and I will add the final star. Quality and variety of groceries is nice though. The combo meals for six dollars are a great, tasty value, as are the «Friday five» deals.

Dear
: I gave you two more chances, even after vowing to myself that I wouldn’t. I am beginning to regret that decision. Customer service is good, the drivers were great the last two weeks, but the problem seems to be poorly trained shoppers. They were the reason I last shopped with you back in October and the reason that today will be the last. I had hoped things had improved, but obviously they haven’t.
Last Week: Minor problem that should not have happened in the way of poor substitution choices. When someone orders coffee in K-​cups, don’t send a bag of coffee beans and call it a substitution; obviously, I can’t use it.
This Week: I specifically stated «Green bananas, please». The ones I got today were green. about 2 – 3 weeks ago. Note to shopper: If pork chops are brown, it is probably not a good idea to select these. And it was obvious through the wrapper that these were not only brown, but crappy end pieces. After a quick smell test, straight to the trash they went.
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me…

Just tried this yesterday as a try out before I use it for my house-​bound Mom. I didn’t order much, got just what I asked for + a few freebies for my first order (water, paper towels and free delivery the first time). The delivery person was super polite, exactly on time and explained the order/​paperwork as it was my first delivery. The only annoying thing was the use of old paper bags (@ $.25 ea) when it’s all put in a bin anyway (like six club sodas). Not very green. I know the price of the bags is due to my county, but I don’t think they really need to bag anything if you are rolling in a bin. Or use those six-​pack totes for things like tall club sodas.

I sooo wanted to love this service, but when the groceries were delivered, ¼ were «out of stock». The delivery gal said I should call customer service for a free re-​delivery. Customer service said there is no such thing — since you need «specialty items» (like tofu and an organic bell pepper) you should walk to Whole Foods.

I used Safeway Home Delivery in the last few weeks and everything went as planned. The iPad app was easy and simple to use. The food was delivered between the hours that I had requested. The men that delivered the groceries were very helpful and friendly. I got exactly what I ordered even-​though I was ok with substitutions… they had the exact items that I ordered. I live in Oakland and the Safeway near my home is a small store. They use the Safeway in Alameda for the items that I ordered so there are more options.
As a working parent this saves me so much time. I saw a few comments about the price but I do this for convenience.

Since that unpleasant episode, a few things have been improved upon by Safeway. It seems like they are trying harder to honor every aspect of my order and I have been happy with my deliveries. They don’t leave me hanging with no substitutions, and they have been really cool about honoring sales prices.
What took place for that to happen was a furious series of emails from me, in an effort to really drive the point home that I just would not accept careless service. They refunded a couple of items and gave me a free delivery voucher, so I feel they really stepped up their game.
For my part, I have made a much greater effort to carefully fill in every substitution box with at least 2 choices, which makes their job so much easier and I have not ordered on a wednesday, so there is no confusion about what is on sale or promotion.
And as someone else said, I LOVE not having to push a cart around a store larger than a football field, wait in long checkout lines, and schlep heavy bags to and from the car. And for me up 3 flights of stairs as well.
I have not tipped a delivery man and no one has ever given me the fish eye, in fact they’re always very polite and friendly, but I think I will correct that, given I really have no complaints at this point. There is nothing worse than offering someone a tip they can’t accept, but I will try. It’s well deserved.

Safeway deliveries from Palo Alto are not good! I’ve used them 3 times, the first they omitted about 10 items, and screwed up the delivery time and the re-​delivery time. The second order they made some weird substitutions, i.e. I ordered snack size bags and they gave me quart size without asking. The third time (I must be nuts) they didn’t bring a couple items, with no mention at delivery time. This store is pretty lame. I’m trying intstacart (who picks up things from Safeway) instead.

I tried this service. Really inflexible. I wanted ¹⁄₃ of a pound of three different lunch meats, I noted it in my order. I got 3 pouds of lunch meats, and Safeway’s response is «TOO BAD, YOU HAVE TO ORDER A POUND»
And the rep could not give a real reason why.
No good SAFEWAY DELIVERY, no good.

Single star for convience. Told this was the store that fufills my home delivery. Broken eggs, dented cans, always missing items. I swear they pick the worst packages of meat for home delivery customers. No point in complaining to help number. Will promise to deduct from next order but never do so. Packers will drop 2 lb bags of frozen shrimp atop loaves of bread. Today received a watermellon flat on two sides. Prices do not reflect in store or ad prices. Heard there’s a class action suit about price gouging. Drivers are friendly and polite. I am elderly, do not drive and walk with a cane. If I had any other choice I would not use them. Not worth the hassel unless you have no other choice.

Calvin is THE MAN here! I don’t know why the reviews are so crappy on here currently (I assume most people review the Safeway itself, so I will copy this there as well) but it makes me want to find out how long Calvin has been here.
My girlfriend and I get many sandwiches from anywhere we can find good ones, particularly looking for Boars Head brand meats and cheeses. While Safeway does not have that brand, we find ourselves here all the time because we enjoy Calvin’s personable demeanor and ability to appear to genuinely care that we get exactly what we are looking for.
When Calvin isn’t at the sandwich side we feel bad/​awkward giving the employee there the «stiff arm» as we go over to the lunchmeat side and/​or peer into the back of the deli so we can flag him down and request him personally. He even cuts his lunch break short to come help us if needed, though we are willing to shop and wait for him.
The others there are OK too, no gripes from past experiences aside from occasional longing for common language speaking, but if Calvin isn’t there we do something else for lunch. Calvin is a perfect example of a guy who goes above and beyond in customer service efforts, in a world which seems to care less and less about such efforts. If he ever leaves, it had better be for a promotion! Writing this has me starving for a roasted chicken breast sandwich, so off we shall go!

Safeway home delivery has changed my life. I LOVE not having to push a cart around a store larger than a football field, wait in long checkout lines, and schlep heavy bags to and from the car. For me, the convenience is well worth any additional fees. I’ve utilized this service about a dozen times and the drivers haven’t once been late. It is worth noting that, although Safeway claims on their site that their delivery guys don’t take tips, I can assure you that they not only DO accept tips, some drivers have been visibly grumpy as they exit my home if they haven’t been offered one. Occasionally I discover rolls or bread in the bottom of the bag under canned goods. Not too smart. Still … all things considered, I really appreciate having this service in my community.

Have tried Safeway’s delivery several times since my last review, and there’s a HUGE improvement in their service. You still don’t know if anything’s going to be out of stock until the driver shows up, but there seem to be way less incidences now, and the quality of the produce, meat and «meltable» items has vastly improved.

Maybe the evaluations of this service depend upon the area in which you live. I’m in Burlingame, and as much as I’d love to be able to join in the chorus of naysayers, the truth is that I’ve had nothing but superb experiences every time I’ve used the delivery.
I was reluctant to use the service initially, because the prices are a bit higher than in the store. However, whatever extra $$ I may be paying for groceries is absolutely worth it. I don’t have a car on a regular basis; and, as much as I appreciate a good workout, schlepping heavy bags of groceries ½ mile from the store to my house while holding on to the leash of my 65-​pound dog is getting old.
No problems at all with incomplete delivery or not showing up – ever. I don’t know how I lived without this service.

Terrible! Second time ordering from here. Should have learned my lesson the first time– Never again!
1. Ordered back in early June. About 4 items missing. Also, the amount estimated online was very different from what I actually paid. Delivery person was about an hour late but after calling customer service, I got a refund on the delivery charge.
2. Ordered mid Dec. About a third of my groceries are missing. Mostly the fresh produce. They overcharged me by 24 bucks by incorrectly ringing up apples! Are you kidding me? They also tried to substitute honey crisp apples for pink lady apples. Not.the.same. I didn’t get eggs because they were «out of stock» Of the cage free ones I wanted. If you’re about to not deliver a staple like eggs, PLEASE CALL FIRST!
Best they could do was schedule a redelivery time the next day with a FOUR HOUR WINDOW. So now I have to wait around for a mistake they made.
If you order from here, make them wait while you account for every single item. Don’t sign anything until you are sure you have all your groceries and you were not overcharged.
Totally pointless to use this service given the screw ups and time wasted. Between the two hour delivery window today, six hour redelivery window tomorrow, and the hour I spent with customer service on the phone, I’d say this is the last time I’ll ever use this service!

You never quite know what’s going to happen when you order from Safeway, but it generally beats staggering through crowded isles of the berkeley bowl with every 50+ female grinning at you when you pass as they use you as a portal to a moment of their lesbian youth.
ummm
thankfully safeway helps some of us avoid social interactions and strifes we choose not be a part of. like hauling groceries up 5 flights of stairs because the elevator is broken again.
i dont know why some folks complain about what they get. there are options to sub products n stuff, or say no substitutions, or simply know better than to order a tomato when you know a gorilla is going to be handling it.
or learn to eat squished produce. it all goes down the same, right?
anyway, 3 stars for convenience, and 1 for the surprise.
please dont stop this service. ever.

I have now placed 3 orders with Safeway’s home delivery service and am very impressed with it. I’ve used a number of different grocery delivery services in different cities, and so far Safeway’s is much better than others I’ve tried.
Here are some of the big pros:
–There are many ways to get free delivery. Most grocery delivery services offer free delivery on your first order. However, after I placed my first order I was emailed a coupon for free delivery, good for a week. I made another order and I was emailed another coupon for free delivery yet again. I don’t know if this will continue or if its just a way to «hook» you, but either way, I’ve already gotten 3 orders with free delivery. You can also get free delivery by purchasing 5 items from a long list of Safeway-​brand products, and you can save up to $ 6 off the delivery fee (which is $ 10 for orders less than $ 150, $ 7 for more than $ 150) by selecting certain delivery windows.
–Speaking of delivery windows, they have ones that are as short as 1 hour long if you have a very inflexible schedule. I’ve never seen delivery windows smaller than 2 hours. If you have a more flexible schedule, you can select a 2-​hour window (save $ 3 off delivery) or a 4-​hour window (save $ 6 off delivery).
–You can place orders for same day delivery as long as you order before 8:30 AM. There also seem to be a lot of available delivery windows, even when you order same day or next day.
–They let you select, individually for each item you order, whether you would like to substitute the same size in a different brand, the same brand in a different size, or make no substitution in the event of unavailability. I’ve never used a service where you can make this choice for each item.
–On-​time delivery. So far every time I’ve placed an order, they’ve showed up within the delivery window. In fact, each time they’ve showed up right near the beginning of the window, which is especially convenient.
–Drivers do not accept tips, so the price you pay when you checkout is the total price. With other grocery delivery services, tipping is expected, so that adds another 10−15% onto the price you pay at checkout and significantly increases the cost of delivery versus shopping in store.
–Service is great. The first order I placed, I had requested delivery from 1:00 — 2:00. I got stuck in traffic and was still on my way home at 1:00 when they called me to tell me they were there. The guy was super nice about it, even though I felt terrible. When he saw that I was rushing to my door to meet him, he said I shouldn’t have rushed and he was fine waiting, even though it was my mistake not his. Talk about service! Everyone else who has delivered my groceries has been very friendly too.
–Prices do not seem to be inflated as compared to the stores (with a few notable exceptions, including milk). Club card specials are applied to online orders, so you can get those discounts too.
–Minimum order is only $ 50, not $ 100 like it is with some other services. If you live alone or with one other person and want a delivery every week to get fresh produce, it can be really hard to meet $ 100 minimum every time (you can only stock up on paper towels so much), so I appreciate the lower minimum.
–All products I have received, including produce, have been up to the same standard of quality and freshness of what is stocked in the store. I haven’t had any problems with moldy produce or anything like that. Refrigerated and frozen items are always delivered very cold, so I don’t worry about food spoilage.
I will definitely keep using this service & highly recommend it to others.

This is the 2^nd time my food hasn’t come. The first came 2 hours late and really disrupted my schedule– I was on a tight schedule that day and paid for a 1 hr window. No apologies when I called customer service who said they called the driver but he wasn’t answering his phone. Really?
I didn’t get an apology from the driver when he arrived. He could’ve called. The CS rep said they have our phone numbers on the order slip. I figured it was a fluke. I ordered from them again. Now they are 1hr and 45 Mins late and it doesn’t look like I’ll be getting any groceries tonight. And get this– their customer service line is closed. Closed at 5pm today even though deliveries go until 9pm. Unbelievable that a major company does this kind of thing. Won’t be using them ever again and going to tell everyone I know not to use them!

I placed a $ 400 order to be delivered between 1−2pm on Friday. It’s fifty-​something hours later and I still don’t have my food. I’ve talked to ten different people on the phone, made countless phone calls, and I still don’t have my food.
I’ve rescheduled twice and reordered once. I still don’t have my food.
The last person I talked to on the phone was around 1pm, she was friendly and cordial. She said that my card had been charged and that the food was on the truck, she then placed me on hold so that she could call the driver. She did, and she claimed that she spoke to him, and he was 30 – 45 minutes behind. That was six hours ago.
Apparently they make deliveries until 9, so there’s a small possibility I may get my food. But it’s 7:45, did I mention that I Still.
Don’t.
Have.
My.
Food.
Update: It is now 10pm, and the food never came.
Last Update: Have upgraded to two stars. Food finally came on Monday. The manager drove our food to us because he was embarassed that it had not come yet. He was a nice guy. Some of the fruit was rotten, but at least we got our food.

It was my first time using the Von’s Safeway home delivery… Being very busy without time to even go to the grocery store, I ordered on-​line, and when the delivery date had passed & i still did not receive my things, i called customer service and asked them what had happened, «something went wrong with the truck, so the truck driver was calling it a night»…
I told the representative to cancel my order because i decided to go to the store myself to purchase what i needed instead. So i went to the store next day, only to come home to find my order has been delivered???
Now I’m sitting at home with 2 sets of everything that i don’t need and not to mention some of the things are probably going to rot, I was very upset when i had called back customer service, they very rude & told me there was nothing they could do, after an hour on the phone with a «supervisor» finally scheduled a pick up date 3 days later…
I definitely do not recommend using Safeway for delivery, just go to the store and skip the hassle!!!