Safeway

This is my go-​to Safeway. For the most-​part, my experiences here are great. They usually have the groceries I’m looking for and checking out is quick and a breeze.
However, at night the self-​checkout area is closed, so you have to wait in line, or push a button and wait for someone to come and check you out. This has inconvenienced me a few times, where I had to wait for either a long line or for someone in the store to get done with what they were doing to come and help me check out.
The worst part of this Safeway is the parking lot. There is often sketchy people in this parking lot and the police are usually patrolling it for that very reason. On numerous times I’ve been approached and run up on in this parking lot by people asking for money or something else. It is a very unsafe lot and I would not recommend children or women come here late at night alone.
Despite those two things, this Safeway gets the job done and I will continue to go here.

I love coming here for lunch and sometimes for breakfast. It’s a hit or miss with the service, I’m a fairly patient guy, but many of the times I’d visit, I’ll be waiting at the counter up to 5 minutes in some cases before I got some help. There is a gentleman that works there who I think is the manager is very friendly and social. Then, all the other times I’m caught working with someone more concerned about other duties and make me seem as if I’m distracting them.

Like a lot of reviewers have said, this Safeway is really lacking behind the competition. They have very limited staff and only open registers during peak hours. Going before work or later at night means long lines at the two open registers. Besides that, the store is fairly rundown looking and dim. The staff is the high point here-​they are always working hard to manage the situation, but it gets to a point where Safeway’s higher prices cannot be justified at this location.

This is definitely a friendlier store than the one on Bellevue Way NE. Large, plenty of parking, good selections.

I usually go to this place a couple time a week in the morning before work. The people stocking the shelves are the most unfriendliest people I have come across in a store. They won’t even move out of the way if you are coming down the isle. Then when you head up to the checker you get the same treatment. If you do go in the early morning and get the bald headed cashier, plan on having all of your Safeway coupons (the ones that get printed out during the transaction) thrown away instead of being handed over to you. Management needs to step up in this store.

I’ve recently been hitting up this Safeway to pick up some snacks for work events. It’s really just like any other Safeway. It has what I need.
There’s quite a few self-​checkout stands so I never have to wait in line with my stuff. The prices are what you’d expect from a Safeway: average. Just be sure you have a Safeway Club Card and you’ll be saving yourself a decent amount on some items.

I use to go to QFC alot since it was closer than Safeway but after doing some hard comparisons & almost getting killed in the QFC parking lot and the Quality service, i noticed Safeway was actually the better option. Here’s what i like and dislike about it.
Food Selection: The selection here is better than any other competitor I’ve gone to. I use to say all the time «they don’t carry what i want» but at Safeway I’m now saying «oh my goodness, they have it». That’s what i like about Safeway. They don’t do what every other store does by having a bigger selection & not getting rid of 1000+ items all at once for close out.
Price: Sales sales sales! More times than none i buy what i want on sale & they have super sales where you buy 4, save 4 on cereal & drinks that i buy often. Unlike other stores where they hardly ever put their best selling products on sale! The cat litter here is 5 dollars where at QFC the same litter is 10 bucks! I’ve saved more money shopping here than i did at QFC.
Deli: Meh. The deli here use to be good but the staff have started making some questionable choices & not to mention service is slipping. The only thing i buy now is the rice & try to avoid buying anything from the deli since it takes them so long to get to me. I waited once 7 minutes for someone to serve me & i was the only person there. Disappointing! ALSO, the person touching my foot DID NOT WEAR GLOVES!!!
Parking: ¾ times we get to park in the front of the store & it doesn’t take long to find a parking spot which is decent! I like where the cart racks are & no one has tried to back into me or run me over. Its easy to navigate around the parking lot.
Service: So far i’ve only had 2 rude employees and about 9 friendly ones at this store. The unfriendly ones are always at the self checkout but there is one guy there who is nice whenever im in. But the deli service like i said is terrible. I hope management fixes that soon.
Self Checkout: The most annoying thing about these checkouts is the «half off» items won’t go through unless you have an employee come up to you every minute to scan the item, scan his card, type in a number and hit ok. It’s so annoying to have assistance when you would rather not have it. Also the weight limit of the machines is bad but at least the bagging area is alot bigger than most places which i absolutely love.
Produce, Milk, Bakery: All of these area’s of the store are clean, open and fresh! The only thing i don’t like is when i go in late in the evening and the milk is all gone. Thats the only trouble of it.
Store layout: Its huge, easy to navigate and everything is displayed nicely. The only thing i don’t like is the front of the store where the carts are. Sometimes people leave the carts infront of the door and it makes getting around them difficult, especially when other customers don’t bother to let you out the door when its blocked. Otherwise i like how big it is.
The Shoppers: Yes, i had to add this selection in here because the customers change the experience about shopping here. There are so many rude shoppers. Some people would dart out right infront of me, making me slam my foot down on the floor, hurting my stomach in the process. Or when they would force me to move even after coming straight at me when i gave them plenty of time to move since i had a heavy cart to push. Rude rude rude! The worst rude customer i ran into was someone who ran into me, knocking me into the shelves and didn’t bother to look back to say sorry. I can’t believe people today. They are terrible! I never had anything like that happen before at other grocery stores. Its something about this place that just doesn’t feel right.
Overall this is a decent place, good products, better prices and ok service. Its a average place to shop at so i give it ³⁄₅ stars and i do come here very often.

WORST Safeway EVER, I watched a homeless black man refesed service by a hysterical clerk who refused to count his change– wtf??? Bellevue hm.

Sucks. Get rid of your manager at the hot foods section. He’s the short guy that is very mean to his employees. I get it, he wants to excel and keep things running and be overly involved but he’s gotta learn to relax and not yell to his employees in front of customers. It makes it awkward for us. Being bossy doesn’t make a good manager. Just a customer opinion.

The stores about as good as Safeway gets. Great mixture of all different types of foods, and even their produce is good. However the employees can be so rude. I’ve have good and bad. Bad at night usually. I was in line and not paying attention because hello there was a divider, and the guy rings my order up with another ladies. HE gets angry and rude and has to re-​ring everything in and once he gets to me is just so rude, it was unbelievable. Plus the Starbucks employees aren’t friendly what so ever. I work in retail, and I’ve no idea how some of those people even got hired. But there are some very pleasant people working there. Just depends on who you get.

This has to be the best pharmacy around for customer service! They are so kind and helpful, polite. The other Safeway in Bellevue is closer to me but they are always so rude and short with you at the pharmacy there. I have to say its worth the drive here for prescriptions and having a smiling face and caring staff! Thanks you guys!

The Safeway on 140^th in Bellevue is one of two Safeway locations in close proximity to my home. I do prefer the Overlake location to this one however, even though they are pretty similar.
The layout of both locations is almost the same. The difference is that this location has a pharmacy and a Safeway gas station. Though the size of the meat and seafood counters appears smaller. Making it seem like floor space was taken from these departments to make space for the pharmacy. The Overlake store without the pharmacy on the other hand seems a bit more roomy as a result and easier to maneuver than this store.
As far as selection goes, it is on par with the Overlake store. But it pales in comparison to the nicest Safeway store in the area in downtown Bellevue. This store could also use some brighter lighting. I do like that this store has self checkout which is not available at Overlake. Especially helpful when the cashier checkout lines are long.
This Safeway is fine for everyday grocery shopping. Though the store ambiance and layout could be better.

Overall, this Safeway is not much different than others in most food aspects, but there are a few issues that I’ve come across that left me frustrated.
Today I stopped there on my lunch break, and picked up a pair of eclairs in the bakery. I’ve gotten these eclairs from many other Safeway stores, and they usually are great. This time, however, I got back to work and found that the eclairs were soggy and wet. I couldn’t even pick them up since the bread was wet mush — absolutely disgusting and unappetizing. It looked like they were previously frozen and then thawed improperly. My treat was ruined and I didn’t have time to go back to get a refund. It makes me wonder about any other bakery items. What’s the point of a bakery section if the bakery items are just pulled out of a freezer and there is no quality control?
Another issue is the limited hours of their pharmacy and sales of Sudafed. I understand the need for Sudafed restrictions to combat meth problems. However, I have major allergies and sinus problems, and the fake Sudafed does not work for me. People do not need a prescription for Sudafed, and yet they keep it locked away in the pharmacy with limited hours. Many grocery stores keep it at Customer Service so customers can buy it when needed and just need to provide ID. Not this store. One day before work I ended up with sinus pain building up and raced to Safeway to grab a box. I searched everywhere and finally asked an employee where I could get some. The employee indifferently told me that I could get it from the pharmacy when it opened hours later. Even when I begged, she acted like she could care less and told me it was only available through the pharmacy. I had to go to Walgreen’s where their pharmacy was already open. I was NOT impressed by the employee’s attitude.
Customer service can make or break a business, and I’ve seen examples where this store’s employees don’t care about the products or the customers.

This was our grocery store growing up, so naturally I give it 5 stars because it brings back good memories.
Safeway will always be my top choice for grocery shopping. They carry everything I need for day to day groceries at reasonable prices. On top of that, I save in between $ .20−1.00 on gas each time I fill up because of their gas program.
This Bellevue location had a major remodel (gotta keep up with the Jones’) and although much more crowded now I still enjoy popping in whenever I am in the area.
Also, I love that they carry some things in their own brand name– like fresh to-​go salads, chips, yogurts, sparkling water, even paper towels! Great prices on these items. AND make sure to upload coupons (both computer and mobile) you will save a lot!

Now THAT’S customer service!
This Safeway is my go-​to gas location for some of the cheapest gas prices in town. One day while filling up, the gentleman working there noticed I had a flat. And he was right… it was reallly flat hahah
My initial response was sh** now I have to go buy a new tire :(
Instead, the attendant there showed me this product called Fix-​A-​Flat, which I believe was just under $ 10. It’s basically a product that sprays foam to the inside of your tire, sticking to the walls, and filling any holes. You then fill your tire back up with air, and drive around for 2 – 5 miles to make sure the foam has been dispersed evenly to the inside of your tire.
I previously had very little knowledge of this product. I was ready to fork out $ 100+ for a new tire, until the gentleman working here helped me out. He connected the tube to the tire for me, and even turned on the air pump to free so I wouldn’t have to feed it quarters. It’s been about 3 months since this happened, and I still haven’t had to buy a new tire.
The high level of customer service from this guy was incredible. He didn’t just save me money, he saved me a lot of potential stress and time. 5 stars for this gentleman alone

I choose this location for getting my gas. In town, they have almost always best deals and their location is convenient. Somehow when there is a tank filling their tanks, there is this smell in the air might be disturbing but you can just go into your car if bothersome. This location is one of my favorites because of the pricing.

This is a typical Safeway. I rarely visit location but I do not remember any bad experiences while shopping here. It’s never a problem finding the items I am looking for and then some.

Shopping for groceries in Bellevue, this one is priced better than the most. I get a lot of better products from Uwajimaya or Trader Joes, but this one usually has things on sale to pull me in there to shop. Consistent cheap bread, cheap produce, cheap milk, cheap drinks.
Customer service depends on the person. There are some great helpful employees there. There is a Russian employee who is kind, but has a Body Odor so robust that I feel like my nose is inside a Siberian Gulag. There is a Angry Dwarf girl who sometimes works cashier/​customer service. A rude little ankle biter, that one is. Don’t ask her the time of day.
Getting to Safeway from the entrance where the Gas Station is, is often congested with not enough physical waiting space for cars trying to get gas, and those annoying signs telling you you can only enter from the opposite side.

Now that my social life is limited by my lack of income [read: I’m super poor], I feel myself inclined to review the sorts of places I’ve often overlooked… grocery stores, for example.
I’m a very picky person, and my boyfriend constantly complains about my need to have name brand cereals, macaroni and cheese, etc… however! Safeway is the one place where it takes considerably less convincing to get me to buy the store brand, because it’s generally pretty damn tasty.
We come here for gas, we usually leave with some sort of meat [for some reason when we come here we always end up craving steak, who knows…] and we’re generally satisfied with the product. I really enjoy Safeway TV dinners, for those nights when boyfriend is late at the office and my lazy ass ain’t gonna cook for just myself. [Only miss I’ve come across so far is the Eating Right Peanut Chicken stuff, I shoulda known that faux-​Thai in frozen form is never good, so I’ll take the blame on that one]
Between this and QFC we have all our bases covered. Ooh, and there’s a Starbucks… on the same block as another Starbucks…

I divide my grocery shopping between my local QFC and Safeway. There are pluses and minuses at both. But tonight I had an experience at this Safeway that may prompt me to stick solely to QFC from here on in.
I went into this store to get 3 – 4 ingredients for a soup I plan on making tomorrow. Of course, outside, I got sidetracked by all the cute pumpkins (and the great prices of them!), so I loaded my cart with ten of ‘em. Inside, the Honeycrisp apples were calling my name, as were the bananas, so I loaded up on those, too. And veggies. Then I went to the meat department to get the main ingredient for my soup. I couldn’t see what I needed. I looked all around the store for someone to help me. I finally tracked down a gal who looked in the display case and said she couldn’t find the cut of meat I needed (heck, I had already looked there. I told her the item was not in the display and must be behind the counter). I was told that the meat counter guys had left for the night (it was only 8pm). But then I saw a guy in a white apron behind the counter! I asked him if he had the item I needed. In a curt way, he replied he was «off for the night», and said I should go to the customer service desk and «maybe» they could help me there.
I was so taken aback by this man’s demeanor and his flat-​out refusal to even look behind the counter for the meat I needed (I wasn’t in the market for some exotic meat, either! It’s not as if I needed the hoof of an emu or something wierd like that! I needed a hamhock for a soup, for Pete’s sake!). I left my half-​full cart right there and took my kids and said, hey, let’s go to the Q where we were sure to be helped. And that’s exactly where we went, and even though the meat guys were gone for the night there, too, there were plenty of QFC staff by the counter who readily volunteered to help me, and they found what I needed right away.
After shopping both stores for many years now, I can safely say that this was not an isolated incident. Yes, the prices at Safeway may be a few cents less than QFC’s on average, but my personal experience is that I’ve always gotten much better service at the Q and the meats, fish and produce are much better at the Q.