Safeway

The deli station says it’s open at 5am. What a load of lies. I come in here at 730 am and they still aren’t prepared. I have been helped by Ann a couple times and she is terrible at customer service. Really slow anderson’s unorganized. Would not recommend.

Pros: Reasonably fast lines, decent selection
Cons: You play Russian Roulette at the Deli
The deli department has some good employees and I salute them.
However there are also some astoundingly incompetent ones, I mean completely and utterly feckless. Several times I’ve waited 15 minutes or more to get a sandwich. Sometimes no one can work the register properly. Maybe they could get an abacus?
One of the ladies there cannot speak anything remotely resembling fluent English — this presents a serious impediment to effective communication when dealing with the public. You have to tell her the same thing two or sometimes three times. The other day they ran out crackers to go with the hot Clam Chowder soup. 5 minutes later the same lady comes back to say that they’ve run out completely. OK, couldn’t you grab some of the shelf I thought. I knew that would confound her so I didn’t say it. I then tell her that all the soup is tepid. Blank look. «Not warm,» I venture. Blank look. «The soup, its not hot.» Vacant stare. Facepalm.
How do you hire somebody whose job requires constant interaction with the public who can’t speak English? Is it my fault should I have requested an interpreter perhaps? Does this make me an insensitive bastard in contemporary society? Fine, guess I’m a bastard for believing in standards.
Not truly germane to this store but Safeway in general: Safeway has gotten rid of its buy 8 sandwiches and get 1 free perk. Its always interesting when companies take away services or perks and replace them with nothing.

How sad that the old CEOs idea of pumping profits by adding a «lab» in pharmacy with only clean bathroom still has not been resolved
Really?
Tell me why NOBODY can use them? When customers sue for falling on boxes in storage area to get to bathrooms they may learn but I’m hitting trader joes and lunardi’s more consumer focused and consistent staff and mgmt I do remember the promise yrs ago to give phone number and no more coupons –total amnesia — they now track your purchases-​big brother anyone?
Just waited in line for 15 min at end of day for rx –I GET it that everybody comes in at end of day but to be told that I could just come back again the next day for generic antibiotics with no apology is crazy customer service –I can go elsewhere (like 5 doors down to cvs) and at least they would call you to save a trip when out of meds! Not too client focused
Bathrooms in pharmacy still only to be used by pharmacy staff — how client focused

I usually like this store but today they over charged me by $ 23. The cashier’s name was Cheryl. I was not too surprised by the mistake because she was trying to do book work while checking my groceries.
I will give them another chance but I will always check my receipt before leaving the store or parking lot. And I may try and not go to «Cheryl’s» line either.

. Got some gatorades and some vitamin waters. Clean store but no self check out :(happy thanksgiving!

My experience at the Safeway Virginia Hills today made my day. I was looking in the produce department for snap peas for my dogs. I could not find the size i wanted. A gentleman was inspecting the heirloom tomatoes, noticed me, and asked if I found everything I was looking for. After initially saying yes, I said «actually no, I am looking for sugar snap peas.» He started walking me over to one area, and I mentioned that I wanted the packaged sugar snaps. Cut to the chase: he spoke with Liz about availability, determined that they were out of the size I wanted, and chose to not charge me for the larger bag! I later determined his name is Steve and he is the store manager. This was a wonderful service experience for me at this Safeway! Hats off to Liz and Steve!

This review is for the deli department…
Lea made the sandwich and was very rude. She offered to ring it up there at the deli and I said okay. She slammed the sandwich on the counter and didn’t say a word, just waited for me to swipe my card. After I got home, the sandwich was very sloppy and not put together well at all. When she sliced the bread in half long ways, it was so uneven that one of the halfs was mostly bread and the other had all the filling. The tomatoes were so watery that the sandwich was dripping liquid. The turkey, bacon, avocado is usually my favorite sandwich and I’ve never been so disappointed by a Safeway employee! If it was just a poorly put together sandwich, I’d probably let it pass and assume she was still in training. But there was no reason for her to be so rude to me right from the start! Never going to this deli again.

I don’t know what words can explain this place. The line is always filled up so much it’s backing up the aisles. I can’t stand this place. And not to mention they had to close for 15 minutes to count the drawers… WHEN THERE WAS A LIME OF PEOPLE.

The new manager at this Safeway has really raised the bar for service, cleanliness and fully stocked shelves with a great selection. This Safeway has one of the very few «grocery store» deli counters that doesn’t look or smell greasy. The floral department is first class, as is the produce dept. and meat counter. This Safeway has a yogurt selection that equals or beats «WF» or «TJ» markets. The bakery is fully stocked and extremely clean, and where else can you still buy a full gallon of Carlo Rossi in a reuseable glass jug? …Not even Bevmo offers them anymore, that’s real class !!

As Safeways go, this one’s good. Always has parking (even if one has to navigate carefully due to the abundance of senior shoppers), carries Semifreddi’s sourdough (essential!), and has a little sushi selection (it’s low-​quality, but better than that prepackaged «spicy» roll most Safeways carry AT BEST).
The staff here is really personable, and the check out experience is rarely too long. I come here rather than the one nearer my home by 6 miles because that one is so gross. YAY for a decent Safeway!

What a joke! Waiting in line for 10 minutes behind one person while the checker goes at an extremely slow pace. Then she has to recheck my groceries twice cause she screwed up! How does anyone screw this up? Empty carts and boxes in the aisles. Difficult to get around. No one at customer service! I will shop at a nicer store in the future. Safeway is awful and I don’t think albertsons is any better. I wish there were better shopping choices around here!

My main complaint in my previous review was the Cashiers. I have to give them credit where due, things HAVE improved. I was shocked to see nearly all the registers open today, when I went there after 5pm, during the peak of after-​work shopping. Lines were still backing up into the isles, and causing a bit of a traffic jam, but the cashiers seemed to have bumped up their efficiency a bit. You still encounter «moody» cashiers sometimes but it is better than it was before. Since the Cashiers were my main complaint before, I’m going to bump this up to 4 stars. The deli, pharmacy, and selection of items continues to be very good. I’m happy that going to this Safeway has (mostly) become a positive experience once again.

CHECK THE EXPIRATION DATES ON EVERYTHING!!!
We bought a lot of groceries from here two days ago. Today we noticed that some of the food that we bought is expired. Not just by a few days, but by months.
I called the store to let the manager know. He offered me a refund and said he’d take care of us if we came back in, but that’s probably not going to happen.
If you shop at this location, make sure to double check the expiration dates on your items.

I’ve visited this Safeway about 50 billion times, I stop in at least twice a week, and do my Sunday morning grocery shopping here. This store is an institution in my life!
My only complaint, and it could just be because I tend to visit the store around 8:00 am, is that it always seems like employees are restocking, and it can be tough to navigate around their many boxes, etc. But they are always polite and helpful, and will step out of your way or even grab your item for you if that’s easier.
Great deli and bakery, and well stocked on all shelves — I don’t recall ever coming here to hunt for something and not finding it. Ok, one thing — the bakery no longer makes their amazing fresh hot dog buns! I hope they bring them back soon.
A clean store, with ample parking, and friendly faces ringing you up always. A big store, with a neighborhood feel. I will be back again and again, guaranteed!

Besides the fact that this Safeway is just 100 feet from work, it’s also clean, and with friendly employees. The reason I LOVE this Safeway is because of there deli department and more importantly there sandwich makers. I love Safeway sandwiches but never had one this good. I get the Philly cheese-​steak sandwich. They just pack it with the meat, cheese and peppers with onions. Just awesome and done in just minutes. The employees chat with you and are very friendly and just make you feel good about shopping at there store. I love this Safeway.

I come here way too often that the staff has asked me, You are back again?
I like this safeway because it doesn’t feel as large as the others and I don’t feel as lost or that I am wandering around the entire store looking or something I have passed 20 times already. Why can’t all Safeways be the same?

I understand this store is a very old building. but there were 2 occasions that i visited when first moving to Martinez last year that I bought expired items and found molded produce while shopping.
There is a lack of pride in this store.

This Safeway is located conveniently along the route between Pleasant Hill Wine Merchants and my parents’ house. We have stopped by on a number of occasions (after wine tasting) to pick up cheese and crackers or fixings for a dish (to take to my parents’ house). Parking is not usually a problem and the check out lines move quickly.
As Ivy R pointed out, this store does seem a bit dark inside and some aisles are a bit cramped. They do have a nice produce section and a large deli section, including a large display of olives and other salty antipasto goodness. I like that you can just buy what you need, as opposed to having to buy a whole jar of sun dried tomatoes, pepperocinis, etc.

I don’t get to venture into the «Good» part of Martinez very often. The air seems fresher and cleaner over on this side of the hill.
Anyway, I thought it was very strange that there was two Safeway’s on the same street. Now I realize that they are very far apart and obviously for two different parts of town.
This Safeway seems darker on the inside than the other one. Some isle’s that are open and large at the other one are cramped and crowded at this one.
I did like how they have an open butcher section. I would have put in an order for 4lbs of ground beef but the two butchers who were working behind the counter didn’t even acknowledge me. I was the only customer in a 12ft radius. I just walked over and bought a prepacked 3 ½lb pack of ground beef.
This place is a little out of my way so I don’t think Ill be venturing over to the «Good» side of Martinez very often.

This is the Safeway I stop at if I’m on the way to Gayle’s house. As it turns out, none of the Safeways I shop really impress, but this one is a personal favourite over the counterparts near downtown Martinez or even Pleasant Hill (off Contra Costa Blvd).
My only concern is that like the Albany and Pleasant Hill Safeways, the sandwich line can be slow and they always seem to be out of some key ingredient. Otherwise, it’s convenient parking, relatively quick lines, friendly staff, and the usual albeit basic Safeway experience.