Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Rant- Safeway – Never Again
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April 26, 2011 at 5:37 pm #598741
AlkiRagdollParticipantThis morning on my way to work, I stopped in at Jefferson Square Safeway and picked up some incidentals and two boiled eggs for breakfast. When I got to work, I opened the plastic container with the two eggs and found that the eggs were frozen and ROTTEN. It made me physically ill. So I went home and stopped at the store on my way to show them what they had sold me about an hour earlier. I was sent to three different people, with the last the manager (yes, I have met the forum rules). No apology from the manager for this experience. Yes, these eggs cost less than $2, but they were ROTTEN -stinky smelly sewer smelling rotten. When I explained that this was THE MOST DISGUSTING EXPERIENCE, she mumbled what I assumed was my apology. I will never shop there again. I firmly believe the Jefferson Square Safeway should be closed and the building demolished.
April 26, 2011 at 6:13 pm #723199
ConcernedHedonistMemberThanks for sharing. Hold your ground and don’t go back. +1
April 26, 2011 at 6:18 pm #723200
JoBParticipantlove the Roxbury Safeway…
April 26, 2011 at 6:37 pm #723201
DPMemberI firmly believe the Jefferson Square Safeway should be closed and the building demolished.
If two bad eggs = store closed and demolished, what would the punishment be for, say, moldy bread?
I know! A Predator drone strike on corporate headquarters. Yeah, baby!
Hm . . . [scratching head]
Should we get NATO involved in this, do you think? Or will they just botch it?
April 26, 2011 at 6:38 pm #723202
CaduceusMemberThis happens at both Safeway and QFC. In my months at working at the new QFC we had ~3 people every day bring in rotten QFC brand milk that shouldn’t have expired for at least another week and a half.
I still prefer Safeway because even though most things are still overpriced it’s still cheaper than QFC.
April 26, 2011 at 7:52 pm #723203
happywalkerParticipantI think the Roxbury Safeway is discusting…the fridge where the milk is kept is smelly,stinky and just gross. The conveyer belt where you put your items before they are checked and the plastic dividers and nasty (I HATE TOUCHING THEM). Yes I have spoken the a few checkers, they didn’t seem to notice or care. I don’t go anymore.
April 26, 2011 at 8:57 pm #723204
hammerheadParticipantI wasn’t aware that there was a female manager at JS Safeway – ?
April 26, 2011 at 9:02 pm #723205
HelperMonkeyParticipanthad the same thing happen at the Jefferson Sq Safeway – except it was a deli tray for a party – the kind with lunchmeat and cubed cheese. When I got it home, I noticed that it had expired more than a month before. When I took it back, I went to grab another one and noticed right above me a package of beef jerky for sale that had been opened and was one big mound of mold on the inside. I took that up to the customer service rep along with my expired tray for return – they did not care. Not even one bit. That was the last time I ever shopped there – it’s been 3 years.
April 26, 2011 at 9:35 pm #723206
JiggersMemberI’ve always hated the Jefferson Square Safeway, they got nincompoops running the place. Lack of service, overpriced, and not enough space to bring more oompetative products in.
April 26, 2011 at 9:38 pm #723207
WeezieMemberWith the tons of food that move through that store every week, I can imagine that there are a few “bad eggs.” Stuff happens. I’m going to save that level or ire for something REALLY important.
April 26, 2011 at 10:35 pm #723208
austinMemberProbably a good idea to check the expiration date on things before actually eating them / taking them home.
April 26, 2011 at 11:07 pm #723209
MargLMemberI always check the expiration date on things, even in Thriftway! I’ve found expired cheese on the deli shelves and have had bad produce.
And from Safeway (Roxbury) I’ve had a pepper that looked absolutely fine outside, but cut it open to find a large colony of mold, and apples that are brown inside… It happens. Most stores (including Safeway) have a return policy – but in this case it’s probably not that it _could_ be returned – it’s the employee/management reaction at having something returned.
A “Sorry you got a bad egg (heh) here’s your refund (smile)” would go a lot farther for customer relations than an apathetic grunt.
April 26, 2011 at 11:30 pm #723210
TDeParticipantDave is the Manager at the JS Safeway… unless he was replaced in the past week… and he’s always been really good about problems. A couple of times over the years I’ve returned meat or something that hasn’t smelled right and they’ve always replaced it or refunded me immediately, no questions asked. Sometimes employees forget to pull expired products or sometimes stores get deliveries of bad food… stuff happens at even the best businesses. The important thing is that they make it right for you. Ask for Dave and see if he listens. I would imagine he would want to know if there’s a problem he needs to address.
April 26, 2011 at 11:44 pm #723211
RarelyEverParticipantI just bought a box of grapples (grape-flavored apples – don’t ask, they weren’t for me) there yesterday, and when I opened it all four of the apples were soft and shrivelled. I’m not even going to try to take them back and have them replaced. Metro and PCC only from now on… never had any problems with either one of these stores.
April 27, 2011 at 12:26 am #723212
AlkiRagdollParticipantInteresting similar experiences of others. It was bad (really bad) that I got sick from the smell and “juice” that came out of the egg onto me….. but what took the situation over the top was the reaction from the manager. I first went to the deli, they sent me to the single cashier on duty (at 6:45am) who then had to page the manager. When she showed up, she was rather disheveled. I probably could have gotten over it (after my soured stomach had calmed) if the “manager” had been kind, reassuring, asked if I was ok, and done more than mumble after handing me my money back. I own a service company, and there was nothing about the “manager” that provided service. In the service business, we recognize that less than 1% of our customers give us meaningful feedback. If you have a bad situation for 1 customer, you usually lose 2 or 3 for that one bad incident (people share experiences, particularly those among neighbors). Clearly this Safeway has not properly trained their staff, and they deserve to be closed. I stand by my comments about closing and demo’ing… tho’ a NATO strike would be pretty entertaining… as that’s sure what my stomach felt like after this “pleasant” experience.
April 27, 2011 at 12:42 am #723213
johnnyblegsMemberThe parking lot alone is enough to keep me away.
April 27, 2011 at 3:33 am #723214
pigeonmomParticipant“The parking lot alone is enough to keep me away.” Me too!
April 27, 2011 at 3:54 am #723215
GenHillOneParticipantIt’s better than the Admiral Safeway’s lot ;) I’ve never had problems with Jefferson Square, but I’m pretty vigilant about checking dates at any store; I shop ’em all.
April 27, 2011 at 5:53 am #723216
Rod ClarkMemberFor anyone in the habit of buying chicken or turkey from Foster Farms, here’s how to check how many days it’s been sitting around since it was packed. QFC, for example, sets the pull date 13 or 14 days after FF’s pack date.
(The only reason I picked on Foster is that they put the pack date on the packages. In itself, that’s a good thing. But you can’t expect them to be able to produce very good chicken at those prices, even the first day it arrives on the shelf.)
QFC, especially at Westwood, is in the habit of maintaining a large and impressive looking shelf stock of these birds. But the larger the pile, the less of it is fresh on a given day.
FF sprays the pack date onto the front, like this.
2011102
2011 day 102 was April 12.
2011 day 103 was April 13.
Today is the 26th, the likely sell-by date for those birds. You might well buy a package of turkey today that’s been sitting around for two weeks.
Poultry should be like fresh bread. It’s walking around clucking at dawn. Shortly after, it’s packed and on its way to the store. It’s on the shelf at midday, and on my plate for the evening meal. After suppertime, if there’s any left on the shelf (and there shouldn’t be much), mark it down to be sure of selling it by the time the next day’s shipment arrives at midday the next day. When it does, if there’s still any of the previous day’s stock on the shelf (and there shouldn’t be), give it to the food bank.
I’d like to see 365 inventory turns a year on poultry. Lots of two week old chicken and turkey reaching its expiration date while on a store’s shelves means that something is lacking in a store’s conception of fresh food.
In addition, if the poultry always turned over completely every day, the producers wouldn’t have to soak it so much in that vat of chemical antimicrobial solution before shipping it out for a two week vacation on the store shelf before you eat it.
April 27, 2011 at 4:07 pm #723217
JiggersMemberThe best way to actually tell if raw chicken or meat is bad is very simple. If you aren’t even sure or skeptical about the pull date, use your NOSE! The package it’s in often spoils along with it, but the butchers know this so they’ll repackage it so it still looks fresh even if the date is a day a way. They can’t fool an old pro like me though. Jefferson Square Safeway produce is the worst around. It always looks like a hurricane went through it and even if the lettuce is lined up and looks neat, it literally falls apart when you touch which is not a good sign. I look at the root(the bottom of the lettuce )for freshness first other than the leaf itself.
April 27, 2011 at 5:21 pm #723218
WSMomParticipantI gave up on Safeway after several instances of ridiculous customer service blunders. Dave the manager is a decent, nice guy, but somehow he’s surrounded himself with frustrating employees. I didn’t give up easily, I complained by phone and letter…but I’m not surprized that other’s have encountered the “bad eggs”. I’m now loyal to Thriftway, QFC and monthly Costco trips.
Thanks for the heads up on Draper chickens fresh dates. Good to know.
April 27, 2011 at 5:23 pm #723219
redbeard36ParticipantNo problems with the store itself but I agree about that horrible parking lot; I avoid that location like the plague.
April 29, 2011 at 12:51 am #723220
AlkiRagdollParticipantDay 3 and holding fast to my avoidance of Safeway Jeff Square. Monday at 9am I sent an email to Safeway’s national consumer department…. no response, and guess I should not hold by breath.
April 29, 2011 at 6:12 am #723221
jego_misiaParticipantmy only issue with the Jefferson Safeway is they got a new deli person who is VERY unhelpful… hubby & I went in at 7PM (deli closes at 9PM), asked for several things & the gal would NOT cut anything for us because “the slicer was being washed” (no, it was not…) any of the other deli staff are always apologetic & ask if I can wait while they slice things for me, but this girl apparently doesn’t know what good customer service is… I realize it’s 2 hours from closing, but umm… 2 hours… I can understand if I come in like 2 minutes before they close, but not 2 hours. Oh well, their meats are still better than QFC’s IMO (and cheaper).
April 29, 2011 at 2:04 pm #723222
redblackParticipantspeaking of eggs, the missus got some farm fresh from a friend on vashon last week, and they were incredible compared to factory-farmed eggs.
alkiragdoll: i’d recommend getting some fresh eggs at the farmer’s market this sunday and boiling them ahead of time for your breakfast or lunch. i guarantee you’ll be off of factory-farmed store-packaged eggs for life.
and for the record, i’d bulldoze that building, as well, if only because of the parking lot. the whole thing is designed poorly, and i’m sure having the loading dock at one end with the stock area spread across the back of the store makes for some bad inventory control.
rod clark: well-said. grocery stores are a good example of an industry trying to drive demand. if they didn’t oversupply, maybe they wouldn’t have so much “shrink,” which losses are passed directly to the consumer.
and maybe foster farms should spend less on advertising and more on quality control. seriously. who looks sat those ads and says, “well, if a couple of guys in chicken suits say it’s good meat… i’m sold!?”
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