I usually get my breakfast at the local Safeway every day. On most mornings, they don't even have a single employee at the checkout station and it takes 5 to 10 minutes for one to get from the back of the store to the checkout. There is someone working in the customer service booth, but are usually never at the counter, but rather in the office. They don't come when I ring the bell, and when I ask the manager if the customer service rep is available, he always tells me they are on break and will be back in 10 minutes. Mind you, this just shows how understaffed the store is, but the fact that they aren't hiring and looking for more employees to make the store work displays how much they don't care. I think I will start going to the City Market on the other side of town, even if I have to go an extra 7 miles every day.
That's just unacceptable I would think Safeway would have great customer service. I applied for a job there and they wanted me to be clean shaven, and wear a dress shirt and a tie. You would think if they're so upscale the service would be better. People just don't care anymore and it shows in their business. It's funny that everyone goes on break at the same time. You would think they would have alternating shifts, so someone is at the register at all times.
There is just no excuse for that kind of customer service in any company, big or small! I don't blame you for wanting to go somewhere else. Stupid question, but what kind of company is Safeway? As far as I know, we don't have them in my area. It is like a grocery store?
I have noticed that kind of not caring in many stores. It is not limited to one store. Cutting back on sales and customer service limits business. When they figure that out, it is the reason why people shop somewhere else and then it is questioned what went wrong. When a break is needed someone else should cover for that person leaving that area for 10 minutes. I worked in sales and was not permitted a break until someone came to stand in for me.
Good customer service is bad for business in big corporate stores. Good service requires proper staffing and training, and decent wages. Those all cut into the bottom line. Global corporations are no longer interested in anything in increasing they next quarter's profit percentage.
That sounds terrible and annoying. Our safeway is well staffed, but there is a very creepy cashier there. I kid you not, his line is always open. All the other lines will be so long, but his hardly ever has people in it. It is obvious everyone is weirded out by him. He stares at all the women, and gives me the creeps. All my friends that go to safeway also say they avoid his line. One time his line was wide open, and I went to a longer line on purpose. So he comes to me, and he says he can help me. I say, no thank you, I need to talk to the cashier of my line. So I get up to my cashier, and he tells her, "oh she needs to talk to you"! So then I have to find something to say, and I told her I wondered where she got her cute glasses. That is what I get, but it was worth it.
That is a really bad practice on any business. If a business wants to grow customers long term, they must value every customer that comes to their business. No matter how small the purchase is, a customer that is satisfied can sometimes refer them to their friends or people they know for having a good customer support. It seems the safeway near you might have financial issues that's why they aren't hiring any employees.
Checkers are only allowed to be scheduled starting at 7am. Before that, there's night crew that roams around finishing their last minute duties before their shift is over by 7:30am. You probably get there when the store usually opens, right? There won't be anyone in the front unless someone calls them up to help you. If there's a Starbucks that happens to be in your Safeway store, I recommend using them. They can take groceries, however, they cannot bag. So if you just have your sandwich ready, and there isn't a line (which usually there isn't until 7-7:30am), then you can purchase there with no waiting. As you can tell with these immense details, I work at a Safeway company. I'm a Starbucks Barista. I used to be a Customer Service Courtesy Clerk. So I can understand the lack of service to some degree what with breaks and all. However, that manager should take the initiative and not tell you that someone is on break. If you happened to be a shopper, he could be written up for that. So overall, Safeway as a company is fine, it's just the one by you that lacks customer service and support.
