I stopped going there. Most of the store is behind lock and key. I used to go there regularly, but they would have something like 12 registers, and only 2 or 3 of them open with someone on staff ringing people up, and a 45 minute wait. Then there's employees standing around talking. The bathrooms are always filthy. It's just sad. I don't want self checkout, I want customer service with a smile.
Mark M.
Finding someone in the bakery to place a special order is near impossible, either by phone or in person. Checkout lines are long forcing customers to use the self-checkout. Even the entry to the parking lot and the entry to the building are poorly designed. The problem is that we need worker cooperatives to open grocery stores nearby so we can put Safeway out of business. Drive them out of town. Horrendous experience. These corporations don't give a damn about customers.
Peter H.
Two people were incredibly helpful today. The one whose name I remember was Ceylona. lovely lady. Very empathetic and some good advice about don't overload your homemade pizza or everything will slide off!
Ian G.
2024 update: now that this Safeway has turned into a jail, I encourage anyone with a car to drive 9 extra miles to a Safeway paradise in Hercules. PLEASE do not reward Safeway for this depressing hellscape of a store. The Hercules Safeway will spark enough joy to make up for any extra driving -- it is a paradise. My last and FINAL visit to the El Cerrito Safeway, not only was coffee locked up like the crown jewels, the store will not simply hand shoppers coffee, you have to choose a checkout lane and meet the coffee bag there. I chose the checkout lane in Hercules!
Tanis L.
The Safeway on San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito became my home Safeway location when I was living in Albany. There was a closer location on Solano Avenue, however I preferred the ambiance/design and offerings at this location more. In part that was because it was larger and in part because of the flavors offered of particular brands/products. Frequenting this location, one drawback I found was that the donuts were not put out until a certain time of day, and a little later than I had anticipated. I still loved the bakery section, both in-house and other bread brands. Workers at check-out were friendly and the parking lot was large. On one occasion, I left my car with a hand engraved metal water bottle in it. After shopping, I went back to my car and found the water bottle gone. I had not really thought of that water bottle as being in the category of "do not leave valuables in vehicle", but I learned my lesson. Produce tended to be fresh and the meats section offerings for the most part were well stocked. The hygiene/bathroom supplies section evolved during my time shopping here, including some of the items such as toothpaste being on the shelves behind glass/plastic and requiring an employee/key to open. The lines tended to be longer a little later (such as 7 p.m. on weekdays) than some of the other nearby Safeway locations.
Meli P.
Worst store ever, shut it down! Come on we can do better. Waited over 20 min for a pickup order the day I was supposed to pick up. Called the store with no answer. Had a broken leg so I couldn't walk in and pickup. I tried again the next day, they kept putting me on hold and took another 25 minutes to bring order out. Never again.
Liberty D.
People with social anxiety should avoid this grocery store. The outside is always chaotic and there are strict security measures inside, which can be overwhelming. The customer service in the deli is extremely poor, with no available assistance. The long lines are a result of insufficient staff. It is advisable to go to Safeway in Albany instead.
Krisha C.
I haven't been here in a while but after having Britny at checkout, I'll resume this location as my go to Safeway. She was very helpful, knowledgeable about the store and overall friendly. I was even more pleased to learn she is the manager and in that role sets the example for the store since her customer service skills are rare in this current world. Thank you Britny!
Dave P.
2 experiences shopping here this week. One at 10:00 pm weekday which was nice/staff were helpful. One at 4pm Saturday- tons of cops, security, felt gross. Also the same proxy's ( like Ben and Jerry's ice cream places all over the store. The case in the ice cream cooler did not have the type I wanted, but I happened upon it in a random end freezer, the other end freezer was out of my flavor. This is just one example, oftentimes the same items are placed in various places around the store, which is silly and annoying.
Scott S.
This used to my default grocery store but at some point in the last year they decided to start treating customers like criminals. They've installed barriers to exit, hired much more aggressive security staff, and reconfigured the aisles to eliminate the middle walkways making it much less convenient. I'm sure it's tough on them with the increasing competition from discount outlets and delivery services but it seems this location has lost sight of the fundamental need to create value for their customers and have decided instead to treat all customers as potential thieves. I guess a consultant probably convinced them that cutting loss from theft was the only way to survive and that customers wouldn't mind as long as they kept prices low. I think it's an odd strategic choice and very poor competitive positioning to give up on customer service given that they'll never be able to out compete the Wal-Marts, Costcos, or Grocery Outlets of the world on price. Seriously, what is there to gain by completely alienating your customers and trying to race to the bottom when you can't possibly win that race? As for me, even though this place is a super convenient few minutes walk from my home, they have totally lost me as a customer. I'm now driving to Whole Foods and Grocery Outlet (and occasionally the Lucky at the Plaza) for my regular shopping and going to smaller local places like Giovanni's as much as I can or when I just need to grab something quick. So far those places still seem to treat customers as something they actually want and not as threats to mitigate.
One of the worst customer service I have ever seen in tye safeway.Despite of requesting for assistant for liquor or any other stuff. U literally have to stand there and wait for more than 15 minutes and when u ask for help they will give you an attitude.Worse experience and will never come here again and will suggest everyone to do the same.I m one of the regular customer from last 8 year's and it's sad to share this kind of review here.But it is what is it.It has definetely become the worst place to shop. Today I had t9 gonempty hand without shopping anything despite of waiting there forna representative for more than 20 mins.
S
Didn't have much
Matt M.
I don't live near this Safeway but have friends who do and therefore I come here about once per year to get stuff to make dinner. Although the inside of the store seems to be cleaner and more open than it was last year, I did notice a couple changes. First, the toiletries were all under lock and key, which is pretty annoying. But then, the kicker: I went through self-checkout to try and save time, tossed my receipt (as I always do at all Safeway stores), and headed to the exit, only to be blocked by a barricade and a scanner asking to see my receipt. I was in a hurry, like I always am, and this was a really unpleasant surprise. I'm not proud of it but I created a loud stink and someone let me free, but the whole interaction made me feel gross.First off, are we now living in some post-apocalyptic dystopia where our robot overlords can block our freedom of movement? Second: Safeway, if you're going to take away jobs and outsource your grocery scanning to your customers, the least you could do is trust us. If you don't trust us, why let us do it? Why not keep jobs in the community and have folks scan our stuff for us? Third, it appears that you treat your customers like common criminals with so many items locked up and not letting us do self-checkout the same way as at your other locations that I've recently visited (in a number of different cities and states). If you don't feel like you can trust your community members, why even have a store here? The whole thing feels really depressing.**Edit to add: Dawn M: Instead of giving me the same copied-and-pasted bland/corporate response that you've given everyone else, why don't you either change the fact that your store feels like a prison *or* just tell us that this is the new normal and to deal with it? Your empty words do nothing for your customers except make us even more annoyed. I don't want "further review," I want to feel like I'm not being trapped by machines.**
Gabriel D.
Restroom PIN 2940Why is this place like the Pentagon? LolNot a bad thing. It's just overly secure, but I guess they have their reasons. Scan your receipt to exit self check out. Intense.PIN for the restroom. 3+ security guards at the entrance. 5 stars because they stock things that other locations don't have, and it's pretty safe with all this security.*edit* I take my prior statement back. Literally someone in front of me in line had a Tide detergent in his hoodie.....was trying to steal it and just buy a Gatorade and was caught. Wow. No wonder why there's all this security here.Still, this location has so much variety that others don't have that it's still 5 stars for me. No issues for me personally. I shop and go.
Jamie G.
Dystopian capitalism at its "finest". Going to the grocery store shouldn't feel like crossing between East and West Germany. Guards and gates are everywhere. You can't just go in, not find what you're looking for, and leave. No. You either have to wait in a long line (there's no where to squeeze through). The closed lanes warn, "EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY. ALARM WILL SOUND." The self-checkout lines also have a line to get out while customers are approved to leave, and if you bought something, your receipt and cart are thoroughly examined. There was also a sign that said "scan receipt to exit," so I guess that's in the works. I'm surprised I wasn't patted down. None of this is to protect people. It's about protecting STUFF. If people are steal *so much* that you have to make your store feel like prison, maybe your price gouging is too high. I seriously hope they lose more revenue with this set up than they did from shoplifters.
I stopped going there. Most of the store is behind lock and key. I used to go there regularly, but they would have something like 12 registers, and only 2 or 3 of them open with someone on staff ringing people up, and a 45 minute wait. Then there's employees standing around talking. The bathrooms are always filthy. It's just sad. I don't want self checkout, I want customer service with a smile.
Finding someone in the bakery to place a special order is near impossible, either by phone or in person. Checkout lines are long forcing customers to use the self-checkout. Even the entry to the parking lot and the entry to the building are poorly designed. The problem is that we need worker cooperatives to open grocery stores nearby so we can put Safeway out of business. Drive them out of town. Horrendous experience. These corporations don't give a damn about customers.
Two people were incredibly helpful today. The one whose name I remember was Ceylona. lovely lady. Very empathetic and some good advice about don't overload your homemade pizza or everything will slide off!
2024 update: now that this Safeway has turned into a jail, I encourage anyone with a car to drive 9 extra miles to a Safeway paradise in Hercules. PLEASE do not reward Safeway for this depressing hellscape of a store. The Hercules Safeway will spark enough joy to make up for any extra driving -- it is a paradise. My last and FINAL visit to the El Cerrito Safeway, not only was coffee locked up like the crown jewels, the store will not simply hand shoppers coffee, you have to choose a checkout lane and meet the coffee bag there. I chose the checkout lane in Hercules!
The Safeway on San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito became my home Safeway location when I was living in Albany. There was a closer location on Solano Avenue, however I preferred the ambiance/design and offerings at this location more. In part that was because it was larger and in part because of the flavors offered of particular brands/products. Frequenting this location, one drawback I found was that the donuts were not put out until a certain time of day, and a little later than I had anticipated. I still loved the bakery section, both in-house and other bread brands. Workers at check-out were friendly and the parking lot was large. On one occasion, I left my car with a hand engraved metal water bottle in it. After shopping, I went back to my car and found the water bottle gone. I had not really thought of that water bottle as being in the category of "do not leave valuables in vehicle", but I learned my lesson. Produce tended to be fresh and the meats section offerings for the most part were well stocked. The hygiene/bathroom supplies section evolved during my time shopping here, including some of the items such as toothpaste being on the shelves behind glass/plastic and requiring an employee/key to open. The lines tended to be longer a little later (such as 7 p.m. on weekdays) than some of the other nearby Safeway locations.
Worst store ever, shut it down! Come on we can do better. Waited over 20 min for a pickup order the day I was supposed to pick up. Called the store with no answer. Had a broken leg so I couldn't walk in and pickup. I tried again the next day, they kept putting me on hold and took another 25 minutes to bring order out. Never again.
People with social anxiety should avoid this grocery store. The outside is always chaotic and there are strict security measures inside, which can be overwhelming. The customer service in the deli is extremely poor, with no available assistance. The long lines are a result of insufficient staff. It is advisable to go to Safeway in Albany instead.
I haven't been here in a while but after having Britny at checkout, I'll resume this location as my go to Safeway. She was very helpful, knowledgeable about the store and overall friendly. I was even more pleased to learn she is the manager and in that role sets the example for the store since her customer service skills are rare in this current world. Thank you Britny!
2 experiences shopping here this week. One at 10:00 pm weekday which was nice/staff were helpful. One at 4pm Saturday- tons of cops, security, felt gross. Also the same proxy's ( like Ben and Jerry's ice cream places all over the store. The case in the ice cream cooler did not have the type I wanted, but I happened upon it in a random end freezer, the other end freezer was out of my flavor. This is just one example, oftentimes the same items are placed in various places around the store, which is silly and annoying.
This used to my default grocery store but at some point in the last year they decided to start treating customers like criminals. They've installed barriers to exit, hired much more aggressive security staff, and reconfigured the aisles to eliminate the middle walkways making it much less convenient. I'm sure it's tough on them with the increasing competition from discount outlets and delivery services but it seems this location has lost sight of the fundamental need to create value for their customers and have decided instead to treat all customers as potential thieves. I guess a consultant probably convinced them that cutting loss from theft was the only way to survive and that customers wouldn't mind as long as they kept prices low. I think it's an odd strategic choice and very poor competitive positioning to give up on customer service given that they'll never be able to out compete the Wal-Marts, Costcos, or Grocery Outlets of the world on price. Seriously, what is there to gain by completely alienating your customers and trying to race to the bottom when you can't possibly win that race? As for me, even though this place is a super convenient few minutes walk from my home, they have totally lost me as a customer. I'm now driving to Whole Foods and Grocery Outlet (and occasionally the Lucky at the Plaza) for my regular shopping and going to smaller local places like Giovanni's as much as I can or when I just need to grab something quick. So far those places still seem to treat customers as something they actually want and not as threats to mitigate.
Restaurantji Recommends
One of the worst customer service I have ever seen in tye safeway.Despite of requesting for assistant for liquor or any other stuff. U literally have to stand there and wait for more than 15 minutes and when u ask for help they will give you an attitude.Worse experience and will never come here again and will suggest everyone to do the same.I m one of the regular customer from last 8 year's and it's sad to share this kind of review here.But it is what is it.It has definetely become the worst place to shop. Today I had t9 gonempty hand without shopping anything despite of waiting there forna representative for more than 20 mins.
Didn't have much
I don't live near this Safeway but have friends who do and therefore I come here about once per year to get stuff to make dinner. Although the inside of the store seems to be cleaner and more open than it was last year, I did notice a couple changes. First, the toiletries were all under lock and key, which is pretty annoying. But then, the kicker: I went through self-checkout to try and save time, tossed my receipt (as I always do at all Safeway stores), and headed to the exit, only to be blocked by a barricade and a scanner asking to see my receipt. I was in a hurry, like I always am, and this was a really unpleasant surprise. I'm not proud of it but I created a loud stink and someone let me free, but the whole interaction made me feel gross.First off, are we now living in some post-apocalyptic dystopia where our robot overlords can block our freedom of movement? Second: Safeway, if you're going to take away jobs and outsource your grocery scanning to your customers, the least you could do is trust us. If you don't trust us, why let us do it? Why not keep jobs in the community and have folks scan our stuff for us? Third, it appears that you treat your customers like common criminals with so many items locked up and not letting us do self-checkout the same way as at your other locations that I've recently visited (in a number of different cities and states). If you don't feel like you can trust your community members, why even have a store here? The whole thing feels really depressing.**Edit to add: Dawn M: Instead of giving me the same copied-and-pasted bland/corporate response that you've given everyone else, why don't you either change the fact that your store feels like a prison *or* just tell us that this is the new normal and to deal with it? Your empty words do nothing for your customers except make us even more annoyed. I don't want "further review," I want to feel like I'm not being trapped by machines.**
Restroom PIN 2940Why is this place like the Pentagon? LolNot a bad thing. It's just overly secure, but I guess they have their reasons. Scan your receipt to exit self check out. Intense.PIN for the restroom. 3+ security guards at the entrance. 5 stars because they stock things that other locations don't have, and it's pretty safe with all this security.*edit* I take my prior statement back. Literally someone in front of me in line had a Tide detergent in his hoodie.....was trying to steal it and just buy a Gatorade and was caught. Wow. No wonder why there's all this security here.Still, this location has so much variety that others don't have that it's still 5 stars for me. No issues for me personally. I shop and go.
Dystopian capitalism at its "finest". Going to the grocery store shouldn't feel like crossing between East and West Germany. Guards and gates are everywhere. You can't just go in, not find what you're looking for, and leave. No. You either have to wait in a long line (there's no where to squeeze through). The closed lanes warn, "EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY. ALARM WILL SOUND." The self-checkout lines also have a line to get out while customers are approved to leave, and if you bought something, your receipt and cart are thoroughly examined. There was also a sign that said "scan receipt to exit," so I guess that's in the works. I'm surprised I wasn't patted down. None of this is to protect people. It's about protecting STUFF. If people are steal *so much* that you have to make your store feel like prison, maybe your price gouging is too high. I seriously hope they lose more revenue with this set up than they did from shoplifters.