Working at Safeway/Genuardis — Reviews by Employees

So I totally agree I have worked for safeway two years been a hard assworker for them doing anything they asked without me complaining a bit. I get shit ass pay a little more than 10$ an hour while they say they can't give me a raise and the past like 3 people who got hired are getting paid 20$ an hour a headclerk and he hasn't even checked! Is that a joke and it seems like a lot of people who get top pay are some
of the laziest bitchy people even when they ask for your help. Safeway does not know how to value employees and it's a shame for the people who actually put hard work on and work crappy shifts and they still hire people but cut everyone elses hours? They do mark mostly everyone as part time
so they have an excuse to cut hours. The only way to get paid right is to refuse to work there for less and even then your not guaranteed jack. Don't let them push you around cuz it's not worth it.

OVERALL A DECENT COMPANY TO WORK FOR CONSIDERING THE ECONOMY AND OTHER JOBS I HAVE HAD. PEOPLE WILL WHINE ABOUT WORKING AT SAFEWAY, BUT THE TRUTH IS THESE WHINERS WILL GO ON TO THE NEXT JOB AND TAKE THEIR NEGATIVITY AND POOR ATTITUDE WITH THEM. YOU TOOK THE JOB AND YOU WERE EXPLAINED ABOUT THE HOURS AND NATURE OF THE BUSINESS. I LIKE MY JOB AND I AM ONLY A COURTESY CLERK WITH 2 CHILDREN AND A WIFE. I SUPPORT THEM FINE ON MY HOURLY WAGE BECAUSE I BUDGET MY MONEY. MOST PEOPLE WHETHER THEY WORK AT SAFEWAY OR ANOTHER COMPANY WILL ALWAYS THINK THEY ARE WORTH MORE MONEY THAN THEY ARE. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE YOUR JOB AT SAFEWAY CONSIDER THE ALTERNATIVE WHICH IS THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINE AT THE EMPLOYMENT DEPT. AND ITS A LONG ONE. I HOPE THE NEXT JOB YOU GET HAS THE GOOD MEDICAL AND OTHER BENEFITS THAT SAFEWAY PROVIDES.

I've worked for the company for 7 1/2 years, since I was 17. I'm 25 and have been making 20 dollars an hour for the past 4 years. You people who are complaining about only getting paid a couple of cents over minimum wage need to wake up. DUH! Didn't you look at the grocery industry before you got the job?? It's tanking! I was lucky to get in under the old old union contract. I just graduated from college with a bachlor's degree in business. Safeway worked around my school schedule every single semester. I get full benefits from the union, don't gotta pay a dime for health care save for the 10 bucks co-pay for my prescriptions. Yea, the job sucks. Customers do suck. I've hated going into work many times. I've missed a lot of fun times with family and friends cause I've had to work on the weekends and holidays. But I worked the system. I used Safeway. I made 20 dollars an hour, part time, going to school, with full benefits. I got paid every week. Three weeks paid vacation. Maybe all you people who complain should have made better life choices when you were my age and went to school. The grocery industry isn't what it was 15 to 20 years ago. It's no longer a decent middle class job. Wake up people. I guess I just got lucky, was smart enough to go to school. In conclusion, would I recomend getting a job at Safeway now? No. If you're 16-20 years old, go get a job at a restaruant or Best Buy, something like that, Courtesy Clerking and being a cashier is totally not worth it anymore. PS. for all you people who said your managers treated you like scum, it's probably cause you're a lazy worker, you people are a dime a dozen.

Pay: I know other retaiors who pay baggers more i was paid min wage which was 6/hr


Respect: it was ok the managment was strongly anti union ive been in the union retail it was reltively the same only difference was vacation pay and pay was no different


Benefits: i wont comment since i didnt need them at the time


Job Security: new baggers hired once a week high turn over due to large store size couldnt really learn where things were


Work/Life Balance: they worked with ur needs so it was good in that respect and didnt have to work holidays they had hired help on holidays so you could have off other retaiors make you work holidays

Career Potential/Growth: ive only seen people move up to cashier managment needed college degree


Location: not as close as other stores but since the other place is out of business they are the nearest store now


Co-worker Competence: pretty high they wanted to provide non stop custumer service enough to get on ur nerves

Work Environment: it was ok wish custumers werent so picky how i bagged their stuff if i placed one item out of order they would countiue to bagg their own order and you had to find something to do mysteryshoppers nobody knew who they were but couldnt ask custumers if they were one or u could get fired

Safeway management abuses their workers. They teach their employees how to be extra nice to shoppers but treat their staff like scum. If a strike takes place, please honor the line.

Fisrtly, must say I can only speak for the deli.

~ PAY - As far as pay goes, I expected higher, however I couldn't complain, it paid the bills and then some.

~ Coworkers - My coworkers are mostly mature adults and we respect each other as people but often make behind-the-back comments about work ethics, rarely anything personal.

~ Benefits - It does offer many benefits and if your medical bill goes from $200/month to $40/month, I don't think you can complain...

~ Benefits - Because of the union, your job is secure unless under extreme circumstance, and I only ever once seen someone let go due to incompetance.

~ Work/life balance - Personally, my manager is respectful of our requests for time off and I have never witnessed one denied, and I have been in this deli longer than my manager, so if you really need to go to a particular hockey game, you are almost guarenteed to have time off.

~ Career potential - In this job you could actually climb pretty high on the corporate ladder, all you have to do is show you can do it.

~ Location - There seems to be a diferent Safeway in every part of the city. I even go by a couple other ones on my way to work

~Co-Worker competence - Nobody's perfect, but everyone's trained in the deli.

~Work Environment - I am working around knives, blades, slicers, ovens, heaters, grills, hot grease, steam, raw poultry chemicals and drunks that wander in in the evening. But we are given mesh gloves, insulated gloves, wash gloves, disposible gloves, padded gloves, aprons, goggles, face masks, coworkers, training and if all else fails, first aid kit. For a deli it is pretty standard, I just wish we had tables inside the store.

When I first started with safeway four years ago, I was able to get my prior experience wages from the union, which is the ONLY reason I have stayed on. The company has above average benefits, but they utilize a negative reinforcement disciplinary system. In other words, you are reprimanded for less than perfect performance but rarely complimented for above average performance...except by a token star or letter. The company is attempting to overturn the seniority system which is the fairest way to deal with employees. (Otherwise you get blatant favoritism) I am blessed to live two blocks from the store I work at, so thats a plus. Truthfully, this is the best job I can hope to find in the current economic climate. They cut my hours from 35 to 20, however, and I am struggling to make ends meet.

Safeway would get more respect out of me were they to treat all workers with respect and not just coddle the newer cheaper labor. I plan on retiring with them, even though my pension is a paltry $119.00 a month so far. (I worked for a competitor for 15 years before the competitor closed all their stores and left town)

I am pro-union (I am a Union Steward) but I see the flaws in both sides (management and union) and I think that this next contract will be important for the future of our company.(It is up May 5th)

Safeway is an incredible company. With any business, there are times that the job is less than enjoyable. It’s like that age old telling of “life’s just not fair.” You can’t have your cake and eat it too… However, Safeway’s benefits are some of the best I have ever seen in my years of experience, bouncing from one company to another. The things listed below should not be taken for granted by people who haven’t a clue how to take advantage of an opportunity…

Things such as:

Education Reimbursement
Company Retirement
Company 401k Plan
Incredibly affordable medical, dental and vision insurance
Nationwide opportunity for advancement
Careers is all paths … i.e. Pharmacy, Corporate (Finance, I.T., Marketing, etc.), Customer Service … Etc.

People need to quit their whining and be thankful for the things companies don’t have to offer you. – What other company do you know that will pay you to quit smoking? Or give you incentives to get healthy? Cuts on insurance cost, etc…

This is amazing stuff here.

Pay could have been better for duties/obligations. Never had much of an issue in respect. Benefits are high in such a career. Job security, you got to really screw up or steal something to get canned. Work/Life balance is possible but not 100% better than most retail jobs. Career growth, i went from entry level to first stages of store mgr training in under 7 years. Location was about as good as you could get. Every jobsite has morons most are weeded out quickly. work environment not 100% but not far from it. had i not moved 1/2 way across the US id go back!!!

This company needs to start showing respect to employees. The old timers are counting the days till they leave. They have many managers who are big time slackers themselves, and plain rude to their crew. They motivate individuals who want to move up to be rude, and demeaning to their coworkers.