Awful Safeway Deli. Terrible sandwich station: slow workers, poorly stocked, and the ingredients they do have on hand are old. I have to ask for them to retrieve a missing ingredient every time I come in, and I always get attitude. Usually I have to walk them through putting my sandwich together, despite it having no modifications (it's listed on the menu as chicken artichoke). They always smash the (old) bread cutting it and are skimpy with the ingredients, which they place unevenly on the bread.
Even so, I am patient and polite and keep coming back.
However, just remembering my most recent experience there continues to nauseate me, and I mean literally. I was waiting for a while (which is usual at this location), being ignored until a worker finally came over to help me. This particular worker proceeded to complain how she just got there, and how annoyed she was that her coworkers had not set anything up for her. Complaining like this to or in front of a customer is completely unprofessional and made me feel very uncomfortable. She put on the plastic gloves first then the cutting/oven gloves over them and inside out, so whatever she touched would come into contact with other workers' hand sweat. Luckily, she used tongs for everything except the bread, but she clearly had no idea what she was doing. Though service is generally slow, she was the slowest I've ever experienced. She couldn't find any of the ingredients (though they were right in front of her). I had to point out each one in turn, I'm not joking. The mozzarella slices were yellow and dried instead of white and marinating in oil, and though there was a new package in front of her she chose to use the substandard slices, then refilled it in front of me BEFORE finishing the sandwich. She did this same thing for the artichokes, tomatoes, and onions. As I was the only person getting a sandwich, if she won't let me have the fresh ingredients, she could have at least waited until she finished making mine before she restocked! Then, she rung it up for a large instead of a regular. When I corrected her, she said "no, that's the price the computer gives me" and she showed me the screen. I pointed out it said large on the screen and behind her was a sign with my sandwich on it and the respective prices for the sizes. Eventually, another worker had to come over and print out the correct sticker for her because she couldn't figure out how to do it.
As for what happened next, even I can't explain because I watched her make the sandwich... When I got home and started eating, I realized the onions had gone bad and spit them out. In the next bite, I bit down on a yellow twist tie. Gagging, this was when I gave up and threw the whole sandwich away.
This Safeway Deli clearly has big management issues. They need to properly train their employees on basic safe food handling, computer, and customer service skills. They are simply lucky I'm not litigious and won't sue for them for giving me spoiled ingredients and a plastic wrapped piece of metal. read more