[The system did kick in after another 24 hours had passed, and we have gotten our initial personalized discounts. Click here for the update.]
Has anyone actually gotten the dozen free eggs promised by Safeway as the first benefit of signing up for their new personalized coupon system?
Hawaii is the market where they are beta testing this system. It looks very promising, although the tracking of your shopping habits may raise some privacy concerns. But it’s a good thing there’s only a limited roll-out. The system seems to need a lot of tweaking.
We’ve tried to use it, without success. We felt like the guy in those bank ads. You probably know the one.
Q: “It’s free, isn’t it?”
A: Define “free”. Pause. Then tiny waive. “Have a mediocre day.”
After getting home following our small experience of failure, I went to Safeway.com to submit a comment, but feedback to the grocery chain doesn’t seem to be enabled anywhere. So instead of a private message, I figured a public missive might get the point across.
Safeway is one of five stores where we regularly do our grocery shopping. Even before we signed up, we overheard staff talking about people’s accounts not being properly linked to their cards.
But we managed to register online early this week. That part seemed relatively easy, although it took Meda a couple of tries. Yesterday I popped back to Safeway.com, signed in to the “Just for U” system, and checked out the personalized coupons. There were some good deals in addition to the free eggs. We added three other special coupon deals to our shopping list–fat free milk, chicken thighs, and bananas, along with the promised free eggs–all at good savings. The system then let us print the shopping list, and the instructions said that the special prices would kick in when you swipe your Safeway card during checkout.
The first problem was that half the items were not available in the Kaneohe store yesterday. No Lucerne fat free milk. And no chicken. But we did pick up the eggs and bananas, along with our other regular items (cat food, cat litter, etc., etc.).
Then to checkout.
The items rang up at regular price, but the clerk said not to worry because the adjustments would come when the sale was totaled. That’s the way their liquor discounts are taken when you buy 6 or more bottles. So we waited. But when the total came, we scrolled back through the list of items. No free eggs, no inexpensive bananas. So we returned those items and were directed to a table set up and the front of the store with a couple of laptops and a store employee available to assist in setting up these accounts.
So I logged on to our Safeway account, and sure enough–there was our shopping list showing the discounts we were supposed to have received.
Ms. Safeway was puzzled, then said it could take up to 24 hours for our personal shopping list to actually get processed into their system.
The FAQs on the Safeway web site say they should show up “as soon as 30 minutes” after registering. Well, we registered days ago.
So the problem wasn’t resolved, and wasn’t really explained.
I guess that’s what it can happen during a beta test.
Back in 1999, I caught Safeway shorting customers during a promotion offering a special 5% discount. In that case, Safeway admitted the error (which hit customers in Northern California and Nevada, in addition to Hawaii) and made a $5,000 donation to charity “as a gesture of good will.”
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Our local Safeway has available small foldable cards for feedback, sometimes at the register but always at the Customer Svc. desk.
I make regular use, though I’ve never seen any actions taken along the lines of my greater and lesser suggestions (bring back the water fountain; don’t brag of your good service campaigns for breast cancer prevention when you are selling a leading cause (cigarettes) at the same time).
I wondered about getting the eggs, too. I had a hard time registering for the program and linking it to my card so I called the customer service line. The rep was great, even though she was frustrated in her efforts to help me and had to put me on hold several times to get help figure out how to do one thing or another. In the end, everything was linked up and I printed my list but I forgot to ask how to redeem the free egg offer. I guess I know now what I have waiting for me when I get to the store. It’s been days but I now doubt things will be as good there as they were on the phone.
THere is much mis-marking of items in Hawai’i. When I lived in Colorado, the stores policy was if mis-marked, then the item was free to the customer. THe error was theirs! How many people actually check carefully their bill before they leave the store? It is a “must do”!
Website registration went fine. We’ll give it a few days before going to the store to collect on the various savings, including the eggs.
Safeway has always had a huge problem with keeping products in stock. It’s not just a matter of loss leaders selling out – stuff is missing from the shelves constantly, especially at Manoa Safeway. It must be a problem endemic to the company because the (relatively) new Kapahulu store suffers from the same deficiency.
general consensus is local employees feel stymied and oppressed by the mainalnd managemet and their “dictatorial ways”. This strange “U” promotion will do more harm than good. It doesn’t work. You think they could design, initiate and run a smooth computer based coupon program. But no. This should never have passed until ALL kinks were worked out. It is shameful testing wasn’t dome inhouse. But to use us as guinea pigs implies apathy. We will go where we are wanted.
I am a strong believer in Costco … Target and Walmart customer service would be next
it is an insult to shoppers who are using their brains to get a deal … then to have to go through a hassle because of poor planning and incompetence
I repeat … Costco is awesome and I will go there first every time
PS: Cute graphic.
Typical Safeway- you’ve gotta watch them like hawks. And when you try to it’s incredibly difficult. I’m not sure if it’s still this way (my wife works nearby so does the Safeway shopping these days) but when you use the “club card” discounts the actual price you paid does not even appear on the receipt- only the regular price and the discount are listed leaving you to “do the math”. They often “get you” by having variable “limits” which are not well marked so if you buy say three and the limit is one you pay full price for the other two and have to go over the receipt with a fine tooth comb to figure it out. And of course when you do if you find an error you either hold up the line or worse they’re on to the next customer and you have to go to the office to get your money back
There’s no doubt in my mind it’s designed that way. Rant pau.
I agree on the difficulty of reading store receipts. There should be a requirement that the actual price paid appear prominently so that there isn’t this layer of confusion. Does this need consumer legislation?
Andy, I agree the Safeway system is designed to take advantage.
I’m really sorry to say it, but every mistake they make is in their favor. Every single time. I would understand an error once in a rare while, especially if it wasn’t always to their benefit. But when the errors became frequent, to the point that not a single receipt is without a mistake in their favor, I stopped shopping there.
Meanwhile, we’re just back from Otsuji Farms in Hawaii Kai. Mahalo Norrin and Ryan for the fantastic fresh local and affordable veggies! They are wonderful! And sometimes, if they can, when they run out of one veggie, they walk over and pick more.
Much aloha to Otsuji Farms. Safeway…not so much.
Thanks for the Heads-Up. The process did not work with my BlackBerry even though the checker assured me that it would work. Think I’ll wait to try again until you announce your success.
I signed up last week via the web, no problem. This morning we stopped by the Pali Safeway on our way out to the KCC Farmers Market. I picked up the eggs from the shelf, took them to the checkout, gave my card, and they were free. $0.00.
We took the eggs to the counter at the farmers market where you can donate stuff to IHS or wherever it goes. We don’t buy or use eggs from chickens that are being tortured. But they are usable food, might as well put them to good use.
Target has lower prices than Safeway on many products, including cat food, litter–and they stock many green cleaning and body care brands (Method, Seventh Generation etc) I like Safeway produce though, but for lots of vegan foods I grit my teeth and mingle with the Kahala oh so entitled peeps who clog the aisles at Whole Foods.
if we are going to talk about consumer legislation — stores should be required to keep a log of price errors
when there is an error, they should be required to review all receipts for the item sold at the wrong price and put the excess money into consumer fund
font sizes on product prices should also be a minimum size — to protect tired old people
Great idea!
so. it really is not the
Safe… Way.
It has worked fine for me so far–free eggs and all. I deliberately bought some of the things on my list and the discounts showed up on the tape.