Safeway was, it seems, technically correct.
On closer inspection, these signs detailing “Safeway’s promise to you” are posted in our Kaneohe store, as the company’s director of public and government affairs said yesterday in an email.
But it turns out the photo provided as evidence, taken by the district manager, is not at a regular checkout line. It’s at the customer service desk in the front of the store.
How did I miss it in my now numerous trips to customer service seeking refunds? Well, if that headline said something more descriptive, something along the lines of “Safeway’s price guarantee,” it might have attracted my attention. “Safeway’s promise to you” sounds like more advertising fluff. No one pays attention to it.
Oh, one other thing. This sign at customer service is the only one on a horizontal surface that can be seen by an adult standing in front of it.
Meanwhile, back at the regular checkout registers, it’s a different story. On closer inspection, it is true that the signs were placed at each one.
And if my navel were an eye, I might have noticed one of them on our many visits to the store.
Yup, they are posted vertically on the side of the counter where customers stand while transferring your purchases from the shopping cart and then paying your bill. It’s at or below waist level, even for Meda. In this somewhat blurry iPhone photo, she has stepped back to get a picture of the sign, but in normal circumstances it would be invisible because you’re standing immediately in front of it.
It might have made a difference if just once, while we were requesting refunds, any Safeway employee had smiled and pointed out their “promise” while cheerfully making the appropriate price adjustment. It’s never happened.
Even yesterday afternoon, the person staffing the customer service desk began by offering a refund of the difference between what I paid and the price I should have been charged. When I stopped and, with my new knowledge, pointed to the “Safeway’s promise to you” sign, she stopped and had to call a manager. Perhaps managers are the only ones authorized to give out those $5 bonuses or free items in addition to refunding the amount of the overcharge. I don’t know. But what is clear is that many (most?) store employees are either not familiar with the price guarantee or are not trained and empowered to fulfill the promise.
For the record, here’s Safeway’s policy, as posted. You can click for a better view.
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