I am so thoroughly impressed by the service I received today. I want to recognize Vincente in the Meat department. 4 days before Christmas and he sees me wondering aimlessly as to what to do. He immediately approached me asking what my plans are and my needs. He saw me looking at the boneless prime rib. He immediately guided me to the bone in department and say it is the cheapest in 5 years at $5.88. He recommended that the bone in is always more superior than boneless because the flavor is all in there. Vincente even offer to cut me a new piece with the bone cut off and reattach for easy handling!! He also offered to season it and retie it should I want it. He went back and found me a fatty piece as I like it that way. Did everything I asked and also gave me written instructions as to how to cook it. Wow!!! Vincente also added a bow on my roast. Now Christmas is going to be great because of him. I also want to add that everyone at the Safeway is always beyond kind and friendly. Although corporate and big box brand. The gracious attitude and smiles make my neighborhood Safeway a gem in my book. read more

I like this Safeway location because I don't think its as annoying or overcrowded like the other safeway locations. However, I think they (and I guess even all the locations) need to step up and open more lines around lunch time and after work hours. I only ever come to THIS store during my lunch, and I've noticed that its busy between 11am - 1pm. And today, the lines were backed up into the aisles. And customers behind me were marking comments about the lines possibly moving faster if there was less talking between the associates, and just opening up more registers. read more

Cashier Megan was the great person! She was really helpful and friendly! I definitely come back and shop here for her !

Since the coronavirus outbreak began the employees here have been rockstars doing their best to handle ornery customers and low stock due to panic buying. It's great having this store so close to my home and allowing me to eat at home and limit my public outings and interactions with delivery drivers. Megan and Kirk have been great beams of sunshine and they're always a pleasure to see and talk to. read more

Very short staffed. Only two sales clerks working. Not super clean. Was probably one of the most run-down Safeway's I have been too. read more

This review is strictly about the staff. I had an appointment with a service provider within the Safeway location and I arrived 15 minutes prior only to find out that it was unstaffed and others waiting. One other person waiting mentioned that others had given up and gone on with their day. The store Manager came by to check on us and we informed her that the service location was un-manned. She immediately stepped into action and called the service manager for that location. She updated us on the situation within minutes and informed us that someone was on their way and offered up an apology and Starbucks coffee. We were really appreciative of her efforts, especially because the nature of our appointments has sensitive deadlines. I am so sorry that I had forgotten her name because she deserves recognition for her customer service skills. The date of this experience was Tuesday, July 21, 2020 around 8 A.M. Thank you read more

Maybe it was due to the location but this place was expensive and confusing. Not that i need to eat chips but where are they??? Did i walk past them 5 times? The cashier was less than thrilled to be there and it was clear. Sorry lady, work at Trader Joes next door!!! Grrr if only i had known TJs was there!! read more

Ridiculous wait for checkout every time I've been here. I know it's a small store but they should have more checkers available, or at least one (or more) they can call for backup. The store could also use a complete remodel, as the inside is dated, cramped, and would really benefit from some self checkout stands. Overall there's little reason to go here when another larger, modern grocery store is right around the corner. read more

Safeway - Line for checkout around 4pm on a weekday. Only 2 checkers were available for 6 or so checkout stands. Note no self-checkout available here. - Grocery Near Me - Pacific Grove, California

Stopped by about 5:45pm on Saturday 9/17 to get some fried chicken from the deli. They had a fresh pan of chicken with some older pieces behind it. I placed my order, walked away and came back to get my order. When I got home and open the bag, they had given me the old, dried up chicken. Safeway - good customer service is to give customers fresh good so they come back, not give customers crap so they go someplace else. Poor customer service and poor management. read more

I have lived on the Monterey peninsula for 30 years and love this store. They are smaller than the other ones, which is unfortunate, but they make up for that with friendliness and customer service. In this time of staff shortages everywhere, they are helpful and try to get lines open if busy. And they answer the phone which is something unheard of in the Monterey store. If they had a larger selection, I would have given them five stars read more

My name is Jimmy. And the safeway at 1212 forest ave is awesome. I writing to Christine and ally. And thank you for the humus! I just got the warmest welcome at the store from Megan. Absolutely amazing service more importantly kind and considerate. I would like to also merryann Darryl Jeannine and Andy gratitude for all your efforts. Thank you for making your safeway the best!!!! Jimmy s. 8316017381 read more

Every time I come the employees are so rude and to top it off I just came from the western union to try to cash a check and the lady basically sneared at me for not having a bank account or a credit card she had no right to discriminate me and it wasn't any of her business to mock me like that. As a Latina I'm so disgusted by her actions. I will be contacting HR. read more

Long lines 24/7. If you like waiting in long lines and being ignored, this is the place you should shop. Don't forget it's 7-11 sized selection too, but mostly remember the long lines. I'm done with this location but still like the other Safeway stores in the area. read more

I always go to the closest grocery store whenever I am in the area but I don't seem to learn my lesson. When I go here I always make another trip to someone else because they are not fully stocked. They ran out of cough drops the last time I was there. The time before that they did not have the type of bread I like and the list can go on. I would have to go down the street to get my stuff. I agree with others that he long is usually long, it's typically a 5 minute wait most times. They do not have a self checkout lane either. read more

Can I give 0 stars? Worst service I have ever had at a Safeway property. You will stand in line for almost 40 minutes because they are consistently understaffed. Want a sandwich at lunchtime? Nope that's closed. Also overpriced. Take your business elsewhere read more

Meghan who works at this location is amazing. She is cheery and chatty and super helpful. My parents are older and she helps them find their needed items and even opened up another lane so they could check out. She is the best and makes trips to the grocery store a delight. Thank you, Meghan!! read more

Megan's a great employee. She's always a big help when I need it. Its always great to see her when I come in.

I have been going here on and off for years and unfortunately it just keeps getting worse. I now go fewer and farther in between and now I am at the point where I am just done all together. The selection is minimal at best and most of the items you see in the sale flyers they do not have and will not get. There is only one checker there I like and all the rest talk/yell over you to chat with the checker next to them about what they are doing that night or to complain about something they do not like. Most of them barely say hello and literally throw your items through the check stand. If you need them to go get something they will get lost and not remember what they were doing. All of this is treated as acceptable by the staff and they do not apologize. All at inflated prices....Shop at your own risk.... read more

Every time I come here, regardless of the time of day or night, the line for the cashier stretches almost across the store. They have 6 registers, yet never seem to use more than two of them. They would be better off getting rid of a couple traditional registers and replacing them with self-checkout registers. They're also regularly out of at least one thing I've come to purchase. Skip this place and go to the Lucky down the road. read more

It's soy formula--not COCAINE. I don't see why it needs to be locked up like it's unicorn blood. ----------------------------------------------------------- Don't come here if you expect to grab something and get out quickly. It takes FOREVER...their lines are so slow (and they usually only have one-maybe two-open). That's why if TRADER JOES has what we need we will ALWAYS go there--even if it costs a little more. That said, this is not a slight against the workers--they are always happy and helpful--this is a management issue. Also, they NEVER have the PROSOBEE Soy infant formula on the shelf. They keep it locked up. So you have to grab this little coupon paper from the shelf, then wait an eternity in line, and then the cashier has to find someone to go look and see if they have it. All the while you are waiting, and then most of the time (at least the 3 TIMES I have tried it) they are out of it. NOTE TO MANAGEMENT: if you are out of something you should take down the coupon. It's soy formula--not COCAINE. I don't see why it needs to be locked up like it's unicorn blood. They don't lock it up at SAVE MART or KNOB HILL. And please don't tell me that it's SAFEWAY policy...that is a non-answer. The ONLY reason why I gave them three stars instead of 2 (or 1) is because when I went in there today (on Thanksgiving), they had a ton of cashiers and employees working (all of them happy and helpful). I was able to get in and out of there in less than 5 minutes! BONUS: they have a starbucks in there too! read more

I've avoided this Safeway ever since they tried to kill me. Yeah, you heard me right. I was in there one afternoon just to grab a thing or two after I'd done most of my shopping at Trader Joe's. Suddenly a chemical smell fills the air. Then my eyes start to burn. Then my throat starts to burn. I start coughing. My head hurts. Turns out some genius mixed a big huge bucket full of bleach and ammonia and was attempting to mop. HELLO!?!?! One of the customers nearby figured out what was happening and told the employee to take the bucket outside ASAP and the girl just acted befuddled. Finally she got it out the door. I don't know where the manager was during all this. They should have evacuated the store, it was seriously that bad. But by the time I had exited on my own accord they still hadn't done anything. Shesh. The store was small and crappy anyway. Not worth going to. read more

This is by far the worst Safeway I have ever been to. First of all, I would like to say that I typically think Safeway Stores are middle of the road for service and products, however there are many standouts...this location just isn't one of them. The service is awful, the staff is either a stoned unhelpful weirdo or a spaced out granny who's slow as molasses. Don't bother asking for help or expect the staff to go the extra mile, because you will be highly disappointed!! Produce, no good...sparse and not fresh! Aisles, narrow and filled with no selection. Smells bad...deli is gross. The layout blows too...basically I hate this place and I'm not afraid to say it. I end with the thing that annoyed me the most...NO RED BOX, are you kidding me? I have to travel ALL the way to Sucky Savemart to have a little at home entertainment. SUCKS! Just go to Trader Joes already, not the best one either, but better than Safeway by a mile! read more

Have you ever heard of CUSTOMER SERVICE????? Sure, this Safeway has a new facelift, but come on people.....no friendly "hello", "did you find everything you needed", "have a nice day" - how about paying attention to YOUR customers, not your co-workers....The last impression is usually the lasting one...and the check-out counter was the worst!!!! Went to the deli counter looking for muenster cheese and havarti cheese - you would of thought it was a major deal just to cut 3 pieces of muenter cheese, about 1 pound each ---no slicing necessary, just cut 3 pieces ---- then asked for 1 1/2 pounds of sliced harvati - got 1 pound in the bag --- hearing aids or learn english help??? (only told the girl 3 times what I wanted!) Sandwiches at the deli counter were a joke.....Want a great deli sandwich without all the drama at the counter, go to Compagno's, just 4 blocks away!!!! Glad I was not shopping for anything else today....don't think the blood pressure could handle it.... Come on folks....customer service starts from the top.....you make horrible first impressions.....don't think you will have a chance to make a second impression with me!!!! read more

The remarkable thing about this Safeway is that you may think you have traveled back in time when you come through the doors. Where has the time machine taken you? It looks suspiciously like the very early 1980's. That must be when they got the produce and seafood. Seriously, Safeway stores have generally improved a great deal over the past decade. This particular Safeway, however, is just as bad as your worst memory of what a Safeway store ever was. read more

Bakery is small I wish it was bigger And had more variety. More cookies!!! I bought some meat one day and he let me chose a sauce for it. I asked his name and told me vence or Vance black hair nice man. Another time maybe a week ago. I had good service from cashier at night and found all I wanted. The line was long and I had to wait but she was nice and apologized for me waiting that was nice. Cashiers dont apologize for waiting. I didn't see her name but had black hair braided and glasses. Nice for apologizing and asked how I was doing. Bag boy was nice too and offered to take groceries I saw his name Matthew it was on name tag. UPDATE! I was in this week and the cashier i was taking about is named Brooke she's very nice and quick and always has a nice smile very friendly! read more

Worst service ever. I bought a few items that were buy one get one free. I didn't have a card, and don't have a Safeway anywhere near me, so I didn't want to fill one out. I explained that I was visiting and asked to use someone else's card or if they had one for visitors. The cashier refused to let me me use a guest card and insisted I had to sign up, but she was very rude about it. I had two small items and the lady in front of me unloaded all her items then went to the freezer isle to get something she forgot. As she was leaving to go on her forgetful journey, she was so rude about letting me go first. So if you are rude and inconsiderate then this is the store for you! read more

worst safeway EVER!!!! only gets one star cuz NONE isnt an option! I've been to safeway stores up and down the entire state of california. I've been going to this safeway off and on since 1989----it has never been as bad as it is now, the last 2-3years have been terrible! there are NEVER enough checkers-ever. it doesnt matter if its lunch time, 5p, 9p.....2a-it doesnt matter. I was actually tempted to straight walk out of the store without paying because no one responded to Multiple shouts from my fellow ignored patrons of "HELLO?!??? AnyBody WORKING HERE?!?" once at 9p, there was a single line open and i was TWELFTH in line!!!! when they did finally open a second line, there was a Price Adjustment by a customer who came back because he was OverCharged :( so both lines stopped again as the cashiers discussed what to do. thats when you want to hand the cheated customer $20 just to shut up and go away cuz he's slowing the whole crowd down!!!!! 9p is NOT an unreasonable hour to be at the grocery store. it is unreasonable to have only one line open at that hour. It doesnt matter how much prettier the store is since the remodel, it still feels crowded inside and never seems to have enough stocked for the customer base they serve. the safeway deals arent enough to get mii to go to this location. Even when i want to save the 10-15 min drive time, you end up wasting that time waiting on their slow and apathetic checkers. save yurself the heartache. shop somewhere else! read more

I have shopped in this store several times and on repeated offenses I have witnessed the store manager verbally abusing her staff, yelling at them in front of customers! Makes me wonder how she treats them behind closed doors?? I believe her name is Christine. It is so hard to watch these poor workers have to take that kind of treatment from this woman. These workers are working so hard and are still so kind to the customers especially in these tough pandemic times. These workers have had to work through this whole thing and this store manager just treats them like this? Its disgusting! read more

Go to Lucky or TJs Almost always stupid long lines which they could fix with more than two slow checkers. In line now with 15 yes 15 other people waiting to check out. read more

I am surprised this place is still in business. I have been there and there is only one line open, and people are waiting half way around the store. The prices aren't great either. Go to Savemart around the corner, its much better. I won't go here anymore. read more

My local grocery store of choice - just drive up the hill and I'm there. It's a bit old, a bit tired and a bit lacking in choice compared with your more modern, larger Safeways, but that has its pluses. They have most of what I'd want in a grocery store, and their oldness seems to lend an old time feel to the place - the staff are very friendly, always asking if I need help out to my car (I didn't realize I looked that decrepit), and there's rarely a line at the checkouts. Leave home, shop, get home, put stuff away in the fridge, freezer and pantry all within an hour, easy. I have a Nob Hill (closest), Save Mart (nee Albertsons - large and they carry everything) and this place as my choice of local grocery store - 9 times out of 10, I'm here. In reality, it's 3.5 stars, but it is so much better than the local Trade Joe's (which I gave 3 stars in the end) that this place has to earn a 4 just to differentiate it from my Trade Joe's review. read more

Probably useless to rate this Safeway as I think people will come here regardless.. I am extremely loyal to Safeway/Vons and live less than 1/2 mile away but will now be driving the 10-15minutes to go to other locations. Always understocked and dairy type containers that are cracked opened/ leaking. Small scale store with really narrow aisles, customer service has always been terrible but this last time i went topped the cake, I wanted some quaters and no one would help me. Also i walked by the lemons and smelled rotting (im an old bartender, i know that smell from a mile away) and rotting onions plus potatoes and bananas that werent stocked so i had to reach in the shipment boxes to get them myself. And the cheese i got from the deli counter was pretty much at the end of its shelf life Truly a frustrating experience, wish I could of complained but they were seriously understaffed! read more

ALWAYS under staffed. I stopped shopping here a year ago and started going consistent to Luckys - tried SW again today - same slow service. The staff is great the management needs a reboot!!! read more

Crazy long lines, every single time. Never more than 2 checkers, often 1. Piss poor lighting so it's hard to read the labels. Parking lot just sucks rocks, plenty of space but design minimizes the number of spaces and maximizes distance to front door, not great carrying groceries in the rain. Often doesn't have what I went in to get. Staff always friendly. read more

I have recently moved to a location where I am the same distance from either Crossroads or Forest Hill Safeways. I have made 3 shopping trips to each to compare and see which one I will prefer to shop at. My third and final trip to Forest Hill Safeway came on February 15. Three incidents: the first one, while going down the wine aisle, I was blocked by three empty large shopping carts, left by a young clerk who sported multiple tattoos up each arm. He apparently used the carts to truck in the wine he was stocking. As he was squatted over stocking the last of the bottles on lower shelves. I could not get around both him and the empty carts he'd left in the way. He made no attempt to get up and park them aside, or to to slightly move out of my way so I could get around him. All I got from him was a glare as he continued to squat and stock the wine bottles while ignoring me. So, I was to get out of HIS way! I wanted to ask him if he had any idea how his actions came across. Next item: I got to the check out and began to place my items on the moving belt when Alex, the cashier, made me stop. I was hurriedly asked to move aside so he could grease in a fellow employee, the person #3 in this posting, whose preferential treatment was to buy 3 discounted Valentine chocolate boxes before scurrying out at the end of his shift. So, I was to wait and give deference to the young man, who was squeezed past me and was checked out ahead of me. I was even asked to remove my handbag from the counter next to the credit card machine I was waiting to use, so young man #3 could use his card instead. What ever happened to consideration for the customer? Especially when the customer is a lady, a Senior citizen lady in fact, who has money to spend? Given their "me first" attitude that I encountered at this store, these three Safeway employees left me with a very poor impression. Did they receive no training in putting the customer first? Or is the customer now expected to put the employees first? In any case, that occasion decided me. Crossroads gets my vote from now on. At least there, my visit is appreciated and they don't mind taking my money, while thanking me and asking if I need any extra assistance. A little Courtesy goes a long way! Lack of it means the customer goes elsewhere. read more

No understanding of very basic Covid safety. I made three trial trips (quick, & walked out) over three weeks and saw multiple Safeway staff & checkers not wearing masks, masks down at the neck, or covering only the jaw but not the nose or the open mouth when speaking. Every time I have observed 2- 3 staff taking their masks off in the aisle when they thought they were alone; last trip I saw 2 checkers & 1 stocker wearing only open face shields. I spoke briefly to each the manager about the need for well-fitting masks, but he just wanted me out the door. Sadly, the face shields will not protect the checkers from anything other than a direct sneeze and shoppers are faced with aisles of staff who have been breathing all day in the store without masks. I can only assume that Safeway central instructions are vague or meaningless but good management could improve this locally. Safeway as a chain rates far below Trader Joe's, Rite Aid, Lucky's and Andronico's in a recent "Covid compliance" published rating and I sadly see it is true here in Monterey. Good stock & friendly staff can't make up for an indoor environment without basic precautions. I feel sorry for the staff that are working there and will not return. read more

Safeway Bakery does NOT know how to make Sour Dough Baguette's...! Bought one today for garlic bread to go with spaghetti tonight and all the baguette's were soft and under baked as they have been for a few month's now... A sour dough baguette is supposed to have a crisp outer crust, not soft and limp (like a few people around here are) as these always are... I am going to presume that the supplier for this location have reduced their baking time in order to produce more of the other baked products... Please don't do that!!! Bake a sour dough baguette to it's proper doneness please. Thank you Not the store managers fault... She tolerates me on my bad day's!!! read more

Convenient location for residents, staff is fine. But make sure you check the food before buying. I saw a refrigerated pasta that was way past expiration and already molding. I went back a week later and it was still there. read more

I live within walking distance of this Safeway and would rather drive to the other side of town to go to the other one. They don't carry much here, they are over priced and most of the people that work here can be rude. Lines are always ridiculous and the parking lot, though bigger than trader Joe's, has issues with how customers drive and park. read more

Well I have no clue what is up with this place, but from the moment I walked in it was like I pissed in everyones cheerios. I think I asked 1 question and the answer was "I'll find someone to help you" and no one never came. I can deal with that, but I will not stand the checker and the bagger copping attitude with me. The checker throwing my stuff down and the bagger just tossing everything in the cart. After they smashed my bread, I let them take it to my car and load it for me. Hey he asked. The best was seeing his face after he loaded up all the bags and looked at me for a tip, i smiled and left. IGM From now on I will just stick to the NOB or the safeway on freemont. read more