I live on the Westside of Santa Cruz and been going to this Safeway regularly for 17 years. I needed to use western Union (first time ever) yesterday for my son who just moved out of the nest last year out of the area, far away. He is responsible, never gets in trouble, a good kid. My bank had to be shut down for all online access for 4 days, this weekend, including the holiday to transition to the new _______ banking. I usually use online apps to send money and the receiver would get it instantly. One of his roommates moved out and new renter last minute flaked. They were all stuck with an extra pmt due by 9/1. 2 days notice on a holiday weekend! I went to Safeway on mission and had to bring cash (other WU's let you use debit or credit, another inconvenience) and Teresa helped me at customer service. She was very efficient and nice. She said my son could get the money from minutes to an hour in his bank. I said ok. Went home called my son. We waited and waited. Nothing for two hours. Now it was 7:15, they close western Union service at 8pm. I called them and they said it's in route to the bank. It would take 2 days and there was nothing they can do. I was livid, he needed this money TODAY!! I drove down there again. Thank goodness Teresa was still there. I spoke to another worker and Teresa overheard the story and came right over. Two workers were working together on this now. Both were surprised and never heard of this. They called western Union and said "this is unacceptable, let me speak to a supervisor, this is an emergency, this is what you're going to do," telling the agent. I thought I was the Mama Bear from hell when something happens to my kid but she was the mama bear! Right before my eyes I was witnessing a super hero in action. She was professional but fierce. She managed to cancel the transaction and re-send it so he can receive it in cash. I was in retail for over 7 years and I know what it's like. Never in my life had I experienced that level of amazing customer service! I am forever grateful for her speedy resolution. I am full of awe. That would make a great movie scene. All throughout this she was handling customer's problems and quick transactions. It was like she had 12 hands. Don't ever let her go unless you promote her to corporate management. She deserves a promotion. Even though this Safeway is busy with lots of students and not always have enough checkers, I will never forget this. Thank you thank you thank you Teresa. She helped me yesterday 9/3/23 at 5:13 pm and again at 7:15 pm. Ashley was the other associate, she was extremely helpful as well, she was in customer service too. I'm close to tears I'm so thankful. read more

Great products, food is always fresh. The staff make me feel welcome even when I come in the middle of the night. Sometimes things are out of stock but everyone is usually very nice about it. Place is very clean, too. read more

I've been waiting at the deli for 15 minutes and there were three people working, but evidently only one person is capable of serving me and he's been tied up with one customer for all of this time. Maybe management could out of the box and instructor other employees to be more helpful. read more

The checker kept pulling his mask down and exposing his nose. Then, because I bought alcohol, he made me take my mask off and said it was state law. I am about to turn 40, and would be flattered if it didn't feel super unsafe around him and in a crowded store. Then, the manager said that they have people stand behind the glass to pull their mask down, which he didn't do or ask for. This is not the first time it has felt like they aren't taking safety precautions seriously. There should be a sign near the alcohol, maybe 20 signs or a few giant signs saying they are going to unmask you. I would have had time to think and leave it on the shelf. Both the manager and the checker weren't actually wearing masks, they had handkerchiefs- which are the least effective at protection for others. If you are in a vulnerable population, go elsewhere. read more

Sold me rotten curdled Yogart. They wouldn't let me exchange it or return it, stating that because of Covid they could not support a return.

The staff at this pharmacy has always been polite and friendly to me. I have been coming here for a few years now and my only regret is that I hadn't left this review long before now. So to all of the staff at this pharmacy....thank you for always treating me kindly and non judgmental, it is very appreciated. - Todd J read more

5 stars for the Turkey Pesto Avocado sandwich!! I've never ordered sandwiches from Safeway before but my friends and I wanted to buy something quick and simple for the beach. It cost $6 for a regular and $10 for a large. I went for the regular and they cut the sandwich in half so I was able to devour half on the spot (I was hungry!!) and save the other half for later. It comes on Focaccia bread with turkey, avocado, pesto, provolone, mayo, lettuce, and tomato. I added peppercinis and red onions. I didn't expect much from a sandwich from Safeway, so I was surprised at how tasty it was. I loved every bite of it! Too bad I got a little bit too drunk at the beach, that I don't remember eating my second half of the sandwich :( I would definitely order this sandwich again! read more

Safeway - Turkey Pesto Avocado sandwich - so good!!! - Grocery Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Doesn't matter what time of day it is, these guys have a massive line going all the way down the aisles. I'm live reviewing from the line now Its 10:30 on a Tuesday morning, not exactly peak shopping hours. Yet here I am enough free time on line to write this review. This is after they called three more employees to check. The line does move at all. Tell my wife I loved her. read more

Vey limited isles open, not carts (all in the parking lot) and dirty store. Poor management.

Today's cashier Daniel was rude, obnoxious, and I saw him throwing items at an elderly lady in the checkout line. One other gentleman left the checkout line after seeing what went on. This has not been the first time for Daniel's behavior. The sooner he is terminated or transfered to another store, the better! read more

First of all this is a beautiful well stocked store. The pharmacy Personal are very professional. Just return from there. Cashier was Jessica. If he were the manager she would not be cashiering until she learns the customer is more important than conversing with the cashier next to her and the bagger about scheduling. Customer in front of me wasn't given any attention. After a couple of minutes I got her attention by telling her " your customer is in front of you". She didn't care and has a SUCK A LEMON ATTITUDE. read more

This Safeway location has been a blessing to me. Anytime I forget an ingredient for dinner or just have a taste for something specific, I know I can find it here. This location used to be 24 hours which I loved, however, they are still open late. read more

Safeway - Picking up some odds and ends - Grocery Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

I think it's pretty ridiculous that it is nearly 9am on a work week and self check out is still closed. And then when it is closed they have maybe one checker with a 15 minute wait at times. Complete nonsense. Other safeways commonly have self check out open by no later than 7am. This store needs to get its l sh@t together! Oh, and half the time they are out of items you want. Please, you guys can do so much better. read more

A really big Safeway and all their $5 pumpkins were sold out! Their restrooms are open and there is a Starbucks inside. A great pit stop for those venturing out in Highway 1. read more

Had a great experience at this store. Ended up rushing through the self checkout while I was on the phone and walked away leaving $40 in the change tray. It took me a good 10 minutes before I figured it out. Ran back and was stunned when I asked the clerk if anyone may have found the $40 I left behind and he said yes and handed it to me. A special thank you to Nolan! read more

The Soquel Safeway on is pretty decent with one acceptation the Deli department. Most of the staff is pretty decent but there is this one crazy lady I think her name was Leni she's crazy. Customers would ask home much longer to wait for the chicken tenders and she would just reply "chicken tender I make eh for you" over and over when ever we would ask how long we had to wait. Not to mention she would refuse to check us out whenever we asked to pay at the Deli like she had something better to do (I also noticed she would ask other employees especially the younger ones to do it claiming that their "numbers were in them". But that was nothing compared to the dreaded sushi people especially the tall guy Yoon. I would often see him harass customer especially the younger ones because he was convinced they would steal his sushi. He would wait at the front door and when people would try to leave the store caring sushi he would say thing like "YOU NO RECITEYOU NO PAY!" and take the sushi away from the customers. Or "STOP STOP STOP!!!'' if he saw customers who intended to pay latter opening his sushi to snack on even if they WERE IN LINE FOR THE REGISTER. I believe he was also quit rude to his fellow coworkers at the Deli yelling at them to ring customers up because he was prejudice and was convinced some but not all wouldn't pay for it before leaving the store. I've even heard stories form other customers about this Yoon fellow following them around the store. Luckily he seems to no longer be employed although I do see him from time to time at the Deli wearing normal street clothes touching the food without even washing his hands or wearing gloves which cannot be sanitary. But hey why would he care I once saw him touch his phone as he was making the sushi. read more

My family and i went to safeway to buy grocerie, as people do in grocery stores. All other staff on the sales floor were very respectful, polite, and helpful. We went to check out and everything was going fine, we were in our own world at self checkout and my little brother stated that the coupons go in the coupon bin. Immediately after he says that, a staff member named David interrupts our conversation and shouts " NO NO NO NO NO BASURA AQUI" in front of everyone in his broken spanish. Our whole conversation was in english and it was rude of him not only to raise his voice but to also speak spanish to us just because we are hispanic. Everyone that was at the self checkout stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at us... it was humiliating and made my safeway experience unpleasant and lowkey made me not want to shop at safeway again. it's sad when you go into a community grocery and get profiled as a hispanic person trying to cause problems. We also didnt receive an apology he just moved on after embarrassing us in front of 20+ people. To some this may not seem like such a bad experience but for me at least as a brown person it's hard knowing that people think that i'm trying to cause issues and especially that he thought speaking spanish to us was ok? when none of our dialogue was even in spanish... HE DID NOT KNOW WE SPOKE SPANISH BUT ASSUMED WE DID. IF YOURE GONNA SPEAK SPANISH AT LEAST DO IT RIGHT! read more

Safeway is a store of last resort. Not only are the prices incredibly higher than where I buy most of my food (Costco), but when I NEED something which Costco does not carry, it's about 50/50 whether Safeway will have it in stock. That said, I never go into an Albertson, the company which recently bought Safeway Stores. The manager of the Mission St. store is an absolute jerk. read more

There is absolutely zero reason there is only one checkout lane open, and the checker is slower than molasses. If I was in a hurry I'd have to just ditch my cart. read more

Good location, centrally located to many businesses and other shopping. We got some food items here and although I took way longer than it should've taken, it was a pleasant shopping trip as the parking lot of plenty big, the store was nicely appointed and remodeled. There were so many self check-out spots, and staff was pretty helpful when I needed a little assistance at check-out. Very organized, brightly lit, nicely stocked with more variety of certain items than my usual store back home, and just a good store overall. It looks a lot better than the older one in town which I have not had the chance to check out. It also helps that I visited in late morning so it wasn't too busy either. If I need to grocery shop next time I'm here I'll try to pick this one over the other Safeway. read more

I used to stop at Safeway frequently on my way to Idea Fab Labs from my home in San Jose, to get food for lunch, treats for the other members, or lunchroom supplies. Tonight I was at an event at IFL and they didn't have food and the restrooms were off limits. I thought I could get some fruit or baked goods and use the restroom and go back to the concert. Instead, the restrooms were closed. When I said I wasn't going to buy anything if I couldn't use the restroom, the security guard accused me of living in the parking lot, making trouble earlier, and needing to take my medications. I hadn't been in the shopping center earlier and he should not talk to customers that way even if they're dressed for a theme party and their car is old. I'm going to boycott Safeway for being so rude to me. I'm not going to drive 70 miles round trip to use the bathroom and they don't need to insult me. I'm going to post on our maker space Slack channel what happened and they will lose everyone's business. read more

Absolutely horrible customer service. The woman at the customer service counter didn't know how to help with my order and was told by whoever was in charge that they would show her how. This was in earshot. The customer service woman came back and told me she couldn't help. Pure laziness. Store isn't particularly clean. Disappointing in covid times. read more

This store used to be the best, even before they rebuilt it. I grew up in Santa Cruz and this was my favorite Safeway since the early eighties to around 2014, when the white nationalist began harassing African Americans and dark skinned Hispanic/Latinos and worst ever since D Trump became president. I been racially profiled by Security and white Caucasian employees, some Caucasian employees are rude and unhelpful, and even some Hispanic/Latino supervisors, such as a lady who has very white skin but has Latin background, has followed me and verbally harassed me. They are following the racist rhetoric of white supremacists and D Trump. It is sad and very upsetting. read more

Safeway - Safeway on Mission st Santa Cruz. - Grocery Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

No complaints but getting access to the LOCKED up liquor cabinet...such a nightmare, one worker has the keys and ya have to wait 10-15 minutes to find this Ghost..The other 3 workers are still trying to locate the person that's fart Assing around...At least they tried. Complete JOKE, ...Avoid this Branch if all possible read more

I'm writing this update review because of my recent trip here. Long story short, I went in search for a birthday cake, balloons, and other random supplies for a friend's birthday. I was in a small rush because I only had one hour with my zip car and needed to get back to set up before she came home. Blah, blah. I had three guys help me out. I remember their faces but not their names sadly. One got me my balloon, the other my cake, and the last one was my cashier. Each of them were so nice and went out of their way to help me make my friend's day extra special. (Balloon guy) He wasn't even the balloon person but he got me the balloon anyways. He also gave me ribbon for my balloon instead of the regular string, without charging me extra! :) yay (Cake guy) There was a small finger smudge on the cake, it looked like someone went with their finger and scraped some frosting off. Since it was the last one I asked if the person could fix it for me...not only did he fix it but he gave me 4 dollars off the 8.99 originally priced cake! That's roughly a 50% discount! (Check out guy) I guess the cake guy wasn't supposed to give me such a discount, but since he was friends with the cashier they both tag teamed and gave me the discount on the cake--I didn't find out that they would have been in trouble for doing this until after I paid and the cashier told me. (Maybe it's a good thing I can't remember their names!) Overall...the workers at Safeway are super amazingful. :) read more

I just shopped here and the cashier, Tammy, was so kind to the very elder lady in front of me that her kindness made me tear up. This corporation may not be the best but the people make me come back. You rock Tammy! read more

10 years ago, I bought a 2 seat convertible. Since then, I've driven up & down the coast between San Francisco & Monterey with the top down more times than I can remember. This Safeway in Santa Cruz is sometimes a stopping point for taking a quick break. On a recent beautiful, clear, sunny Sunday out on the Coast, I found myself at this Safeway yet again in need of a quick break from the road. Remembering what this Safeway was like before the remodel, I really like how it's turned out for the most part. It's bigger, cleaner, more modern, has more services (including a Starbucks with free Wi-Fi) & even the parking lot has been improved. Most of the time I just stop in to use the restroom & get a bottled drink, but I was a little hungry this time around. I went to the deli & got a $5 sandwich, chips & soda combo deal. The wait wasn't long & the sandwich was OK. For $5, it was all a pretty decent deal. Before getting back on the road, I had to use the restroom. This was the 1 blemish on an overall nice remodel of this store. Same old restrooms as before, dirty with plenty of graffiti. With any luck, the restrooms will also get re-done. The Safeway in Santa Cruz next to Highway 1 has undergone an excellent makeover & is now a more pleasant stop on coastal road trips than before. Any random sunny day on the Coast might find me here getting a drink or a snack & hopefully using a clean, new restroom next time. read more

Meh, I wish Santa Cruz had a better variety of grocery stores especially nearby the UCSC campus. Being from the city, I've seen more run-down and cramped Safeway but I feel that this one is more spacious and according to my family, has a little more variety of food and better presentation for some of the desserts. I like the fact that it IS a 24 hour Safeway. Definitely benefits my housemates and I when having drunchies and craving hot Cheetos with cream cheese. Or if we need a little something extra when it comes to making baked goods. There are certain days when it's REALLY crowded especially on a Saturday and Sunday afternoons, or nights when there are only a couple of registers open and no self-checkout lines. Safeway is always going to be Safeway. Nothing unique about it. read more

I shopped at Safeway Mission Street last night and Tammy the cashier went out of her way to have assistance for me out to the car, without my asking, as I am wondering if she recognized me from a past visit with my daughter who had to help me as I recently had 2 surgeries on my shoulder and have been limited. Mind you I did not ask for help and yet Tammy recognized that the bags would be too too heavy. Not only did she call for assistance to help me to my car, the young gentleman that came to help was just as wonderful and kind and reiterated that they are always available to help anytime. Each staff member went out of their way to assist. I was taken aback by their giving of their time and attention and I want others to know how great they were even at a busy time of their work day. Please show them kindness and gratitude. read more

Lunch time Friday. No one at the deli counter. 15 minute wait for nothing!! Guys. It's lunch time. Put some staff where they're needed. read more

-1 star for my experience last night. Picking up some much needed groceries after dinner was probably my worst safeway experience yet. The line was ridiculously long. Possibly at least 20 people in front of me and 10 people in back. If it wasn't for the magazine rack which was next to me, I probably would have thrown a fit. I was in line for a good 30-40 minutes. I feel so bad for the people that had to wait in that line for a couple of items. How can there be only 2 checkers with that many customers? I would think a peak time would be after dinner, as most of the students try to get some grocery shopping done after dinner since most classes are during the day. Eavesdropping, the checker I was at was telling the other one to go call this one dude that's super lazy and just walks around the store killing time and pretending to do stuff. gosh! She must have called him to help at the front of the store but he never came... This safeway needs to hire more capable people. I'm sure there are plenty of poor UCSC students (like myself) that is willing to do a efficient job working here. HIRE MORE PEOPLE FOR THIS SHIFT. Common sense. Every time I'm here I already expect a huge line. Boo. read more

I dont like being asked for a photo i.d. to use debit machine at check out while others was not. spoke to training mgr. that it was discrimination. he got offended and claim that it was not. excusing employee as a newbie and blah blah blah (excusing him and not apologizing). why ask for photo i.d. to use a debit card with a valid pin number, they have no skin in the game if I utilize my bank info by a valid pin.if being singled out is not discrimination, then what is? read more

So before I had given this safeway 3 stars, but the other day I was here caused a star to vanish into thin air. I was in line, figured that it would be a quick line because there was only 2 people in front of me, one of which only had 2 items... But nopeeeeeeee, the cashier either was trying to get this girl's number or whatever the case was, but he took FOREVER ringing up her items as if he never worked the cashier ever in his life or something. A good 8 items she purchased probably took as long as a good 60 items. Before this incident, including me was only three people in line. After this incident the long formed to about 10 people and he was still taking FOREVER. SMH... read more