# Bah Humbug, Safeway Grocery Stores!!! You Lost Me As A Customer Forever!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 24, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766 "2002-12-24T21:05:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/1 "2002-12-24T21:05:04Z")
The following is an edited email I just wrote and sent from the [Safeway.com](http://Safeway.com) web site: > [@](#): > > I will never, ever shop at Safeway again, even if my life depends upon it. > > I had to make a quick trip after work this afternoon at a different business, then stopped at the Safeway to purchase a bag of potato chips as a last-minute request for someone. I do not shop at Safeway because the prices are inflated compared to Fred Meyers and Albertsons. Any _savings_ must come from your Club card membership and all the personal information you want just to buy groceries at their real price, and not what you charge for them. > > The checkout clerk did her damndest to get my phone number for a _cash_ purchase, because I don’t have, nor want a club card. I paid the inflated price (knowing I would beforehand) and just as I was leaving, the clek said, “You have a nice Christmas, … or a bad one if you prefer.” > > I will do without, or travel the extra miles to Fred Meyers or Albertsons from now on, not just to avoid paying your over-inflated prices, but the sheer rudeness of your staff. > > Finally, these comments, in an edited form, will be published on a world-wide message board at [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/) so that others can avoid your business and rude customer service. > > I do sincerely wish you all a Happy Holidays, nonetheless. BTW, Albertsons has a preferred customer card operation, too. However, Albertsons will issue you a card to obtain discounts without having to give them any personal information. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/2 "2002-12-24T21:12:21Z")
Ah, I’d’ve delayed my departure to discuss the clerk’s comment with the management. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/3 "2002-12-24T21:14:28Z")
Can you explain the part again why you found it necessary to drag the Chicago Reader and this board into your dispute? I must have missed it first time around. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/4 "2002-12-24T21:21:24Z")
Manny, I’ve transcribed the reasoning below. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/5 "2002-12-24T22:06:03Z")
You could always just give them fake information to get the card. They’re not a governmental agency, they’re just a grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/6 "2002-12-24T22:12:25Z")
Your anger is justified as is your letter to Corporate. Bringing the SDMB into it was nothing short of idiotic though. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/7 "2002-12-24T22:24:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\*Your anger is justified as is your letter to Corporate. Bringing the SDMB into it was nothing short of idiotic though. > > Haj \*\* Yeah, giving a corporation you’re pissed at bad publicity is _such_ a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/8 "2002-12-24T22:25:16Z")
The fact that you have dragged the SDMB into your petty hissy fit is absolutely ridiculous. I really don’t believe that anyone here is going to avoid a grocery store because of something a cashier said to you after you were undoubtedly rude to her. And the whole ‘even if my life depends on it’? Yeah, way to go. In their eyes, you’re twelve years old. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/9 "2002-12-24T22:27:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GingerOfTheNorth \* > \*\*In their eyes, you’re twelve years old. \*\* In their eyes, he’s lost money who has just ensured they’ll lose more money. Why the hell is this so hard to grasp? ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/10 "2002-12-24T22:29:44Z")
I can see the president of Safeway now:“OH GOD, NO! NOT THE SDMB!!!” Dude, just make up all the info for their club cards, that’s what I did. Acording to their records, my card is used by Ben Dover who lives at 1600 Pensylvania Ave., Washington D.C. It still works just fine for getting the discounts. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/11 "2002-12-24T22:30:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*Yeah, giving a corporation you’re pissed at bad publicity is _such_ a bad idea. \*\* I think (and hope) that you missed my point. Posting the rant is fine, telling Safeway that there is a rant about them here is idiotic. Yes, it’s a really, really bad idea. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/12 "2002-12-24T22:30:43Z")
We aren’t supposed to bitch about things in the Pit anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/13 "2002-12-24T22:33:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*In their eyes, he’s lost money who has just ensured they’ll lose more money. > > Why the hell is this so hard to grasp? \*\* A lifetime of substandard health care. :rolleyes: Grind your axes elsewhere, asswhipe. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/14 "2002-12-24T22:33:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Finally, these comments, in an edited form, will be published on a world-wide message board at [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/) so that others can avoid your business and rude customer service. **Manduck** , This is the part that bothers some of us. The rant is fine. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/15 "2002-12-24T22:33:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\*I think (and hope) that you missed my point. Posting the rant is fine, telling Safeway that there is a rant about them here is idiotic. Yes, it’s a really, really bad idea. > > Haj \*\* Au contraire: Telling Safeway that you’ve just informed x hundred other people how bad your experience there was is a _great idea._ Money is what Safeway needs, and we are money. The less of us they get, the less money they get. That’s what counts. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/16 "2002-12-24T22:37:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*Au contraire: Telling Safeway that you’ve just informed x hundred other people how bad your experience there was is a _great idea._ Money is what Safeway needs, and we are money. The less of us they get, the less money they get. That’s what counts. \*\* Let’s see a show of hands. Everyone who is honestly going to stop shopping at Safeway _only_ because of this rant, sound off. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/17 "2002-12-24T22:42:05Z")
**haj** : Logical fallacy. It’s rarely just one thing that makes someone stop doing something, unless it’s one really big thing. This rant will be in my mind whenever the topic of shopping comes up, and it will find company among other things about Safeway, positive and negative. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/18 "2002-12-24T22:42:45Z")
I would have isolated my complaint to the rudeness of the clerk and left out the ranting about their higher prices. All that “I’ll never ever shop there again, even if my life depended on it” stuff makes you sound irritable and flaky and prone to exaggeration. If I were in Safeway management, it would make me wonder if you’d caused a scene and upset someone or made things difficult for any of my employees. It wouldn’t register as a big loss to me if you decided not to shop Safeway anymore. I agree that sharing a bad experience with a place so that others won’t shop there is a good thing to do, but there are ways of doing so that don’t involve mentioning specifically who you talked to or your means of doing so. Mentioning the SDMB wasn’t necessary. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/19 "2002-12-24T22:44:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\ ***haj** : Logical fallacy. It’s rarely just one thing that makes someone stop doing something, unless it’s one really big thing. This rant will be in my mind whenever the topic of shopping comes up, and it will find company among other things about Safeway, positive and negative. \*\* You’re right. I concede that point. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766/20 "2002-12-24T22:52:15Z")
> [@](#): > > **Au contraire: Telling Safeway that you’ve just informed x hundred other people how bad your experience there was is a great idea. Money is what Safeway needs, and we are money. The less of us they get, the less money they get. That’s what counts.** Again, the problem is not that you’ve “informed x hundred other people how bad your experience” was, it’s that you specifically named the SDMB. There was no reason to do that, you could have referred to internet communities or online message boards without specifically naming this one. You have drawn attention to this board, but without obtaining the backing of the people who run the board. What if Safeway decide to be jerks? Will the Chicago Reader be hearing from Safeway’s lawyers over your comments? Unlikely, but you involved the Straight Dope in your own dispute by naming this venue to Safeway. You do know that the cashier doesn’t have a lie-detector hooked up at her station? This means that she’s unlikely to realise that you’ve given her a false phone number. Also, the “good or bad” Christmas comment may not even be related to you refusing to get the Club Card. She might say that to everyone - it may be her idea of a witticism. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bah-humbug-safeway-grocery-stores-you-lost-me-as-a-customer-forever/144766.md?page=2)