Especially since there’s an entire website devoted to exactly this type of thing.
or this one http://www.epinions.com/srvc-Grocery_Stores
i guess safeway lawyers will start shutting them down any day now :rolleyes:
While I certainly wouldn’t disagree with shutting down this thread, caselaw is pretty firmly on Duckster’s side on this one. Safeway is a public corporation. Duckster has the right to free speech, as well as the right to remain anonymous over the internet.
2TheMart.com v. John Doe comes to mind. I don’t have the case in front of me but in that instance, John Doe went on a public message board (under the name NoGuano which is such a cool nick) to blast 2TheMart.Com over a number of issues regarding their stock. 2TheMart sued and demanded the identity of John Doe from the message board. The message board declined to give out that information and, obviously, so did John Doe.
Doe managed to go to court and still successfully keep himself hidden.
Duckster has the right to write what he or she wants and Safeway has the right to respond. While they could sue, they’ll almost assuredly lose in a number of ways and it wouldn’t be worth the effort to try.
Just my non-professional opinion.
I’m not seeing where the cashier was rude? 
I’m thinking “You have a nice Christmas, … or a bad one if you prefer,” qualifies Voguevixen. Rule #1 of customer service, no matter how badly the customer deserves bad will wished upon them, don’t tell it to them to them to their face. Wait until they’ve left the store and bitch about them behind their backs.
Rule number one of complaining
Don’t ever tell them that you will never shop there again. That gives them permission to throw your letter into the round file. After all you have already told them you are gone.
Much better to tell them you are looking for a reason to stay a customer, this gives them something to work toward.
So someone says to you “You have a nice Christmas, … or a bad one if you prefer” and this sets off your little hissy-fit? I don’t even see it as being necessarily rude. I may have even gotten a bit of a laugh out of it depending on the context in which it was delivered. If you had not done or said anything rude to her it was probably just a lighthearted comment from some retail worker tired of the obligatory merriment of Christmas. On the other hand, if you had been rude to her, I would still not see this as anything to report to management. I might even see it as a reson to apologize for my own behavior.
As anyone who has ever worked in retail will tell you, there are a lot of people out there who see retail workers as people that you can be rude to with impunity. I’m sure, Duckster that you don’t see yourself as one of those people, but judging from your OP my guess is that you deserved whatever you got.
United lost my luggage this past weekend after a trip to Chicago. I was extremely upset, to the point of tears because there were Christmas gifts and new clothes in that bag. Nothing irreplaceable, except maybe the costume necklace I bought for New Year’s Eve. And then supposedly, they’d found my bag, and planned on delivering it to my home. Great. Wonderful. I was thrilled. Except that the time of delivery Sunday night passed. They called at 7 AM on Monday morning to say they’d be there at 12 noon. Great, except no one would be home. The guy said he’d bring it after 7 PM that night. 7:45 rolls around, still no bag. I call United’s baggage assistance line, they tell me it’ll be there by 8:30. 9:30 rolls around and still no bag. At this point, I’m VERY upset as I’m leaving the next morning to spend Christmas Eve with a friend. I call United again and get a very nice woman on the phone—I explain to her the situation, my apprehension shows in the call, but I’m very nice to her, just wanting to know when my bag’s going to arrive, not making any demands or threats on her. At the end of the call, she promises that my bag will be there that night, and because I was so nice to her, she would send me travel vouchers good towards my next flight on United. Since my SO lives four states away and I’m extremely broke, she doesn’t know what a nice Christmas gift she gave me. And my bag arrived at 11:30 PM that night.
Yeah, the cashier shouldn’t have been rude to you. But were you rude to her in not wanting the card? For me, a simple “No, thank you, I’m not interested” has always worked, without fail. It’s never inspired rudeness. I think there might be more to your actions that we’re hearing.
And while naming the SMDB probably won’t cause any legal reparations, it really was just kind of silly. Something tells me that Safeway’s not going to run from a message board.
Ava
IIRC Price Chopper requires a driver licence to get a savings card - but then again their regular prices are pretty good.
Another site to peruse - regarding the whole issue of those grocery store Customer “Membership” Cards:
I just finally caved-in on Albertson’s (having given up on S’way ages ago), who recently adopted that stoopid Customer-Cards crap too. Decided I was tired of being overcharged, so, as has been suggested above, I signed up for one of their cards - with the only “authentic” piece of information in my application being my name (and, it’s a somewhat common name so they can’t even pick me out of a local phone book - assuming they cared enough to try ::tinfoil hat off:: ). As to the rest of the info. I gave them - why, I might be “Miss Cleo” as far as they’ll ever know!
Otherwise, Duckster, I can’t add anything new to the commentary above – I think you’ve already been agreed-with/abused sufficiently. Good luck in the future -
Duckster… a couple of points I would like cleared up, if you don’t mind?
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You said she did her damndest to get your phone number, and you also bought just one bag of chips. It’s been my experience that the time it takes to complete a transaction of that magnitude would allow for the girl to ask for your club card, and your phone number possibly twice… and that’s if she’s talking fast. Usually, if she asks if you have a club card, and you say no, it could mean no as in I don’t have a club card with me, or no I don’t have a club card at all. Seems to me that she couldn’t have been that insistant. How many times did she ask for your phone number?
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What was your attitude towards her? Did you snap at her? Were you calm and collected? People who work for Safeway are not rude just for the hell of it. Those people are weeded out very fast.
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Did you dump on her (or ignore her and talk to the other customers) about the prices you think are inflated?
Safeway has a motto of “Superior Service”.
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They MUST ask for club cards, and are not supposed to take club cards other than the one that the customer has. It can be considered coupon fraud for them to do so or to provide a card that is not the customer’s. It is also a reason for being fired.
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They MUST thank you by name. Without the info on the club card, the only other way is if your debit or charge card prints your name or you use a check.
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They MUST close the sale. This is usually by saying have a nice day, or Merry Christmas.
They don’t have to take physical and verbal abuse from customers. I have seen a manager remove a customer and barr him from returning because of verbal abuse of a cashier. (The girl quit that same night because of the abuse.)
I don’t see what the problem is… The store’s policy of using a club card is up front. It is their rule - and their store. If you don’t like it you don’t have to shop there. It doesn’t take long to give out your name, address, and phone number - which is not sold or traded or used by anyone other than Safeway - and the phone number is included as a courtesy for those who lose or forget their card. It doesn’t cost anything to get a card.
I don’t see where ACME (Albertsons) is cheaper. Here, they are higher priced.
The girl was trying to save YOU money. One would think you would like to save money.
We only heard one side of the story - yours. We haven’t heard how you behaved. Somehow I don’t think it was angelic.
Yes… I do work for Safeway. I would ask for your card and if you didn’t have one, your phone number.
Debi
Checkout Cashiers at Safeway ask for your phone number in order to give you the Club Card discount (should you not have the card in hand to give to the clerk), not to get your personal info, dumbass.
When she realized you weren’t a Club Card holder, she was probably required to ask you if you want to sign up to become one.
At this point, from the words and tone of your email, I’ll bet you threw a major hissy-fit instead of answering “No thank you” to a simple question and made a general ass out of yourself, thus garnering the response you received.
For the record, our conversation was simple and polite …
Clerk: Do you have a Safeway Club Card?
Me: No, I don’t.
Clerk: Would you like a Safeway Club Card?
Me: No, thank you.
Clerk: You would save money with a Safeyway Club Card.
Me: Yes, I am aware of that. But no, thank you.
Clerk: Ok, but I need your telephone number then.
Me: Why? This is a cash sale.
Clerk: We need your telephone number.
Me: For a cash sale? No way.
Transaction completed.
Me: Thank you.
Clerk: Have a Merry Christmas, or a bad one if you prefer that.
There were no raised voices in the transaction, no hissy fit on either of our parts (Gee, I love it how many of you read into something not there.). Just an overly assertive clerk up until her rude uncalled for comment.
Had I decided to write a hard copy letter to Safeway instead of an email, I would hace cc’ed it to the local newspaper as well. I do not understand how cc’ing an email to a message board is any different, and as has been pointed out, it is protected speech. If the SDMB has a problem with it my apologies to them. It won’t happen again. Then again, from some of the rants here using foul language and naming companies as well, I would think the SDMB would have a greater problem with the Home Depot rant than here.
Finally, as for those claiming my email is false and/or I’m a maniac, thank you for your opinions. Your cynicism says far more than you realize.
OK. I’ll accept that your version of the conversation is true and placed in the proper context. Given that, I just don’t see the clerk’s parting remark as anything other than harmless variation of the same old “Have a Merry Christmas” that we’ve all been hearing for the past month.
Perhaps there was something in the tone of her voice that gave the conversation a more unpleasant tone, except that you say “There were no raised voices in the transaction, no hissy fit on either of our parts” so that rules that out.
I dunno. I’m still unsure as to who the real asshole was here.
I’m sorry, but I just don’t believe your version of the conversation as you portray it. Your emailed complaint betrays you. I hope you don’t consider that level-headed as well.
It sounds to me like you entered Safeway with quite the 'tude:
“I do not shop at Safeway because the prices are inflated compared to Fred Meyers and Albertsons.”
“I paid the inflated price (knowing I would beforehand)…”
An email that begins, I will never, ever shop at Safeway again, even if my life depends upon it, and ends with a vindictive notification that you CC’d the email to the Straight Dope Message Board… the Straight Dope Message Board fer crissakes!.. is not evidence in your favor that the conversation went down like that.
I hope that $3.75 bag of chips was worth all this time and effort.
Can’t vouch for the OP’s account, but when Albertson’s went to cards recently, the transaction described above was not enough to end the conversation. Following exchanges similar to this, the cashiers continued (variously),
“Why not?”
“Don’t you want to save money?”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“But don’t you want a good deal?”
“We don’t give out your information.”
Having knuckled under and got an Albertson’s card because they jacked up all the regular prices, I see jacked-up prices with “discounts” on purchases of two, three, or even four of the same item. And slower lines. Not only that, but I get a little printout on my receipt telling me how much money my household has spent. Seems to me they’re tracking my purchases and will stick it to my demographic soon enough. Mrs Shoshana and I will be shopping at Costco and the organic grocer now, thanks very much.
Wait, in order to avoid demographic pigeonholing and card-based info-gathering you’re going to start shopping at Costco?? You can’t even go inside the ibuilding without a card!
But at least I go there knowing I’ll be buying huge quantities, and knowing that everyone who’s buying there is being profiled. Not to mention that the prices are actually lower–my Albertson’s card now appears to get me the regular store prices prior to their switch, or higher prices if I don’t use the card.
This is why I shop H-E-B.
AMEN, Flood! I love HEB. It’s the chocolate of grocery stores. (Albertson’s is that fucking fruitcake nobody wants.)
We actually just ran Albertson’s out of town…all of the San Antonio locations shut down last month, b/c people finally got tired of having to buy 2 quantities of something just to pay a decent price for it…all those damn “bonus buys…”
HEB ate 'em for lunch.
FYI: I’ve never heard of having any kind of card at a grocery store. This must not be a Texas thing.