Safeway secrets revealed, avalanche of complaints answered in Reddit AMA Bay Area mid-level manager fields questions in 'Ask Me Anything'

Warning: The manager uses vulgar language throughout the AMA. Note: Some questions and answers were edited for length.) In a recent Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) forum, a self-described Safeway retail middle manager fielded questions about the store, using only his Reddit name. Click through the slide show to see a selection of the questions (bold-faced) and his answers. (The manager uses vulgar language throughout the AMA.Some questions and answers were edited for length.) less In a recent Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) forum, a self-described Safeway retail middle manager fielded questions about the store, using only his Reddit name. Click through the slide show to see a selection of ... more Photo: RJ Sangosti, Getty Images Photo: RJ Sangosti, Getty Images Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close Safeway secrets revealed, avalanche of complaints answered in Reddit AMA 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

Apparently many shoppers are not happy with their local Safeway, if questions and comments posted Sunday on a Reddit forum are any indication.

The questions in the AMA (Ask Me Anything) were fielded by self-described mid-level retail manager at one of the supermarket chain's Bay Area stores. The employee only identified himself by his Reddit handle, "MaliciousHippie."

The manager went on to cover a potpourri of topics, ranging from why express lane checkers won't challenge shoppers who exceed item limits to a little-known store policy allowing customers to sample items without buying them.

You can see a selection, edited for length, in the above slideshow.

He also offered his explanation for a common complaint: long checkout lines at stores, even during non-peak hours.

But Safeway Northern California spokeswoman Wendy Gutshall took issue with MaliciousHippie's characterization of store operations.

"The comments made on this forum are not an accurate portrayal of our company," Gutshall said in an email. "We're proud to employ more than 30,000 people in our Northern California workforce who are dedicated to the communities and customers they serve."

Gutshall did not address specific complaints.

"We cannot publicly share step-by-step detail of our policies or procedures," she wrote.

Several people in the forum complained about long lines, with some citing it as a reason they no longer shop at Safeway.

A Reddit user named foglover said he asked the night manager of his store why the lines were "so consistently terrible (even at 10 p.m. on a weeknight with about 15 people in the supermarket)," and was told that the location had gone through three managers in four weeks.

"What is so terrible about the company that could cause that?" foglover asked.

MaliciousHippie said the company wants to cut back on employee hours when sales targets aren't met, "yet this instead causes others like myself to work obscene overtime."

"We are regularly scheduled for our usual 40 (hours), then we are generally understaffed on top of that, so that means management is doing other jobs that should be filled, making it impossible to do our own," he said.

Gutshall said Safeway continuously evaluates store operations and makes changes based on management and customer feedback, seasonal activity and a variety of other variables.

"We can say we have best practices in place to address staffing and other operational areas of the store," she wrote.

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Gutshall noted Safeway is continuing to grow, with 10 new stores in the Bay Area, "offering new employment opportunities for hundreds of individuals."

MaliciousHippie said he hopes that company will succeed even though he dislikes some of the decisions its corporate management makes.