Complaint Review: Safeway Stores

Safeway's weekly ad circular showed a photo of Johnsonville "Smoked Brats" on a buy one, get one free basis. I went to 3 stores, 1 in Campbell and 2 in Los Gatos and none of them even carried the item! All 3 stores only carry the "beef brats", "cheddar brats" and "stadium brats". Funny they would choose to show a photo of the one type they don't even carry. I spoke with the meat department in each store and they said they would order the item and 6 days later none of the stores had the item.

I wrote to Safeway "Customer Service" (what a joke!) and was told my concerns would be addressed in a boilerplate response. This is a serious breach of false advertising and I have spent a lot of time trying to make it right. Essentially I was told that it was up to me to have the store order the item advertised and I told everyone I spoke to that it was not! The best I could do was get a raincheck for the item, but if the store does not carry the item, the consumer loses again.

I wrote to the San Jose Mercury News action line but received no response. It seems like my only remedy is to file a complaint with the local consumer protection bureau, but what's the point? I've caught Safeway in a lie and they are so insulated that to properly pursue it will take more time than I have to devote to it. I guess I will have to go to the Los Gatos Nob Hill market and pay full price for the "smoked brats", as they carry the 4 varieties and the butcher says they have not problem getting any of the varieties.

Stopthebull
Los Gatos, California
U.S.A.