Pros
Mostly decent people for customers. Usually fairly loyal to their local Safeway.
Cons
1. Hours can get changed. For the record, the Safeway union (UFWC5) guarantees 24 hours a week, and if you're trying to get 40 hours a week, it's not always guaranteed. Sometimes they will cut hours and even ask you to come work later in your shift. Yet you find out that they wanted to have less people available on shift, and they are often overwhelming them with work. Other times, you will get your schedule, and they will ask you to come in earlier and/or stay later. 2. "Employee Seniority" seems to mean different things to different stores/mgrs. If you work at a larger store and want to transfer closer to home, but the store closer to home is smaller and makes less money, you aren't gonna be able to be transferred. The other supposed reason is that you are only allowed to transfer, depending on your seniority...and well, if you are the newest checker or courtesy clerk and your store sells a lot and keeps transferring in people from other stores just to keep up with operations, then you are just S.O.L. 3. If you are the newest employee, don't expect to work shifts during the day time. Especially if you work at a 24 hour store! My buddy is a checker at a store 35 miles away from his house, and he always works until midnight or 1:00 am! He says he has no life outside of work any more. I know exactly what he's talking about, because I am in the same boat and I have been there just a few months longer than him (almost two years compared to his one year). 4. They will hang on to bad or mediocre employees, just to keep their numbers. There are a number of employees at my store (courtesy clerks and checkers alike) who are just lazy employees and would have been disciplined or downright fired if it was any other company. They just get a slap on the wrist. It sucks when the people who are supposed to help you at work just slow you down more. 5. Union fees are kind of ridiculous. Granted, they pay for your medical and dental benefits (I had to wait a whole year to get dental!), but it's usually $40 or more a week out of your paycheck! If you're only making like $16/hr as a checker or $11/hr as a courtesy clerk, and you commute 35 miles one way, guess how much gas you are spending?!?!?