Is Safeway Building Negative Buzz with Charity Support Requests?

Recently, every time that I shop at Safeway, the checker has asked whether I would like to add a dollar to my grocery bill to contribute to a specific charity like the Prostate Cancer Foundation or Easter Seals. These requests have always irked me because they make me feel like a heel when I say "no" in front of the clerk and other people waiting in line. I'm a big believer in charitable giving; however, I prefer to contribute directly to causes I believe in so I can be assured that my money is going directly to them and I can get a tax deduction.

With prices on all food items zooming, Safeway's fundraising efforts are bound to irk customers struggling to make ends meet who might like to support worthy causes but quite simply are struggling to feed their own families. In fact, a recent article in The Oregonian indicates that Safeway's insistent fundraising is generating negative buzz. I'm guessing that Safeway's current methodology of soliciting customer support of charities will dissipate as economic times grow tougher.

Comments

[jason]

You should never feel like a heel for saying no to a donation. Your point about individuals looking to support their families is well made, but in no way should people see Safeway's method for fundraising as a negative.

Think about if 2000 Safeway shoppers who can spare $1.00 say yes. The return is a child living with a physical disability could experience accessible summer camp, where they learn job skills and methods to live outgoing active lifestyles which in turn prepare them and propel them into the work force which in our country (Canada) means that the disabled population is at an all time unemployment low.

http://working.canada.com/resources/story.html?id=3e18a04b-813a-41de-a086-048007f8199a

So to those who can't throw the $1 on, thats totally cool, but to those who can, youre actually giving a lot more than you'd think.

[Patrick Galvin]

Jason,

Your example of how many small contributions add up to a large donation is a point well taken and I appreciate your taking time to post this on my blog.

That said, since I wrote the above post,I've received a few emails agreeing that Safeway is going over the line with its solicitation of funds. One reader even told me that checkers at his local Safeway go on the intercom every time somebody makes a generous contribution.

It's great that Safeway wants to help the communities in which they have stores, however, constant hectoring of customers to donate will surely drive many customers away. Why can't Safeway just donate to its preferred causes discretely? Could it be that their solicitation of donations is a misguided effort to instill admiration in their shoppers?

Best,
Patrick

[Jan]

While I understand that Safeway's heart may be in the right place, I agree that this method of collection is inappropriate. I am one of the many people who is having trouble making ends meet these days. I have to make a concerted effort to buy the cheapest brands and only the necessities to stretch my family's food budget. This said, I feel guilted into "rounding up" the dollar amount when the clerk loudly asks me in front of a line of customers. Recently however, I went back into the store the same day for a small purchase for something I forgot($3.02 total) and was asked again to round up to $4. I politely declined for the first time. The checker actually gave me a dirty look and gruffly handed me my purchase without saying thank you! Being bullied into "giving" is going to make me take my business elsewhere.

[Jan]

I was wondering if the employees were being "incentivized" to ask and apparently they are: http://sfist.com/2007/08/26/safeway_sends_w.php
and this follow up:
http://sfist.com/2007/10/02/update_safeway.php

[janet]

I am on a committee trying to raise funds for a local dog park. The community I live in has a population of 4,000. What I am wondering about: Does Safeway Inc. help local causes, and if not, why not? I would like to see Safeway raise money locally, for my cause. What is your opinion?

[Patrick Galvin]

Jan, your description of why Safeway's constant appeal for donated funds irks you really resonated with me. Also, thanks for sending the link to the blog which talks about employees being "incentivized" to seek donations - very enlightening and poor judgement on the part of Safeway.

Janet, as far as I know, Safeway only works with a handful of national charities so your local dog park would be a tough pitch but you can always speak to the manger of your local store and see whether the store might like to to make a special donation. As a dog owner myself, I can sympathize with your cause.

[Tanya Barham]

I had a woman come to one of my programs one night and tell me a horror story very similar to yours. A man stood in front of her in line. This man was very clearly homeless or seriously down on his luck. He was buying something to eat - a banana and a peach and was going to have to pay with change.

The teenage checker mindlessly asked him if he wanted to donate his $.70 to some charity or another and the woman who stood behind him said she felt uncomfortable for him and embarrassed for the checker. It was clear this man was homeless and there was a good chance he might not know where his next $2 would come. Of course he said no.

The woman who told me this story said she thought the whole transaction was awful and wished the girl has used better judgment before creating a situation where this man was set up to look like a total jerk.

[james]

as a safeway employee I'm constantly being harrassed into asking for donations, safeways management spends the day tracking all the employees money donated, ignoring the basic operating needs of the store. its really a joke and you can't tell me safeway isn't making money off the deal. why else would they make it more important than selling somebody dinner?....the real reason they are open.

[Safeway Clerk]

Charity implies volunteering and charities are a personal matter.

Safeway has no business forcing its' employees to panhandle customers for spare change (or else...)

Please list any other companies that engage in this unethical conduct of quota driven mandatory charity participation.

Safeway had a rich history of charity participation when they simply asked for volunteers.

They think that if they can raise more money they will improve their image and their bottom line. But they never received bad press before and they refuse to even post a thankyou note complete with results where their customers (donors) can read it.

Please return to volunteer based participation Safeway.

[Martin]

I refuse to be bullied into donating to charity. I also refuse to be rudely treated for saying no. Therefore, I no longer shop at Safeway.

[John]

I'm done with Safeway. I choose the charities I want to support, I give all I feel I can afford, and I do it privately with no fuss. I do not appreciate being solicited at my front door or at the checkout stand.

Thanks for writing about this.

[Kat]

Clearly, I am not the only one who is fed up with Safeway's incessant "donation" solicitation. I Googled "safeway donation" to see if I was the only one feeling this way. Over the last 6 months, each time I go into Safeway, I am asked at minimum 3 times for donations - at the front door, by an employee with juice or cookies as an "enticement", at the checkstand, and then, when I use my credit/debit card to pay for my groceries. The donation drives at my local store are continuous, not just a few times a year. While I have no problem with charitable giving - I give to several charities including Goodwill and our local food bank regularly - I do have an issue with the way that Safeway is handling their solicitation. It is aggressive and offensive. Unfortunately Safeway is the closest store to my house, and although I routinely shop at other stores for this and other specific reasons (cost being one), sometimes I end up at Safeway out of convenience. No more! Thanks for your article.

[Patrick Galvin]

It's interesting that my post about Safeway from last year continues to be one of the most visited ones on this blog. I wonder whether Safeway's marketing folks are aware of the negative buzz that the company's fundraising efforts generate. I'm surprised that nobody from Safeway's corporate communications department or PR firm has addressed the complaints here. With the holiday season approaching and many Americans suffering from reduced financial resources, I wonder whether Safeway will scale back its in-store fund raising efforts.

[R]

What is Safeway's main push to collect donations. Is it to create an atmosphere of good will? or is it a tool for a huge tax deduction for them? I like many are irked that the employees are forced to ask every costumer. Like many on this thread I am a very generous person but like to donate when, where, and how I want to.

[Richard]

I work at Safeway in San Francisco and have been called into my assistant manager's office many times this month to be harassed about not meeting Donation Quotas.

Yesterday I collected many donations and made announcements while our District Manager was in the Store. I am aware of the disturbed looks on Customer's faces as I ask them day after day for Donations. Yesterday my Assistant Manager told me one customer told her that I did NOT ask for a Donation.

I was called back to her office and when I asked that I have Union Representation, my Right, I was told to punch out and go home and was SUSPENDED FOR INSUBORDINATION.
This should be illegal!

[Randy]

A jar of pumpkin pie spice sells for $6.50 at Safeway, but just $1.99 at Trader Joe's. Plus, every visit to Safeway is like an excursion to Tijuana. No, thank you. I don't want to buy your cold $5 pizza. It's hard for me to believe this business model works anymore: Sell staples and fast-food trash below cost and RAPE the consumer on everything else.

[Corine]

The point is that they ASK when I have already answered the question on their pin pad. I just got back from Safeway and this happened. The cashier actually raised his voice and went into a long explanation holding up the line even longer. Then, he circled the 800 number for the corporate office and told me I could call them. Perhaps the employees are tired of it too. I will bring my food purchases, which average $600 a month, elsewhere.

[Bowieluvver]

All of the comments from fellow Safeway employees are absolutely true. We are not only bullied by mgmt. into asking every customer for donations- 1.) When they first walk into the store, 2.) On the pin pad at checkout, and 3.) Vocally soliciting before the conclusion of the transaction- but customer service suffers because of the shift of attention from our customers to our donation earnings. Also at our store, if we don't make an announcement on the intercom every time someone makes a donation, we can be sent home. If we don't ask every customer, regardless of whether they came in twice already in the same day, we get sent home. If we don't meet our donation "goals", it's posted in red ink to make us feel shame, even if we tried our hardest to meet said unrealistic goals.

I could go on forever about how our courtesy clerks can't help us bag, help customers to their cars, or help customers find items because they are forced into standing at a table in the lobby collecting donations. About how people from the neighborhood come in every single day just to buy their food, and have to go through the donation gamut every time. About how mgmt. pages (extra loud) a 5 minute speech every hour about the importance of collecting donations, tying up the intercom so that we can't call for assistance, can't call for price checks, irking waiting customers that just want to buy their dinner and go home.

As another donation round comes up, less than two months after the Easter Seals donation round, I am NOT looking forward to all the anger and anxiety that surrounds what should be a selfless and generous type of event.

I am looking forward to the day when I will never have to harass another customer again to avoid mgmt. harassing me.

[John]

Greetings Everyone, I was grocery shopping at a Pavilions Market, owned by Safeway, in the Los Angeles area over the Memorial Day Weekend. During checkout I and was asked if I wanted to make a donation. I was unable to understand what charity the Cashier was asking me donate to. I didn't even ask her to clarify because I was offended to be asked for a donation while shopping for groceries. I would never donate to a charity under that type of situation. It's not the time or place to ask people for donations. I'd like to hear what others think about this. I won't be going back to any of Safeway's stores until this practice is stopped. It's the third and last time. Bye Bye Safeway. John

[Russ Loar]

I feel sorry for the employees. And as a customer I don't want to be given a sales pitch everywhere I go. So many restaurants these days train their servers to be salespersons, selling high-priced appetizers, drinks, side-dishes and deserts.

We are a society increasingly bombarded by sales pitches, whether for profit or for charity, and it feels like an intrusion.

But more importantly, the unions representing these harassed employees should take actual legal action against their employers and demand a stop to these practices that violate work rules and punish workers unjustly.

The state attorney general should begin an investigation of these practices and see if there is an actual, verifiable accounting for how much charitable giving is received and how much is dispersed.

If these companies are raising money for charity and then using part of the funds for employee incentives or other purposes, they should be prosecuted.

Just look at the recent news about the investigation here in California about Ralph's allegedly cheating customers -- overcharging on prices. But we're supposed to believe they'll be absolutely honest when it comes to asking us for more money to support a charitable cause?

The state attorney general, perhaps even federal investigators, need to hold these companies accountable for these practices, to check if they are violating labor laws and to demand a strict accounting for every dollar raised.

Finally, perhaps here in California we should start a petition drive to put an initiative on the ballot prohibiting this kind of solicitation.

Most of us care about our communities and want to help those who are less fortunate, but with all the stories represented here, clearly, abuses are being committed, if not actual fraud.

Russ Allison Loar

[Jan]

Aside from effectively assaulting us at the "waterhole', I was furious after shopping there today when they had a continuous assault of "thank you to my customer on register 4 for contributing blah blah blah" each time followed 3 seconds later by some bimbo at FULL VOLUME saying "ThankyouThankyouTHANKYOU" all as one sing-song word and then every 3rd time of that giving a 1 minute speil on why they're holding this begathon. I had my IPod at full volume and still couldn't block her out!

I will never, NEVER shop there again! They are so fired! Raleys never puts their customers through that. They just got a new customer.

[Nikki]

I have filled out their comment cards about this. When I have mentioned it to a checker, they act like *I* am this miserly shrew, when we scrape as is on one income for a family of 4 at 60K a year. Ok, we're not probably at the poverty level, but 60K sure isn't what it was even say 20 years ago here. Most of our neighbors make a lot more than we do. We rarely buy stuff period but we *have* to buy food! I would rather not have to deal with going to the competitor as they are on the other side of town and don't always have the same deals, but I'm tired of being pressured/embarrassed with the relentless requests.
Like the poster 8/14/2010 said, also the making a big deal if someone does donate and all the fake cheer rah rah makes everything that much worse. You can't win- you either lose money you need for gas- or whatever- or you say no and feel poor and shamed. Why don't they have donation kiosks at boutique stores or salons- places people who have the extra money go?

[Alice]

I have two supermarkets in my little town. Safeway is one. I have lived here 45 years and am a nice little old lady. But I have never, and will never, agree to the checkout donation requests.

It's financial harassment and terrible training for people in bad times. The people who are short of money are probably the ones most easily embarrassed into donating in that public way.

It's as bad as saying, "Supersize it!" Or "Do you want fries with that?" Dietary mistakes and financial mistakes through mindless social pressure.

I've checked the charity ratings for Safeway's choices and they're not good. There are much more effective ways to give. I hate this behavior from Safeway. People should begin to be proud to say, "No."

[Robert Q]

I too shop at Safeway and have been solicited...but I'm not going to whine about it!! Seriously people, it's raising money for very good causes and believe it or not, probably just as important it is raising awareness of things like prostate/breast cancer. It is pretty darn easy to say "NO" last time I checked, for all of you who say you feel guilty doing so I ask you why? What do you have to feel guilty about? It also can't be equated to someone trying to super-size your meal, this is for CHARITY not profit! I think it is kind of sad that so many people can't even be "inconvienced" for all of 5 or 10 seconds at the grocery store to help cure these terrible diseases. I see it as just another sign of the selfish society we have become.

[Jeff]

I'm totally annoyed. Every trip to the store now seems all about what the store is doing to reach its goal for the hour. Newest thing is to put school-age children in faux 'cages' until their goal is met. Really don't like the pressure tactics and would prefer elevator music than the constant noise on the intercom system. Call me cynical but there's got to be $ in it for for the stores. It's come to the point where I dread entering the store. Can hear it all on the intercom outside the store in the parking lot before entering. Like a larger forum where maybe we can stop these anti-consumer antics.