This Safeway in a rich Bay Area enclave feels ‘hostile.’ It’s intentional.

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | April 27, 2023 | Ariana Bindman

[artichokegrower]

In this wealthy Bay Area neighborhood, a crucial household item is guarded by security and surveilled by video cameras. It’s locked behind an impenetrable glass fortress, far out of sight and out of reach, especially to those who need it most. And even when you make it past all the gates, barricades and blood-red warning signs, there’s only so much left to pick over, anyway.

[artichokegrower]

Other residents are much more critical of the environment that this wealthy, majority-white neighborhood’s Safeway fosters.

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A long read with some interesting facts but the excerpt posted here sums up the opinion of the author.

[webheart]

Obviously Safeway treats the customers poorly in this one location only. I shopped at 2 different Safeway stores yesterday and found them to be quite friendly and it was intentional.

[FamiliarFace]

The other option for Safeway is to close its doors to the neighborhood because of theft. Then people would really complain.

[BobL]

““It feels prohibitive.” This is the first time she’s shopped for the coveted baby formula in person, but she told SFGATE she’ll never come back here for it again.”

But Trump is so BRASH!

[irishjuggler]

We’re getting very close to Ayn Rand’s world of “Atlas Shrugged.” Our political class now essentially condones and facilitates looting of businesses by the rabble.

[SMARTY]

People who do NOT steal and who DO pay for whatever they select, pick up the tab for what shoplifters do.

Vendor losses have to be made up, so honest shoppers have their bill padded to make up the loss from theft.

It ain’t rocket science

[Robert DeLong]

Accessing baby formula shouldn’t feel this punishing,

Thanks Joe Biden.

[skeeter]

White folks just take yor beatin’.

[glennaro]

So buy it somewhere else, woman. You are indeed blessed to live where capitalism remains ... but maybe not for long.

[hanamizu]

So buy it somewhere else, woman.

---

Having broken FR custom by having read most of the article, I believe the woman cited claimed that theft of formula was justified and should be allowed.

[PGR88]

The author is a typical leftist fool

Implies the store wants to make customers “feel unsafe.” Yes, Safeway spends $$ many hundreds of thousands in barriers and electronics, just to screw with customers’ minds.

And hey some woman who is a copyright editor didn’t feel unsafe at all. So it MUST be a conspiracy

Oh, and when people shoplift, they only take “essentials” like baby formula, meat, and medicine - so that’s OK!

[Menehune56]

Of course the homies are angry about the extensive anti-theft measures. How are their precious little ones supposed to eat?

[T.B. Yoits]

More stores will need to change to the Costco model where you must be a member to shop there.

If caught stealing, the member would be thrown out, have their on-file credit card charged for the merchandise, and arrested for criminal trespass if they ever showed up again.

One alternative would be for stores to go to delivery only, where customers order online, pay for it, and either pick the items up or have them delivered. Many stores expanded such service during the Scamdemic and can expand their offerings.

[Menehune56]

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “carceral” is defined as “of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison” (Webster).

Learned a new word today.

[Huskrrrr]

The result of liberal coddling of criminals, hon.

[Lisbon1940]

The problem at my Safeway is shopping carts in scarce supply.

[dila813]

We are going to get to old model of catalog shopping only

[BikerJoe]

““It feels prohibitive.” This is the first time she’s shopped for the coveted baby formula in person, but she told SFGATE she’ll never come back here for it again.”

She needs to get out more. Our large, local semi-rural supermarket had to start locking up the razor blades a few years back due to MASSIVE theft, like the lily white guy would come in with a trenchcoat and fill up all the pockets and scoot.

It was actually a team that was finally caught after a couple of thefts when the store manager tackled the one guy when he tried to escape.

[glennaro]

I didn't read most of the article, I read all of it and I stand by my comment which you disagree with. Know that I don't care that you do.

Now go away ... and try to be nice the rest of today.

[skeeter]

Question of the Day - typically who is made to feel unsafe by a security camera?