Save On Foods

Time after time, the customer service, I dealt with was peasant and those ladies who worked at CS was great Talia, Robbyn, Angelica, TY, it was surely be gruelling when you gals worked with the recycling and I appreciate it, lovely bulk section, really good, and I know they have three sizes for bulk, small for bulk candies/​nuts, spices, medium for much larger bulk, and large for produce and larger bulk purchases. The produce section I don’t really frequent, only on bananas, magazine section is good, the aisles are a breeze to navigate, the only downsize was something’s on the flyer don’t carry :/​which was ok, Scoping was a breeze too but you need competitors flyers yes physical ones :) and totally the floor staff had some knowledge about products they carry. Kudos. Esp to Elena she’s great getting her small talk about things that Save on carries. Very good, points yay!

twisted my ankle in the store on Easter Monday just past the checkout aisle. an anti-​fatigue mat for the cashier was not in the right spot and was sticking out about a foot or so, staff came to my aid but could do nothing. they took my deets and called the next day to ensure i was okay.

nice well stocked store

I turned into a regular customer of Save on Food, even though ‘your independent grocery’ is a block away from my house. I’ve noticed other grocery chains have raised prices but quality remains the same. SOF has better quality food that consistent with price. Their bakery goods are always awesome and fresh. All of it. I love their soups. Without having a SOF soup gives me a feeling as if I missed something for keeping myself sane, warm and happy. Customer service is awesome. Only thing that I needed there is sometimes not having enough visible trash cans. Oh and salads are not always fresh and crunchy

Grocery stores are all pretty generic. I am not a fan of how far I have to walk around the perimeter of the store for the staples (milk, bread, cheese eggs) but the (free) convenient parking downstairs is more that enough to bring me back — especially on a rainy day. Plus a visit here is always a great excuse to visit Canadian Tire/​Home Depot which are both great stores for me to throw money at.

Good prices albeit not the cheapest. Convenient, variety, great stock, sales are good if you ninja them (ex: dollar nestle 400g containers or Vij’s meat in the frozen aisle).
Consistent service (they also sell transit tickets etc. for those who didn’t know this).
Efficient and reliable store :)

The store looked clean and immaculate.
It’s too bad I the watermelon bin had a couple of spoiled watermelons In it.
The service was good though.

I had my first visit to this store today, having just moved into the hood. It is clean and has a huge selection of items (including bulk baking supplies so you can just buy 1 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of baking power eliminating all need for a pantry). It was very easy to access the garage off W 7^th and they will deduct $ 2 from your grocery bill (which is the cost of 1 hour of parking). I had an interaction with the customer service desk and they were efficient and friendly. My cashier was also great (reminded me to get my parking reimbursement!). The prices are a bit higher than at some other grocery stores but I’m very willing to pay for the convenience of having such a huge selection. I didn’t purchase anything from the deli, the butcher counter or the fish counter but I had a look and was very impressed. This will be my new grocery store! Remember to obtain a Save On card — the prices are substantially lower for cardholders.

I’ve been to this location a few times to get some snacks before my walk across the bridge. Their bulk section is the reason why I go. Prices aren’t that competitive sadly anymore between the bulk and regular but there are still gems worth filling the bag for.

Alright, so this isn’t as much of a review of the store.
This is a review about the bakery
First of all they bake a very tasty raisin bread. much better than what you can find at Safeway
But the real winner is the Parmesan Olive Ciabatta bread. This is great bread. Worth the trip from downtown

Service is terrible. Never knew in the beginning that they reimburse for parking till I saw someone do it after I checked out, they never ask if you have parked, so they told me to go line up in customer service to get 2 bucks back, had to explain in great detail in order to get it.
The other day I asked to get back as few coins as possible as I was leaving the country, but it was too difficult for him to understand and he only took the change amount, and gave me back two toonies, when I asked him to give me a fiver for two toonies and a loonie, said yeah but checked out the guy after me first and kept gesturing with his hand to me for more money, then finally said you can give me another five for a ten, which is not what i wanted to begin with.

SaveOn, I love to hate thee.
I love you that you often have the best sales advertised; I hate you that all your d/​t locations are the more upscale/​costly ‘urban fare’s’ and that you put a real Save On just out of reach for pedestrians living on the west end.
I also hate that you lately have random weight meats with a single sticker price, and no data on how much the meat inside the package weighs; is the price a bargain or a ripoff? artful packaging can make portions appear larger than actual.
not helpful to me, now that Safeway is copying your gimmick; you guys used to care about customers…

Great location, away from DT. It’s one of the largest Save on Foods, and a nice wide entrance from the street level.
And parking from the side street is pretty good access, though I’d favour not parking right by the parking machine inside, with ppl lining up and then crossing back to car.
Like the smell of the bakery on your left.
At least Save on Food does reimburse your parking.

I’ve shopped at Save-​On for more than a decade, so i’m quite familiar with the products they carry. I used to go here specifically for lunch-​type items for work, but I have since moved on to greener pastures (No Frills/​Nesters/​Independent Grocers).
This particular location is very hit or miss. Sometimes you’ll see them putting up those individual drinks (Nestea, Snapple, etc) for very cheap. It used to happen very often, but now it’s once in a blue moon. I have a few specific items (Western Family) like Tea which I always go for, but other than that, there’s not much in terms of good deals here. Pay attention to their weekly deals, and try to find items that are on special or free with points redeemed. Also, if you’re going to spend $ 75+ here, make sure to scan your card at the front scanner thing, and you’ll get a receipt print-​out of a points bonus that you get if you spend above a certain dollar amount. Usually it’s pretty high like $ 75+, but sometimes they offer $ 35+ or $ 50+. It’s VERY easy to rack up points this way if you shop here consistently for your weekly groceries.
They don’t charge for plastic bags, which is another plus. The parking thing is kind of annoying, but what can you do? it’s downtown, so that is expected. Much better price-​wise than Safeway, Urban Fare or some other places. Good option if you live downtown. Overall, moderately expensive, and just decent if you have a Save-​On card.

I really only think about this Save On when I’m going home from work, taking advantage of their sales, and also their parking. I remember when this thing opened with the building not too long ago and it probably just get’s lost in the heap of supermarkets in a 5 block radius, everybody has got to get in right. A shoppers paradise if your about only shopping for the deals as you have Safeway up the block in City Squre, No Frills in the old Office Depot, Whole Foods across the street, there’s another big box around here for everyone.
So, for all of you who have a car, there’s parking here, it’s reimbursed, I wouldn’t call it FREE. You spend $ 6 (yes. they raised it by a buck, clearly stated downstairs!) and they take it off your bill, they don’t give you a toonie to pay back the machine, they just mark your ticket with a pen that says you have redeemed it at checkout! Just incase your wondering, hey, where’d my money go?
The front entrance usually displays their big sale items, garage doors open up, nice welcoming entrance. Once you walk in your welcomed by the produce, and actually a nice deli where you can buy your prepared foods, and eat there, or just take it outside to wherever you gotta go. Standard Save On with everything you need, and points to collect. They also have a pharmacy, sell lotto, and a huge frozen fridge section if your a one finger button cooking bandit!
The one cool thing about this one, for the workers, is the tills/​conveyor belts, they adjust depending on the height of the cashier, it was a cool thing I got to witness, as one worker who was switching shifts (and was taller) checked out, and was replaced by one considerably shorter, there’s a button that brought the whole workstation down, I wonder what other grocery stores have this?

Be prepared if you want to shop at Cambie Save on food! You have an hour free parking but you need to ensure to purchase over $ 5 to reimburse for parking fee. Otherwise, gonna pay for $ 3.75!
It’s a clean and decent supermarket, they’re always busy.

What a racket.
At what point did Save On become more expensive than Safeway? Yes, there’s that whole Save On card thing, but who the hell ever carries it in their wallet? Oh, right — the keychain. Nice idea in theory, but really it’s basically just a smaller item for me to lose or not carry on my person.
Yes, my person.
Also, for some reason there is always a massive lineup (could it have something to do with the extra-​slow cashiers?) and zero options for us fast checker-​outers to self satisfy our speedy needs.[1] And for what? Bulk candy, perhaps?[2] If I wanted to pay that much for my produce I’d go across the street to Whole Foods. Yeah, I said it. Whole Foods has cheaper goods than Save On.
Save On time? Nope. Save On Money? Nope. Save On what then, Save On Foods… Save On What.
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[1] I have nothing against slow cashiers who work for small independent grocers — they’re fine. It’s just when found in a massive chain where the items are already so overpriced that I tend to have a problem.
[2] They really do have an out of control bulk section. My teeth hurt just thinking of the options.

What can one really write about a Grocery Store …
This Save On sits just across Cambie from Whole Foods, it’s decidedly upmarket cousin. Together, they are testament to the saying «you get what you pay for».
Save On is reasonably priced with consistently superior produce and a decent deli …
A competent and reliable grocery store that unlike Whole Foods, doesn’t fill me with the visceral desire for food but allows me to hold on to a little more of my pay check.

Good prices, great selection. Modern store, well lit and nice layout.
Always busy, they seem to be far better at stocking the produce section lately or maybe I’ve just been lucky. Same for cashiers they seem to be more aware of building lines and open more tills.
Great location, close to Olympic Village Station and Broadway City Hall — easy to access via transit. They pay for 1 hour of parking — they will give you $ 2 credit on your bill if you present a parking ticket. I think this is a great value and good business decision because I can usually fit in one or two other close-​by stores and then I shop at Save On, which I might not normally do.
If you don’t have a Save On More Card get one — you will not get the advertised sale price unless you have one.

When did Save On Foods become the grocery store equivalent of the food stop on the inside of the security checkpoint at the airport?
They are starting to make the Safeways and IGAs in town look like bargains. On the few occasions where I was forced to make a stop at the Cambie location, I had to forego some of the items on my list because I could not bring myself to believing the markups they were trying to get away with.