Safeway

A tip for those playing dinner party host this New Year’s Eve who are still considering what to serve as the main course: If a roast or bird in a grocery store’s weekly ad catches your eye, call the store to find out the extent to which supplies may be limited. Or else run the risk of a wasted trip to the grocery store.

A TINA.org reader claims Safeway falsely advertised a $49.99 turkey dinner in a weekly print ad that ran Dec. 16 through Dec. 26. He said he came to this conclusion after the turkey dinner deal — complete with mashed potatoes, stuffing and more — lured him to the local Safeway store in South San Francisco. The reader wrote in an email dated Dec. 24:

I was told by the clerk in the deli department that they were no longer taking orders since all orders had to be placed in the beginning of December 2015. This is not right since they advertised in the (San Francisco Chronicle) newspaper effective starting Dec. 16.

Fine print on the bottom of the page advertising the $49.99 turkey dinner states in part that “(s)election varies by store.”

The Safeway fine print is similar to an online disclaimer that accompanied a recent rib eye roast from Aldi: “Items may not be available in all stores.” Unfortunately for another TINA.org reader, this disclaimer did not make the Aldi weekly print ad, resulting in another wasted trip to the grocery store.