Thank you, Mr. Caruso

I just picked up a few items at my local Safeway (Cherry Creek). 

Every time I stop there, no matter what time of day and no matter how busy the store is, the employees and managers there are genuinely friendly. 

If I encounter someone working in an aisle, taking inventory or restocking, he or she usually looks up at me and says "hello", or "how are you today" or "can I help you", and not in a perfunctory way.  They actually look up at me as they're talking to me.

And, every time that I pay the person at the register looks at my receipt (my name is printed on the bottom of it as I pay with a credit card) then pauses, looks me in the eye, smiles, and says "thank you, Mr. Caruso" and, in tonight's case, "have a nice evening."

I like the personal touch.  I like the people who work at Safeway.  I feel like it's more of a neighborhood grocery store than a company that does more than $40 billion per year in sales.

I do shop at other supermarkets and I notice they're not quite the same.  In the brutally competitive grocery store business that operates on razor thin margins, the friendly people and the personal touch at my local Safeway make a big difference.