Smart & Final

I don’t know why we don’t shop here more often. It’s like Costco without the membership. They have plenty of things in bulk & great deals. Just sucks they don’t have a lot more locations throughout San Diego. Fortunate enough they have one here in Escondido.

I always find what I’m looking for here at a good price! It’s kind of in between Costco and wal mart, big sizes, great place for last minute items that you may need in a bigger size! You can buy the good stuff by the gallon or the case here! Gotta love it

Clean organized store. They have a good selection of tiems for a medium size store. Many items are in bulk size and the prices are pretty good. One downside is they do not have a lot of check out counters.

This is a good little store tucked away in a Escondido center shopping mall. They have very generic selection and carry one of my favorite dressings that cannot be found in normal grocery stores. The prices are cheap and awesome and the hours are unbeatable. I love their hours and the checkout process was super quick and simple. I found what I was looking for and was in and out in under 2 minutes, which is fantastic and what I look for in a store.

So we stopped to get The Modelo 24 pack of bottles for the 4^th of July and they are out… this is the first day of the ad so that seems kind of silly. My husband asks the clerk if they have any in back and he says they have been out of the 24 bottle box for weeks now… so you have an ad that draws people in with good beer prices for the 4^th and of course we picked up a few other things which is the point of the ad right? Cashier asks my husband if we found everything okay and he tells her well not really and she tells him that they often run out things on the first day of the ad… lol…good to know:) I won’t bother looking at the ad or coming in cause they probably won’t have it anyway. I will go ahead and fight the Costco traffic knowing they never run out of what they carry:)

Costco without the membership? Maybe… a full store version of the «bulk buy» aisle at your neighborhood grocery store? Kinda. Smart n Final fills a unique void between the big bog membership stores and your bargain grocery store. I remember when you could only find Smart N Final stores in non descript industrial areas. Not hey are everywhere. And for good reason. Yes, they majority of what they stock are the «value, or bulk buy» type items… but they are also not getting into a great selection of fresh produce and specialty items like cheeses. This is a great particular store because I always find what I need quickly, the store is clean and well organized… and they have a great selection of cheeses and meats, even bulk meats fro BBQ and food service… sometimes an entire tenderloin is what you need people!
I have not had a bad experience with the staff and many here seem to have, but I can say that they always seem to be short staffed and that can lead to frustrations on both ends.

Today I was verbally abused by a clerk named Michele. I was in line behind an elderly couple and waited too long. By the time they got to the register, I was really getting tired. And then they struck up a conversation and she stood there and chatted with them and adjusted her headband. Fuming, I went up and reminded her that she was there to work. In my experience, you can be friendly and still move people along. Michele was disrespectful of my time and did not understand her position. She apparently thought I was there to serve her and not the other way around. When I told her this, she talked back to me and I exploded. I used the f word and went ballistic. She finally found her match. My attitude and my mouth are bigger than hers.
We had heated words and I again apprised her of her position. I was not there to please her, she was getting paid to wait on me. She replied with, «I’m not your black…» and then she made a face. I was highly offended by this comment. The man I loved most in the world was black and died in 1998. His death traumatized me. To suggest that I would treat a person of color badly was an insult. I treat people who give me bad customer service badly. She knew she had crossed the line when I accused her of making a racial remark. She called the manager and told him I yelled at her because she adjusted her headband. He shrugged and walked away, never addressing the problem. He was a black man and I suppose she was trying to cover her rear end. The customer is always right is not a motto in their store. With eleven million people out of work, I have to wonder why in the world Smart & Final, Inc. would employ this person who cannot control her temper, is inconsiderate, and rude to customers.

This is the best smart and final the people are great and it’s super clean and they have everything I need.

For Sub Prime. I still have my card from YEARS ago. And I was also a Gemco shopper. Gads, I’m gettin ’ old.

It nice to run here real fast instead of fighting Costco traffic.

I gave it 1 star because I like the pricing strategy. If I can give it zero star, I would! It’s because of my experience here. Cashier: John. (that’s what was written on my receipt).
Snatched the 5 dollar bill off my hand, and I was a bit stumped, thinking, «Was he in a hurry?» «Did I do something wrong?». I’m only buying eggs. Then, gave me my change back, 3 1-​dollar bills. 2 packs of 99 cents eggs, 1.98, change is equal to 3 dollars. I went looking for one of those automatic change-​dropping-​slide thing, didn’t exist. Mr. John there simply omitted my 2 cents. I didn’t want to talk to him because he seems pissed, and I don’t want any aftermath knowing the demographic location I’m in. I felt threatened and it’s not worth complaining to the manager for those darn 2 cents. 2 cents are nothing, but the other way around when you are 2 cents or even 1 cent short, sometimes you don’t get to buy anything. I’m going to be smart and final about this. What’s final? My visit, that is.

Grand reopening! This Smart & Final has now added «Extra» to its name. So what is the Extra all about?
This place was pretty packed for a grand opening even thought they didn’t have buskers, free hot dogs, or the megadeals you’ll see at some grand openings.
The Extras. (Hybrid Bulk AND Small sizes)
— The new fruit /​veggies section was great. Clean, fresh, value priced. Let’s hope they keep this attention to detail and quality going.
— They have really increased the canned goods selection.
— Extra also focused on smaller packaging… No more having to by 64 oz of nacho cheese, you can buy a 12oz can now…
— More baby items
All in all, the prices on bulk items match up to Costco. No hassle here though, and no membership (they’ve also removed the discount cards).