The Hillcrest Shell station has being changed dramatically. Instead of a top-notch mechanic and over-priced gasoline, there is a now an automated car-wash, a convenience market, and over-priced gasoline. The convenience market seems very well maintained, but I'd much rather have the mechanic, or more competitively priced gasoline. read more

They have the rudest employee/manager I've ever encountered in about a three minute gas station stop the lady working the counter first off was was smacking on a lollipop in her mouth which was disgusting all while treating me disrespectfully and taking her personal time to ring me up while distracted by her phone. She actually had to ring me up twice because she messed up my first transaction so hopefully I don't get charged twice. Then when I came back inside the manager started to defend her and her mistake and continued to be just as rude as she was. Grow up, and learn your customer service skills. read more

This Shell station has a mid-size convenient store and car wash. I found the customer service was professional, though dull. According to Gas Buddy, it is a high price to pay compared to other gas stations in the area. It is a very busy location near the Hillcrest hospital district. It's difficult to get in and out during peak hours, plus the layout is cramped. Combine that with only 2 ways to enter or exit, and this location can prove to be a challenge even without heavy traffic. Overall, I would avoid this station if you can manage to go to a different one because the prices here are just too high compared to the average in the area and getting in and out of here is not worth the hassle. read more

Rude management and unfriendly service. Don't recommend. Change management or be kinder to your customers.

Not returning after coming here for routinely 6 years. The older guy that works there is rude (He seems to forget we are not living in the 3rd world and trying to steal every time we shop there). I have seen him run his mouth to others, but recently it has been my turn to hear his mouth. The younger people are nice though. The air pump has never worked and the snacks are expensive; skip it. read more

The rating is for the car wash and the manager's customer service. I've been washing my car here with my husband for over three years. Today I went in to wash my car and the dryers turned off when I had a minute left. I went inside to tell the manager. He did not apologize, instead he told me that never happened before. He complained about my driving and told me it was my fault. I asked for paper towels and made me wait. I went outside to try to dry it. He told me it would dry once I drove away. My car is now covered in spots. Not cool! read more

I got gas and realized that my car was a DISASTER! So I ended up getting a car wash too it was awesome!! Also they have amazing snacks in the store not your typical convenience store. For the time it took to get may car cleaned the quality of the wash was amazing AND it was pride weekend! read more

Paid for the "works" which was the most expensive car wash at $11. Definitely not worth the money....There were still streaks of dirt on the hood of the car. Gas prices were pretty expensive too...I will try another place next time read more

This is for the carwash. It scratched my car up. All over the right side. Kinda pricey to get it buffed out. Also, my car was not very clean

Fast, honest, and inexpensive car repair. This is the best auto repair shop ever. I take my classy (aka 20-year-old) car to Mr. Ben every time I have issues. He is knowledgeable, honest, and helps me out in a very timely matter. For example, I recently had an electrical issue with my car. I called 2 other places (though I will only take my car to Mr. Ben) and both of them suggested that I had some serious (and expensive) electrical issues, they wouldn't be able to take me for a while, and it would take them some time and money to determine what was wrong. Mr. Ben properly diagnosed the car problem over the phone with the same information I provided to the other two mechanics. Also, he fixed it in approximately 2 minutes and charged appropriately. I recommend this shop for smooth and painless auto repair experiences. read more

I wanted to wait to review the new Shell, until I had multiple experiences. Hoping that something would change, and give me the opportunity for a better review. Sadly, it hasn't. My first experience wasn't so bad. I stopped in for coffee. I wasn't about to get gas here because they are on average, at least 20 cents higher than every other gas station. Sometimes, even more than 20 cents...but moving on. So, a couple days later, I stopped in for coffee again. The woman that was working seemed nice and spoke to me. But she also seemed quite occupied with chatting with the other employee about nonsense. I actually had to stand there and wait before she acknowledged that I had a question. I asked my question, and went about my business. Still annoyed that she put me, a customer, on hold so that she could gossip about another one of their stores' employees. R-U-D-E, RUDE! Strike 1 Throw in a couple of mediocre experiences here and there, and then fast forward to last week. The bf and I had just finished dinner at home and decided we wanted some ice cream. I suggested we walk to Shell because it was the closest to our place and on our side of Washington. (I mean, we could have gone to CVS but we would have had to cross Washington. Which we ultimately did. Stay tuned and you'll find out why). So we walk to the Shell. Lights on, a car is pumping gas, everything telling us that they are open. We walk to the front door. Locked! All the lights are on inside, and there's evidence that they are still supposed to be open. After all, it was only about 7:00pm. We decided to wait a few minutes, maybe the clerk was in the bathroom. After waiting about 7 or 8 minutes, I suggested that we leave and go across the street, because at that point who knows how long we were going to have to stand there. (sidebar - I assume they were supposed to still be open. I can't say for sure because they don't have their hours posted anywhere, which I thought was required...but I digress). Strike 2 This morning I stopped in for coffee again. After all, it is National Coffee Day, isn't it?! When I walked in, the woman working was running around the store. She mentioned something to one of the 2 other customers. Told him to go to the counter. Then she shouted, for whatever reason, "Hold on everyone, I have to help the woman outside". I don't know if I'd call this Strike 3, but it definitely was foul ball territory. Why she didn't have another person helping her during morning rush hour, when it's a gas station AND mini-mart, I will never know. Common sense wouldn tell you that during busier times of the day, they should have another employee. Who knows, maybe they spend too much money on the renovations and now the customer service is going to suffer. Some might say I'm being silly. It's a gas station after all. But gas station, or five start restaurant, our entire culture centers around customer service. If we had better customer service all around, maybe people would be a lot happier. read more

This gas station is well kept and has everything I need. I come here for the car wash, not the gas, too expensive.

Shell gas station with a convenience store and drive thru car wash attached. The car wash seems popular as it's always being used. I haven't gone through it myself but it looks to be in good condition and would be great for a quick wash if you're not into/don't have time to hand wash. The convenience store is... well... convenient! Their drinks and snacks are appropriately priced. Credit and debit are accepted inside the store with no fees. They have a small deli section and some fruits (bananas and apples) here as well but no hot foods (ex: Nachos, hot dogs, taquitos). Gas prices here are generally higher than at other places, but It's the only gas station in the area that I can think of. I work right by here, and it doesn't get TOO crowded/busy at the pumps themselves, but the traffic in Hillcrest is horrible as expected so unless it's on your way, I wouldn't make it a point to come here. Although it's a nice store and the experience is bearable when you do :) read more

I used to love this place... Great customer service. Until tonight. I am desperately needing gas and oil- which means I must be able to get INSIDE to pay the person. I arrived at 12:25.... There's a sign on the door saying "be back in 5". So I wait... And wait... And wait.... And wait..... It's now 12:55 and I'm STILL waiting. My car is completely Empty so I cannot go drive looking for another station. What person just leaves their place of work puts a sign up and doesn't come back for this long? There has been at least 10 customers who have come..waited... And left pissed off in the last 30 minutes.. Right now there is a group of people waiting out in front extremely agitated. Come on shell, you may need to have a talk with your employees to remind them to actually stay at work when they are they only one on duty! Grrrrr read more

BEWARE. This morning at 4:16 AM, I stopped to fill the gas tank of my rental car. I had difficulty getting the gas pump nozzle to dispense gas and asked the clerk to assist me. He had trouble, too. He pulled the nozzle from the gas tank, pointed it at me squeezed the nozzle handle and hosed me down with gasoline!!! I had to get fresh clothes from my suitcase, clean up as best I could in the restroom & change clothes...including underwear! And my flight was at 6:55 AM! ASK ME HOW HAPPY I AM. Too bad I can't give minus stars. read more

WHAT A RIP!!! I paid $4.49 a gallon here when gas was no higher than $3.89 elsewhere in town. I had just gotten into town the night before and knew gas prices are generally higher in California, so I chalked it up to that. I probably would have kept driving for a bit had I not been sucking fumes. I choked down that huge credit card charge and drove on, and it didn't take long to realize I had been thoroughly gouged. Ugh. Do your research and drive on if you have the gas to get elsewhere!!! read more

Station is impeccable! So clean inside and always smells so good. The employees are always friendly and I look forward to filling my tank and grabbing a snack read more

Outrageously high prices on gas, they get away with it because of the scarcity of stations in hillcrest. If you think the real estate values justify it, well two blocks away 7/11 averages 50 cents a gallon less. This is not unusual for shell stations. Many (though not all) charge significantly more than their competitors, but most of them are real service stations with mechanics on duty, etc., which you could argue is worth it for some people. Only reason to buy gas here is if youre about to run out. Thats where I was when I stopped in, didnt think to look at the price. After I was done pumping I noticed $40 didnt even buy a half tank, saw the price on the sign. Wow, did we just invade a middle east country? Gas must be going up. Then driving down Washington as I got to the freeway, I noticed Mobil and Chevron- both usually higher priced than Arco or independents- were still 70 cents less than Shell was gouging people for. This is the kind of greed I like to reward with never returning and convincing my friends to avoid them as well. read more

the staff didnt seem to understand me when i asked if they take food stamps cash aid ebt card for gas and or food she still didnt understand me and said no making it uncomfortable read more

My review is for their food mart only. They have a surprisingly and impressively huge inventory of sweets and snacks in their food mart. They carry packages of Haribo gummy candy that I had never seen before (and I know my Haribo). In addition to all the usual brands that you see at a gas station mini mart, they also carry specialty sodas like Cheerwine (which is one of my favorite all time favorite cherry sodas), gobs of snacks, candy bars, chips, granola/power bars, and more. The place also looked really clean and spacious. read more

This place is the best!!!!! I've been coming here for 8 years and will not go anywhere else. Car wash is great and the mini mart is the bomb they have so many things that I crave on the daily; Mexican candy! LOL the owner is super nice and treats you like family! read more

Quick tire repair with friendly service

Most expensive gas in the area and rude employee. I've had my card skimmed here before and swore I wouldn't go back, but was going to run out of gas before I could get to the next one. So I prepaid just $10 to get me to the next place. Pump wouldn't work, even when first employee came out to try to make it work. Made me come back in, ran my card again, it still wouldn't work. Teenage clerk came out and rudely told me twice to read the instructions (thanks, I've been filling my gas tank longer than you've been alive) then jimmied it quite a bit until she finally got it to work. It then stopped well before it got to $10, around $9.50. I will definitely be checking that I was not, in fact charged twice, and will make sure this is my last time using this Shell. read more

Don't recommend to vacuum your car here because as soon as you grab the hose it'll stop working. The place is overall overpriced and they don't care too much about costumer's complains. read more

The last place you expect exceptional customer service is a gas station. Last Monday morning, May 23 I was there to fuel my rental car before turning it in. I had problems with the pump and before I could even turn around and walk to the counter, the attendant's voice was on the pump advising what happened and making corrections. She came out to make sure I would know what the problem was to avoid a recurrence. Next time I am fueling in San Diego, I know which service station I will be using. read more

Ben's the best. And the other guys who work there. I love this place. I do pretty much all my own work, have been a licensed smog mechanic in the past, and am a degreed electronic engineer. I know a ton about cars. I have recommended friends to Ben and served as interpreter, and he's honest and quite skilled. He fixed my friend's old mechanical fuel injection without making her buy an expensive new part -- he knows his stuff. I will take my own car to him if it ever needs something I don't feel like tackling myself. read more

I only stop here when I'm really low on gas, prices are a tad higher but few gas stations around the Hillcrest area, plus it's super convienent to other areas of SD. read more

Drive thru is terrible. The line is really long, the soap smells of bubblegum really strong, and the power dry does not get your car dry. The driving instructions are confusing too. It doesn't distinguish between you and the guy in front of you still drying. read more

Dont know what happened but right after I filled up at this gas station my car started acting up. Dont know if it was the gas or the car wash, which does an ok job but it gets kind of rough with the rolling thinga-magigas, the car gets pretty banged up...dont think I will be returning. read more

What can I say, this is a gas station. They have always met all my needs. Their prices are moderate compared to other gas stations. They also have a car wash which is a huge plus for me. Check them out. read more

I come here only when I have to, the gas is expensive and the car wash does a poor job at drying after it's done. My most recent time the car wash locked up on me because it doesn't take split payments, which I understand but I shouldn't have to click the help button in order to cancel the wash and get my money back. The whole thing needs a real upgrade it seems. read more

Samuel is an amazing person, providing the BEST customer service and QUALITY care. He should receive an accolade for his generosity. I was out of gas and didn't have my wallet; he was gracious enough to use his own money so that I would have enough gas to get to work. I have never commented on Yelp and probably never will again but Samuel is amazing and I hope the owner is reading this. Thank you so much again Samuel, you have given me hope in humanity. Stacy. read more

The most expensive gas in town, they don't allow cash back and they charge a $1.50 for air!!

The service station here is great. The tech is always honest, always saving you money. I've had two different cars worked on here and it's always been a painless process. Only down side is the place occasionally has some teenagers running around that appear to be the owner's kids that sometimes make the atmosphere slightly unprofessional. They maybe learning, but they need to stand back, be quiet and let the pros do it for now. read more

I have lived in Hillcrest over five years and l only buy Shell gas but never from this over priced gas station. I'd rather drive miles out of the way to another Shell station before I put in a drop of this over priced gas. They are .30 to .50 cent higher than all other Shell gas stations nearby. A complete ripoff. read more

male employee doesn't want me to use restroom, if I'm not buying anything, I pump gas to a shell in different locations, the employee sucks, I am a ride service driver and our company encourage us to pump at she'll forget it. it happens 7:15pm 6-23-16. read more