I use this market weekly and have always found the staff to be polite, kind, and helpful. I general, this market has lower staffing levels so you need to be a little more patient with checking out. Just know this going in and you'll be fine. The people that work here are very hard working. I've never gotten produce tgat spoils quickly--that seems to happen more at Costco. read more

Just ate a corn on the cob bought yesterday. Absolutely the sweetest best tasting corn I have ever eaten. Got to go back and pick up a dozen more. read more

manager refused to honor the shelf price. she should read their company policy. i'm sure she would eventually understand it.

I just had the most horrible experience ever at Smart and Final Poway and I'm a Regular customer. I've never had so many problems at the checkout before. I love coming here because everyone is so friendly, helpful and quick. Today, unfortunately that was not the case. First the line was so long! Qe waited for 30 minutes. When I first got to the cashier, I told her I would be using my EBT card but I was also putchadijg a Amazon Gift Card. The Cashier did not know how to run the Amazon gift card so she asked the cashier next to her for assistance. Once that was done she started scanning all of our food. I let her know I had items under the cart as well. With everything was done, which was a lot! I have three special needs boys, I ran my EBT card and told her the exact amount to run. It didn't work so I ran it a second time. She called a manager at this point. The Manager "Brian" came over to assist and asked me to try again. Didn't work. He said it wasn't working because of the Amazon gidt card. We would have to start ALL over again. I said why didn't your cashier run the transactions seperately? Brian responded saying well they don't know that. I asked well why aren't they trained properly? He had no response, just said well we have to do it separately. I had to now go to a separate cashier lane and start all over again! I had to unbag all of the groceries and put them back to be scanned again! Once Brian was done, I ran my EBT card and asked for cash back because Brian said I would have to go get a new Amazon Gift card because the one that had been scanned wouldn't work. So instead I got cash back. Brian asked if I was sure I didn't want an Amazon gift card? I said no, it's too much of a hassle! So needless to say Amazon lost $50 for this transaction. I thought after paying for the Birthday card and paper plates that I was done? Wrong! As I'm leaving, Brian comes out and says I never scanned the items below your cart. I need you to come back in if you wants those items. At this point now I'm furious and say out loud Jesus! This is freaking ridiculous! After paying I tell Brian, this has been the worst customer service I've ever had at Smart and Final and I should just shop on Amazon Fresh from now on! He shrugged his shoulders and didn't even respond or seem to care at all. I'm going to Costco or ordering from Amazon from now on! I don't want to go back anytime soon! They need to train their Employees and Managers better! read more

Thank you Brian for exceptional customer service.....After having a little confusion on the price of something, he not only cleared it up...he went above and beyond in customer service. read more

Love the small, cozy feel of this Smart & Final. They are well stocked and give great customer service.

I really like this smart and final. The cost is reasonable and the food selection is great. The only reason I won't give five stars is because I would love to see more organic stuff here. I prefer to eat organic food. The service was good. read more

I came in for some sprinkles to decorate cookies with. I came out with so many baking and art goods. Their flowers are beautifully displayed up front. I couldn't help but notice their selection of succulents! Their baking section is well stocked. Food color? Two varieties at a low cost. Sprinkles? Eight or nine types. Their selection of office supplies is great. Small but essential. Their party supplies is small and convenient. I love this store!!! read more

Had the worst experience here. Doug as a manager you should be ashamed of yourself. The line wrapped around the grocery store because there was only one checkstand open. Her name was Daisy and she was doing an amazing job, especially given the circumstances. She was friendly and kept her cool even though no manager would come help her. I knocked on the managers door but was ignored. The prices are OK and they do have some great stuff at the store, but if this is how management displays itself I will not be coming back. Plus my fiancé bought rotten ribs from the store earlier today... Which is why I'm here in the first place. read more

Good store but, has one big problem. They only have one sometimes, two registers open. The lines are very long and it takes forever to check out. If you aren't going to have enough employees or registers open, why not just have self-checkout? read more

Last week I purchased $60 Dominos gift card and received $10 off next purchase. I returned a few days later to redeem the $10. The cashier had difficulty scanning the bar code and called the store manager for assistance. After 15 minutes I decides to get back in line because I felt bad for everyone waiting. By the time I got to the front again still no manager. The cashier suggested to try another line. So I went to another line and the the exact same thing. The cashier called the manager and I waited another 15 minutes. I decided to go home and try again in a few days. Today I was able to catch the store manager Brian. I explained what happened and he said he would take care of it. He did not apologize for the inconvenience. I decided to tell him two more times about my experience and frustration. His response was "You told me three time and I told you I would take care of it" I knew he would take care of it because that was his job. Good Grief! I was looking for an apology for the inconvenience of waiting 30 minutes with no results and having to return. When talking one on one with Brian he is very rude. When I confront him in front of customers he sings a different tune. Brian has no social skills and does not know how to handle unsatisfied customers. I definitely won't be shopping at Smart n Final anymore. read more

Big, new as of 2014, clean and well-stocked, especially the outstanding produce area. The prices are reasonable and you can often find a bargain. Lots of large-size packages. Very good prices on dairy items. Excellent flan, a Mexican dessert -- a real treat and not at all expensive. The meat department is good but plan on buying a lot more than you need and freezing the rest. They also have a good household cleaning aisle with everything you'd need as well as a lot of picnic-type of housewares. People are very friendly. read more

Definitely a good experience, glad to have one in poway there is one in mira mesa but I hate driving in the traffic down there so this is convenient. Found what I wanted at decent prices, I buy in bulk since we go through produce and meats quickly and I found them fairly priced. If you're looking for extremely cheap go to the 99¢ store next door or spend the money to get a costco membership they're not going to beat either because they aren't a club store. Cashier was quick and fast and I was waiting for two minutes and the manager brought me a free rotisserie chicken. Don't know if it's standard but a nice gesture. Definitely will be back because it's clean, good service and very little hassle read more

More biased toward restaurant supply than the Escondido store, less than the Mira Mesa store. More convenient to me than either of the others. New and well stocked. On the SW corner in the same shopping center as JoAnn's. read more

Best price on mason jars!!! They didn't have as many as I needed. A gentleman helped me get a couple more from a top shelf and made sure to put in an order for their next delivery. Good stuff great prices and nice staff!!! read more

Its great! I love this store... we have a big family so buying in bulk is really great. Perfer it over Costco. This store also has great employees. I left my gum in the store today, and I didnt think they'd remember me so I went into buy another one. And they remembered me and saved it for me until I came back. Made my day... read more

Came here for ice cream while I was on my way to the dog park in poway. There selection was good, but the bad thing was that the checkout line took foreverrr. There was only 1 line and there was about 8 people in line.... you would think that they would try to open another register if there was that many people in line. Took me 20 mins just to pay. Geez.. read more

Not at all happy with the help in the store. Some people who work there are not very e ager to help you. The check out cashiers not friendly. MS read more

Good store, and good prices. Service horrible. Old lady with white hair was rude and she just made it seem like we were bothering her by being in her line. Hey lady if your not happy working here leave! read more

Was a good store until recently, when cashiers said new management came in and were told they couldn't accept my printed online coupons (California Dairy, especially). Will definitely return when this changes, as I can't imagine they can compete otherwise. However, until then, I will simply take my business elsewhere. read more

Went to Smart and Final early today to do some shopping for the 4th of July. The customer service was exceptional and the store was well stocked and clean. Prices were very good. The manager was walking around the store connecting with each employee, not just hi how are you but actually engaging the employee in how there area of responsibility was going, were there issues. This all translates into a well ran store with great customer experience. Thank you for the nice shopping experience read more

Many good deals on stuff you can't find at big box grocery stores. However, they are often out of stock of popular items. Produce can be iffy. read more

They put gala apples in the place allocated for fuji apples. I grabbed the wrong kind of apples, assuming that they were stocked correctly. I am now beginning to deal with this traumatic experience, but I am not sure if I will be able to overcome my new fear of buying apples. Hopefully the store reaches out to me to provide counseling with a licensed professional so that I can finally move on with my life. I feel that if the store would reach out to me with a sincere apology as well as the counseling sessions, I could change my review to a full five stars. If it were not for this horrifying event, I could have given the five star rating initially but this problem obviously needs to be resolved. read more