I've been a caterer for over 27 years and use Smart & Final for smaller items. They are open at 6am and the staff is always helpful and kind. I own a classic convertible and went to pick up a few loose ends at S&F today. After buying all the items I needed, I paid and left. My car wouldn't start. The staff wanted to help give me a jump and Alex really went out of his way to make sure me, my rescue mini schnauzer and my car all got home safely. He let me put my cold items back in the store to keep temps right. Alex let me borrow his phone and stayed around after his shift was done to make sure all went well. So here's to the staff at S&F and a huge shout out to helpful Alex. Thanks for your assistance. Michael Lewis/Food for Thought Catering. read more

I really like the convenience of this local store. It's prices are good, though the selection is limited. There is plenty of close parking which is plus, easy in and easy out. I wish it were tad bigger but that may take away from its convenience & charm that I like. Nine times out of 10 I can get what I need and get out. If I am unable to find something there is a Safeway a block away that I stop at on my way home. As far as Covid precautions the stickers to stand are coming up off the floor, and people just inch close to you. Need better markers for social distancing. The hand sanitizer is often empty and I do not see the carts being cleaned (I bring my own just in case) As far as cashiers most are friendly, there is one in particular that is annoying by being to friendly which slows up his duties. (Since there are two of them that I have seen there - the Andrew, with long hair not always kept neat, very thin & often has on pants which are big and wears his belt often missing a loop) Staff is usually visible and available if questions arise, and they often ask if they can be of help. Very nice. (Certainly not like Home Depot where I can never find a soul to help) read more

It used to be a really good place to shop. Used to have a good customer service and really respectful and helpful employees. There was a guy his name is Anthony at the front working as a cashier. He's lacking of good customer service, kind of rude and he isn't very helpful. read more

Fart & Smile is what my aunt who lives in Phoenix call Smart & Final. Not for any particular reason other than a good juvenile laugh every time we say it. This was my first foray into a Smart & Final. I had been told its like Costco but smaller and with better selection of stuff and prices. I wouldn't go that far. Produce selection is small. Chip selection is small. There are odds and ends cooking products in giant quantities. Like the giant jug of red food coloring I saw. I got most of my small shopping list filled. The one thing that disappointed me was the apples I bought. My husband usually eats the apples not me and he told me they were the worst apples hes ever had. Poor guy. I had to throw half of them away after a few days. Prices were nice and is what will probably keep me coming back when I'm in the shopping center. Its pretty small in side also. Its just an odd little store with its own thing going on. read more

The younger lady that's a cashier named "MARIANA" is rude! She shouldn't be working with the type of bad service she gives to customers!

I do enjoy smart and final I always have they have great stuff at a great price. I understand people have off days and sometimes being in customer service sucks. But when someone calls to check the availability and price of something. You shouldn't keep them on hold for a whole length of a song then say I think we have them then put me back on hold and transfer me with out my knowledge, then the next person instead of trying to make the situation more pleasant. The man was rude and hung up the phone right after I was giving the information. I'm not saying I'm not going to stop going to smart and final. But I will say that it doesn't matter what's going on you shouldn't be rude to customers. read more

Worst Smart & Final store ever. It's the smallest too! The employees at this store are so lazy. I had to bag my own groceries! Like wtf!? And the produce there is terrible it's all old! This store should just close because it hardly has anything ! And it's a messy store! read more

BEWARE OF ALL EXPIRATION DATES.... some items at least 2 months past "sell by dates" manager says that date is only a guideline. This has happened several times. read more

I shop at this Smart and Final for events and special occasions. They have several items that Costco does not have and they have smaller packages so I don't need to throw perfectly good stuff away. Recently, I bought a few hundred dollars of stuff for a pancake breakfast that a non profit was doing. I got reimbursed from the non profit and they in turn were to be reimbursed, but alas, the receipts were missing in the mail. What happened next was amazing. The store told me that duplicate receipts could be generated by the HQ. They gave me a complete list of information I should send. Off went my email to Customer Relations on a Sunday night. By Monday morning, they had found my transactions and emailed me the receipts. Fast, easy simple and so helpful. Big thanks to everyone at Smart and Final! read more

They have the worse customer service ever. They are very disrespectful, they talk back to customers. The manager think he knows everything but unfortunately he doesn't know what he is talking about!!!! I shopped there many times, vegetables and fruit are really bad most of the time and some of their supplies are OLD!!!! I WILL NEVER SHOP THERE AGAIN NEVER EVER NEVER EVER NEVER EVER! very very bad customer service !!!!!! read more

The price tags were wrong, when we tried asking someone about it, a female Employee just said whatever and left. Mind you we bought these items in bulk so the prices difference really added. read more

Why do I even bother to come here in the first place? Their stuff is sometimes miss marked or not marked on the shelves at all. Other than one person working there, the employees are nasty and argumentative. I dared to asked one what the price of something was and she told me to go look myself. I had already done that. Today it was paper towels. Do you know for the exact same brand, same colour and same square footage there are different prices depending upon how the towel is cut? The one with more cuts (select a size) is actually less because it was on sale. The employee, who's name I won't mention, huffed at me when I told her I wanted the other one. Why huff at me when I tried to ask you earlier the price and you blew me off. After this, there was an olive mix I was buying. The scanner would not rind, and she went and looked. $6.99 she put it . I told her to wait a minute they were $4.99. Now she argues with me again. I take her to the shelf and she goes "oh I put in the right number.' Umm, no you did not. When I get back to the register I told her I want it for free as per their price guarantee policy and she says "No, I caught it before we finished the sale." At this point I knew I was dealing with someone not too smart. I told her to get her manager. The manager scolded her for not doing it right. I finished my sale and thanked her. I felt sorry for her in some ways; this person will never have a good job unless they learn how to work. Unfortunately, I will return next time I need flats of water fast...well faster than running across the Target store. read more

Didn't have advertised item and took a long time to figure it out, trying to offer me other items I did not want. Almost no customers, I guess others have already figured out not to come here. In general it looked like prices were more expensive than other grocery stores except a few select items from their advertisement. read more

If I could give this place 0 stars I would!! Came in looking for Rhonda and she is gone! So you mean to tell me she was replaced by rude, no eye contact, no have a nice day, no smiling cashiers? Horrible.. Good luck running this place without her! Place is going to go down hill fast!! Going to start going to Sams Club or Costco! read more

Covid protocol is completely useless here. Cashier Taylor, was yelling at me and an older gentlemen regarding social distancing which was more than 6 feet while she's wearing her mask improperly under her nose. Took 20 minutes to buy one item. Very unprofessional and rude while no one was giving her any attitude in line. Disrespectful and bad management with covid. Make it better, its not a good look on the company. read more

very rude and lazy cashier i have ever encounter!!! his name is mark and i was there around 6pm 10/30/22. pls if you dont want your job, just quit. ty read more

The great staff here receives 5 stars unfortunately their consistently old produce receive 0 stars. Such a shame! I would go here more than 1-2 times per week but being that I have to go somewhere else for produce I tend to avoid. There are usually soft, old, overripe and spoiled produce there and even if I find anything decent it goes bad in 1-2 days at home. I would gladly pay more for quality produce if that's what it takes to get fresh fruits and vegetables. Some of the stuff on the shelves in the produce section should have been trashed days earlier. Ex today: saw a nice bag of snack size cucumbers that seemed so yummy, but every bag was mush. The strawberries had fuzz. Most salad kits were wilted. So wasteful and sad. Please do better or eliminate the entire section. read more

A nice alternative to Costco, Sam's Club etc. (Also nice that you don't have to pay a dime up front to shop in the place.) This store has many excellent items for singles, couples, and small & large families--basically everyone. Some product quantitites are huge, while others are more reasonable and just fine for those smaller households. Great prices, too. Overall: -kitchen gadets, cookware, serveware -some produce -prepackaged deli items -snack foods -alcohol -frozen goods -canned & prepared items -cleaning & paper products read more

This place meets basic needs. It is smaller and faster. I actually go often, its just not great. I don't buy meat or produce, only frozen, toiletries, bulk party supplies. For that it is pretty good. The location can be dicey sometimes, so be aware. Also, cashiers are not really friendly, but basic. So overall, will I still go? Sure, but meh. I've experienced better. read more

So my job requires me to prepare monthly luncheons for 30-40 people. Where else would I turn but Smart & Final? It allows me to publish my meals by weight. (as in "10 lbs of turkey, 5 lbs of cheese, 8 lbs of tomato sauce and 2 lbs of lasagne noodles = this week's luncheon. enjoy!) I like that they open at 8, so I can stop there before work. The staff people are quick to help when I start to get that dazed, wander-around-the-store look. Sometimes I get that look just from trying to comprehend the amounts: 5 lbs of canned nacho cheese, for example. read more

Off to bad start. I have been here twice at 6:05 am and doors not open . They claim to open at 6am. I finally knocked on door at 6:08 and was met with a very under motivated employee. After going through the store for 8 items I went to check out and no cashier. This is a repeat of last week. The man who got to the check out stand before me had been waiting 6 mins. Finally a not very happy man came out of the office and just started ringing up the person in front of me. After I ask him if he knew who the store manager is, he said he was the manager with a very unmotivated look on his face. I then expressed how this was second time the store not opened timely and no cashier. His reply was his cashier was not in yet. I then explained that his job as manager is to make that seamless to me the customer. This is his show he should then be prepared to shift people around or stand in as appropriate and not wait until he is flushed out if the office. General manager- I look forward to the store's improvement as it relates to the customer's experience. Remember the tone of the store starts from the top down. Feel free to reach out . Update 2/7/2018: Store sign displays opening hour is 6AM. I stopped here at 6:11am, front doors on both sides were locked with several employees pretending not to see me inside. Lucky for them I am far from the shy type so I knocked on the glass door even though I was in plain view. A woman in produce reluctantly looked at me, she was clearly annoyed and even had the nerve to attempt to give me an intimadating stare-HA! Since I kept my eyes locked on her and I was not going away, she finally walked over -pulling the front door key out of her back pocket. Now at this point I am wondering why would the General Manager task the most unfriendly, unwilling to work employee to be in charge of opening the door? Note to General Manager: Please do not write back with a poor excuse. Instead provide training to the opening employee. It's quite easy-Open door at 6am, smile, open mouth and say "hello" to the customers rather not give them hard looks. This is in no way a reflection of the front line cashiers-they are fast and friendly. read more

Smart and Final on Contra Costa Blvd is ACTIVELY selling rotten and rank chicken. Eileen just bought a bag FROZEN bag of chicken we were going to marinate tonight 10 min ago... When we got it back to my house, it smelled BAD! SO Eileen Tollison Lepas had me open it up to see if it was bad, or it was just the outside of the bag. (the whole section of frozen food smelled BAD) IT IMMEDIATELY made me run and go puke 3xs!! When she took it right back to smart and final, the manager "shooshed" her to be quiet because Eileen was saying they needed to toss it that whole section..... People are going to get VERY SICK!!! Please. Share this!! They know it's bad and prefer to sell it anyway!! Posted on FB too! Get rid of your rotten chicken you rotten-greedy JERKS!! NEVER GOING BACK! Do yourself a favor people, don't shop there or you can end up with salmonella!! read more

This was the second stop on our suburban tour. I usually shop at the Smart & Final in Richmond/San Pablo or in Vallejo when I worked there, but this is the brightest, cleanest one I know. I discovered it when my mother was living close by and it was convenient to stop there after a visit. This store ALWAYS has the specific toilet paper and Kleenex I buy, which is not true of the other stores, (daughter and I are VERY fussy about these things) and while I wouldn't drive out to Pleasant Hill just to shop here, I'm happy to swing by when I'm out here anyway. read more

Easy in easy out. Ample parking and has most of what you need if you are in the catering business. Good for last minute items.

I really like this location. The staff are always friendly and helpful. I like smaller warehouse like stores verses Costco. Smart and Final has a pretty good selection. I have always found what I needed or was looking for. Plus, it is less crowded than Costco. read more

The manager gave me such a hard time for being in a rush and left one of the dry food in the wrong shelf..... He came strait to me and yelled at me in a super rude way.... I told him that he should not talk to his customers that his answer was I have been working her for 15 years and this is my way.....!!!!!!!! Such a mean person that made me never go there again. read more

Positives: Really great deals on bulk items. Their bags are bigger than the crappy Walmart ones. Negatives: No cart wipes. Bad music blaring in the store. I know this is at about all grocery stores but I still don't like it. Charges for bags. Yes it's a California law now but all the grocery store chains lobbied for it using The Grocery Manufacturer's Association. read more

Fun little place to go shopping, they seem to be about a season behind on some things but it's fun to walk around and spot hidden treasures or grab things you thought you might have missed. read more

Smart and Final in this store I find all I need for the kitchen and everything for a party. They are very kind when you go shopping for your needs. The prices are accessible. This is my usual store. read more

Well I have coming hear to do my shopping for years , WHEN Rhonda was there it's was a great place, new management SUCKS, they lost my business and my friends also, we are going to Costco or Walmart now, not the best, but it works. Sorry it took so long to post this. read more

hard working store and employee the young amazing cashier named mariana was a great help and is a very hard worker would recommended this store. read more

I tried the home delivery service that Smart & Final is now offering. Do not use this mediocre service. My delivery was a complete train wreck. They replaced items in my order WITHOUT notifying me in advance and on top of that some of these replacements items cost A LOT more. They just charge you without your consent. That's ridiculous. You are better off going to the store yourself, at least you know what you will get and what you will pay. I don't think it's Smart & Final's fault, since it all goes through a company called Instacart. But they should have picked a better business partner. I'll never use the home delivery service again. read more

Ugh, the new management is terrible now. Let's see, the cashiers open a new line and take the guy who runs from the middle of the store rather than asking the next person in line to come over, A LOT of the food has short expiration dates or they are out and can't tell you when they'll have more, and they have NO defined return policy. I just had a 10 minute phone conversation about whether or not I could return an UNOPENED box of individual chip packets that we didn't use, and got the complete run around from a cashier who acted like I wanted to bring him a dead raccoon (but he finally said ok if they weren't open), but then he passed me to a manager who gave me the opposite answer (nope, we don't do food returns). I asked both repeatedly for the actual return policy as they kept changing their answer, but it seems there isn't one - it's not on the receipt and they seem not to know of a standard one either. How do you do business like that? From now on I'll be buying food at Sprouts, Costco, Sams or Target who allow food returns without a hassle which I need on ocassion (like this, one time I overbought) and have actual customer service! Last time I was at Smart & Final they didn't charge me correctly for my purchase and I had to make a trip back and stand in line again. The cashier seemed irritated, and never bothered to apologize for the mistake or inconvenience. I'm going to be Smart and have had my Final shopping trip here. Sad, as it's been in Pleasant Hill for many years. read more

So disappointed. Super small. Unimpressive prices. When the woman in front of us had completed her transaction, the cashier walked away without saying a word. WHAT. read more

hello what is going on at this Location, i came in and i seen a long line! one checker cashier is very slow and rude!! This store looks dumpy ,and dirty,nothing on the shelfs!! The meat looks bad! Something must of happend !! Please clean up this store!!! read more

Terrible customer service. Decent selection in store but at checkout we were met with awful customer service. After giving her our bags she threw our items in and didn't put perishables into our freezer bag. We ended up having to stand outside and rebag our items ourselves. I know you get what you pay for, but they aren't that much cheaper read more

Got what I wanted when I called ahead or time to ask if they had it in stock. No wait in line and is a lot cleaner than the one in San Pablo. That one was dirty and run down. read more