Smart & Final

Five stars because it is a good one. Location and parking, and it’s mostly fully stocked at all times. People aren’t menacing like in the one outside the Venice store. Quite the opposite. Employees might not be as friendly as the PICO/​Cotner store but it is still an excellent store to buy whatever you need for home or business.

Ya know I’ve been a good customer of smart & final for over 20 years. I particularly like this location because it’s near my business at the airport. I buy supplies for both my business and home. Tonight I went over to get a few supplies on my way home after a grueling 12+ hour day. I am face to face with customers all day 7 days a week. If I don’t smile or say please and thank you — I don’t make a living. I would not be as successful as I am along with my employees if we had a bad attitude. In fact I train my staff to always smile and say thank you. Tonight as I was in checkout line a young lady named Liliana was the checker. Firstly I noticed her attitude with a lady before me. She talked at her not to her. NOT ONCE did she make eye contact with her. Hmm okay. It was my turn. 1. This young lady did not greet me. 2. She did not make eye contact with me. 3. She did not talk to me she talked at me. 4. She was short and rude. When she was done ringing me up she asked very rudely, «do you have a bag?» I said no, «please place in cart» she angrily shoves my items across the counter and slams them against edge and then starts to almost expect me to place all items in cart myself by turning to next customer. I repeat «yeah can you please put my items in cart? So I help adjust cart to make room and although pissy as hell she does do it. Then I tell her, «you should try smiling it would make a positive difference» She replies very rudely and curtly, «Long day». I shook my head and walked away.
NO APOLOGY and NO «Hey BTW thanks for shopping here.» NOTHING!
Young lady, you don’t know what a long day is. Management: This is not the kind of person that should be dealing with customers!!! I repeat, this is not the kind of person that should be dealing with customers!!! She needs to be taught about customer service, how to smile and say thank you. Maybe she’s not trainable. Maybe she should be in the back stock room. I can tell you she would not be on my team. Her attitude stinks. Her attitude and her lack of customer service is very disappointing. I have had 20+ years of long days but I smile through it. I’m not an unreasonable person or a demanding one but all a customer wants is GREAT SERVICE & the most important and oh so simple ‘Thank you.‘
I don’t expect her to be bouncing for joy or anything unreasonable. But this was really just a let down.
The most important skill required in customer service is: ATTITUDE. This was severely lacking in your store tonight. I called your store about this but I did not feel your manager was listening to me but rather she was wanting to perhaps just say what I wanted to hear. I will be back and I’ll be watching out for a real change here. As a loyal customer I and other customers deserve a pleasant experience in your store. I hope that you re-​train this young lady and your entire staff on how to say «thank you for shopping at Smart & Final» what’s so hard about that? After this I then make a trip down the street to PIER 1… wow now that’s customer service! They greeted me as I walked in and asked if I needed help. They also asked how I was doing and after I paid they THANKED ME! Not one person at your store greeted me or asked if I needed help. Not one.
I will also be writing to your corporate office.

I come here all the time for our party stuff since its so close to our house and my office. The cashiers are friendly and the store is very clean. They have large and small bags of ice and if you need it, they also have dry ice which most places don’t. Another plus is that there is a huge parking lot.

I like coming here generally. The staff is friendly, but hard to find at times. I have to go around the store to find someone. Also, the parking isn’t that great especially when the post office is open. Nevertheless, it’s a great alternative to Costco. Thumbs up.

This is one of the better Smart & Final stores I’ve shopped at. My husband and I were driving home from vacation on September 20, when we realized we needed vending supplies for my business. We pulled in to this Smart & Final at around 8PM. The parking lot was small, but due to the time we arrived, there was ample parking. All items I needed to buy were available, except one — the grapefruit flavored Perrier cans were out of stock. Understandable since that day was scorching hot. The staff were helpful and friendly and could actually be found!
It was by circumstance I shopped here. If I’m ever in this part of town again and need to buy something from them, I’ll definitely be back.

They advertise meats on sale frequently. I went in three days ago to pick up Ribeye Roast, which was advertised as being on sale. I got to the store and there was none, despite the fact that they just got a full shipment; but without Ribeye. They told me to call each day after 9am. I did, and three days later, they had it. Oh, you will have more fun slamming your hand into a door over and over as opposed to calling them. Got the runaround, placed on hold multiple times. I could hear the checkout girl working the register while attempting to talk to me.

I shop here very often and this store is great. They have just about everything that I need. Store is clean, well organized and great staff. I was there yesterday, Anna was my cashier, this girl is great. I had a bunch of stuff on the bottom of my cart, just so I wouldn’t bend down to get them, she went down on her knees and scanned each and every item. Wow, that’s what I call service…

Dear Smart & Final: Last night I visited the Encino store and watched, in disgust, as the checker wiped her runny nose, first with her fingers and finally on the back of her hand, while waiting on the person in front of me. When she got to me I asked her to either use hand sanitizer or wash her hands, which she seemed to think was an unreasonable request. She stomped off to wash her hands (no hand sanitizer in the checkstand) and came back with a king sized attitude and proceeded to slam my items into the bag. Her hygiene and her attitude both left a lot to be desired. Big training fail Smart & Final. I posted the same comment on your Facebook page and it was promptly deleted. Second fail Smart & Final — not the way to deal with a disgruntled customer with a legitimate complaint.

My favorite Smart and final. Close to my house and business. There prices are great and variety of food is awesome. For personal and business it fits both sides. Staff is great and always there to help. Itbgeta busy but can’t blame them since they have great items for sale at great prices.

I like this smart and final there’s always parking and not too many long lines. I was looking everywhere for bulk size candy for a candy bar for a baby shower this place has a lot of choices for a great price Costco didn’t have much of a selection and the candy places downtown that everyone talks about were way overpriced. They even have already made cotton candy in individual bags and popcorn in individual bags which was such a time saver. Go here for any kids birthday party or an event that requires a lot of sweet treats:-)

I came here to get my recycling done.
Before coming in I called to make sure they are open today. Upon arriving 10 minutes later, the Assistant Manager told me they’re done doing recycling for today. I tried to explain to him how I called before and he responded with a full on speech: «Why the hell are you recycling your shit on Labor Day Weekend?!» Feeling super annoyed I said «i don’t know???» Horrible and rude customer service. Not to mention, how they made me separate the glass, bottles, and cans myself in the hot sun outside… I hope this assistant manager gets fired ASAP!

Not the most organized store in the world. Signs don’t clearly label what items you can find in which aisles so i feel like i am constantly zig zagging and doing loops around the store trying to find what I need.
Decent selection of frozen apps if you are planning a party and dont feel like cooking.
Hardly any cashiers available and extremely slow and unhelpful. Don’t even think about finding someone to help you bag your groceries –your on your own champ.

This is my to go store for any of my buisness needs. They have everything i need to keep my restaraunt running if i ever run low on anything. They have everything from milk to water cups, melted cheese and much more. I can always count on them to have their inventory stocked.

Big place. Good prices. Easy and convenient parking. Only downside is that last time I was there, the line took a while. I’m usually in and out but last time I had to wait.

This is a pretty easy to access store off Ventura and next to a post office. Parking lot is ok, they have a lot of compact spots which doesn’t fly with all the SUVs.
This store has a great selection and always are well shocked for specials and promos. Their fruit n veggie section is nicely kept and seemingly fresh. Lots of options for frozen meat, but I feel fresh is limited.
I shop here pretty often when they have specials. I’ve also noticed tat their baked goods tend to be super fresh and smaller packs versus the pack that feeds a colony.
They always have all registers open so check out is super quick. The employees are all very helpful — a few times they went in the back to get me something or even call another store.
Compared to other locations this spot is kept clean and everything tidy.

Good selection, resonable prices, and friendly staff. The place was much cleaner than other establishments in the area with similar discount prices and large lots of items. Parking was abundant as well. My only complaint was that the aisles were too narrow. Not that this will be fixed any time soon, so I accept it and know in advance what to expect.

Smell… that is all

This place always dissapoints me. :-(it’s right down the street from me but I always leave without the things on my list. I wish they would carry more vegetarian items, kosher items, and fresh bread!!!
The staff is REALLY friendly but I feel bad for them… there is usually one long checkout line. Seems understaffed.

After doing a bunch of research, I found that Smart and Final is one of the only places that sells whole beef brisket. I was able to find a 10 lb. piece at this location for under $ 20.
You can find a lot of great deals here. You can also find a lot of overpriced items, so be careful to pick and choose what you buy.
The parking lot has more than enough spaces to park, but getting in and out of the lot is a challenge. The entrances and exits are crowded with lines of cars, since there are several businesses in this plaza that get a lot of traffic.

A few updates for Smart & Final:
1) this Encino location has been remodeled and looks way better & brighter than before
2) you no longer need a membership/​rewards card to rake in the savings