Vons

If any of you know me, you’ll know that I LOVES me a good line and wait time, and this Vons has it all!
I pride myself of finding a good long line, sometimes I find it at Six Flags waiting 2+ hours for Superman, but sometimes I gets in in under 1.5 hours, which really grinds my gears. Six Flags used to be the KING of wait time, but due to «Planning» and «being customer driven» they have reduced their wait time. You bet I was angry, so I mailed I letter, as slowly as possible of course by sending it all over the world on the backs of ants, starting with Antarctica and ending at the corporate offices, in about 3 years. But we line lovers know the new spot is this Vons location.
Wait wut? Yes, wait in deed!
If business school has taught me anything, it’s that customers want to wait awkwardly in line for as long as possible, to perhaps act like they’re interested in the celeb gossip or Rachel Rays new cold cereal recipe. I love that the management took an issue, How do we make our customers wait an ungodly amount of time, and made it a reality. Here are some thoughts I’ve composed that a manager here has most definitely thought.
«How can we make this shopping experience last 300 times longer than normal?» — Top Manager
«Well sir, hows about when we’re busy, or actually all the time, lets not open 4 plus registers, but lets cut that down to 1 – 2 registers.» — Store manager
«Store Manager, you’re a genius! With the amount of money I’ll save, I can finally buy that 1990 Miata I’ve always wanted.»
«Why stop there sir? Lets sometimes cut down to 1 register, and never open the second, That way you can get that furry steering wheel cover.»
I mean, you can’t satisfy customers more than that!
If time is money, then I have spent about $ 200,000 of my monies here in line and I don’t regret a thing! So what if I missed my daughters birth, at least I’ll be able to see her graduate.
UPDATE: My daughter did indeed graduate and I’m still here in line, but as long as Jimmy Carter is still President when I leave then it’s fine.
UPPER-​UPDATE: Still here in line, turns out a guy named Obama is President now, I wonder what life is like outside sometimes, but I just cant leave a good line waitin!
To Summarize, your time is worthless and this Von’s knows it. I recommend this place to fellow line enthusiasts and men that just want that little break from their home life.
«Honey! We’re out of toothpaste! Can you run to Fresco Community Market?»
«Uh, well I have to get my special toothpaste from Vons on Fair Oaks»
«But last time you went to Vons I didn’t see you for 3 years!»
«Yep, by Felicia!»
Also, Von’s has served the community well. 98% of missing persons have been found in line here over the last 10 years. It’s lines like these that bring families together, and also tear families apart. That my friends, is the mark of a good line.
But where is Amelia Earhart, Jonbenet Ramsey, and Jimmy Hoffa? You scream to me through Unilocal.Von’s on Fair Oaks my friends, waiting in line like the good lord intended.
I wish you all a great wait, and if you’re reading this I’d be willing to bet that you are in line at this exact moment. You should have brought a chair.
Cheers!
–Highland Park Narc

Wow. Everytime I come here lines are almost out the door. Why do people wait in line? Time is valuable and it seems like vons doesn’t care about that. I leave without buying anything everytime I come here and this time I won’t ever come back. Unless they start seeing an impact on their sales they won’t care to add more staff.

The produce selection is probably the worst I have ever seen. Overall, there isn’t a lot variety in groceries. The price is higher than the average market. The bakery and cheap bagels are the only pros of this Vons.
Moreover, the main problem at this Vons is lack of customer service. It is a regular occurrence for only one register to be open even though there can be a line of ten people. I once had to wait in line for 20 minutes just to buy some chips.

For some reason, this particular Von’s just has a chronically understaffed front end. Lines here are allowed to get long– really long. The random sampling of other Von’s I’ve been to around the LA area don’t seem to have this problem, they all seem more like… normal stores. You know, where the wait time seems to have something to do with how busy, overall, the store is. This location is different– the wait time seems consistently disproportionate to the number of people currently shopping. It’s weird.

This is by far the worst shopping experience of all time. This is the worst Vons, there are no self checkouts, the people can’t even load a new receipt thing into the register, the lines are long, the prices are outrageous, the people working there are incompetent, they don’t have anything that I need, and seriously need to restock. I will never come back to this Vons ever!

Beautiful ambiance! Comparable prices, friendly staff, quality produce. But, I work in the area and often come in for a cold drink for lunch. They only have a few small coolers by the check stands with limited variety of drinks. I went all over the store and didn’t find cold vitamin water or iced tea. Smh!
Oh and you’re killing me with those sweets at the entrance! They look delectable! Just say no!
But, when I want quality produce and deli, I make this one of my main stores to go to.

Silly that this place only has 2.5 stars. It’s nice inside, employees are friendly, and they always have good deals on things. What more go people want from a grocery store.

Way overpriced. And they continue to price gouge. There are things I buy at many many other markets that cost an average of 1 – 3 $ more at vons! And what is the justification for these price hikes in California, the land of plentiful agriculture? None.
Yes, it is a cleaner place than most supermarkets but does that justify paying 3 $ for a small melon that I can get for 1 $ at the 99 cent store? Or 4 $ for chocolate bars I could get for 2.50 at target and ralphs? Or 1.79 for a powerade drink I get 79 cents EVERYWHERE ELSE?
The customer service is a mishmash too. Some of them are nice, some of them are gruff. I understand it’s not the best job in the world but when I walk up to you and smile, trying to brighten your day please appreciate that fact by putting your mop down for a second, turning toward me and smiling wide, letting the sun shine brightly out of your face. Thanks.
The second most redeeming aspect of this store is I live one block away from it. So I can walk there for my dinner. The first most redeeming aspect was this hot girl who use to work there who wore oversized geek glasses but I think she quit since I haven’t seen her the last 4 times i’ve been there, but yea i’d go on a date with her in a second.
Anyway, it’s okay if I don’t shop there too often but I would definitely not make it an avery day thing unless I was an upscale snob who has hundreds to waste weekly on their overpriced stuff.

Go in often to buy the $ 6 meals. The African American lady that is usually there is pretty mean. Not sure if that’s just how she talks to people, but always seems like she’s in a bad mood. I ask her questions and always gives a rude response

This store is TERRIBLE and their customer service SUCKS. In my last two visits I asked for room temperature 30 count beer and was given chilled. Today, I had my cold items in a cold container. Apparently this freaked out Alex, because instead of welcoming me to the store he chastised me about not removing the 5 items from the cold bag. He did not even thank me when handing me my receipt. Obviously the cold bag confused Alex because he ended up charging me twice for the same item. Called 9 times to the store but NO ONE ANSWERS! Called customer service # and was told the only credit that could be given was to my Von’s card. WELL VONS, YOU CAN KEEP THE MONEY BECAUSE IT’S THE LAST YOU WILL EVER RECEIVE FROM ME.

I came to this Von’s to pick up a bottle of wine before heading over to a dinner at a friend’s place. Pretty convenient location near the 110 off ramp. Just a few blocks down. Like that there was ample parking in the lot. Was able to find prime front parking. The set up is typical like any other location so I knew my way around. The checkout was my only complaint. I thought they could use more during after work hours. Also picked up a cracker, cheese and veggie plate as well. Huge platter for a reasonable price with your Von’s card!

Often times more registers could be open but that’s the only flaw with this place!
Great customer service and they all know where everything is. How can you rate down a grocery store? They work hard and always have a smile on their faces

I just got back from there and the guy at the deli was soooo rude! He acted like I was bothering him and kept cutting me off when I was telling him what I wanted in my sandwich. The cashiers are nice but that guy was really rude, if he was busy he could’ve told me «can you please wait a minute?» I’ll never buy anything from the deli again. There wasn’t even anyone around… I was the only one standing there.

This review is long over due. I usually have good experiences here. At times there may be long lines, however, the staff is usually very friendly.
On Jan 3^rd I experienced the worse customer service ever. On Friday, January 2^nd I went into VONS to purchase a soup during my lunch break, as my usual routine. (I’ve been employed by a business next door to VONS for 3 years). Soups (cup of noodles) at VONS does not come with a utensil so I took initiative to ask an employee at the Deli, Melonie, for a fork. As she stopped what she was doing (with an attitude) walked towards me to hand me the fork. When I said thank you, she didn’t reply and had her back turned towards me. (I didn’t think much of it besides that maybe she didn’t hear me) so repeated myself and said thank you again (Again no reply was given).
The next day (Jan 3^rd) I went back to VONS to purchase a salad during my lunch break and again went back to the Deli for another utensil. I patiently waited for another employee to be at the Deli to ask for a utensil (aside from Melonie). As I attempted to ask for a utensil to another employee, Melonie came out from behind the register to hand me the utensil to purposely say «YOU’RE WELCOME» (I never had the opportunity to even say thank you). I then replied with a thank you and she rudely repeated herself. I then stated to her that she was very rude. Because she kept raising for voice as every word kept coming out of her mouth, I asked to speak to her manager.
I understand people have bad days but I don’t believe there’s a justification for being extremely rude to repeat customers.
Even while trying to explain the situation to another employee at the deli, Melonie kept yelling over me (extremely rude and ghetto of her).
After being a loyal customer, this experience has deterred me to take my money to another location where all the staff is extremely friendly. By the way, the morning staff is nice. Late afternoon and evening staff is different.

Melonie (works behind the deli counter) is fantastic! Every time I come to Vons on my lunch break, I hope Melonie is there because she brightens my day and provides excellent customer service.
Some of the customers that come in treat the employees like crap, and it’s so uncalled for! I can’t imagine dealing with rudeness ON TOP of the hectic mess of customers flooding the store.
My one complaint is the long lines in the grocery department. Sometimes only one or two lanes are open and it takes 20 minutes or more.

Pretty good Von’s. It’s clean and convenient and there when I want it. Generally, if you go during a non-​busy hour (i.e.: my 11:00pm visits, or mid-​afternoon 2:00pm stops), there is no line. People are right when they say the lines get craaaaazy though (but if you do express lanes and you’re just picking up a few quick things, it’s usually not bad.)
Groceries are pretty fresh, and I’ve never had a problem with their stuff – they’re basically the same thing as Pavilions, so either or is interchangeable. I count on shorter lines at Pavilions. Pretty convenient store. Nothing special.

I try to avoid this Vons location when at all possible. The 1-​star rating is based upon how long I have to wait in line. Although they may have 4 check stands available, it always seems to take 15 minutes to get in line and wait to pay. Mind you it only takes me 3 – 5 minutes to pick out a couple of items (because of the new no-​plastic policy which forces me to make multiple trips to grocery stores in my car a few times a week).
A couple of suggestions would be to invest in self-​checkout registers. They can fund this investment by charging customers $ 2 or $ 3 to use live person check stands. I see those things at Home Depot, Wal-​Mart, Ralphs, and other Vons locations, and they’re the best thing ever.
Another suggestion would be to create 1 special line for those paying with personal checks (you know the type of customers that use personal checks!)
Lastly, maybe they should cut down the express lane to only 5 items or less.
Offering good service to customers to me means not wasting my time.

One surprising find here is the breakfast burrito. It’s a Subway-​style burrito — pre-​cooked egg cut into strips, pre-​cooked bacon (or sausage patty or ham), sliced cheese, and fried potato wedges. If you’re feeling *extra* trashy, get some ranch drizzled on – it’s actually good in that I-know-it’s-bad kind of way.
For only $ 2.50, it’s decently sized and you can add a Simply Orange juice for $ 1 more. On rushed/​hungry/​poor mornings, it does the trick.

The folks here are soooo nice. Never been offered help this much with smiles. For the area, the best price of everything. I recommend Von’s over just about any other grocer in South Pas.
The parking lot always has a ton of spots and it is sooo clean!

I frequent this market whenever I am home during my breaks or on the weekends. Vons and Pavilions. They are basically the same thing. I still am curious why they made two separate names for same market that sells exactly the same thing!
My mom likes to go to Pavilions and I like to go to Vons. There is no special reason why. I just go to Vons because I can go to Vons elsewhere too. I havent seen that many Pavilions in other cities. Plus, they started doing that Chevron gas reward thingy too. I dont exactly know how to use it but whatever.
Theyre products are really good quality compared to Ralphs or Albertsons. I do admit, Vons is on the pricier side than other markets but I see why. Their quality is the best!
They have many products that are hard to find in other markets. Also for a wine lover like me, they have this deal where you buy 6, you get a great amount of discount.
Produce is fresh and nicely displayed. Always very clean.
I would love to give them a 5 star rating but the working staff arent very friendly and nice. Even when they ring you up, they are busy chit chatting with other employees and they dont even bother to say a simple ‘Thank you’.
I am still a customer because of the great products they carry.
Plenty of parking and very spacious.