Vons

The worst shopping experiences I’ve ever had. I refuse to go back despite the convenient location. The customer service is mind numbingly awful. The employees on the floor are rude and clueless. They clearly haven’t been trained – or care to be trained – in regards to bagging, answering questions, or helping to find items. The produce manager told me they never have fresh bushels of basil that aren’t brown and wilted, that such bushels are impossible to find anywhere due to travel time on the road. Really? I can go to Sprouts, Frazier Farms, and Albertsons and the basil is beautiful. The checkers look miserable, like inmates waiting for release. Overall, it’s obvious no one cares – so why should I? I’ll gladly spend my $ somewhere else.

This Vons is nice and has a good selection of products, especially local products. The meat counter service is slow though and the majority of times I’ve been there (generally mid-​day during the week) there is no one at the service counter so I end up getting the packaged meats even though I prefer the counter meats. The check out lines can be long and usually only 2 registers are open at the time I go. I did however have a good experience with someone who I think was the manager. When I checked out, I entered in my phone number to use the Rewards card but must have entered it incorrectly because after all my items were scanned, the cashier (who I think is also a manager) said that I couldn’t get my rewards because the card was invalid. He ended up giving me cash back for the rewards saving, which I really appreciated!

I am getting fed up with some of the changes that have been incorporated at Von’s as a consequence of the merger with Albertson’s.
Instead of regular discounts on an item, they make it so you must by four of a product to get a significant discount. I guess they are just doing their part to maintain the American obesity epidemic. How patriotic of them.
In one case, they raised the price of a brand of canned cat food from 0.70 to 1.40 unless you bought 5 or more cans, in which case it was .40 per can. After the sale, cans went back to .70 each.
Additionally, with the Von’s smartphone app, they used to have great personalized deals each week for things you have bought. This feature has gone to crap, with tiny discounts, and with items I would never consider buying.
On a positive note, the merger has brought Dietz and Watson sliced meats, which are superior to Primo Taglia sliced meats.
As a consequence of the negative changes, I am now doing more of my Shopping at Ralph’s.

This is a review for the Starbucks within this Vons. The woman working-​Rebecca, I don’t think should be working in customer service. She was overwhelmed by the small amount of customers. She made me feel like I was bugging her and she could not add the syrup I asked for because she said it was not replaced yet (or some odd excuse like that). I watched her struggle with the transition before me when I walked up to order and she said «oh well, I guess they got their drink on the house». I told my mother about this experience and she said she had a similar experience with the same woman.

I need to re consider where I shop. Granted they have a few nice things which Stater Bros. doesn’t have but the employees that work there are annoying.
The deli guys in the back are your typical low income workers with a smart ass attitude who hate being there. Deli salads have a crusty film on top of them. It is obvious they haven’t sold any in days.
Some of the register people have the look of death on their face like they are being forced into slave labor.
The managers seem friendly enough.
Even with the Vons card I seem to rack up quite a bill and I need to review my receipt for a few minutes to make sure it is right.
The better VON’s IMO is the one in Carlsbad on Leucadia Blvd. Both in size and quality. And you get FREE BAGS.

This Vons is one of the better chain grocery stores. It is always clean and well stocked. The staff is genuinely friendly and helpful. Whenever I am looking for brand name supplies, this store is an easy choice.
My only complaint might be the quality of their bakery’s cookies. They aren’t very good which has on occasion provided the motivation for me to go the extra distance to visit Ralph’s or Stater Bros… I probably shouldn’t be eating cookies though…

The drug store is the Best… Best service! If you need something they get it done for you! You are the best! Great people work here. They are friendly and knowable. I can say enough.

The abundance of grocery stores in Encinitas gives me the freedom to shop around. I go to several stores, not just one. A three star rating means they are A Ok.
The marketing fairies come up with all kinds of gimmicky ways to sell me junk food and I don’t even have a sweet tooth! I frequently pop in intending to pick up some liquid refreshments and end up with a shopping cart full of sugary snacks. The deals are too hard to pass up. I certainly do not come to the store with 5 boxes of brownie mix on my shopping list, but nevertheless those chocolatey brownies make their way into my cart. And chips too Dammit!
Their fresh bakery sells Jalapeño cheese bagels for about 60 cents, less than half of the cost of Einstein’s bagels right down the street. I can hardly walk into the store without snooping through the bagel bins to see if there are any of these left, usually I just find barren bagel bins. My waist thanks the baker for that!
When I was in the store today the manager, Beverly watched me pull into a line behind two gigantic shopping carts of food. i had 3 too many items for the express line and no choice but to wait. When yet another person came in behind me they called for a backup cashier. I had been waiting for quite some time and noticed that the manager finally came to chat with the people behind me in line to avoid ringing up or bagging groceries.
Thankfully the other grocery stores in the hood cater more to my pescetarian diet because I would have diabetes if I exclusively shopped at Vons.

This is my neighborhood store. I’m there almost everyday, I know, I know but I love to cook ;)
When you walk in the west side entrance you’re meet with fresh flowers from floor to ceiling. If you enter in the east entrance your meet with a wine tasting or Starbucks. Not bad either why!
John is my favorite checker but Lynn, she’s is as sweet as they get! Everyone is very nice and helpfully.
The meat counter has improved since I first adopted this place but if I could have it my way they would offer a meatloaf pack. Veal, pork and beef in 1lb packs. Hint hint!
The pharmacy is the best around. I had a major need for patience and professionalism and as a team I had all of my prescriptions and they managed my insurance company because that’s what you need when your sick!
The produce is the best and all any of the guys, they’re there to help.
I could go on and on but just go in and tell them I sent you ;)

The pharmacy can be slow and have never once asked me if I needed the pharmacist to explain the meds. (Big oops.)
There is never a line, thank god and the checkers are friendly.
Great Gluten Free selection along with healthier fare.
The baked chicken isn’t as good as Stater Bro’s. No clue why.
I got a cake here once intending it to be my birthday cake and the girl behind the counter swore it didn’t have raspberry inside and that it was just chocolate all the way through.
Of course it had raspberry inside. Disgusting raspberry flavored garbage.
Birthday cake ruined.
I called and they offered to have me come in the next day so I do appreciate that but the next day wasn’t my birthday! It’s hard not to be angry when someone F’s up your birthday cake for the night.
The store is always VERY clean. Great!!!
Good magazine section.
The pharmacy can be slow.
The Starbucks inside is cool.
The flowers are better than Stater Bro’s but not as good as Whole Foods or Sprouts.
They are friendly and I like that.
Also I spotted a celebrity in here once.
I won’t say who but I had to hold back my desire to ask him if he knew where the mashed potatoes were.

It doesn’t appear that there’s an option to review just the pharmacy. This review is intended for that part of the store. When you drop your prescription off, they check right away to make sure there won’t be an issue and they estimate how long it will be. And then when you go back to get your medicine, it is actually ready! This may seem like no big deal, but when picking up a script from every other drugstore in Encinitas is a major exercise in frustration, one comes to appreciate the efficiency here. Another I like is that they actually remember you from one month to the next. I used to have to pick up multiple prescriptions for work from a chain drugstore and despite the fact that I was there a couple times a week, they’d always act like they had never seen me before. I don’t think it is expecting too much to be acknowledged as a regular customer, and Vons does that!

Worst customer service! 2 checkers open at 7:30pm and no self service counters! My friend warned me how painfully slow their checkout is! Never returning with Ralphs and TJs right around the corner!

This review is actually for the Starbucks inside. There are two Starbucks stores in the shopping center where I work but I continue to choose this one every time. The staff is the best, especially Mikayla. She went out of her way to learn my name and always greets me and is pleasant to talk with while I wait. I’ve worked in coffee before so I know how important it is to make your customers, especially regulars, feel at home.

I highly recommend using this Von’s pharmacy. They are so helpful. I have had so many issues with 0 refills or I loose my pills. The pharmacist and staff really goes out of their way to get me what I need even though it is my fault that there is a problem in the first place. Granted, it’s not as easy as a drive through pharmacy, but it is totally worth it

Von’s employees in the deli department provide excellent customer service. Never a single problem.

I love coming this Von’s! The staff is super nice! Plus they have a bank, Starbucks, and deli! It is always clean and stocked!

I’m really impressed by this Vons.
Not by the people who work there, they’re pretty standard for a grocery store, but the store itself. It’s a gorgeous grocery store.
It’s got beautiful hard wood in some areas, the pharmacy looks so much better than other pharmacies. The bread /​deli section is big and has a lot of variety. If we come down to this area to hit up Rosanna’s Pasta, we’ll hit up this Vons too.

What in the world is wrong with this Vons? I swear something is always off here, especially in their meat or seafood departments. Which is so disturbing. The last thing you want is to smell rotting fish as all of their freezers are emptied and dark for «temporary repairs». This was a while ago but it still lingered in my mind as I went to grab a frozen fish container and found it in the process of defrosting.
Not to mention how often I get home and find myself opening a GALLON of milk that expires the VERY next day. I refuse to buy my meat there now as well. Their «fresh ground beef» is always ready to expire within 24 hours of the day you arrive at the store. Regardless of the day you shop you’ll never get ahead of an expiration date. You’ll find yourself irritated a few days later when you can’t make dinner because your meat is brown and smells. «Didn’t I just go to the store??» you’ll ask yourself. Yep, but you went to Vons. You spent twice as much as you should have for a product that doesn’t last three days home from the store.
Even highly processed things like Oscar Mayer hot dogs get sold when they’ve been expired for days. This morning I checked the package that I bought yesterday to see that they expired FOUR days ago. Needless to say I was a bit pissed off to find my 2 year old sneaking one into her mouth. All judgments about giving toddlers hot dogs aside, EXPIRED meat is NEVER okay.
After years of only buying things here at «sale» prices (prices that are the daily norm at Target) I’ve finally given up on shopping here altogether. I don’t care how nice they are. It doesn’t make up for the possible food poisoning and the fact that everything has a microscopic shelf life. I still don’t understand how they get away with that. Or how they’re still in business when you will literally pay half of the price to shop for the same exact brands at Target/​Walmart etc.

Just an update: So my husband decides to go to this Vons for a gift card purchase. (if he had consulted me I would have warned him of the problems he would have encountered.)
So he gets the cards and is in the process of purchaseing them… when the clerk decides he looks «confused» by the card reader instructions and hits a button for him (without his permission) okay-​ing $ 60 cash back that he did not want! (not to mention that we did not have at the time!!) She then says «oopps, I can’t refund that it’s already taken out of your account. Sorry.»
He then talks with her manager who says the same thing — thanks alot Vons managment. Let’s just say no one with our last name will be within spitting distance of a Vons ever again. (And I’d rather pay double than deal with any Vons EVER again!!)

The reviews for this Vons are, ahem, a tad outdated. Trust me, there is nothing «ghetto» about this Vons.*
It’s not really a convenient store for me, but what really makes this location kick ass is the wine selection. The wine or beverage manager once told me that this location had the «second» best wine selection of any Vons in the county. I believe him. The selection is extensive and excellent. And they sometimes offer pretty good discounts on the grape beverage.
If I am in the area and looking for wine, you could do a lot worse than come here.
*Except for the men’s room which was an abonimation unto the Lord. Graffitti and a plunger and no hand towels: Kill me now. You guys remodeled the entire store, made it look beautiful, and forgot about the crapper? Really?