Catalyst Cannabis Dispensary Santa Ana OC3

Yesterday my bf stopped by to get a Plug n Play pod, and apparently it was their grand opening so he got 25% off instead of the normal 15%. I also saw they do 25% off anyways on Wednesdays for women, and I thought that was the coolest thing! I’ve gotten my pods at the shop around the corner a couple times but I saw online that they’re at $37.50 here, so I wanted to check it out. But when I opened my bag and checked my pod it was dated back to October 2023… I totally understand 8 months isn't THE WORST for pods and carts. I just didn't think the price would reflect the age of the product :/ and maybe I’ve just been lucky I’ve never gotten one that old before. Kind of took the buzz out of an accidentally walking into a grand opening…

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME GOING TO *THIS* LOCATION

This Catalyst is unlike other catalyst locations given that the current* employees are previous OC3 employees. Frankly put, they are CLUELESS budtenders, they are not knowledgeable about the products their company carries, they are not knowledgeable about their company policies and they are not to be trusted when it comes to discussing ANY cannabis related information.

Case in point, I asked my budtender about 3 prominent brands that Catalyst has on their shelves company wide. Ember Valley, Tedz Budz and Royal Key. 3 distinctly different brands that the budtender quote said “I don’t even know what that is”. Red Flag number 1.

I then asked what living soil brands are currently in stock, to my shock, once again the budtender exact words were “what is that” having not a clue of the grow practice and the uniqueness of this particular grow practice (that brands intentionally highlight) The budtender then went on to say “so you’re looking for outdoor right? Now my antennas are up because this budtender has made himself out to be incredibly clueless. Doubling down on cluelessness the budtender then goes on to tell me “you asked me this before, I remember you, you asked me this last time you were in here”
Okay:
A, this was my first time at this location, he could’ve and should’ve seen that in my customer profile when i entered the store. He would’ve clearly seen that I have NEVER been at this location. This is something he should’ve done before even calling me up given how critical it is to leave a positive first impression on first time clients.

B, if this were true and I did mention living soil before to him on a prior basis, his response is to double down on not knowing what living soil means? clearly saying to me i don’t care to know what consumers are looking for when they come into the shop
red flag number 2

so the mission to get flower was a fail but luckily I was able to go home with some edibles, for 30% off your entire purchase it made it worth while at the end… so i thought. New budtender now: remember what I said earlier, this catalyst is unlike the others. My total at checkout included change and I was informed that this location does NOT round down the total. For me personally, this is a huge, huge, huge disappointment. All other catalyst that I’ve personally been to, in 3 diff counties have all rounded down the total. Primarily my disappointment was in response the budtender gave me, informing me that because the sale is going on thats why they aren’t rounding down the total at their store. This is a bogus blantant lie because everytime a new catalyst opens up, the store runs a storewide promotion for an undisclosed time with unilateral practices being carried throughout all catalyst shops, such as rounding down totals. A more realistic response could’ve been that Catalyst is slowy introducing their practices into this location given that this is the first time they are taking over a previous dispensary.

The first Orange County Catalyst shop opened up in Santa Ana, it’s important to remember how educated the Orange County cannabis dispensery customer is. The orginal Santa Ana location highlight of their store was their knowledgeable budtenders, brands were constantly in their shop dropping knowledge to budtenders (and customers) keeping them on their toes and informed on whats happening in the marketplace. These budtenders at the new location, not so much. Maybe in due time they’ll wisen up but for now, unless you’re a casual buyer who’s looking to score random products on good deal, come in. Other than that, I’d stay away. Definitely NOT a shop for connoisseurs.