Pros
I can't say I loved working here, but as I got to know the owner (Albert), he had my back. You may not always agree with him, but he mostly has a logic that you can follow. I had plenty of free time at the job to talk with other people there, use the internet to listen to stand up comedy radio each day, etc, though it wasn't that way for everyone. Some folks were more micro-managed than others. But I pretty much did whatever I wanted because I did good work consistently. Albert left me alone to do my job after the first few months. Never - NOT ONCE- was there an issue with my paycheck or hours worked, (except when he gave me a raise EARLIER than we agreed on, ok, fine by me!). You may or may not like working for Albert, but I mostly did.
Cons
The pay is low. The other reviewers, who are clearly a little salty about life in general, are mad they couldn't make more than $14-17/hr because they couldn't get it elsewhere or prove to Albert why they deserved a raise. That kind of pay is weak and I'd be mad too. In fact, I actually was a little miffed about my wage, and I did what any adult would do -- I regularly demonstrated the need for modest raises, which I consistently got, and eventually I found a better paying job with benefits. If these reviewers were worth more than their SmartAVI wage, they would've secured a raise or found a new gig, too. And a couple of us did. But these reviewers apparently didn't, and what does that tell you? Look, I'm not a huge fan of the company. The office itself was a little lacking, the products needed better quality control, etc. But multiple times, Albert gave me more money and more responsibility and more freedom to do my job better. He also gave me some good advice, regularly. If he paid me a few bucks more per hour, well, I'd still be there! The economy's really solid in SoCal, jobs are plentiful. Don't like it there? Then move on. Want more pay? Then go get it. Don't complain online because you worked for this guy for a year. You chose that, just as he offered to pay you a low wage, which you accepted. Figure it out.