Revealing the local electronic properties of surfaces and their link to structural properties is an important problem for topological crystalline insulators (TCI) in which metallic surface states are protected by crystal symmetry. Here, we characterized the structure and electronic properties of TCI SnTe film surfaces grown by molecular beam epitaxy using scanning probe microscopy. The results reveal the influence of various defects on the electronic properties, including screw dislocations, point defects, and tilt boundaries that lead to dislocation arrays that serve as periodic nucleation sites for pit growth. These features manifest on multiple length scales, thereby inducing variations in the electronic structure of the surface. Mapped in scanning tunneling microscopy images as standing waves superimposed on atomic scale images, their exact appearance is shaped by the details of the surface topography such as surface steps and point defects. Since any symmetry-breaking defect affects the formation of topological states, we propose that by patterning the surface with the scanning probe tip, custom electronic structures could be created that may enable the fabrication of topological devices.