12to9
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From the mouth of a TJ's employee - 2008/01/17 19:00
A link to this website was sent to me by a friend of mine, and I have to say, I'm disgusted by your enthusiasm for my place of employment.
It's just a store... It sells the same products as any other supermarket, in different packaging.
"Trader Joe's Water" is really "Crystal Geyser".
"TJ'S Vegetable Chips" are really "Terra Chips".
You've all been misled, misinformed, & brainwashed.
I've worked in several grocery stores, and for the record, Trader Joe's customers are the most pompous, self-centered people I've dealt with...
They leave cups from the demo hut all over the shelves, instead of using one of the MANY garbage pails...
They take products from the freezer & leave it to thaw behind a box of Weetabix...
They return products after eating more than half of the food in the package... or wait until it expires, & return it...
They walk right into you with a shopping cart, and don't even say sorry. (It's happened several times to me)
And for the record, when I'm not at work, and people find out I work at TJ's, the LAST thing I want to hear is what your favorite product is. I don't know when we're going to get Pumpkin Bread Mix back in stock. And I don't give half a shit if last seasons Maple Syrup was better than what we have now.
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steve9
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Re:From the mouth of a TJ's employee - 2008/01/31 20:57
People love Trader Joe's because it is different. Employees are called crew members, we ring bells and can wear shorts to work. Crew members are also extremly nice, except for you. Help out is always offered, ballons and stickers are given to kids. We allow customers to try products with no fear of losing their money due to their dislike.
There are far more great customers, than those customers you have described. Customers are the reason you get a paycheck. I do agree that what you say is true about customer behavior. It only makes you realize that not everybody can think with common sense. But if you dislike customers as much as you sound you should just quit.
Cheer up!
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luvithere
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Re:From the mouth of a TJ's employee - 2008/02/05 04:47
Thanks steve9 for trying to set 12to9 straight.
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Andie@#730
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a reply from the keyboard of another TJ's employee - 2008/02/07 21:10
i'm another employee at Trader Joe's.
The customer behavior depends on the time and the location of your store. If the people who live near you are bored and repressed and get their kicks from retail sabotage that's not a universal quality.
At my store we have incidences of the aforementioned, but overall that's less than 2% of folks splashing around our store. More often than not customers come to the register holding their cups and asking where a trash can is. Of thousands of customer interactions i have had only 2 negative interactions. i am typically surprised and delighted by the warmth so many of the customers in our stores.
Then again, i do work in a large metropolitan area and my partner, who works outside the perimeter, has experienced some inhumane consumer behavior at the big box chain he works for. The cart situation is terrible there as well.
Also, the unique products we offer really provide some spectacular little items for customers. Cutting the cost of food like hummus, greek yogurt, quinoa and other very simple additions to a person's diet makes a huge difference. i could fill this page with praise for the frozen section alone.
Anyway, enough from me for now.
i understand frustration, especially for people who work more than 4 days a week, but still, our benefits and awesome products and interesting people create an experience i have never encountered in retail before at least from my side of the register.
andie
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clerkkent
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Re:From the mouth of a TJ's employee - 2008/02/07 22:09
Not sure what you mean when you say Trader Joe's customers are pompous and self-centered, but TJ's customers have an expectation that they'll get better, more informed customer service at a Trader Joe's than they would at a chain supermarket. Hence, TJ's customer's will ask a TJ's employee many questions about the product. Some of the questions will leave you scratching your head, I'll give you that. But, if anything, Trader Joe's - through its corporate philosophy - encourages that type of customer behavior.
In short, the job can be demanding, but you've got to let a lot of the daily stuff roll off your back or you're going to be very unhappy working at TJ's.
As for customers leaving product in places it doesn't belong, that happens at every grocery store. Given that you say you've worked at several grocery stores, I don't know why you'd find that behavior surprising.
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Zed The Merciful
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Re:From the mouth of a TJ's employee - 2008/02/27 18:48
I need to agree with the rest if the crew members who usually have positive relations with the customers. I personally have found in the 4 years that I've worked at TJs that 99% of the people that come into our store (604)are happy to be there, very freindly(if treated that way), and always seem to have compliments on how nice every one is to them. Yeah, there are a handful that don't quite understand, but they're always pleasantly surprised that we are as helpful as we are. All the oter annoyances are just part of working with the public in retail. If some one doesn't like it, or they're job, they should move on to something else. No matter where you work in retail, you're going to run into idiots, and morons who think they're better than you.
Film first,I bleed D-76.
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