Trader Joe’s, a beloved grocery store across the country, is known for its good food, great prices, and friendly and helpful employees. But while they may have a smile on their face at work, that smile might be hiding some irritation when customers do certain things. So here are some things to do and not do on your next Trader Joe’s trip.
If you need help finding something, ask one employee, then be patient. A former Trader Joe’s employee told Business Insider, “Customers often asked me to look in the back of the store for something, and it really bothered me when I’d come back out to find that they had asked a different employee to check in the back as well.”
If you pick something up and change your mind — or when you’re done with your sample and have the little plate — it can be tempting to just put it back on a shelf wherever, but that’s a no-no. On a Reddit thread called “Trader Joe’s employees: what are your pet peeves regarding customers or anything else?” employees chimed in with comments like, “Leaving trash/sample cups, plates, forks, napkins, whatever… on the shelves, or in the cart. The[re] are trash cans all over the store, use them. One of our philosophies is we treat our customers like guests in our own home, and in return, they trash it.” Another one? “We once found a whole chicken in the watermelon bin.”
Take a few minutes to be respectful and considerate
It’s not just treating Trader Joe’s with respect, treat the workers with respect too. “When I greet a customer and ask how they are,” explained an employee to Business Insider, “it’s frustrating when they either don’t acknowledge I said anything or they cut me off and just ask a question about where to find an item in the store. This happens almost daily.” Another redditor seems to be on the same page here; they wrote, “Customers often forget that we are people too. I’ve been standing patiently with product in my hands and a lady turned around and told me ‘I don’t have to care about you. You work here.'”
Once you’ve made it through the checkout, take your cart with you, don’t just leave it there at the register. And once you are back at your car, don’t just leave the cart wherever in the parking lot. Take the minute or two to return it to a designated cart spot, as per Vocal.
It really all comes down to taking a little bit of your time to show consideration for the store and the workers that have the treats that you love.
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