So it has been a while since my last post, but that is all right since I have been saving up the rage.
On December 6, 2006 I went to the Trader joes in La Grange Illinois and spent $69.90 in my standard bi-weekly grocery shopping extravaganza.
Well I get home from the store unload my bags and load up the fridge. A Few hrs go by and I prepare to make some lunch. I check the date on an overpriced item I just bought called “Shredded BBQ Chicken†The use or freeze by date was 12-2-06… 4 days before I bought the shit.
After this I look at my other items and find Brussels sprouts, and some muffins I bought were already past their expiration date.
Well there are a few reasons why I am angry… the first is because I did not check the dates on the shit I just bought, the second is the fact that I need to check the dates on everything I buy, because the store is so poorly run that they have expired items on their fucking shelves.
Being a nerd, I go to the Trader Joes website, and write in a comment to them regarding my purchase and my unhappy experience at their store. A month has gone by and those assfucks have yet to write back or refund my money, making me have to use this fine website to voice my opinion.
FUCK YOU TRADER JOES. You assholes owe me $10.47 for the expired grocery items that you sold me.
You need to learn what customer service means, and you should actually reply to complaints sent into your website. Fuck you, I am shopping at Wild Oats, a true health food store.
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httpwebwitch 01.09.07 at 12:51 am
reminds me of my own experiences with RONA, lovingly documented on my own blog. Trader Joe's sells rotten food? RONA SELLS BROKEN CRAP.
meepmop 01.11.07 at 4:36 pm
you can return anything to trader joe's, even if you just didn't like something. they are the best about refunds.
meepmop 01.11.07 at 4:40 pm
"You need to learn what customer service means, and you should actually reply to complaints sent into your website. Fuck you, I am shopping at Wild Oats, a true health food store."
you should also learn about how to be a responsible customer, i.e. how to complain to the proper chain-of-command. start by going to the store manager. then district. corporate doesn't give a shit about your whiny comments.
and trader joes='s has never claimed to be a "health food" store. they are in a different niche market than wild oats or whole foods.
keep cryin' yourself a river, though… your life is like hard and sad and stuff….
Werty 01.11.07 at 11:44 pm
They are an "upscale aldi" Same owner.
As far as my complaint, it should be read and replied to regardless of the channel I use. You are a half wit for thinking otherwise.
In regards to my life being hard and sad I would have to disagree. I have it pretty easy.
charles 02.28.07 at 11:10 pm
Trader Joes REALLY SUCKS. Its a hellhole shopping experience. The lines run completely around the entire perimeter of the store back to the front door where the cashiers are and the line starts. You can't see or get to anything on the perimeter of the store, and the isles are narrow with wall to wall shopping carts jammed from every direction so you cant move or see what they're even selling. Its like going to the monkey house at the zoo on free day in the summer when every camp, scout and youth group is there, except then at least you're taller then the kids and they don't all have shopping carts jamming you in from all directions. Trader joes-the worst shopping experience ever. Are you really that desperate.
louise sa 03.29.07 at 8:26 pm
cottage cheese goes bad.Cutie Tangerines were the smallest ever and cost the most almost of any store in town.Great cheese. Obnoxious very young mgr's called Captains.Company needs to send them and ship mates to Dale Carnigie for "How to make friends and influence people."
Mostly are too young. Older persons are really great.But few and far between.Poor demonatration items except when one creative guy is there. Other wise it is cream cheese on a cracker.So creative. Mexican frozen stuff with TJ's name poor quality and bad tasting. Great frozen chinese orange chicken however. Large Chocolate candy bars great. Rather bad yogurt at a high price. i stopped going almost all tgoether to TJ and now have saved over $200 to $300 a month and we are much much better off with Sunflower markets great quality and regular super mkts. Terrible dog food. See consumer reports ratings . Owned I am told by two German brothers. so money leaves US.I read this in one of the trade magzines I believe or in the Wall Street journal, some time ago. ( last year. )
Lili 05.22.07 at 3:09 pm
Hi. I'm very glad there's a website where I could go to complain about Trader Joe's without fear of being fired by a sexist first mate who should not have a high position at all, especially in a company that claims to be of equal opportunity for everyone. I've been working for the company as a part timer for several years, and have proved myself to most of the fultimers except two new ones who think it's ok for a worker to come to work drunk and cursing obnoxiosly through the isles as long as that worker is male,on the other hand if the worker is female and she does something as insignificant as forgets her name tag or stops for a moment to get money out of her bag to pay for lunch she gets yelled at like there's no tomorrow. Also smokers can get all the little breaks they want without having to clock out, I'm sure it would not be this way if the first mate was not a smoker. Unfortunately corporate companies really don't care much about their employe's feelings thoughts and ideas, they only care about how they seem to the customers because that's how they make money. I wish the customers would realize that the better the employees are treated in places of business by their employers the better the service is. If the employees complain about how they are treated not many people in the business will listen to them or rectify the problems if any will listen at all. On the other hand, if the customers were to complain about the treatment of employees it would strike a chord and perhaps things would change and the service would change accordingly. I'm sorry about your experience with Trader Joe's. If ever you decide to go shopping there again and if you encounter any problems, I assure you it's not the employees, it's the management and their lack of responsibility to making their employees feel safe and comfortable with the store and with the company. If you are being treated unfairly you are not going to work as well or as hard if you would if the company didn't take advantage of its employees and didn't treat the employees that were working for them longer worse than its new hires. One example of this is paying the newer workers more money for the same exact jobs the older employees are doing for much less. Isn't that nice of them?
Phyllis 06.19.07 at 2:12 pm
Like any other store, you have to be selective.. I don't buy TJ's produce (some of it is actually rotting in areas you can't see through the plastic), but they are tops for meat, and sell it in forms I wouldn't take the time to try to make myself from scratch (rolled flank steak w/blue cheese filling, apple-sage stuffed bonless pork chops, manderin orange chicken).. the fish selection is also wonderful. Eggs here are the cheapest in town by the dozen (.99).. wine selection impeccable with a wide variety from which to choose. TJ's will continue to receive the bulk of my "other-than-fundamentals" grocery money.. and if I get a lemon in terms of quality of a purchase, I have only to return the sales slip for a FULL refund w/o undue questions or arguments.
jason 10.24.07 at 7:23 pm
I am actually a supervisor of a Trader Joe's and I can honestly say that I understand your frustration. While finding 4 items that were expired is unacceptable you know that even aftter this time you can get your money back…just go into the store and explain your situation and I guarantee that they will refund your money. No hassle refund is part of the Trader Joe's experience. Don't let one bad experience ruin it for you:)
jason 10.24.07 at 7:28 pm
This comment is for the part timer: You are a part timer and not privy to the things that goes on behind the Captain's Desk. We're an at will company but you still cant just fire someone. As a full timer I got to see first hand the amount of time, energy, documentation, etc that goes into just writing a person up. Keep your head up and know that your full time staff is doing whatever necessary to fix the problem.
Bill C 11.12.07 at 7:28 pm
I don't know what is worse, the hippies working in the place, or the yenta's who need to chat with one another and block the aisles, they think it is Macy's or Bloomingdales, stupid bitches
Rayanne 11.28.07 at 9:23 am
4 expired items? That sucks. At my T. Joe', they check for spoils every night. You shouldn't wind up with expired crap. That's pretty terrible.
"Being a nerd, I go to the Trader Joes website, and write in a comment to them regarding my purchase and my unhappy experience at their store. A month has gone by and those assfucks have yet to write back or refund my money, making me have to use this fine website to voice my opinion."
No, being poorly informed on the typical chain-of-command, you got on the CORPORATE website and told the CORPORATE office about something that happened at an ILLINOIS store. There are more than 280 Trader Joe' stores. It isn't even corporate's fault that the stuff wa expired, even if it had time to deal with your problem. When Abe Lincoln was in office, he said, "If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attack made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business." Similar concept. Corporate has bigger fish to fry. The captain of your local Trader Joe's does NOT. It is his JOB to fix what went wrong under his management. If you take your case to him, I'm sure he'll give you a refund. Oh, and please be polite. It's just common courtesy. People forget about that.
"Fuck you, I am shopping at Wild Oats, a true health food store."
Oh, how sweet of you. Actually, Trader Joe' doesn't claim to be a health food store. It's jut a "unique grocery store."
"They are an “upscale aldi†Same owner."
No, they are owned by the same family as Aldi. One brother owns Aldi, and the other brother owns Trader Joe's. They are completely independent business operations.
"As far as my complaint, it should be read and replied to regardless of the channel I use. You are a half wit for thinking otherwise."
No, it shouldn't. There has to be order and a system to business. If you are going to do business with business, you should learn that. Perhaps a bit of selflessness while you're at it. You are an incredibly rude person.
"In regards to my life being hard and sad I would have to disagree. I have it pretty easy."
Wow! That's even worse! At least if your life has been sad and hard, you would have had a sort of excuse, or at least some pity. You seem like an incredibly bitter person for having had such an easy life. I'm sorry for you.
P. 02.04.08 at 5:35 am
Pretty stupid entry. I'm a part timer at TJ's, and have only been there around 5 weeks.
It sounds like you have a crappy TJ's in your area, and that's the fault of the captain/mgr there. In my store spoils occasionally slip by, true, but you would never get four out of date things in one trip there, because spoils are checked every night.
It also sounds like you're not very smart if you think you can leave a message to a corporation expecting them to fed-ex you a refund or something. Go to the store you bought it from and they will bend over backwards apologizing while giving you a full refund.
Mot 03.03.08 at 4:52 am
Wah Wah Wah. Try checking your dates before you buy.
Werty 03.03.08 at 11:38 am
Mot, I tend to always check the dates, but sometimes you forget.
Would you not agree that it is totally unacceptable that the store would sell a product (a meat product) that is 4 days past due?
Tyler 05.01.08 at 11:34 am
If you have a fucking problem just go and return your groceries. Trader Joes has the most liberal return policy out there. Dont go through the web page, what are they going to be able to do about it, give you a tissue and tell its going to be ok. Also, all the products in Trader Joes are made without preservatives, so ya the food does go bad quicker than most grocery stores, but its also a whole hell of a lot better for you. Before you complain why not man up and just go to the store you had a problem with instead being a "nerd"/pussy and using a non-confrontational web page.
Werty 05.01.08 at 1:36 pm
Tyler, I did not feel as though I should go back to the store to return my spoiled shit that they sold me.
I think they should take pride in their company and actually answer emails and complaints from customers.
It is unacceptable that they would sell items that are beyond their expiration date.
I always try and look at expiration dates, but sometimes I am in a hurry or forget. The fact that 3 out of the 20 or so items I bought were already past due, shows me that this store is poorly managed, and attention to quality is non existent.
Also Tyler, your anger would make you think you got fired over this or something.
j swizzle 05.24.08 at 3:19 am
dude, get over it. you won't return something just because the the codes were bad, yet you complain because CORPORATE won't send you a refund. so what if codes go bad, every store in the WORLD has the problem. i love how you got 3 things that went out of code, and will NEVER do business with trader joe's again, simply because of that. in most cases, if items go out of code, they're still edible. in i'm also 100% sure that the "shredded bbq chicken" was not overpriced, you're frustration just makes you exaggerate. but go ahead and try to point out everything i said which you don't agree with, and write a response that i won't read, because i don't give a shit about your whiny bitchiness. i've been shopping with trader joe's for 20 years, and i'm only 25. i'm not a hippy, nor anything like that. trader joe's is 50 times better then any national chain store (kroger, etc. etc), and if i've ever had a problem, i just take the item back for a FULL refund, no questions asked, much like costco. so stop your bitching you lazy ass, cry me a river.
Werty 05.24.08 at 5:45 am
I was actually not that upset about it, but I knew if I exaggerated my "anger" I would get suckers like you to flame me and add to the content on this page. If anything I was mad at myself for not checking the dates. I always try to, but sometimes I forget or in a hurry.
Anne Y. Monous 05.29.08 at 6:38 pm
I've been a part timer at Trader Joes for several years, "part time" by the way, meaning 5 days a week. Anyone not a manager is considered "part time," even if you word 40 hours a week. They are a terrible store to work for, most of the management is related, and many of the part timers are related to these people. It's nice for people who are relatives or friends of the full timers, but anyone else gets stepped on and picked over to no end. I tried calling corporate once to complain, and nothing happened. The customers are also generally annoying because they seem to think that Tradre Joes is different from all other grocery stores, and all employees must love working there. Who wants to work at a grocery store though? It's a freaking grocery store people, it sucks to work at. If we look happy all the time it's because if we don't we get fired. And I don't need to be in management to know what is going on behind closed doors, you hear about it all the time–management is screwing around with half the part time sluts they hire, and going out drinking with the other half. Okay, more like a third and a third, because the last third are us poor suckers who don't get drunk every night or cheat on their spouses (by the way, if your husband or wife works at a Trader Joes in L.A., chancer are high that they are cheating on you), and we have to do all the work. It's a god awful store with god awful people. I hope it rots away one day.
Derek Swanson 05.30.08 at 10:22 am
I could CARE LESS about customer service. It is usually sub par AT BEST in my experience. The problem I have with Trader Joe's is the quality of the foods they are offering. To me, their food quality is average to below average AT BEST. Time and time again I've bought their products, only to be disappointed at the risk I took. I am slowly phasing them out as I'd rather pay a little more and get great quality at Whole Foods.
Werty 05.30.08 at 1:20 pm
I totally agree with you Derek. It seems like maybe 1/2 of their items are good quality.
I think frozen fish is usually a hit, as is the peanut butter and cheese. Produce is always questionable as is 1/2 the ready made items.
ANother thing that irks me is the way most of the produce is packaged… like 4 apples in a plastic container… talk about lots of waste.
Jonnny Montez 06.13.08 at 10:51 am
Wow..what a jerk!Please do not ever shop at Trader Joe's..you seem like a total fricken psycho..Quality varies from store to store,..I know it shouldn't be that way but you should stick to the JEWEL OR DOMINICKS
Werty 06.13.08 at 10:58 am
Hahahaha, I love you Jonnny. I normally shop at Costco for the main items, and then local places for fruit and such.
I have not been to Trader Joe's for about 9 months or more now.
kate 06.14.08 at 1:24 am
Most people would never believe it but behind all those smiles workers at TJ can be really miserable. They shove their management thru really fast and promote easily. Most of them don't know what their doing. Also TJ customers are the worst I've come into contact with. I could go on about this one but lets just say that they only seem to love TJ if they get some major ass kissing. The most absurd people ever. Trust me we are all making jokes about you and going WTF! behind your backs. The only reason to work here is the wage and benefits.
Werty 06.14.08 at 5:18 pm
Kate, I totally believe it. Most jobs are terrible, and I would think anywhere you need to deal with the public that much would make it even worse. I could not handle it.
It is interesting that you complain about the management. That is something I would have never thought of. It makes me wonder how my decisions and actions affect the lives of my employees.
eggs mgee 06.19.08 at 2:55 pm
Dumb ass…why didn't you just go to the store and get your money back? instead of crying about it on a corporate website?
anonymous 06.22.08 at 2:29 pm
I too am a 'part-timer' at TJ's who is fed up with the nepotism and favoritism exhibited. Yes, the pay and benefits may be good, but the work is back-breaking and demeaning and the full-timers (i.e., "novitiates," "first mates," "captains," et cetera) are clueless when it comes to dealing with anybody except you customers. I fucking hate my job at TJ's.
Robbie 07.22.08 at 11:30 pm
As a nurse,I refer my patients to Trader Joe's, as the food is nutritious and delicious for many patients who are needing to restrict their diets to low sodium and low fat and also need the convenience of easy preparation. It also helps them think in a healthy way about eating. Yes, I feel Trader Joe's is a speciality store, yet they offer mostly healthy foods. I personally love many of the foods offered. I also believe that every Trader Joe's is different. This is dependent upon the management, the size of the store and the employees. I shop at a Trader Joe's of my choice, not the one closest to me, as I have had very bad experiences with rude, unhappy employees. Still cannot understand why I was confronted and harassed like I was everytime I went shopping there. The store I shop at is wonderful, the freshest food, excellent and helpful employees, good management creating a well-organized store with employees and customers happy alike. I commend the management and employees of Trader Joe's in San Clemente, CA for making this store a pleasant experience with reliability in quality of food and employees. Thank you, San Clemente Store, you are the reason why I still shop with you and the main store where I purchase my food. Robbie
G Teter 07.24.08 at 10:02 am
I love Trader Joes. What a success you've made of Trader Joes. I remember a small store on Mission in So. Pasadena, CA many years ago. That may have been the first store.
Only thing missing in your stores is some sort of Mocha Mix (lactose intolerant creamer for coffee, ceral. ) It is a "big" item in my home. Wish you carried it (for health reasons) for all of us who use it daily. GT
jhn doe 08.04.08 at 8:43 pm
your a fuckin idot
Werty 08.05.08 at 1:21 pm
JHN DOE, it should be either you are fucking idiot, or you're a fucking idiot.
Either would apply to you as well.
Agent Cooper 08.23.08 at 3:11 am
I too am a "part-time" TJ employee of (gasp) SEVEN long years… I will now share my experience of what it is like to work at Trader Joe's.
Working at TJ's is great if you like to:
a) deal with hundreds of demanding people all day long
b) work with a never-ending rotating crew of annoying nineteen year-olds
c) work with (some, but not all) people in the 85-90 IQ range who have never read a book in their life.
d) get bossed around by idiots on a power trip
e) smile and pretend that you haven't heard that line about 8 million times already. Example: "could you keep all of my cold stuff together?"
f) lean over and unload cart after cart of non-stop groceries… then bag all of those same groceries. There's no conveyor belts at Trader Joe's! We do it all!
g) experience chronic back pain
h) listen to people yap on their cell-phones and blue-teeth about absolutely nothing… Example: "yah, I'm at Trader Joe's. What? What! No, I have olives already…" SIDENOTE: I hate cell-phone etiquette in general. People: you don't need to answer your goddamn phone just because it's ringing… you can "call people back"
i) spend 40 hours a week doing monotonous, soul-killing work. My seven years at TJ's has made me almost loathe humanity. But at least I have benefits.
j) work in an environment with a "nautical theme" where you're required to ring bells, and call people "captain" and say words like "helmsing"
If this sounds good to you, come aboard! And it's true: managers DO make 60 thousand a year after a while. It's easy. Just sign away your life and your soul, 'cause you'll be LIVING at Trader Joe's, 55 to 60 hours a week!
Agent Cooper 08.23.08 at 12:49 pm
oh, and one more…
k) have customers say "cute" and demeaning things to you like, "wow, you're a great bagger!" or, "I love watching someone do what they're good at.." instead of helping to bag their own groceries.
and in regards to "C" in the list above… it sounds a little too harsh. Some of the smartest people I've ever met are also working at TJ's… but they're trying to get the hell out of there!
P 09.06.08 at 3:50 am
Check the fucking dates yourself ya tool. What do you expect, specially shopping in La Grange. With your snotty little shit attitude, trek up 294 to park ridge. Trader Joe's is a glorified 7-11, plus, they have an open 100% return policy, so all you had to do was bring the shit back.
Lick fat beef curtains!!!