![]() ![]() I used to be a regular TJ’s shopper, but since the pandemic, I’ve been turned off by seemingly constant lines wrapped around the block of every Trader Joe’s in town. Another funny thing is that florists come in all the time-at least once a weekend-saying they’re doing a wedding and buying out an entire section of flowers. They come in frozen and Trader Joe’s sells them thawed, but we’d have people call the store and ask to buy a whole case of them frozen. They’re a kind of Danish pastry, and the flavors change seasonally. Kringles! They are such a big deal, so I bought one thinking I have to understand why people are so crazy for them. Trader Joe’s is known for having an almost cult-like fan base of shoppers. I think it’s because I haven’t had a job like that since high school. There was such a variety of people-happy and kind people.Īccounting for every minute of my day-clocking in and out and having to ask for a 10-minute break. At the store in which I worked, I’d say about half of the people were artists of some sort. call it the “golden handcuffs.” You can’t find benefits like that anywhere else so people who work there, typically stay there. In addition to higher base pay, employees are making $2 an hour more because of COVID, and there are great medical benefits. I was so impressed with the work ethic of 99% of the people working there. We were all part of a team and we all worked our asses off. On the surface, people seemed really friendly, and I know that sometimes appearances aren’t reality, but at Trader Joe’s it really is genuine. It probably exceeded my expectations as far as feeling part of a family and a team. an employee? Once hired, was the job and company culture what you expected? If not, how did it differ from your expectations? What can you tell me about your experience as a shopper of Trader Joe’s vs. You definitely learn different methods of doing things, but you don’t learn the way the company would consider the ideal way of doing things. There’s no checklist that says, ‘These are the things she needs to learn.’ Some people are really good teachers and some are not. Then they pair you with someone on the floor and that person trains you. The onboarding consists of watching a two-hour video about the corporate culture, the Trader Joe’s mission, how to stay safe, and so on. But I also want to say that every store is different, and my experience may have been what it was because of COVID and employees being stretched to do so many different things-we had two people washing carts and one person opening and closing the front door-so it took crew members away from other tasks. This is one area where I think Trader Joe’s could grow. What did you think of Trader Joe’s onboarding and training program? In your previous career, you were a training development consultant for a global Fortune 500 company. ![]() Managers also do everything in-store from putting product out to working the checkout and working the front door. If it’s a good idea, management’s goal is to figure out how to make it happen. They hire people they want to work with regardless of what the resume says.Ĭrew members are also encouraged to constantly present ideas like how we can better support our customers who are essential hospital workers or make it safer for the elderly to shop the store. While not everyone has the same underlying joy about the store, I think the enthusiasm is genuine-for one, because Trader Joe’s pays significantly more than most grocery stores. The crew at Trader Joe’s are some of the best people I’ve ever worked with-both management and crew members. Is the enthusiasm authentic, and if so, how does Trader Joe’s achieve it?įormer crew member: For the most part, it is authentic. Jennifer Strailey: Trader Joe’s is known for having some of the most engaged and enthusiastic employees in grocery. She has since moved on from Trader Joe’s to take a position more aligned with her professional background, but as she was not authorized by Trader Joe’s to speak with WGB, she asked to remain anonymous. She was hired as a crew member and thus performed a variety of roles, including working the checkout, bagging groceries, stocking shelves, working the front door, managing the socially distanced line, etc. ![]() But she knew that grocery was one industry that was still actively hiring, and as a longtime shopper at Trader Joe’s, with its cheerful and upbeat employees, she thought her local TJ’s might be a good point of workforce reentry. When a 50-year-old mother of two and former professional services consultant tried to reenter the workforce in Denver after taking time off to focus on her children, she found that what would have been a challenge during normal circumstances was seemingly impossible in the midst of a global pandemic. ![]()
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