10 Secrets Trader Joe’s Employees Are Forbidden To Tell You
Whenever I tell anyone I used to work at Trader Joe's, the conversation inevitably veers towards wanting to know all the tea about working at America's Quirkiest Grocery Store. And let me tell you, there's a lot of tea to spill.
Trader Joe's has always leaned into its mysterious side, whether it's about how many brands secretly make their store-branded products, or how their wine manages to be so delicious and so cheap. It's part of the fun of shopping at the store, but there's actually so much more intel that employees keep under wraps. Here are just a few of the juiciest secrets TJ's employees are keeping close to their chests:
1. We are not trained to flirt with customers (sorry)
I hate to dash your hopes of rolling off in a shopping cart into the sunset with your ultra-cute Trader Joe's crush, but employees really are generally pretty friendly 99% of the time and absolutely not trained to flirt with customers. I did always say that my Trader Joe's co-workers all had one thing in common, though: A face that said, "Yes, please ask me questions!"
2. You really can have as many samples as you want
Yup, it's true! Just don't be weird about it (i.e. make a whole meal out of it, chat up the sample-giver too much so they can focus on making more, etc.). As the kids say, "in the clerb [Trader Joe's], we all fam."
3. Employees are encouraged to give away items to customers
That being said, you have to be pretty special! Not everyone gets a candy bar or a petite bouquet of flowers just for shopping. I've often gifted items for especially enthusiastic customers or, on the flip side, if a customer is having a rough day and clearly needs cheering up.
4. California shoppers often are to blame for why a product is discontinued
Think of it this way, many Trader Joe's items are in a popularity contest. If a product isn't super well-loved, it might not be given shelf space the next month or next season. And since there are tons of Trader Joe's locations in California, it means that the popularity contests are increasingly decided by Californian shoppers. It's basically like a grocery store electoral college!
5. Your favorite item is probably just on a "production delay"
It's a common scenario: You try to find your favorite frozen chicken tacos, and they still aren't in stock. It's been months, what gives? Well, a lot of things could be at play, and the Trader Joe's database will often distill it down to any manner of "production delays." This can mean so many things: it's harvest time and the product isn't ready; a supplier wants to raise the price and Trader Joe's is looking for a new company to make it; or often something bizarre, like a factory caught fire or monkey labor become outlawed—seriously.
6. Prices do drop (and rise) on a certain day of the week
Depending on the store, there's a specific day of the week where prices shift at each Trader Joe's. At the store I worked at, it was Wednesdays. It involved an employee going around the store and noting how many items would be marked up or down the following day. Often this was really handy intel, especially if you wanted to get in some shopping after work. Bottles of wine, bags of avocados, and new items that were being tested at various prices would often be sold for way less.
7. Trader Joe's are placed in very certain cities for very specific reasons
If I had a nickel for every time a customer proposed a new location for a Trader Joe's, I'd have enough money to open all of those Trader Joe's. But it's actually very strategic as to where stores are placed. Here's the basic secret sauce for a city to get a store: Trader Joe's often are placed in larger, college towns (as in more than a few colleges and universities, ideally), where the majority of residents are college-educated, with a median income somewhere in the $100k area. Basically, they want to sell to young, educated folk with plenty of Cookie Butter-spending money.
8. The parking lots are frustrating for a reason
In order to offer items at such a deal, there's a lot of cost-saving (and space-saving) that Trader Joe's stores must do. So it should come as no surprise that Trader Joe's parking lots are small and high-stress for a reason. On top of that, customers are often stopping in for quick trips, meaning it's a high-traffic, 2 Fast 2 Furious zone much of the day.
9. You often don't need to bring back a product to get a refund
In fact, please don't bring in those rotting, less-than-delicious products! We believe you. You can simply tell a manager or employee that something wasn't up to snuff, they'll look up the product code, and you can then have it deducted from your bill, or refunded in cash, all without bringing in an old, leaky whole chicken.
10. My favorite secret of all involves the frozen "Reduced Guilt" Macaroni and Cheese
Sit down for this one: did you know that the frozen "Reduced Guilt" mac and cheese is actually just... the regular macaroni and cheese but half the size? Well, it's true. You can taste-test them side-by-side if you don't believe me.
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