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Honored Contributor
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Re: Trader Joe's - America's Favorite Grocery Store


@Yahooey wrote:

You guys crack me up and it seems a big peeve is the parking lot. Problem solved as there are NO parking lots in their Manhattan stores. The stores are not large (much smaller than Whole Foods) or maybe it looks small since it is always packed with people. At times especially the holiday season, there are lines outside the store to be let in. 

 

The staff is always cheerful, perhaps an act but that's fine with me. When I'm there, I have see them asking people who are waiting on line if they forgot anything and could they go get it for them. Our lines are long but they always go very quickly. To be met with sullen staff with grunts when asking a question or I don't know and walks on by at some retailers is the pits. They also treat their employees well in terms of benefits.

 

Trader Joe is not Utopia, it may not serve everyone's purpose. I'm glad it finally came to my area, I read about it here for a while.


 

 

 How do you get your grocieries home if there is no parking lot? I assume a taxi. That would be a pita for me.

Honored Contributor
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Re: Trader Joe's - America's Favorite Grocery Store

[ Edited ]

@Bri36 wrote:

If you like a lot of prepared foods, you'll like TJs.   


*****************

 

@Bri36

 

Only if you ignore their grass fed beef, fresh chicken, brisket, pork chops, famous haricot verte, bags of various fresh salads, fresh kale and fresh spinach.  Then there's fresh artichokes, avocados, clementines, apples and bananas, to name a few.

 

Plus their dairy section with really good Greek yogurt, cage-free eggs, milk, and of course the cheese section with cheeses from around the world.

 

And the bakery section, all fresh, and the already prepared fresh foods that busy people can grab on their way home.

 

You must have missed all that.

 

 

Honored Contributor
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Re: Trader Joe's - America's Favorite Grocery Store


@straykatz wrote:

@dex wrote:

@Irshgrl31201@My son has sprouts and it is one of his favourite stores I went once.We have Trader Joe's and I remember telling my son that I wished we had Sprouts.I think they had great produce and health products but little meat choices.


I'm a fan of Spouts too.   I prefer Sprouts over TJ.  The majority of my grocery shopping is done at Kroger's.  


 

 

To me Sprouts and TJ's are pretty different to each other in purpose. Sprouts has always been marketed (and I found it so in LA) as a cheaper alternative to Whole Foods - a "health food store" to use older terminology.  I went there for very few things. I don't shop "health food", though I do shop for healthIER food.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all
Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,504
Registered: ‎05-23-2010

Re: Trader Joe's - America's Favorite Grocery Store


@Bri36 wrote:

If you like a lot of prepared foods, you'll like TJs.   


 

 

"A lot"?  Not any more than any higher end grocery chain.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all
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Re: Trader Joe's - America's Favorite Grocery Store

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Re: Trader Joe's - America's Favorite Grocery Store

@sunshine45

 

I looked at the Daily Meal and didn't find information on how they ran their poll, but we do know that the one which listed Trader Joe's as number one polled 70,000 consumers.

 

Nice though that TJoe's came in second from the Daily Meal. FYI the SF papers are big on foodie news and Whole Foods hasn't been doing well for maybe a year now, at least around here.

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Re: Trader Joe's - America's Favorite Grocery Store

Whole Foods struggles to get back on its feet

 

 

 

 

More recently, Whole Foods has a new concern: allegations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about "serious violations" at one of the company's food preparation facilities in Everett, Mass.

 

In a letter to Whole Foods co-CEOs John Mackey and Robb in June, the FDA said the violations included a failure to sanitize food prep surfaces, dirty dishes near food, sinks without hot water for hand-washing and a worker who sprayed an ammonium-based sanitizer on "an open colander of salad leafy greens."

 

 

 

Honored Contributor
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Re: Trader Joe's - America's Favorite Grocery Store

@Noel7

looks like some of the top grocery stores have bad reputations and press. ...for various reasons, including trader joes.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/business/at-trader-joes-good-cheer-may-hide-complaints.html?_r=0

 

 

(early november 2016, new york times, "at trader joes, good cheer may hide complaints."

********************************************
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein
Honored Contributor
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Registered: ‎07-09-2010

Re: Trader Joe's - America's Favorite Grocery Store


@missy1 wrote:

@Yahooey wrote:

You guys crack me up and it seems a big peeve is the parking lot. Problem solved as there are NO parking lots in their Manhattan stores. The stores are not large (much smaller than Whole Foods) or maybe it looks small since it is always packed with people. At times especially the holiday season, there are lines outside the store to be let in. 

 

The staff is always cheerful, perhaps an act but that's fine with me. When I'm there, I have see them asking people who are waiting on line if they forgot anything and could they go get it for them. Our lines are long but they always go very quickly. To be met with sullen staff with grunts when asking a question or I don't know and walks on by at some retailers is the pits. They also treat their employees well in terms of benefits.

 

Trader Joe is not Utopia, it may not serve everyone's purpose. I'm glad it finally came to my area, I read about it here for a while.


 

 

 How do you get your grocieries home if there is no parking lot? I assume a taxi. That would be a pita for me.


@missy1 the subway - I buy what I can carry easily which is one shopping bag. I go once a week. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,752
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Trader Joe's - America's Favorite Grocery Store


@sunshine45 wrote:

@Noel7

looks like some of the top grocery stores have bad reputations and press. ...for various reasons, including trader joes.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/business/at-trader-joes-good-cheer-may-hide-complaints.html?_r=0

 

 

(early november 2016, new york times, "at trader joes, good cheer may hide complaints."


*****************************

 

@sunshine45

 

It's interesting they point out the dissatisfaction by some workers are on the East coast.  It seems that's the problem, a cultural difference.

 

TJs began as a California store with a CA cultural vibe.  Laid back, Aloha shirts, friendly.  That doesn't go over well with everyone, we see that on Chat often.  The complaint on the East Coast is a lot about crabby managers and being asked to smile.  Maybe it's not a good fit.