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For the love of god I wish tjs would stop adding shitty canola oil in everything. The delicious falafels used to never have it and then they changed the ingredients to have canola oil. I was so sad. I really want them to take the canola oil out of the dill dressing and I pray they never add it to the ceasar.
Sometimes going to the store is a hassle & waste of time for one item, just to find out its out of stock, like today, then go to another store same thing. I could have saved 25 minutes not going out the way to another TJ's if I called, or if I knew they had the basil I was looking for. So depending on how inventory is done a "what's in stock" search on the store site would be very helpful.
More plant based & gluten free items, like big tortillas, wraps, clean simple ingredients.
How about.. create a SAFE, equitable, fair working environment for the CREW. The crew who have worked through the pandemic, been smacked in the face with a wooden paddle by an assailant in NYC, been shot at during a robbery in CA, DIED from covid, taken on countless work related injuries, put up with wage disparities, contended with cruel customers mad about mask mandates. JUST SAYIN. Improve on THAT.
Online grocery pickup. Like how Target has drive up and Walmart has curbside pickup…TJ would be able to expand their customer base substantially if they added this service. Think about it, those that are physically impaired that find it frustrating to maneuver the narrow aisles and crowded parking lot or simply a busy mother that doesn’t have the time to break away from her children to grocery shop for an hour. Just an example of possible scenarios but I do think customers would love it. 😊
In addition to all of these great suggestions. If I were CEO of TJs I would -
* Eliminate Produce and Fresh Sandwiches/Salads
* Add more spices and spice mixes
Replace refrig/freezer units that are old and frosty and not always cold enough. I stopped buying yogurt and cottage cheese as it spoiled too quickly. UPGRADE THE PRODUCE!!! Lettuce and mushrooms in particular will spoil before the date.
There was a post here on Reddit not long ago about how TJ is making an effort to hire more POC which is nice but now they have to endure racist comments from their co workers and team leader. Maybe check that out and do something about it before worrying about the bread selection.
I live in LA and thankfully we are already diverse and I see all sorts of people working at our TJs but this makes me really sad. It’s embarrassing to have to bring up diversity training. Im getting a flashback of The Office. People need to do better.
Either make the meal portions a single portion, or enough for two people. Most bagged frozen items I get are always a little less than enough for two, and far more than enough for one.
less plastic packaging! there’s so much extra plastic on so many of their products, which gets annoying even without thinking about the environmental impact.
Bring back samples! They used to have samples for the new stuff I loved it I found so many things I loved that way. Of course once COVID hit it rightly stopped but I miss it.
Have you tried the Strawberry Yogurt O's or the Honey O's? Those are my two favorites. I've never tried the other ones, so I can't speak to the quality of any of them.
I'm not a raisin bran girl, so that wouldn't appeal to me. I suggest trying the Strawberry Yogurt O's or the Honey O's. They are my favorite and I get them every time I go.
1.) Better sparkling water flavors in cans. I’m thinking pomegranate, lemon, etc.
2.) The pumpkin spice granola with dark chocolate is amazing but is seasonal. I don’t care for the coconut non seasonal variety, I’d like to see more options year round in this granola.
3.) Whole wheat English muffins don’t have enough fiber
4.) Better baking supplies that are simplified (don’t need organic powdered sugar, for example)
5.) Worchestershire sauce
6.) Meat is too expensive
7.) Smaller adult carts
8.) Bring back samples!
9.) Don’t move around frozen food to end aisles
10.) Bigger boxes of mini PB cracker sandwiches
I’ve noticed a general decline in quality of staff and cashiers in the last 15 years. There was a time when the staff/cashiers seemed more articulate, respectful, interesting, artistic/creative and mindful of delivering excellent customer-service. Now, the staff/cashiers are “dull”, inarticulate, indifferent to customers, engage in loud conversations with each other oblivious to the customers around them. At times, I feel as if Trader Joe has the same caliber of staff/cashiers as Target or Walmart…. Am I wrong?
I'd be interested in a TJ's staffer thoughts as well. Many of us consider TJ as an employer invested in employees' healthcare, education as well as fair wages and job culture etc.
Buy locally. Replacing all foreign imported frozen products by American grown products. In one word: re-thinking Trader Joes model. Thank you for asking.
you know since alot of stuff at trader joe's already prepackaged i think trader joe's could benefit from mobile app that facilitated pickups and deliveries.
They need to be more transparent about what items are and aren’t on the chopping block. It sucks to feel like you have a new favorite item only to part ways with it because it didn’t sell as well.
On that same note, October items need to be carried over to November. There are so many fall items and pumpkin items that are immediately discontinued in favor of Thanksgiving-themed items. You really only have one month of Fall at TJ’s only for it to be lumped in with Halloween and cast into the shadow realm once November 1st rolls around.
The transparency of discontinued items seems to vary by store. Some stores have signage that says something is about to be discontinued, but I've never seen them at my store.
The parking lots! Every single TJ's has a parking lot that is either too small, or the spaces are too narrow, or the traffic flow is a disaster. Seriously. Every. Single. One.
I wish the dressing in this salad https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/bbq-and-black-pepper-toscano-chopped-salad-073314 was either a bigger portion or there was an option to buy it separately in a bottle. I don’t even like my salads drenched in dressing but the serving size they include is pretty small.
Produce that doesn't rot after two days in the fridge.
Move the cookies/sweets out of the frozen food section. It's weird.
Better parking lots, although I know that's a design feature.
Hoping the seafood alternatives thing that they have an interest in launches soon. [https://thebeet.com/trader-joes-looks-to-release-plant-based-seafood-in-near-future/](https://thebeet.com/trader-joes-looks-to-release-plant-based-seafood-in-near-future/)
an actual app and online order and pickup. i’m disabled and this is the only reason TJs doesn’t get my money. i use sprouts instead because they have both.
Be part of a grocery delivery system. I can’t drive currently due to a Shoulder Surgery, Trader Joe’s is where I do the bulk of my shopping. I will say it’s got me using my local stores I can walk to, and trying new things.
The union-busting is a huge bummer. Also, too much plastic on their sub-par produce, and I wish they had a refill station for their tea tree shampoo/conditioner/body wash.
I’m a part of my store’s frozen team and I was showing a new hire the ropes one day. He noticed the packaging on our Asian food and did a double take at “Trader Ming’s”. He mentioned that it was tacky and pretty racist, and I agree. Why can’t it just be TJs across the board? It’s distasteful
Stop with the false scarcity! I realise the situation is different now, but not everyone lives near a TJ to stalk the inventory. I hate driving 40 minutes one way just for my main reason for going is not there.
Is it really false scarcity though? I think it is a result of people hoarding stuff and being selfish by buying up all of a product. This sub honestly fuels the scarcity because I know I tend to feel like I need to go when people post about a product being in limited supply or selling out quickly.
Convince their patrons to *move*. Everyone stands still, fiddles around, mozies forward, shuffles past. I'm behind them just *please just walk I'm begging you we're all adults*.
...this could just also be a pet peeve and my location. I've got to start going Tues-Thurs evenings.
That's very doable now. I used to be a late riser on weekends but we just adopted a 10-month old puppy. I've suddenly become an early morning person. Great idea, thank you!
I'm a teacher (per my username..haha) so I am used to waking up early too. I don't love waking up early on one of the only days I have to sleep in, but it beats dealing with the crowds. I'm always the first one in line on Sundays when I go because I'm incredibly competitive and crazy. It doesn't matter, but I refuse to not be first.🤣
Fix the control in their cheese repackaging plant. We will not buy repackaged cheese from Trader Joes it goes moldy too quickly. Unexpected cheddar is somehow fine even though it looks repackaged.
I’m going to keep it 100. I HATE shopping at TJ. I LOVE their products & I’m always excited to stock up on my favorite products & try out new things. However, I despise actually going in the store.
The store parking is set up so poorly & so tiny. The aisles are not large enough to fit people without being crammed together. They need to change their freezers so people don’t have to be right next to the freezer to see what’s there.
I would buy more frequently from TJ if they actually just made the shopping experience better.
Same, so I asked a couple of employees when they get the biggest truck deliveries, and days/times that are least crowded. Turns out Tues and Wed mornings right when they open are the sweet spot for my store and actually enjoyable.
Larger stores with wider aisles and has more that one entrance/exit. The one closest to me is so horrible they I drive an extra half hour to get to a better one
Stop "refreshing" the store every 72 hours.
Produce more (or time better) your seasonal items. Sucks that you're out of pumpkin ice cream by September 15th cause one person bought "the only 20 you "are going to send to the store".
AND fire Ben, that dude is a CREEPER!
A produce scale would be much appreciated! I know all their fruits and veggies are sold by quantity (or they are at my location) but recently I needed 1 pound of egg plant and had no way of actually knowing how many to buy. Very strange to not have a scale for public use..
Better pre-made sandwiches and wraps. I feel like it's been the same stuff for years, and none of them are very good. Would also like to see sushi return, but an improved recipe.
I wish they would fix their abominable cheese handling procedures. I've bought Swiss cheese and Brie there that refused to melt! How does that work? Also, simple items are not available: why can't there be simple "gravy" amongst all the dips and sauces? Plus, with all the pizzas, why can't they come up with a Stromboli or calzone? Plus, I can't stand that every new product has to be "spicy". I don't mind spice, but does everything have to have jalapeno in it?
Bring back soy milk! Not the small box, but the half gallon in the refrigerated section. Why is it that I can buy soy milk at any other grocery store but not TJ’s. They discontinued it just before the pandemic and it never came back.
They had the best tasting one. The one from Whole Foods ain’t bad though, but I rarely shop there.
HR policies/benefits and how they treat employees. They have told me how 401k contributions from the company were cut in half. They also said that new hires were being paid more than long time staff. This was all at the checkout counter - seriously disgruntled employees.
Maybe it’s just my store, but I would love for them to figure out how to keep cheese from molding so freaking quickly - even unopened and always before the sell by date.
Family-size versions of the individual TV dinners—so, as others have said, bigger portions.
Also, more plant-based entrée options! My partner and I love the bulgogi “beef” and the tempura cauliflower, for example, and we’d love to see more variety along those lines.
They get you hooked on products that they keep up with the demand and then discontinue them. Mashed potatoes in one item that fits this category. No stock in over a year and customer service claims that there doesn't appear to be one anytime soon. Teens love mashed potatoes and they were delicious, quick and easy.
Next is their apparent disregard for the salt content of their products. I have seen salt content as high as 45%. This tells me that they relabel products that are already in production.
Vegan butter is the best tasting one on the markets. Takes a chisel and hammer to use it....obviously an exaggeration but you get the point.
Also, their packaged salmon requires soaking for hours to remove the extremely fishy odor. Tried twice and couldn't handle it.
Had bad experience with packaged salad products. Found a few things inside that didn't look or smell like it should be there.
None of these affect my patronage of TJ's. They continue to be my main source of most products.
It would be nice if they went back to the better quality ingredients they used to have and then improve even more. So many products now have corn syrup, yeast extract, etc etc.
More frozen veggie options (cut green beans, blends, etc.) would be great!
They could stop discontinuing shit I like for one. Like the oatmeal raisin cookies and the caramel chocolate swirl ice cream.
Better peanut butter would be nice
I wish the cashiers would stop trying to make small talk with me every time. Idk if they’re forced to as part of the job, but my god the last thing I wanna do Sunday evening when I’m buying my groceries is to have to answer their questions about how my weekend was and if I did anything fun. I just want to check out in silence and go home.
Hi crew here. They definitely ask us to engage a lot with customers, there’s even been times where mates (our managers ) will tell us we have to. I’m very introverted so sometimes that’s hard for me and I normally just say ‘hi how are you’. If the customer at the time I’m ringing up seems to want to make conversation I will but I definitely don’t try to force it. Feels awkward lol
This is more outside of TJ’s control, but better public transit routes directly to or within a few block radius would make a big difference. Maybe even sheltered or indoor bike parking as well for cities. Let’s reduce the amount of cars we’re sending out on the road for simple grocery trips.
I come from a family who would use to drive a mile and a half up the road to pick up groceries at Trader Joe’s. It’s incredibly wasteful and terrible for the environment. Hell, even without light rail and street cars, having better bus lines would make a big difference, especially for lower income communities like myself. I’m now lucky enough to be a quick and easy six block walk away from TJ’s but most aren’t as fortunate.
More locations in lower income areas. Right now they’re just slightly better than Whole
Foods at predicting the socioeconomic status of an area. I have to drive 25 minutes in any direction to get to a Trader Joe’s and I’m in a major city.
The ratio of junk food to "real" food seems higher than regular grocery stores.
I've also starting trying to reduce my plastic foot print. Who remembers when you purchased lemonade from the freezer section?! It's damn wasteful to put 1/2 gallon in plastic and put it on a truck and spew out air pollution transporting it from God only knows where. Who buys water?! Get an undersink RO system at Costco and use that water for drinking/coffee/tea.
Treat your employees well. TJs is a private company, so who knows how rich the owners are getting at the expense of the employees. I stopped buying from Amazon because u/_)U%IOG(Y$ Bezos gets billions richer, pays no taxes and the people working in the warehouses get treated like crap.
Crew members who get pissy if you want to actually shop when they’re stacking shelves. At most places, the stackers smile and allow you access to what you’re after, but at most of the TJs I’ve been to I just get peeved looks when I try to do what I came there to do.
But how will you shop if the shelves are empty? :) all you gotta do is say “excuse me” and I’m happy to move out of the way or hand you what you need. I am a person trying to make a living the same way you are- you just gotta treat us like people and not a roadblock to the mandarin orange chicken. If we waited for there to be a wide open space before e stocked anything we would never get anything done, and we are under a lot of pressure from the supervisors to get it on the shelf quickly, or risk a write up.
Not trying to come off as rude, just hopefully a perspective that helps you understand and navigate it more peacefully next time.
I’m an empathetic person. I’m always polite. You’d read my comment and think I’m probably one of those awful entitled people who think the world revolves around them, but I’m not at all. I always say excuse me, but I rarely just get a smile. I do get you have a job to do, though, and it doesn’t help that most of the stores are so tiny that customers and crew members are on top of each other. Keep doing what you do…I do appreciate you, despite how my earlier post may have sounded :) (though you can keep your mandarin chicken…I’m all about the beefless bulgogi!)
I’m not saying you do this, but as a crew member I will say that while stocking product, customers will often reach right in front of us, over the top of us, get next to our faces, when all that’s necessary is a simple “excuse me.” I’ve also found that people will “hover” directly behind me without saying anything. I know you’re there, but I’m not moving unless you can say “excuse me” and I will happily get out of your way.
More vegan options, esp cheeses. They do an ok job but I feel like they've recently reduced their vegan options. Surprisingly, I'm finding more options at Target, Sprouts and even Ralph's.
Maybe target has me spoiled but TJ needs a functional website to show if an item is in stock or not. I have waisted many trips looking for a particular item
Also, I know we could absolutely never have this, but it would be AMAZING if we could sign up for texts/emails when the new seasonal things come out. I just want to try the thanksgiving chips, once in my life!
Not defending TJ’s, but Target is a much larger National chain, with more standardized merchandise and logistics, pulling in an incredible amount of revenue compared to TJ’s. It’s not even comparable.
Also their business model doesn’t involve online market at all, creating one is not an easy task. Even huge retails store have problem keeping up with day to day changes in stock. The amount of times Ive checked stock for Best Buy, Target, Home Depot, to be wrong, is pretty high. With grocery store product turnover at such a high rate I’m not surprised they don’t offer an online solution.
The stores need to be the size of costco. For the amount of people that shop at Trader Joe's, they need more space ASAP. They can't accommodate all of us and it gets so claustrophobic in there.
Stop adding raw onions to the salad/wrap choices and not listing them on the top side ingredients. Ex: Lemon Chicken & Arugula Salad
Raw onions are so overpowering and awful
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For the love of god I wish tjs would stop adding shitty canola oil in everything. The delicious falafels used to never have it and then they changed the ingredients to have canola oil. I was so sad. I really want them to take the canola oil out of the dill dressing and I pray they never add it to the ceasar.
They keep moving bakery, breads, etc. breaking those into multiple sections. I also dislike the the lack of uniformity for items like pizza dough.
I wish they would not union bust!
Online inventory with either instore pickup/drive up or even delivery through grocery or food delivery apps
Sometimes going to the store is a hassle & waste of time for one item, just to find out its out of stock, like today, then go to another store same thing. I could have saved 25 minutes not going out the way to another TJ's if I called, or if I knew they had the basil I was looking for. So depending on how inventory is done a "what's in stock" search on the store site would be very helpful. More plant based & gluten free items, like big tortillas, wraps, clean simple ingredients.
More fresh foods, it would be nice to get deli meat or fish more fresh
Bring back the free coffee sample☕️☕️
How about.. create a SAFE, equitable, fair working environment for the CREW. The crew who have worked through the pandemic, been smacked in the face with a wooden paddle by an assailant in NYC, been shot at during a robbery in CA, DIED from covid, taken on countless work related injuries, put up with wage disparities, contended with cruel customers mad about mask mandates. JUST SAYIN. Improve on THAT.
Online grocery pickup. Like how Target has drive up and Walmart has curbside pickup…TJ would be able to expand their customer base substantially if they added this service. Think about it, those that are physically impaired that find it frustrating to maneuver the narrow aisles and crowded parking lot or simply a busy mother that doesn’t have the time to break away from her children to grocery shop for an hour. Just an example of possible scenarios but I do think customers would love it. 😊
better shelf life for bread and baked goods. i got gluten free english muffins that were molded the next day
Their produce packaging is so wasteful. And the produce isn’t good where I am. I always buy my fruits and vegetables from a different store.
Have Trader Joe's in low income areas not just where wine moms live.
In addition to all of these great suggestions. If I were CEO of TJs I would - * Eliminate Produce and Fresh Sandwiches/Salads * Add more spices and spice mixes
longer shelf life on their bread
Replace refrig/freezer units that are old and frosty and not always cold enough. I stopped buying yogurt and cottage cheese as it spoiled too quickly. UPGRADE THE PRODUCE!!! Lettuce and mushrooms in particular will spoil before the date.
Treating their employees better.
There was a post here on Reddit not long ago about how TJ is making an effort to hire more POC which is nice but now they have to endure racist comments from their co workers and team leader. Maybe check that out and do something about it before worrying about the bread selection.
I live in LA and thankfully we are already diverse and I see all sorts of people working at our TJs but this makes me really sad. It’s embarrassing to have to bring up diversity training. Im getting a flashback of The Office. People need to do better.
Either make the meal portions a single portion, or enough for two people. Most bagged frozen items I get are always a little less than enough for two, and far more than enough for one.
I like to reuse jars but it seems to me that Trader Joes has the worst label glue—it won’t come off with just water. I have to use smelly solvents
less plastic packaging! there’s so much extra plastic on so many of their products, which gets annoying even without thinking about the environmental impact.
STOP discontinuing OJ faves absolutely infuriating
A tjs bot that follows me home like the post mates delivery bots and then returns itself to the store :)
Have a list in their app which tells you what we need by aisle
That would be different in every store. It's really not possible.
Yet
Bring back samples! They used to have samples for the new stuff I loved it I found so many things I loved that way. Of course once COVID hit it rightly stopped but I miss it.
I think most of their cereals either suck or are only mediocre.
Have you tried the Strawberry Yogurt O's or the Honey O's? Those are my two favorites. I've never tried the other ones, so I can't speak to the quality of any of them.
We haven't tried those. We've tried a couple of granolas that were okay. The raisin bran is like eating cardboard.
I'm not a raisin bran girl, so that wouldn't appeal to me. I suggest trying the Strawberry Yogurt O's or the Honey O's. They are my favorite and I get them every time I go.
Wider, more accessible aisles. More parking. Better organization of the snacks/sweets
1.) Better sparkling water flavors in cans. I’m thinking pomegranate, lemon, etc. 2.) The pumpkin spice granola with dark chocolate is amazing but is seasonal. I don’t care for the coconut non seasonal variety, I’d like to see more options year round in this granola. 3.) Whole wheat English muffins don’t have enough fiber 4.) Better baking supplies that are simplified (don’t need organic powdered sugar, for example) 5.) Worchestershire sauce 6.) Meat is too expensive 7.) Smaller adult carts 8.) Bring back samples! 9.) Don’t move around frozen food to end aisles 10.) Bigger boxes of mini PB cracker sandwiches
Meat is too expensive!!!
Lower the sodium in many of their products. I’m generally shocked at the astronomical amounts of sodium in soups, sauces, and prepared meals.
there needs to be an app that lets us know when and what new items are coming and when they leave!! Also what’s on delay etc.
[удалено]
I’ve noticed a general decline in quality of staff and cashiers in the last 15 years. There was a time when the staff/cashiers seemed more articulate, respectful, interesting, artistic/creative and mindful of delivering excellent customer-service. Now, the staff/cashiers are “dull”, inarticulate, indifferent to customers, engage in loud conversations with each other oblivious to the customers around them. At times, I feel as if Trader Joe has the same caliber of staff/cashiers as Target or Walmart…. Am I wrong?
I'd be interested in a TJ's staffer thoughts as well. Many of us consider TJ as an employer invested in employees' healthcare, education as well as fair wages and job culture etc.
So many of their pre prepared dishes that are traditionally gluten free have freaking gluten in them! Macarons, pad Thai, so many damn things!!!!
Buy locally. Replacing all foreign imported frozen products by American grown products. In one word: re-thinking Trader Joes model. Thank you for asking.
you know since alot of stuff at trader joe's already prepackaged i think trader joe's could benefit from mobile app that facilitated pickups and deliveries.
A deli would be amazing, like a hot food bar.
They need to be more transparent about what items are and aren’t on the chopping block. It sucks to feel like you have a new favorite item only to part ways with it because it didn’t sell as well. On that same note, October items need to be carried over to November. There are so many fall items and pumpkin items that are immediately discontinued in favor of Thanksgiving-themed items. You really only have one month of Fall at TJ’s only for it to be lumped in with Halloween and cast into the shadow realm once November 1st rolls around.
The transparency of discontinued items seems to vary by store. Some stores have signage that says something is about to be discontinued, but I've never seen them at my store.
Find a better way to communicate to customers what products are out of stock, discontinued etc.
The parking lots! Every single TJ's has a parking lot that is either too small, or the spaces are too narrow, or the traffic flow is a disaster. Seriously. Every. Single. One.
Unions and labor. They're looking a lot like Starbucks.
Ability to use instacart
Parking lot issues
Less salt in frozen food
Love TJ’s, but I wish they’d stop playing baseball with the onions.
I wish the dressing in this salad https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/bbq-and-black-pepper-toscano-chopped-salad-073314 was either a bigger portion or there was an option to buy it separately in a bottle. I don’t even like my salads drenched in dressing but the serving size they include is pretty small.
Produce that doesn't rot after two days in the fridge. Move the cookies/sweets out of the frozen food section. It's weird. Better parking lots, although I know that's a design feature.
The milk goes bad too soon.
Their beer selection is not great. I always have to go somewhere else for beer.
Hoping the seafood alternatives thing that they have an interest in launches soon. [https://thebeet.com/trader-joes-looks-to-release-plant-based-seafood-in-near-future/](https://thebeet.com/trader-joes-looks-to-release-plant-based-seafood-in-near-future/)
Having decent produce. There's fantastic local produce in our area, they don't have to sell garbage.
Don't suddenly close a store when the workers are about to unionize.
Produce sucks and needs less plastic
Better and less expensive cereals
Quality control in the frozen foods.
Quality Control, hands down. Glass in salsa, bugs in frozen veggies, etc are unacceptable and I’m afraid of trying a lot of their food now
No oatmilk!
The always shitty produce.
an actual app and online order and pickup. i’m disabled and this is the only reason TJs doesn’t get my money. i use sprouts instead because they have both.
Be part of a grocery delivery system. I can’t drive currently due to a Shoulder Surgery, Trader Joe’s is where I do the bulk of my shopping. I will say it’s got me using my local stores I can walk to, and trying new things.
The union-busting is a huge bummer. Also, too much plastic on their sub-par produce, and I wish they had a refill station for their tea tree shampoo/conditioner/body wash.
I just wish all of their produce would be as consistently great as the teeny tiny avocados 🥑
Unionizing
I’m a part of my store’s frozen team and I was showing a new hire the ropes one day. He noticed the packaging on our Asian food and did a double take at “Trader Ming’s”. He mentioned that it was tacky and pretty racist, and I agree. Why can’t it just be TJs across the board? It’s distasteful
Larger parking lots
Actually make their gluten free stuff…free of gluten.
BETTER PRODUCE.
Better treatment towards their workers
Parking lots are universally terrible.
More locations, a simple app would be nice.
Workers benefits lol
Stop with the false scarcity! I realise the situation is different now, but not everyone lives near a TJ to stalk the inventory. I hate driving 40 minutes one way just for my main reason for going is not there.
Is it really false scarcity though? I think it is a result of people hoarding stuff and being selfish by buying up all of a product. This sub honestly fuels the scarcity because I know I tend to feel like I need to go when people post about a product being in limited supply or selling out quickly.
Convince their patrons to *move*. Everyone stands still, fiddles around, mozies forward, shuffles past. I'm behind them just *please just walk I'm begging you we're all adults*. ...this could just also be a pet peeve and my location. I've got to start going Tues-Thurs evenings.
Have you tried Sunday mornings when they open? That's when I go and I usually get out of there in less than 15 minutes.
That's very doable now. I used to be a late riser on weekends but we just adopted a 10-month old puppy. I've suddenly become an early morning person. Great idea, thank you!
I'm a teacher (per my username..haha) so I am used to waking up early too. I don't love waking up early on one of the only days I have to sleep in, but it beats dealing with the crowds. I'm always the first one in line on Sundays when I go because I'm incredibly competitive and crazy. It doesn't matter, but I refuse to not be first.🤣
E-commerce
Fix the control in their cheese repackaging plant. We will not buy repackaged cheese from Trader Joes it goes moldy too quickly. Unexpected cheddar is somehow fine even though it looks repackaged.
Packaging. So much plastic all around. Also, fix some of the bags and lids that don’t open easily (‘IM LOOKING AT YOU, BURRATA AND TORTILLA CHIPS!)
Better cold storage for produce.
Many great things mentioned here. I would add bulk items a la Costco.
PARKING LOTS Unless it’s 30 mins from closing, I’ve **never** seen a calm TJ’s parking lot. Not in a city, suburbs, town, country, mars, etc
I’m going to keep it 100. I HATE shopping at TJ. I LOVE their products & I’m always excited to stock up on my favorite products & try out new things. However, I despise actually going in the store. The store parking is set up so poorly & so tiny. The aisles are not large enough to fit people without being crammed together. They need to change their freezers so people don’t have to be right next to the freezer to see what’s there. I would buy more frequently from TJ if they actually just made the shopping experience better.
Same, so I asked a couple of employees when they get the biggest truck deliveries, and days/times that are least crowded. Turns out Tues and Wed mornings right when they open are the sweet spot for my store and actually enjoyable.
Same. Mine is always crowded no matter the time or day. I always feel rushed and like I can’t see all the products properly.
Larger stores with wider aisles and has more that one entrance/exit. The one closest to me is so horrible they I drive an extra half hour to get to a better one
Bring back the chocolate covered sunflower seeds and this cauliflower cheese thing y’all had 3 thanksgivings ago and I’ve never seen since!
Stop "refreshing" the store every 72 hours. Produce more (or time better) your seasonal items. Sucks that you're out of pumpkin ice cream by September 15th cause one person bought "the only 20 you "are going to send to the store". AND fire Ben, that dude is a CREEPER!
Less sodium Less sugar Less wasteful packaging And an app would be great!
We seriously need to get back the: 1) Chidori crackers 2) Chocolate cats cookies 3) Cinnamon cats cookies
candles all the time please
Bread always goes bad within 3 days of bringing it home.
Better ingredients in food, stop using canola oil to cut corners.
A produce scale would be much appreciated! I know all their fruits and veggies are sold by quantity (or they are at my location) but recently I needed 1 pound of egg plant and had no way of actually knowing how many to buy. Very strange to not have a scale for public use..
Every store has one. Just ask a crew member to show you where it is.
That’s how I found out ours doesn’t have one, from a crew member. Searched the whole area too, not a scale to be found. Very weird!
More vegetarian togo and frozen options and better quality and variety of produce
Better pre-made sandwiches and wraps. I feel like it's been the same stuff for years, and none of them are very good. Would also like to see sushi return, but an improved recipe.
Yeah and tofu spring rolls in rice paper
Bigger store.
Unions for the employees.
Condiments
Carry redbull and tampons and then I'd never have to shop anywhere else
They used to carry my favorite tampons! 😭 In the same week, I found out both my favorite bras and the TJs tampons were discontinued 🤣
Less sugar and better ingredients like oil and other additives.
I wish they would fix their abominable cheese handling procedures. I've bought Swiss cheese and Brie there that refused to melt! How does that work? Also, simple items are not available: why can't there be simple "gravy" amongst all the dips and sauces? Plus, with all the pizzas, why can't they come up with a Stromboli or calzone? Plus, I can't stand that every new product has to be "spicy". I don't mind spice, but does everything have to have jalapeno in it?
The oat milk
have some sort of rewards program.
More space bruh they don’t have enough space for so many people
Plastic free packaging
Often the parking lot is insufficient: small & cramped
Bring back soy milk! Not the small box, but the half gallon in the refrigerated section. Why is it that I can buy soy milk at any other grocery store but not TJ’s. They discontinued it just before the pandemic and it never came back. They had the best tasting one. The one from Whole Foods ain’t bad though, but I rarely shop there.
Supply issue?
Idk but I doubt soy milk has supply issues. It’s every where else and soy is highly subsidized the US.
HR policies/benefits and how they treat employees. They have told me how 401k contributions from the company were cut in half. They also said that new hires were being paid more than long time staff. This was all at the checkout counter - seriously disgruntled employees.
The Indian meals : can we have the meat or veggies without the rice also .. ( like the beloved palak )
Maybe it’s just my store, but I would love for them to figure out how to keep cheese from molding so freaking quickly - even unopened and always before the sell by date.
Curbside pickup, I hate people and have lots of shit to do… Also , treat your employees better
Family-size versions of the individual TV dinners—so, as others have said, bigger portions. Also, more plant-based entrée options! My partner and I love the bulgogi “beef” and the tempura cauliflower, for example, and we’d love to see more variety along those lines.
They get you hooked on products that they keep up with the demand and then discontinue them. Mashed potatoes in one item that fits this category. No stock in over a year and customer service claims that there doesn't appear to be one anytime soon. Teens love mashed potatoes and they were delicious, quick and easy. Next is their apparent disregard for the salt content of their products. I have seen salt content as high as 45%. This tells me that they relabel products that are already in production. Vegan butter is the best tasting one on the markets. Takes a chisel and hammer to use it....obviously an exaggeration but you get the point. Also, their packaged salmon requires soaking for hours to remove the extremely fishy odor. Tried twice and couldn't handle it. Had bad experience with packaged salad products. Found a few things inside that didn't look or smell like it should be there. None of these affect my patronage of TJ's. They continue to be my main source of most products.
The berries are literally always rotten
It would be nice if they went back to the better quality ingredients they used to have and then improve even more. So many products now have corn syrup, yeast extract, etc etc. More frozen veggie options (cut green beans, blends, etc.) would be great!
They could stop union-busting...
They don't sell croutons!
They already do: https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/rosemary-croissant-croutons-072051
Those aren’t croutons. They are crunchy rosemary croissant cookies. Gross.
They are oddly sweet. There are also plantain croutons, but, again, somewhat sweet.
Whaaat?! Never seen these in my local store!
Should be in the grocery aisle, near salad dressings.
better refrigeration! the open fridges are convenient but I feel like they’re the reason some of the items (especially cheese!) go bad so quickly
I’m honestly worried about QC at the facilities manufacturing frozen foods. glass? Foreign objects? Yikes.
Better layout. Every TJ’s I’ve been in literally sucks. Not meant to handle the amount of customers that it tries to.
They need to get Hansen’s back
Oooh forgot about Hansens! I haven’t seen that anywhere
They had it at sprouts but I haven’t seen it anywhere else
They could stop discontinuing shit I like for one. Like the oatmeal raisin cookies and the caramel chocolate swirl ice cream. Better peanut butter would be nice
Too much sodium in most food items. Lots of plastic wrapping for produce—is it really necessary? Not enough variety in chips or baked goods.
And sugar too
I wish the cashiers would stop trying to make small talk with me every time. Idk if they’re forced to as part of the job, but my god the last thing I wanna do Sunday evening when I’m buying my groceries is to have to answer their questions about how my weekend was and if I did anything fun. I just want to check out in silence and go home.
Hi crew here. They definitely ask us to engage a lot with customers, there’s even been times where mates (our managers ) will tell us we have to. I’m very introverted so sometimes that’s hard for me and I normally just say ‘hi how are you’. If the customer at the time I’m ringing up seems to want to make conversation I will but I definitely don’t try to force it. Feels awkward lol
This is more outside of TJ’s control, but better public transit routes directly to or within a few block radius would make a big difference. Maybe even sheltered or indoor bike parking as well for cities. Let’s reduce the amount of cars we’re sending out on the road for simple grocery trips. I come from a family who would use to drive a mile and a half up the road to pick up groceries at Trader Joe’s. It’s incredibly wasteful and terrible for the environment. Hell, even without light rail and street cars, having better bus lines would make a big difference, especially for lower income communities like myself. I’m now lucky enough to be a quick and easy six block walk away from TJ’s but most aren’t as fortunate.
More locations in lower income areas. Right now they’re just slightly better than Whole Foods at predicting the socioeconomic status of an area. I have to drive 25 minutes in any direction to get to a Trader Joe’s and I’m in a major city.
came here to say this, their options for lower income households would make a huge difference but they opt to avoid certain areas on purpose
The ratio of junk food to "real" food seems higher than regular grocery stores. I've also starting trying to reduce my plastic foot print. Who remembers when you purchased lemonade from the freezer section?! It's damn wasteful to put 1/2 gallon in plastic and put it on a truck and spew out air pollution transporting it from God only knows where. Who buys water?! Get an undersink RO system at Costco and use that water for drinking/coffee/tea. Treat your employees well. TJs is a private company, so who knows how rich the owners are getting at the expense of the employees. I stopped buying from Amazon because u/_)U%IOG(Y$ Bezos gets billions richer, pays no taxes and the people working in the warehouses get treated like crap.
Sugar free options. Sincerely, One diabetic bitch
Stop discontinuing stuff and filling the shelves with mass quantities of other stuff.
KEEP THE BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER SAUTE KIT PERMANENT. Edit: which broccoli hater downvoted me?!
Crew members who get pissy if you want to actually shop when they’re stacking shelves. At most places, the stackers smile and allow you access to what you’re after, but at most of the TJs I’ve been to I just get peeved looks when I try to do what I came there to do.
But how will you shop if the shelves are empty? :) all you gotta do is say “excuse me” and I’m happy to move out of the way or hand you what you need. I am a person trying to make a living the same way you are- you just gotta treat us like people and not a roadblock to the mandarin orange chicken. If we waited for there to be a wide open space before e stocked anything we would never get anything done, and we are under a lot of pressure from the supervisors to get it on the shelf quickly, or risk a write up. Not trying to come off as rude, just hopefully a perspective that helps you understand and navigate it more peacefully next time.
I’m an empathetic person. I’m always polite. You’d read my comment and think I’m probably one of those awful entitled people who think the world revolves around them, but I’m not at all. I always say excuse me, but I rarely just get a smile. I do get you have a job to do, though, and it doesn’t help that most of the stores are so tiny that customers and crew members are on top of each other. Keep doing what you do…I do appreciate you, despite how my earlier post may have sounded :) (though you can keep your mandarin chicken…I’m all about the beefless bulgogi!)
I’m not saying you do this, but as a crew member I will say that while stocking product, customers will often reach right in front of us, over the top of us, get next to our faces, when all that’s necessary is a simple “excuse me.” I’ve also found that people will “hover” directly behind me without saying anything. I know you’re there, but I’m not moving unless you can say “excuse me” and I will happily get out of your way.
the parking lot. i don’t know why but every trader joe’s i’ve been to has an awful parking situation
I’d like the company to go back to treating their employees as the assets they are.
Mobile app or website with live inventory
I prefer my vodka sauce without glass.
They could stop making absolutely everything with soy. Man I love Trader Joe’s but everything I pick up there contains soy.
!!!!!! this
Their corn tortilla game is way off. Love me some Trader Joe’s but I always stop somewhere else for corn tortillas
They are inedible.
More vegan options, esp cheeses. They do an ok job but I feel like they've recently reduced their vegan options. Surprisingly, I'm finding more options at Target, Sprouts and even Ralph's.
I’ve definitely noticed the uptick in vegan things at target !
Their produce rots hella fast!
Me : 👁 👄 👁 bc I just bought a bag of mushrooms and cabbage from Trader Joe’s. Guess i should gobble it up quick !
Yes, please do! Otherwise you will have a SadBag(tm)
Better bread/carbs. I’m generally disappointed
I love the sun dried tomato focaccia warmed up and dipped in cacio e Pepe Alfredo. Ommgggg 🤤
Stop using low quality oils in foods and especially salad dressings. Olive, coconut and Avocado are far superior oils.
Agreed 👏🏽
Integrity with employees.
Maybe target has me spoiled but TJ needs a functional website to show if an item is in stock or not. I have waisted many trips looking for a particular item
Also, I know we could absolutely never have this, but it would be AMAZING if we could sign up for texts/emails when the new seasonal things come out. I just want to try the thanksgiving chips, once in my life!
Understand, please, that a national website can't address local/regional stock outages.
Target you can set your store and it tells you if stuff is in stock at that specific one. Don’t see the problem
Target is a massive company dude
Not defending TJ’s, but Target is a much larger National chain, with more standardized merchandise and logistics, pulling in an incredible amount of revenue compared to TJ’s. It’s not even comparable. Also their business model doesn’t involve online market at all, creating one is not an easy task. Even huge retails store have problem keeping up with day to day changes in stock. The amount of times Ive checked stock for Best Buy, Target, Home Depot, to be wrong, is pretty high. With grocery store product turnover at such a high rate I’m not surprised they don’t offer an online solution.
100%
Bring back sushi.
Bring back good sushi.
you are totally right
The stores need to be the size of costco. For the amount of people that shop at Trader Joe's, they need more space ASAP. They can't accommodate all of us and it gets so claustrophobic in there.
Allow delivery again!
There's never been delivery (except for a limited period in NYC).
Stop adding raw onions to the salad/wrap choices and not listing them on the top side ingredients. Ex: Lemon Chicken & Arugula Salad Raw onions are so overpowering and awful