Pros
Friendly team members, open management style, varied tasks, fantastic customer base. Trader Joe's is still one of the best places to work retail...however, that is changing.
Cons
Health Insurance. Sorry, TJ's, but you messed that one up big time. We all once qualified for healthcare at 20 hours average per week. That changed about 2 1/2 years ago when the requirement was moved to 30 hours per week. For those of us who work in slower markets or who have summer slow downs, it has meant that we can no longer depend on your company for our livelihood. Employees that want to work 30 hours can't due to slower business and as a result are pushed out of the insurance and into the marketplace which for my family will cost twice as much as it does through the company for comparable insurance. Scheduling has changed drastically over the last 2 years. It is no longer based on a mixture of availability and merit. It is now based 100% on availability. If you have a child, if you have responsibilities, if you are married, you can't be available 100% of the time. It's impossible. So, if that's your deal, you won't get hours. Only people with 100% availability get enough hours to live or qualify for insurance. Over a two year period, my hours scheduled have been cut in half, despite glowing reviews and raises. My availability was actually lower the previous year when I was getting more hours. I opened it up even more and got half the hours. I have no indication from management that my work is nothing other than exemplary. I'm only told that my availability is "limited." I've worked in retail before and my availability while not wide open is not "limited."