Trader Joe's reviews

4.1

81% would recommend to a friend

(10,599 total reviews)
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Bryan Palbaum

72% approve of CEO

71% positive business outlook

Trader Joe's has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 10,599 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Trader Joe's employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

11K reviews
2.0
Sep 5, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Health insurance is good once you figure out how to navigate it (TJ's insurance provider will be changing in October 2019, so I can't speak to that coverage yet). Regularly scheduled raises. Consistent schedule if you've been at your store for a while. Store closed three days per year: Christmas Day, New Years Day, and Thanksgiving.

Cons

Safety is not enforced at the store level and not encouraged in any meaningful way by corporate. Crew works in unsafe conditions because it would be too expensive to repair them. The company consistently prioritizes keeping the store open for business over worker safety. Contests are held to see how long a store can go without any injury, which results in people not reporting their injuries. No action is taken to address safety concerns (unless you count vague speeches that we should act safely), so the same injuries keep happening. If people are injured on the job, employee must spend several days without pay, traveling to an understaffed and incompetent urgent care clinic to get cleared for work again. I have many coworkers who got injured while they did their best to work safely in a dangerous environment, and not one of them felt supported by the company (either in terms of physical safety or financial stability) at any point. An injury ends up serving as a warning to find a new job, before you sustain an injury that you can't recover from (like coworkers stuck on medical leave because TJ's isn't finding them treatment in a timely manner). Registers and shopping carts are designed in a way that maximizes employee strain and injury, but corporate doesn't think it's a problem because it encourages customers to spend more. Most employees have unreported injuries due to repetitive strain, and management's solution is a vague "stretch throughout the day!" Scheduled raises are not guaranteed. Corporate limits how much each store can pay in wages, which means employees are fighting against each other to see who will get a living wage. The company raise schedule can be changed at any time, as can the amount. I have seen the amount subtly decrease for everyone without notice (while still advertising the old amount to new hires). The frequency has decreased from what it used to be, but not in my time there. It feels like it's only a matter of time before they drop it to a yearly raise without increasing the amount. Overtime used to be acceptable in reasonable circumstances, but now results in disciplinary action that can affect whether or not you get your raise - even if it's one minute over. No holiday pay for holidays when the store is open. For the three holidays the store is closed, you lose your wages for that day. If you don't want to lose wages, you have to use your vacation/sick pay for a holiday that you might not even celebrate. Vacation pay is sick pay, so people are forced to work ill if they want to take vacation. Discount is so negligible that customers think you're making a joke. Food waste at a store level is massive. Maintaining the cold chain (keeping cold food cold, keeping frozen food frozen) is more of a wish than a habit. Follows customer requests to a fault - if enough customers request a boycott of an ingredient, the store will validate unfounded claims by catering to them. If customers think an ingredient is dangerous, TJ's will pretend that it is, and will select less healthy, more expensive, more dangerous, more environmentally damaging options. Instead of educating, TJ's encourages and validates anti-science movements to collect short term profits at the expense of others.

2.0
Aug 22, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The atmosphere is upbeat and I enjoyed the majority of my coworkers. Customers are generally in a good mood and treat you with more respect than other service industry jobs. TJs does a good job breaking up your tasks so you are not stuck doing the same mundane thing for an entire shift.

Cons

While my experiences might be more a testament to my local TJs (Overland Park, KS), I was extremely disappointed in my time at TJs. The wages are no longer competitive and I was consistently denied opportunities for pay raises. When I was hired I was under the impression that I would receive regular wage increases, however management is under no obligation to hand out raises and will only do so if you are in "the top 10%" of employees. During the last round of reviews at my store several hardworking and consistent employees were denied raises. Furthermore, management seems to be coasting on the reputation of the company as an exciting and progressive work atmosphere rather than actually working to uphold this reputation. They demand a whole lot from their employees and give very little (if anything in return). In the year and a half I worked there I was denied two different vacation requests even though I submitted them well in advanced (over a month and a half). And when I had a family emergency the mates I spoke with were unemphatic and denied me opportunity to leave. Bottom line, if you are the type of person who can make it at TJs (you have a strong and energetic work ethic, and can consistently come to work with a glowing attitude) you will find other companies that will value your work more. At TJs you are not going to feel like you are good enough and will have to really fight to get, what should be basic and readily available, wage increases.

2.0
Jul 31, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Other coworkers are lots of fun Sampling new product is a cool perk

Cons

Company culture is a sham Incredibly underqualified managers Many issues straight up ignored until too late (customer or corporate complains)

Viewing 274 - 276 of 10,599 Reviews

Glassdoor has 10,937 Trader Joe's reviews submitted anonymously by Trader Joe's employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Trader Joe's is right for you.