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Trader Joe's Overview
Monrovia, CA
10000+ employees
1967
Company - Private
Grocery Stores & Supermarkets
$10+ billion (USD) per year
When it comes to grocery chains, Trader Joe's isn't your average Joe.
The company has 460+ stores in 41- states and about 38,000 employees dubbed “Crew Members”. The Crew Members are hard-working, fun ... Read more
The company has 460+ stores in 41- states and about 38,000 employees dubbed “Crew Members”. The Crew Members are hard-working, fun ... Read more
Mission: The company’s philosophy is to bring their customers the best food and beverage values; provide them with information to help make informed buying decisions and to create stores filled with fun, friendliness and genuine care for customers.
Glassdoor Awards
Trader Joe's – Why Work For Us?
It all started in the 50s... Would you believe we started out as a small chain of convenience stores? It’s true. Way back in 1958. We were called Pronto Markets. In ‘67, our founder, the original Trader Joe, changed our name (yes, to Trader Joe’s) and the way we do business.
We made the stores bigger (if you can imagine), decked the walls with cedar planks and donned our crew in cool Hawaiian shirts. Most importantly, we started packaging innovative, hard-to-find, great-tasting foods under the “Trader Joe’s” name. That cut our costs and saved you money. Still does. And that’s important, because “Value” is a concept we take very seriously. And by ‘Value,’ we mean great everyday prices on all of our great products — no sales, no gimmicks, no clubs to join, no special cards to swipe...
How do we do it?
- We buy direct from suppliers whenever possible, we bargain hard to get the best price, and then pass the savings on to you.
- If an item doesn’t pull its weight in our stores, it goes away to gangway for something else.
- We buy in volume and contract early to get the best prices.
- Most grocers charge their suppliers fees for putting an item on the shelf. This results in higher prices... so we don’t do it.
- We keep our costs low — because every penny we save is a penny you save.
It’s not complicated. We just focus on what matters — great food + great prices = Value.
What We Do
At Trader Joe’s, we create an outstanding customer experience around the discovery and enjoyment of amazing food and beverages. It’s what we do, and our Crew is our bread and butter, alongside the Trader Joe’s Bread and Butter.
It’s what we do – in every store, every day – that makes us Trader Joe’s.
Is It You?
We are looking for hard-working, fun people—people with a passion for food, learning, and creating delight for others. We take our job seriously, wear ourselves lightly, and are always looking to improve our Crew.
Benefits
We treat our Crew like our bread and butter. Because we know quality benefits play a vital role in promoting the health and well-being of our Crew Members and their families, we offer:
- Competitive Pay
- Generous Retirement Plan
- Health Care (Medical, Prescription, Dental, Vision)
- Paid Time Off
- Family and Medical Leave
- Short & Long Term Disability
- Life Insurance
- Crew Member Assistance Program
- 10% discount on all TJ’s Products
- Cool Shirts & Name Tags
- Training Programs
- Regular Product Tastings
- Leadership Development Courses
Crew
The Crew is Trader Joe’s heart and soul. As a member of the Crew, you do a little of everything—and handle a lot. So does everyone along with you. Working the cash registers, receiving and unloading deliveries, stocking shelves, building displays, cleaning the floor, answering questions about Trader Joe’s products, and just generally making sure that every customer has a fun, friendly and informative shopping experience—that’s a little of everything. That’s a lot.
Merchant
Merchants are exclusively promoted from Trader Joe’s Crew Members. Having demonstrated a deep commitment to their community, Merchants are tasked to do it all, like the Crew, and to set the example. From working the cash registers and receiving and unloading deliveries to answering questions about products, and making sure that every customer has a fun, friendly and informative shopping experience—Merchants get it done and always quest for ways to do it better.
Mate
Mates are store leaders. Promoted from Crew Members who excel in their roles, as well as qualified external candidates, Mates do it all and provide direction and training to the Crew. From working the cash registers and stocking shelves to building displays, and making sure that every customer has a fun, friendly and informative shopping experience—Mates work side by side with and develop the Crew to ensure that the work is executed with excellence and efficiency.
Captain
The Captain (always promoted from within—a Mate that has exemplified unwavering integrity and commitment) is the leader of the store. With the assistance of a team of Mates, the Captain directs the strategy and develops the Crew. They do it all on the floor of the store (there are no offices). From working the cash registers to making sure that every customer has a fun, friendly and informative shopping experience—the Captain works with and leads the Crew to continuously optimize every process.
Trader Joe's Reviews
Trader Joe's2379Approve of CEO
Dan Bane
1,265 Ratings
![Trader Joe's Logo]()
"Crew member experience"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI worked at Trader Joe's part-time (More than a year)
Pros
Sweet discount as well as a sense of involvement in the store, product knowledge as well as competent and well trained crew members and mates.
Cons
Short staff during holidays and no holiday bonuses, crazy customers, highly immature morning crew and night crew drama, and strict name tag and uniform policy
Trader Joe's 2018-11-18 04:34 PST
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Trader Joe's Interviews
Experience
Experience
72%
17%
11%
Getting an Interview
Getting an Interview
84%
8%
5%
2
1
0
Difficulty
2.3
AverageHelpful (17)
No OfferNeutral ExperienceEasy InterviewTrader Joe's 2013-08-31 07:14 PDTApplication
I applied online. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Trader Joe's in August 2013.
Interview
I was emailed about 3-5 days after I sent in my resume and cover letter. I had a phone interview with the recruiter who was very nice, but also very pressing on actual customer service experience. It started off with an overview of the company and then she had me go through my resume. After that she asked basic questions about career goals, customer service experience, your basic day on your job.
I come from a Managerial Consulting background and have leadership, team-building, and supervisory experience (about 4 years worth). In the interview she pressed me about how I was more of corporate person. I countered with I deal with people, provide customer service, and have customer service experience from college etc. Clearly they only want people with customer service experience or someone that could wow them more than I could. They are looking for "career growth hunger, passion, enthusiasm, basic intelligence etc." I guess they didn't see that in me, and that isn't a surprise considering there is no job offers from any of the people on here who interview for this job either. Why waste people's time? Just do a better job reviewing resumes.
Additionally, there is no career growth. That was made clear even-though they promote it on their career website. You can become "Captain" - their word for store manager - after several years, but after that it was clear that there is really no more growth - "our regional VP have been in their positions 15-20 years." I hear the store managers have complete control and make up to the 6 figures, so it isn't all that bad if that is where you want to stop. So don't pick anything higher than Store Manager as your career goal.
All and all, I would suggest not wasting your time if you don't have 5 years + of retail grocery supervisory experience - just check the LinkedIn profiles of Assistant Store Managers there: it will give you a clue!
Moreover, one last quote paraphrase: We go through 30,000 plus applications a year and only hire 100 something - so you know your odds, as even if you get the interviews, you can see from the reviews, that they don't hire many at all - what a waste of human capital resources!
So, all and all, it was a bit disappointing they wasted my time; they could clearly see from my resume I was not the fit they were looking for. Oh well, I have other positions that are higher up and pay better calling me for interviews!
Good luck to rest of you out there!Interview Questions
- None. Go through your resume, relate it to the job; describe your basic work day; etc Answer Question
Trader Joe's Awards & Accolades
- Employees’ Choice - 50 Best Places to Work, Glassdoor, 2011
- Employees’ Choice - 50 Best Places to Work, Glassdoor, 2012
- Employees' Choice -50 Best Places to work, Glassdoor, 2013
Work at Trader Joe's? Share Your Experiences
