trader joe’s: yay/nay/meh 2022

YAY to the Veggie & Flax corn chips and the Avocado Tzatziki dip. The former taste like the vegetables that are in them; the latter has a subtle bite from jalapenos.

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TJ’s has a very liberal return policy. If you really don’t like something, they will give you a store credit (maybe even a refund). It make me more comfortable trying new things, and if you just tell them why you don’ t like it there’s no trouble at all.
It’s not something I make a habit of, but the three times I did return something they were very understanding.

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Best thing in TJ’s in my house is the Cacio de Pepe ravioli.
The shrimp & lobster was a giant disappointment.
Zero flavor & it was as stuffed with something that we used to call mystery meat

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I always tout their return policy, too, and convinced an anxious friend to use it. So they went to make the returns and weren’t very enthused. They felt the cashier rang that bell 3 times so loud that everybody knew someone was at that register making a return. I never thought about that before.

Possibly the bell is meant to alert a manager to come over to get direct product feedback from the customer. I rarely return anything. If something is spoiled or misleadingly-labeled, I do. But if it’s just a matter of not appealing to my taste buds, never. The closest I come to faulting TJ’s customer service is a time when I was buying a wine on the clerk’s recommendation. He asked that I return it if I didn’t like it. When I told him my palate policy, and that if I didn’t want to drink it, I’d cook with it, he didn’t want to accept that answer, stressing how important customer satisfaction is to the company. He did back off once I said that the more he pushed, the less satisfied I became. I do realize that with limited shelf space, TJ’s needs to jettison items that aren’t popular.

At “my” TJ’s, I found that a sourdough bread I liked would develop mold within three days. With a change of season, I saw why. The plastic-bagged loaves, still warm, were displayed on a top shelf, just a few feet below the air conditioning duct, forming condensation within the bag.
I pointed this out to a clerk. It took quite some time, but eventually they did move the bread racks. (They COULD just have moved some less-sensitive baked goods to the problematic shelf, but didn’t.)

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Three bells calls over a supervisor. Pretty much always means “someone is here for a return”. Regular cashiers can’t enter returns in the system without approval.

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The few times I had to return, I just went up to the customer service desk directly. I told them what was wrong and asked if I could have a store credit since I was planning to get a few other things. Gave the cashier the credit slip when I checked out.
I understand the simplicity of the bell system, but they are very loud!

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I didn’t know there were stores that offered credit at the service desk. I’ve tried this many times before, but they always tell me to get in line at a register.

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Tavel rose for $8.99? Yea! It’s rich and fruity, a little acidity that went away after I added a few drops of water (don’t judge me!) and revealed typical Tavel earthiness.

My wife, who loves all things Trader Joe’s, doesn’t hesitate to return anything she deems unacceptable & she goes to the service desk. She will do a return at checkout once in a while.

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i love tj;s return policy. one time a bag of those japanese sweet potatoes turned out to be bad after i roasted them.i i had already tossed the receipt and i wasn’t about to bring in moldy, cooked potatoes:) no problem with a refund; of course, they had to look up the price, first:)

when i’ve come to the store just to return something, they issue the refund at the service desk. but if i’m shopping, they tell me to let the cashier know i’ve got a return — that’s why cashier rings the bell. although, sometime the person at the service desk sees that i’m in line and comes over. then, no bells.

I mentioned in conversation with a cashier that I had bought a whole chicken that ended up being spoiled. It was not in any way related to me asking for a refund. I live too far away to have bothered returning it. It had happed months, maybe a year prior. It just came up in casual conversation about something else. She immediately asked a coworker to grab a chicken for me. I tried to object but she insisted. It was a smart move because I had stopped buying chickens because of my experience but am back to buying them.

So, a big yay to Trader Joes for giving their cashiers the authority to make these decisions. I don’t think it was a manager.

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That’s exactly the kind of experience my wife has had. One of the things that keeps her going back.

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I had something similar. Told them I didn’t like a chocolate i bought many months back and they said, here try this one instead and let us know what you think.

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Once I inquired about the cider donuts in autumn and they opened a box on the spot and gave me a whole donut to try. Dam. Donuts were good but I get palate fatigue easily. Rest of the donuts went to the employee break room and I somehow managed to buy another dessert. Or three

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Nay to Trader Joe’s Coconut Body Butter. It’s been around since 2012 but only caught my eye on a shopping trip this week. I expected the coconut fragrance to fade after applying this moisturizing cream—which it did somewhat—though not enough to be okay for me. The aroma is an artificial-smelling coconut that I’m finding more and more unpleasant as the day goes on.

I have liked a lot of TJ’s personal care products. Not this one.

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Thank you for that, I have noticed it lately and wondered. Now I won’t!

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I wish they hadn’t discontinued the pomegranate body butter, which I LURVED. Damn security at EWR took a just opened en route to Berlin. Wah.

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The pomegranate’s scent was a bit too sweet and fruity for my personal taste, but I really like the cucumber avocado body butter, which has a fresh scent that doesn’t linger too long.

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I loved the pomegranate one. I haven’t seen the cucumber avocado body butter but am currently using the grapefruit body butter (which may be gone from the stores already). The scent is mild and not bad, but the body butter is extremely thick.