06/02/2010

Category
Pay	4
Respect	5
Benefits	5
Job Security	5
Work/Life Balance	5
Career Growth	5
Location	5
Co-Workers	5
Work Environment	5

I am very happy to be a Crew Member at Trader Joe's. I am a foodie, and I love to keep busy. So it is a great fit for me. I have worked in alot of other businesses and this is the one for me. We take care of each other big time, the crew and the customers. Even the store Managers (called Captain and Mate) make it a special and fun place to be. After almost 5 years I feel that I will make it another 5 years. I, being female, get treated equally and don't feel like it's a boys club. We are always talking about how to keep business up cause if we don't take care of our customers then we will be just like the guys across the street who think they can make their building pretty so they win -ya right!. I like the way we are allowed and encouraged to do cool stuff for them. I made alot of friends here at work. My friend showed me this site cause she hates her job and alot of her co-workers post bad stuff about the job. Our score is pretty good! Glad I don't work at her job:) LOL!

03/25/2010 - Oregon

03/25/2010

Category
Pay	5
Respect	5
Benefits	5
Job Security	5
Work/Life Balance	4
Career Growth	4
Location	4
Co-Workers	4
Work Environment	4

Pay - The pay for part-time crew members is better than average. As a new employee coming on it depends on how much experience you have but most likely you will be started at $10 to $12 dollars an hour. Raises are every six months and can vary between nothing and one dollar per raise. It depends on what score you get on your review but most people get 3's (on a 1 to 5 scale) and get a raise of 30 to 40 cents. Supervisors get paid required overtime which makes it hard to leave the job.

Respect- The management (captain and first mate) are always available to talk about store issues. Supervisors (full-timers) are always around to listen to concerns if management isn't available. Crew members are regularly praised for their achievements and offered developmental plans if they need help in certain areas.

Benefits - The benefits are great. Health insurance is offered after you work a certain number of hours in a quarter. Employee discount is 10%.

Job security - IT is pretty hard to get fired at Trader Joe's. If you show up and work hard and give the customers all your attention you will do well here .

Work/Life balance - As a part-timer it is easy to have a good work life balance. Shifts are usually around 7 hours and you can work as little or as much as you want depending on your schedule outside of work. As a full-timer you are at the mercy of the store and will work at least 47.5 hours a week. More if you get a lot of sick calls or if there is a special flyer coming out. Also as a supervisor be prepared to work a descending schedule starting with nights (usually 1pm-11pm) for two nights, the "turn-around (usually 7a-5p) for one day, then super early mornings starting at 4am for your remaining two work days. This can make for a terrible balance because you are tired all the time and don't want to do anything except sleep outside of work.

career potential - It's more difficult than it used to be to get promoted to "novitiate" or entry level supervisor than it used to be. If you work hard, relate to people well and get good review scores you will have no problem getting promoted pending upon if there is a need in your area.

location- sometimes out of the way places but mostly in easily accessible areas

co-worker competence - depending on who does the hiring in your store it can be hit or miss. Lots of people work at Trader Joe's for a long time so they know what they are doing but occasionally you will get a newbie who has no clue what they are doing.

work environment - pretty relaxed overall. Keep your hands moving and you can talk all you want. Most people are pretty cool even the customers. Be prepared to do the occasional all day register shift if there are a lot of sick calls. It doesn't happen often but keep a smile on your face and you'll do fine.

02/28/2010 - CA

02/28/2010

Category
Pay	4
Respect	4
Benefits	5
Job Security	4
Work/Life Balance	2
Career Growth	2
Location	3
Co-Workers	2
Work Environment	4

It's been 5 years. Now I am becoming unsure. I believe it is becoming too corporate. Too much of the "good ol' boys club". Obviously the economy has hurt everyone, but even this "progressive" company who is here for fun and values is now just cutting out the true workers money for I assume the higher profits. Right, I know I should be happy to just have a job, that pays well with amazing benefits. I am. It has changed from 5 years ago. I miss the old TJ's. . . .or maybe I just miss being a good hard working part time employee not working 50 hours a week (who gets lower raises then others who are not in management )...(yes, I work hard). Blah blah. It has both aspects. It all depends on what side you look on it from. Great job for anyone in college!!

01/25/2010 - Portland Oregon

01/25/2010

Category
Pay	4
Respect	5
Benefits	4
Job Security	4
Work/Life Balance	5
Career Growth	5
Location	5
Co-Workers	5
Work Environment	5

Great place to work. Employees are treated with respect, the pay is decent, and there is no bureaucracy. What more could you want.

01/04/2010 - Minnesota

01/04/2010

Category
Pay	4
Respect	5
Benefits	5
Job Security	5
Work/Life Balance	5
Career Growth	5
Location	5
Co-Workers	4
Work Environment	4

I find it interesting that Trader Joe's is one of the very, very few companies on this site with a positive average score. And also sad. We get paid pretty well here, but in order to earn what would be considered 'good' wages, you have to become a full-timer, i.e., get on the management track. So when I say pretty well, I refer to the range of pay of all professions and also whether I could survive on just my weekly wages (I couldn't). Retail- and/or grocery store-wise, though, the pay is outstanding. Performance reviews are every six months (used to be every three!) and normally result in at least a minimal wage increase. Benefits are phenomenal. One need only work 900 hours per year to receive full benefits with reasonable out-of-pocket deductions. That is practically unheard of in the working world, and I believe Starbucks is about the only company that's competitive in this regard.

And everything else, and I mean EVERYTHING, is completely subjective and mutable. Some of my co-workers are amazingly competent and hard-working; some do the absolute minimum required to retain their job. "Respect" got a high rating from me because I'm working with managers who treat me with it. Had I written a review a year ago, when I worked at another location with different management, I would have ranked it at about a -4. Location gets a 5 because I can walk to the store or ride my bike; in fact, when the store (a new TJ's) hired its new employees, I believe I heard that over 70% lived less than two miles away. And Bravo to TJ's (specifically, its managers) for 'hiring local.' This, I believe, truly lends the store a neighborhood feel.

I could go on, but other reviewers have said it already. Yep, you will work hard. Yep, they expect a lot from you. Consider it a character-building gym membership that you're getting paid for. Nothing wrong with that!

12/29/2009 - Ohio

12/29/2009

Category
Pay	5
Respect	5
Benefits	5
Job Security	5
Work/Life Balance	5
Career Growth	5
Location	5
Co-Workers	4
Work Environment	5

I have been a part time crew member at trader joe's for going on 3 years now. I can say that this is a good company to work for. The pay and benefits are great and I have met a lot of cool people. We have a new manager who started last year. He is a cool guy and seems to care about me and my life. Most of the crew members are good folks as well. The new manager expects much more from us and the supervisors then the old one, and some employees cant hang with that and they get pissey. But if you work hard and do your job good then u will love the job. It is very physical and stuff gets hard sometimes, but we keep it fun. I can honestly say that the ones who post bad stuff about Trader Joe's on this site need to get a life. It's a pretty sweet job.

12/19/2009 - MIDWEST

12/19/2009

Category
Pay	5
Respect	5
Benefits	5
Job Security	5
Work/Life Balance	5
Career Growth	4
Location	4
Co-Workers	5
Work Environment	5

What a great place! The work is hard, but the atmosphere is fun. Customers are cool, fellow employees are caring and funny. Not everyone is perfect, but that's just life. I feel respected and appreciated, and my management really seems to care about me. Had to take a sick day, and the tone was concern, not accusation or disbelief. I think they try hard to keep things as fun and light as possible, even on the hectic crazy days.

12/08/2009 - Menlo Park, California

12/08/2009

Category
Pay	4
Respect	5
Benefits	5
Job Security	5
Work/Life Balance	4
Career Growth	5
Location	5
Co-Workers	5
Work Environment	5

This job rocks. I've never had a job before where I feel happy and excited to be at work every day. The crew is large at my store, around fifty or so, and we are all really close. Everyone is eclectic, interesting, and funny, and the work itself is very straightforward and even fun. To anyone seeking a good, solid job which allows you to still be yourself, Trader Joe's is a good option for you.

02/02/2009 - California

02/02/2009

Category
Pay	5
Respect	5
Benefits	5
Job Security	5
Work/Life Balance	5
Career Growth	4
Location	5
Co-Workers	5
Work Environment	5

I am a student who is working at Trader Joe's to help pay my way through school. While I do not plan on making a career with the company I still think it is a great job. They pretty much let me hand pick my hours and I really enjoy knowing who is doing the scheduling. I can only review the company as someone who works 3 days a week so maybe it is not as positive an experience for full timers. I know that all the full timers at the store I work at love their jobs though. A previous poster said that California has the most enjoyable and old school stores and that is very likely true. I know that many of the full time staff where I work have been with the company for years and as a result run the store with our core values very much in mind. Our store has the best capitan in California and we have won store of the year 2 times in the past 3 years. Our sales are through the roof and a solid 90% of the people who I work with seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs. We get a great deal of respect from our customers (for the most part) and are seen as a kind of pillar of the community. It is definitely a great job for students and probably most people in general. As a result of the companies popularity it is very difficult to get a job though because you are competing with so many other job seekers.

08/13/2008 - Philadelphia, PA

08/13/2008

Category
Pay	5
Respect	5
Benefits	5
Job Security	5
Work/Life Balance	4
Career Growth	5
Location	5
Co-Workers	5
Work Environment	5

Trader Joe's is a really great place to work. They provide a better than average wage, acknowledge hard work, and offer benefits to part timers. Real benefits, and much more affordable than most. I spent 5 years working as support personnel in veterinary medicine (I have a degree) and never got the kind of respect and acknowledgment I have gotten in 3 months at TJ's. Also, it's much safer. They also understand what they do is important, and the customer is royalty, but in the end it's just groceries not lives on the line. If you are willing to work hard (really hard, not kidding), come work for TJ's.

Jobitorial - Trader Joes - Company Reviews

06/02/2010 - OHIO