Avoid this employer. - Crew Member Trader Joe's Employee Review

1.0
16 Oct 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fellow employees are generally intelligent and great to work with.

Cons

They're going for a high-turn over rate like Walmart does. It's labor intensive work that they have to get done, so they promise great pay and benefits to attract employees. Then a person works there for a few months, realizes they were conned, and then leaves. They started cutting hours last January. People making $30,000/year dropped to $18,000 or less. We were told hours would come back in May, then in July, then August. People didn't want to lose good jobs so they spent savings, maxed-out credit card, and took loans. Now it's October and we see that they're not going to give our hours back. Many of us are no in crises debt with no job prospects. They lied and lied and ran us into bankruptcy. Just to make a ton of money for themselves by dropping insurance. Just on this morning's crew there was a girl losing her apartment. A guy losing his house. Another girl getting her utilities turned off. And a guy desperately trying to sell his car. (Which, by the way, he needs to get to and from work.) And they're begging for a lawsuit. Just at our store there are 3 people who left decent jobs to come here. They were promised careers that the Captain and Mates knew weren't going to happen. These 3 guys were making $30,000-$40,000 a year, and now they're practically unemployed because they can't get the hours or raises. Plus, no insurance.

Explore other reviews about Trader Joe's

5.0
23 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fun place and good people!

Cons

Long days and busy store

2.0
25 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexible schedule is the best part of the job. A lot depends on your captain but it can be a good gig at the right store. Employee discount is 20% and there is usually food in the break room.

Cons

Most employees don't have any kind of education past high school. Can be very frustrating in that aspect. Will consistently get hours but your schedule can wildly change week to week. Expectations are often unclear and lost in gray areas. Customer experiences are much more negative than positive once you become a mate. Never really have any down time or room to breathe. If you think you are a people person, make sure you really are or else you will dislike the job. Takes over a decade at least to be promoted to Captain, if you get lucky.

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