Talk:Trader Joe's

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[edit] Trader Joe's Employee Section

I am concerned that the statement in the entry:

"According to Business Week, Trader Joe's pays better-than-union wages"

. . . is not viewpoint neutral and I would propose changing this to:

"According to Business Week, Trader Joe's pays good wages..." or something similar without the same political overtones.

It's true that this statement is duly sourced from a BW article, however the original source, on this point at least, seems to be editorializing rather than stating an empirical fact. Comparing the worker benefits at Trader Joe's to the wages of a hypothetical union grocery worker seems to be unnecessarily provocative. (There are a number of factors, [job security, benefits, pension, comparing to which union employees exactly etc.] and issues that could be debated in this statement and it doesn't seem like an article about Trader Joe's is the best place to engage in such a debate.)

Personally, I myself shop at Trader Joe's. I usually get what I need there and have a fine experience in general (though I wish they had better that were not packed in so much plastic.) I don't know any employees personally and the small amount of research I've done does not paint TJ's in a bad light so far as labor practices - of which I am glad. However as I said above I don't think the comparison to union shops benefits this wikipedia entry and would propose its removal.

Any objections to the change above?

Thanks! Zakkenroller 04:37, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the consideration of asking before making the change. I did not write that part of the Tj's article. I did not know stating that wages are above or below union wages is political. To me union wage is a point of reference. To others, the statement could be political. Yes, it is OK to make a change. "pays good wages" seem kinda blank though. When I was in college, I wish I had a job like Trader Joe's which pays so well. WLee 15:54, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Thank-you, I will change this paragraph to:

Employees

According to Business Week, Trader Joe's pays ~~better-than-union~~ competitive wages, generous bonuses, and contributes an additional 15.4% of each worker's gross pay into a company-funded retirement plan. As of 2004, pay for entry-level part-timers was $8 to $10 an hour; first-year supervisors average more than $40,000 a year.[3]Zakkenroller 22:23, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Good wages sounds better. WLee 14:55, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

Using phrases such as "generous" or even "above-average" are not objective. "Generous" (as applied as a descriptor here to bonuses) is an empty term that could be applied to any bonus, and thus adds nothing to the article. "Above-average" also signifies very little. It does not establish what "average" is (do we mean here minimum wage? or are we averaging all hourly wages in the U.S.? the world?) and even if this "average" could be established, "above-average" means merely greater than this number (say for example 'average' is established to be $7.00/hr then "above-average" could mean $7.01/hr). Please take out these empty descriptors and leave only numbers, which can be interpreted by discerning readers. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.24.249.255 (talk) 05:59, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

The article uses better than union wages. That is quantitative term. One union rep wants to remove "better than union wages" and use "good". Another union rep wants to remove "good" and use a quantitative term. You cannot have it both ways.

WLee (talk) 21:06, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Not only should the information be quantitative, but it should be specific numbers. Descriptions of wages (or any statistic) merely in relation to other statistics is not valuable information, especially when neither statistic has been provided (as in this situation). The employee's section already states what the average starting wage was in 2004. If somebody wants to state that this is above what the unions pay, then they need to dig up a source that tells what unions paid in 2004 (or better yet, get the statistics for 2007 or 2008 if possible--after the minimum wage hike). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.24.249.255 (talk) 01:47, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

The paragraph describes how good Trader Joe's treats its employees. The reference, Business Week, has already done the research of comparing wages. WLee (talk) 16:04, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Discount Phrasing

Does "all at a discount price." sound a little too much like an advertisement to anyone else? --Brolin Empey 23:36, 2005 August 2 (UTC)

yes, it should be removed or toned down imo. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.75.49.213 (talk • contribs) 20:46, 5 October 2005 (UTC).

[edit] Trader Joe's Addresses

What Trader Joe's addresses for email are available for customers services, for feedback and for company leadership? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Donwarnersaklad (talk • contribs) 09:47, 8 August 2005 (UTC).

Check their website. -Willmcw 10:49, August 8, 2005 (UTC)

Already did, none indicated there. Company leadership addresses for email would have to be ferreted out by a savvy netizen! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Donwarnersaklad (talk • contribs) 13:29, 9 August 2005 (UTC).

Their snail mail addresses are here: http://www.traderjoes.com/contact.asp. But this isn't an information service. -Willmcw 19:11, August 9, 2005 (UTC)

Some people at Trader Joe's are listed at http://google.com

Search using quotes and an asterisk, for example
"*@traderjoes.com" email

Within the quotes before the at sign use an asterisk.

Names of the principle people at Trader Joe's are found at the Kirstein Business Branch Boston Public Library for example or try your favorite library http://bpl.org/research/kbb/kbbhome.htm

Use the examples from Google to construct addresses for email for other Trader Joe's people.

Please reply with Trader Joe's addresses for email for some of the more responsive Trader Joe's departments, people. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Donwarnersaklad (talk • contribs) 16:51, 17 April 2006 (UTC).

There is an updated Trader Joe's website. Within it is a Contact Us page. Consumers can write directly to TJ's now. War17 05:50, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pasadena or South Pasadena?

IIRC, the location on Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena was the first Trader Joe's (according to signs in the store explaining why it was numbered something other than store #1 (the explanation being, that the Pronto numbering carried over)). This store is definitely not in "South Pasadena". Tmurase 17:22, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

I lived in Pasadena in the late 1960's, and this store was there. The one on Mission Blvd in South Pasadena came later. BTW: there is in fact a Chevron Station next to the Trader Joes in Pasadena. When I was a kid it was Bill Barry Chevron. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.64.112.236 (talk • contribs) 00:58, 4 August 2006 (UTC).

On a related matter-- why does it refer to the South Pasadena store (presumably the one on Mission) as the "flagship"? I know that the corporate HQ used to be in South Pas, but now that they're in Monrovia, why would we refer to the SP store as the flagship? Also, does anyone know where their corporate office ARE in Monrovia? I drive through there all the time and have never seen a building with their name on it. 66.215.75.10 03:18, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

I changed this today; the New York Times article clearly indicates that this was the original store, and when I moved to this area in 1987, it was definitely there, and the South Pasadena one (on Mission) was not. I also deleted any references to a "flagship" store. How would we define that for a store like this? 4.232.186.52 04:14, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] History

A Business Week article about the store noted that between 1990 and 2001, the chain quintupled its store count while increasing its profits by an order of magnitude. An order of magnitude? Meaning a factor of 10? --Galaxiaad 18:04, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

I guess that's the only thing it could mean, but it still sounds strange and is unfamiliar to a lot of people. I changed it to "tenfold" which I hope is clearer. --Galaxiaad 13:25, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

I like to add the following event to the timeline of Trader Joe's History:

The first store outside California opened in 1993.

WLee 07:02, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Headquarters Location(s)?

Does anyone know where their corporate office ARE in Monrovia? I drive through there all the time and have never seen a building with their name on it. 4.232.186.52 04:14, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

> The main headquarters (West Coast and National) are in a non-descript typical office park looking building at 800 S. Shamrock Ave., Monrovia, CA 91016. Just a kind of boring California office park looking place (as opposed to a fancy palace) Google Maps street view.

One more thing: it seems that the stores in the east carry merchandise indicating the corporate headquarters are in Massachusetts (Needham, I believe.) What's that all about?66.215.75.10 03:18, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

~~Needham~~ Taunton, MA is the site of a TJ's warehouse, somewhat independent from Chino Hill, CA warehouse. The East Coast corporate headquarters (Trader Joe's Company East, Inc.) are ~~there also~~ in nearby Needham, MA. At one time there was a senior Vice-President of Operations for the East Coast and one for West Coast. I am not sure if this is true today. Some products are developed in Needham, MA, and some products are developed in Monrovia, CA. Some products are transported across country. Some are not. War17 23:48, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Early Store Operations

When I moved to LA County in 1987, most, if not all of the stores had big signs that proclaimed "Galley Meats." These were taken down a while back, but I don't remember what they were advertising, exactly. I don't recall that they ever had butcher counters-- just wrapped meats like they still do today. Does anyone remember? 4.232.186.52 04:14, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] New Locations

I edited the list to fix the references to "Anthem," "Point Loma," and "West End." These are not cities but rather neighborhoods within other cities (Henderson, NV; San Diego, CA; and Washington, DC, respectively.) I also changed the punctuation between each city/state pair from a comma to a semicolon. And I clarified the reference to "Brentwood, California" to show that it relates to the city of Brentwood in the Bay Area, and not the Brentwood area of Los Angeles.4.232.186.52 04:22, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

The language in the first paragraph of the main article contradicts the later information about the numbers of stores and states. It needs to be updated to reflect the 2006 information so that the paragraphs are consistent. 4.232.186.52 04:27, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

I edited the total number of stores to 271 by end of December 2006. Manhattan store is counted twice, as it has separate grocery and liquor stores. I modified the recent store openings to stores opened from late August through December 2006. Upcoming store openings are limited to what is posted on Trader Joe's website. Other potential store openings are too speculative for encyclopedic content. I have a more speculative list in Traderjoesfan.com website. I will update the list at the end of every month. war17 16:56, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Hi war17. I deleted the locations that have opened which were not on the Trader Joe's website. I think the article can do without these extra newest locations. It would be too arbitrary to keep more locations than Trader Joe's considers "new". Clipper471 19:22, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

As with most TJ's stores, openings are in the Spring and Fall. My list reflected recent store openings from October to December 2006. It is quite arbitrary of you to delete an accurate lists of store openings because TJ's website does not show them. Trader Joe's website store openings are not always accurate. In the past, they have misspelled Pittsburg and Midtwon. They Left store listing as Coming Soon when the store had already opened. Madison, Pittsburgh, and Roswell store openings were major events to those living in those states and should not be quickly deleted. There will be 15 to 20 store opening in Spring 2007. Does this mean you are going to delete the store names if they do not appear on TJ's website? Also, I had listed sorted the stores by the dates they opened, and you changed the order. War17 22:50, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Since citation needed is given for the reason to delete 6 or the 12 recently store openings, I restore the deletions and put a note at the end of the sentence ((citation needed)). Since other content is allowed to stay up with ((citation needed)), this content should be allowed to stay up. The store openings are accurate. I could provide 12 separate citations for each of the store openings, but that would be too much. War17 21:57, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

There is never "too much" citation. Please cite your new openings. Clipper471 16:10, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Here are the citations for the new stores that you keep on deleting:

Madison, WI - http://www.channel3000.com/news/10124315/detail.html

Roswell, GA - http://www.ddimagazine.com/displayanddesignideas/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003286777

Pittsburgh, PA - http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_476978.html

Glendale, WI - http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20061111/ai_n16843111WLee 07:06, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Trader Joe's website is not keeping up with the new store openings and coming soon stores. For example, Point Loma, CA; Irvine, CA; and Hillsboro, OR stores have opened but the website still shows them as coming soon. And Coming Soon stores are not showing Park Ridge, IL and Maple Grove, MN stores as coming sonn, even thought TJ's is hiring for those stores. So I cannot use TJ website for citation. I don't want to post a link for each of the sites I add, but they are available. May I reference a Traderjoesfan forum post, which contains all the reference links, as the citation? http://www.traderjoesfan.com/option,com_joomlaboard/Itemid,40/func,view/id,843/catid,10/ WLee 04:03, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

Trader Joe's updated its website, so reference for All Locations PDF file is no longer needed. WLee 02:24, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

WLee: You deleted my mention of a Trader Joe's coming to Chapel Hill, NC. The reference for same is http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/560447.html. You also asked why I would mention this ahead of 20 other Trader Joe's. I'm not aware of other TJ's openings, although I'm sure they exist. I thought some visitors to Wikipedia might find a Chapel Hill location of interest and would suggest its re-addition.

Wikipedia is not an announcement board. If you want to make announcements, do so in some of the Trader Joe's fans websites. Wikipedia is encyclopedic facts. Queens, NY fans will feel neglected if we posted your announcement, and not the TJ's store in Queens, which will open much sooner than Chapel Hill store. WLee 01:34, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Private Labels

Anyone up for making a list of the various Trader Joe's private labels? I know they sell Italian under the "Trader Giotto" name. It'd be pretty informative, and amusing. --Dccarroll 0:16, 13 July 2006

Thanks Fragilityfemme! Dccarroll 06:11, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

...as an aside, does anybody else thing that Trader Joe's missed a big opportunity with their Asian-food imprint? I mean, Trader Ming's isn't bad, but wouldn't "Trader Zhou" be better? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 216.15.34.118 (talk • contribs) 01:14, 5 August 2006 (UTC).

[edit] Answer to Trivia Question

There is a mystery shopper who will randomly ask a crew member the following question. If answered correctly, the mystery shopper will pay the crew member one hundred dollars on the spot. The question is, "What was the name of the owner of the business next door to the first Trader Joe's to open as a Trader Joe's?" The answer is, the business next door is a Chevron Station (there are only two businesses on that block of Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena, California), and in 1966 this business was owned by William Barry (Bill Barry). It is now (2006) owned by Frank Nelson. It is not known if the mystery shopper is an employee of Trader Joe's. I removed this as it sounds like a rumor, and quite possibly not encyclopedic even if it were sourced. --Galaxiaad 02:47, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Beer, wine, hard liquor Question?

Quick question about Trader Joe's - and this answer should probably go in the main page - but does anybody know which stores carry liquor as compared to beer and wine? Would be useful to know. I know that the California stores carry liquor, and that the Maryland ones carry nothing, and that many carry beer and wine, but not hard liquor. - Thanks, Justin —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 208.59.116.242 (talk • contribs) 20:00, 5 August 2006 (UTC).

Trader Joe's carries liquor in states that allow it to be sold in supermarkets. California allows this, for example, but Oregon (and Washington and Idaho) require anything stronger than beer or wine to be sold in specialty liquor stores. Typically, these states (Liquor control states) also hold a monopoly somewhere along the distribution chain. See the Wikipedia article on Alcoholic_beverage_control_state. Cranialsodomy 07:27, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

A recent article in the NY Times described how the new Manhattan store has a very separate (though adjacent) wine/liquor store. -Will Beback 11:38, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Trader Joe's website has a PDF file of Store Locations. The locations have marks by them indicating which stores sell no wine and beer, no wine, and no beer. War17 05:26, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

Only stores in California and Nevada carry hard liquor (Vodka of the Gods, etc.)

[edit] Trader Joe's Saw Palmetto

What informative details are there about Trader Joe's Saw Palmetto? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Donwarnersaklad (talk • contribs) 07:19, 18 October 2006 (UTC).

Trader Joe's stores sell 100 capsules of 160 mg each containing 90% fatty acids and sterols—standardized saw palmetto—for $11.99. Saw Palmetto for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia --War17 05:32, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Trader Joe's Total Sales

I added total sales of Trader Joe's stores at the end of the History section, $4.5 billion. This info is sourced from "Supermarket News". This info is needed as I see many other articles estimating sales at $2 to $3 billion. The $4.5 billion is a conservative estimate, as of June 2005, and verifiable. Actual total sales today is probably over $5 billion. war17 17:12, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] References

There are two references for the October issue of Consumer Report, neither of which say much about why Trader Joe's is the better store or why it was selected second. What criteria were used?? Here is a better link http://www.thedenenbergreport.org/article.php?index=905. I suggest using this latter, more informative link than the other two links. War17 19:18, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Reference #6 is the one that I am talking about. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/food/supermarkets-10-06/overview/1006_supermarkets_ov1.htm It is not the Consumer Report talked about. This is the actual report: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/food/supermarkets-10-06/ratings/1006_supermarkets_ratings.htm?resultPageIndex=1&resultIndex=8&searchTerm=trader%20joe's But requires a CR subscription. So that is why I proposed using this third link: http://www.thedenenbergreport.org/article.php?index=905 War17 15:42, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

I'll leave unchanged the reference for "Supermarkets Ratings" from Consumer Reports October 2006 issue. I do not like the two references for one subject, but I do not have a better alternative. War17 05:37, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Employees

In the Employees section, there is a statement, "Part-time crew members work as few as 25 hours a week and no more than 40 hours per week." The way it is worded, it sounds like hard limits. This is not really true. I know crew members who work less than 25 hours regularly because of family issues and more than 40 hours when the store is busy. The citation listed at the end of the paragraph do no indicate hours worked. There may be a general requirement to work 3 to 5 8-hour days (24 to 40 hours), but store manager can make exceptions. War17 21:45, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

I changed the number of hours crew members worked to "up to 35 hours", which is stated on TJ's website. I know some crew members work more hours, but those are the exceptions, not the rule. WLee 08:00, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Number of Stores

Trader Joe's website All Locations Stores listing changed without changing the date. San Diego (Point Loma), CA store was added as coming soon and Needham, MA store deleted. The store count will be correct once Point Loma store opens this Friday, February 9, so I will not change the store number from 272. I am not sure why Needham store was deleted. It could be the listing is TJ East Coast Office, not really a store. war17 21:32, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

TJ's updated the page, so the store count is correct as of February 28, 2007. WLee 22:43, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Gallery of Pictures

Ragesoss, what is the purpose of adding the pictures of a specific store on an encyclopedic page? What is the significance of the West Hartford store? Such pictures are more appropriate in a blog or forum. WLee 22:43, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Depictions in popular media section?

Surfed past the second ever episode of Six Feet Under tonight and a character was plopping down a Trader Joe's bag. I seem to recall there were several episodes that featured either the shopping bags or TJ's products. Perhaps a section for references in popular media? RoyBatty42 09:07, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History -2

Theo Albrecht bought Trader Joe's in 1979. Joe Columbe continued to run the company until 1989. The Lift and Time article is loosely worded, and can be misinterpreted. WLee 15:32, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Employees -2

AThing, you removed the whole section on Employees without discussion. If you do not how Employees are important to Trader Joe's encyclopedia information, then ask. Do not arbitraily delete.

If you knew anything about Trader Joe's, employees are what distinguish TJ's from other grocery stores. So, yes, how emplyees are so happy and helpful is a big part of TJ's. WLee 01:25, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Well if it's so important, make it not read like a recruitment advertisement for them.—a thing 01:29, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

How would you reword the section? The section was not put together by me, but by a combination of many readers over several years. I felt the section reflected the truth. If you read about Trader Joe's in a Google search, TJ's fans are much more fanatical about TJ's. WLee 01:41, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

How about removing the third paragraph? It has no use to anyone except a TJ's employee.—a thing 17:15, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

That is reasonable edit. 3rd paragraph gives lots of detail about names of crew members that are found on Trader Joe's website. If no one objects in a week, let's remove the third paragraph. WLee 16:37, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

I removed third paragraph of Employee's section per above conversation. There is no objection. WLee 15:43, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Values

I like to add a core values section to the main page, probably after Products section, and wonder what everyone else thinks. Trader Joe's operates by 7 core values. 1. Integrity 2. Product driven company 3. Create a WOW customer experience 4. No bureaucracy 5. National chain of neighborhood grocery stores 6. Kaizen 7. The store is the brand

I would give a brief description of each based on this article http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com/2007/04/trader-joes-where-values-drive-brand.html

[edit] Chicken Satay a no no

Do yourself a favor and stay clear of the Chicken Satay. It caused a double barreled eruption of waste matter from me that I shall not soon forget. I wasn't sure whether to sit or stand at my porcelain throne. Other than that I highly recommend TJ's.69.250.191.122 02:26, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Trader joes.jpg

Image:Trader joes.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 04:50, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the heads up. But I did not add the image, and do not know much about Fair Use. Or I would edit the info as you required. Sorry!

WLee 15:06, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Employees Reviews

There has been some editing of time period between employee's review. All the references say 3 months. Several TJ's employees say period has changed recently to 6 months. I believe the latter is true. The documentations have not yet caught up. WLee 05:52, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Trader Joe's old logo.png

Image:Trader Joe's old logo.png is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

BetacommandBot 21:03, 3 December 2007 (UTC)