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It would be an understatement to say that Trader Joe’s needs to get it together. Ask anyone who has recently traveled to the center of the health food movement, and they would agree wholeheartedly.
On my last trip to Trader Joe’s, I had to wait what felt like an hour to purchase my pumpkin spice cookie butter and alkaline water with electrolytes. I thought to myself, “How could this be? I know the cashiers can be talkative, but I am practically knee-deep in the cold-brew coffee of the person standing behind me. This is not normal.” My heart started pounding harder, and I was seeing spots. Was I going to be there forever?
I asked the people around me if they had any clue what was going on, but no one had answers. Annoyance radiated off of every customer’s existence as they waited. When it seemed like all hope was lost, one of the employees approached me with a tub of gingersnap cookies. Crunchy, spicy, everything I could have wished for in this trying time.
This Trader Joe’s employee was angelic. Like a beacon of light bestowing itself in the dark of the abyss, his presence was nothing short of a miracle. I took handfuls of those gingersnap cookies and thanked my new savior for his goodwill. Just as was I gaining some hope for this line situation, the employee was gone, and I realized I forgot to ask him what was going on. Disappointed in myself, I figured I would just wait out the storm with my gingersnap cookies.
After what felt like a millennium, I made it to the cashier. I greeted her and received no response. She told me what my total was and I inserted my card into the credit card terminal. In that instant, it was as if I had awoken some kind of sleeping giant within her. Her eyes widened as she said, “You are one of the only people to notice that we changed our credit card terminals today.” Realizing that that must have been what held up the line, I almost passed out from the stupidity.
Trader Joe’s has updated its credit card payment terminals and confused the general population in the process. Instead of swiping, customers with chips on their cards have to stick their cards into the terminal for it to be read. People are so used to swiping, it is their automatic response to do so after being told their total. This miscommunication ends up doubling their checkout time and quadrupling everyone else’s wait time. Why? This is a question that haunts me to this day. What I can say is I am a proud survivor of the Trader Joe’s crisis and have no plans to return until it is over.
Or at least until I run out of cookie butter.
This is a entire banking movement and is not only trader joe’s.
“Realizing that that must have been what held up the line, I almost passed out from the stupidity.”
This comment was unprofessional and uncalled for. It’s not only that people didn’t notice the new terminals and are used to swiping mindlessly, it’s that not everybody is aware of the new terminals. A lot of vendors have yet to switch over and maybe the people didn’t realize Trader Joes had made the switch. Not to mention, there are plenty of older people who don’t completely understand the new technology.
A fair point you make is the chattyness of the cashiers, which is not always welcomed when you are in any waiting line at TJ’s.
5 minutes of my life I will never get back
This seems like a pointless article. Highlighting that credit card terminals had been changed which led to a increase in wait times due to customer misunderstanding is hardly cause for comment. It is just something normal that occurs when systems are updated. I really hope the author wrote this as more of a joke. Long wait times to purchase food in a well-stocked grocery store? First world problems.
This has ought to be one of the most depressing, painful experiences I have ever read about. I am absolutely appalled that this fine gentleman had to wait for what felt like an ENTIRE millennium to purchase his pumpkin spice cookie butter and alkaline water with electrolytes at the cash register. This is certainly far outside of the bounds that anyone should ever have to wait at a grocery story to purchase pumpkin spice cookie butter and alkaline water with electrolytes, because patience is not an option. I am truly sorry that one of our fellow Gauchos has been victimized… Read more »
The fact that people spend the time to write articles about having to wait to buy cookie dough is one of the most embarrassing things I’ve had the displeasure of reading recently. I almost cannot think of a more ‘first world problem’ type of thing to complain about. Maybe you should go stand in a bread line with all the refugees fleeing Syria to get some perspective and then your agonizing wait at trader joes won’t seem so long. Or maybe spend your time writing an article about the refugees to spread awareness of a actual problem.
Hey man, I’ve had similar experiences at TJ’s. What I do now is shop locally at the Food Co Op for necessary items (milk, eggs, grains – bulk!!, etc.). I was shocked – and still am shocked – that I haven’t been spending nearly as much as I had before when doing my weekly TJ/Albertsons run. I think this has to do with the development of a small-batch, purchase only-when-necessary mentality. Seriously, go try it for yourself. You’ll be awed at their sales and competitive pricing :)
Get used to these types of lines everywhere and stop complaining. As more stores change over to the new readers delays are going to be felt across the board. TJ’s is just ahead of the curve with this update which is why most people don’t know how to use the new readers.
If your first world problems push you over the edge, so much so that you must write the worst written article that cannot be viewed as “news” at all, don’t shop at Trader Joes. I just solved your problem. You’re welcome.
I shopped at Trader Joe’s on Tuesday and, before she scanned any items, the cashier politely told me that they had a new system and that she would tell me exactly when I could insert my credit card in the reader. I listened and the whole process was quick and easy. It seemed to be business as usual at the other registers as well.
Yes i love it..i work at trader joes
I enjoy the chattiness of the cashiers at Trader Joe’s. Shows they have personality. I’m not into that robot shit anyways.
Wow, only two commenters understand that this is satire. What a drawer full of dull blades at UCSB!
If it’s satire, it’s more than poorly done.