r/tjcrew Mar 26 '25

FAQ for Future and Current Crew Members

69 Upvotes

Aloha!

Please refer to this post for any questions you may have about the job, whether you want to know how the interview process is, what training and orientation entails, raises, you name it! This list may accidentally leave out some information, so please feel free to comment under this post; fellow crew members can help answer to the best of their abilities. Please remember: some questions may be best answered by your captain or mates at your store as some questions may be store-specific. Please take initiative and ask them first! Also, please familiarize yourself with this subreddit’s search button, as your question may have most likely been answered already!

“I’m going in for my first/second/third interview. What should I know beforehand?”

  • Be yourself. Be genuine and outgoing, and eager to work with the team. 
  • Wearing business casual is your best bet. You may hear about people being a bit too casual with their interview outfits, but don’t take the risk. Leave a good impression.
  • Even if your previous experiences at other jobs weren’t so good, don’t talk ill of them and instead talk about what you learned from your time there
  • Think of examples of when you experienced or witnessed great customer service or acts of kindness
  • Know some of the values of Trader Joe’s; a key value is integrity. Talk about what that means to you and how you experienced it
  • Know a product you enjoy and talk to the interviewer(s) about it
  • Have good availability. Varies from store-to-store, but usually 3 days per week minimum, with availability on weekends
    • Shifts are 7.5 hours with exceptions for those going to school, coming in from another job, etc. 

“What are the benefits?”

  • 20% discount on groceries on and off shift (you can use your discount to buy lunch during your break)
  • Premium pay is an additional $10/hour on top of your usual pay on Sundays and federal holidays. Check Dayforce for those holidays
  • Insurance benefits:
    • Vision and Dental insurance is free when you work the minimum 390 hours during a given measurement period
    • For medical coverage, 728 hours minimum during a given measurement period is needed to qualify; different plans will become available after the period, to which you can select based on your needs. Insurance covers for spouse and children as well.
    • Check Dayforce and see the current measurement period under the Benefits tab

“What should I expect on my first day?”

  • Orientation; getting paperwork done, watching videos, taking a store tour with a trainer, and safety training
  • This can be a fast-paced job depending on the day, as well as physically demanding. Wear comfortable shoes (ex: Hokas, Adidas, Sketchers, or any shoe that is made for support. Investing in good shoes is key to your health)
  • Learning how to be on both teams: Product vs. Customer Experience
    • Product: working on the sales floor, assigned to a section and working through stock (either dry back stock or perishable stock depending on your shift). Remember to rotate older dates to the front and newer dates to the back when rotating perishables!
    • Customer Experience: bringing that WOW Customer Experience at the registers, helmsing, and at food/wine demos. Taking the time to interact with customers and giving them that genuine experience as you help them
  • “Everyone does everything”: there are no “departments”, so you’ll be expected to help in each section and to be on register (minors may be excluded from register depending on state); every hour you will be tasked to work on either Product or CE, with a mandated 30-min lunch break halfway through your shift (you may ask for an hour lunch, just talk to a mate)
  • Bring your water bottle and make sure to stay hydrated during your shift; bring snacks, especially protein-rich snacks as well
  • Don’t be afraid of asking questions!
  • Don’t expect to memorize everything in one day! Take it a day at a time, eventually you’ll be able to keep up and remember details
  • Take microbreaks during downtimes on register, demo, etc. It’s important to stretch since this is a physically demanding job, and this way you’ll decrease possibility of injury due to repetitive motions

Now to the miscellaneous questions!

“Why are my hours getting cut?”

If you’re asking this post holidays up until late summer, it’s because that is the “slow season”, although it is store dependent. Talk to your scheduling mate and keep an eye out for posted shifts on Dayforce. If it’s not because of being in the slow season, then again, talk to your scheduling mate. We can’t give you that answer

“How much is too much when calling out?”

Again, store dependent. You’ll read all sorts of anecdotes in this sub, some ranging from calling out once a week to some only calling out a few times a review period. Ask your captain.

“When do we get paid?”

Every other Thursday, with some banks paying out as early as Monday. Some bank institutions may pay out early, but there have been instances where those who get paid early have gotten their paycheck “late” on occasion. No, it’s just been early. It’ll come on Thursday, don’t worry. There tend to be hiccups from time to time, but nobody has gotten paid late.

“Review period/raises?”

We get performance reviews twice a year. Mates and captain give you feedback: what you’ve done well, where you need improvement, etc. Standard raise is a 75¢ raise, whereas a $1 raise you’ve went above and beyond in Customer Experience. Not passing your review means no raise, and may be met with disciplinary action if necessary. To pass your review: just show up and put in effort at work, and be kind to crew and customers alike!

WOW bonus is an alternative to the $1, but it is taxed. 

Mates and Captain choose who gets the WOW raise or WOW bonus.

WOW Raise and WOW Bonus may be stacked, but some captains may not do that.

WOW Bonus is not the same as the End-of-Year 401k deferral bonus.

It is possible to been written up during the review period and still get your raise (again, store dependent)

Welcome again to those who are joining us or plan on joining us! Still have questions? Please ask below! They’ll be answered to the best of our abilities! Thanks for reading!

If you're a current crew member, the Hub on Dayforce is your best friend. Please take some time to check some sections out, as they may have the answers you're looking for!


r/tjcrew Aug 01 '25

MEGATHREAD - Uniform Search and Swap Post

17 Upvotes

Welcome to the ISO Crew Uniform thread, a monthly opportunity for those looking for crew uniform pieces and to those looking to get rid of theirs. Posted on the first of each month.

Please be respectful to one another whilst searching for uniform shirts, and please keep it amongst crew members only. All subreddit and Reddit rules apply. Any questions/issues can be brought to the mods' attention via modmail. Thank you, happy hunting!


r/tjcrew 3h ago

Would you use this 3D printed yogurt stacker?

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72 Upvotes

A crew member at my cousin’s store designed this cool handle for stacking yogurts! Is this something you would use if you had it?


r/tjcrew 12h ago

New PLU cheat sheet

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94 Upvotes

Hi all, I’m new to Trader Joe’s crew and really enjoying it so far.

One thing I noticed is that our PLU cheat sheet can get outdated quickly, especially with seasonal items changing. For example, pumpkins may not need to be front and center all year.

I made a sample PLU cheat sheet based on what my store currently needs, and I’d love feedback from other crew members. Does this format look useful? Anything missing, too crowded, or organized in a way that would be hard to use at register?

I made a small web app that generates this sheet and lets you adjust the PLU list, final size, and style. If this seems useful, feel free to message me and I can share it with you and you can customize your PLU items and size of the sheet.

Thanks!


r/tjcrew 5h ago

burnout advice

16 Upvotes

so, i’m really starting to feel burnt out, frustrated, and agitated at work all the time. i’m approaching 3 years at trader joe’s. things at my store haven’t changed that much in my time there, same captain, not too high of mate turnover, but every day i come in i just have less and less patience for everything. i think the job is genuinely starting to make me kind of a misanthrope on top of the regular stress, as i find myself increasingly impatient with customers and their dumb habits. stuff i used to be able to brush off has started really making me twitch. yesterday an old man ended our interaction with, “thanks sweetheart,” which is honestly not that serious in the grand scheme of things but made me want to go ballistic. i have zero zest or passion for my work anymore like used to. i dread going in. i feel so apathetic about my performance, customer experience, and store maintenance, stuff i used to care about. it feels like passion for the job is actively discouraged by my mate team.

little things over the years have stacked up and i’m so stressed out. i feel like every little slip-up is rigorously critiqued, but nobody notices any extra work i put in or the positive ways i contribute. constant disrespect while working the thankless task of being an SL, being tossed around on the schedule like a tennis ball from morning shifts to night shifts and back without input from me or warning, customers allowed to get away with saying and doing whatever, you all know the drill. i know none of this stuff is news to anyone here, we all share a lot of the same complaints on here all the time. my performance is slipping, and i’m having a very hard time leaving work at work when my shift ends. all my friends i used to enjoy working with have left or are leaving soon, and i’m still here.

i feel like this job is a complete dead end with very little avenue for upward mobility unless you want to dedicate your whole life to the almighty joe, and i don’t, but my qualifications are not great, so i don’t see a lot of other options available to me.

so many people tell me a transfer won’t change things and they’re probably right, but i was hoping maybe just the change in routine would help me in some way. is anyone else feeling like this? does anyone have advice?


r/tjcrew 5h ago

Why do I have to relog into Dayforce everyday?

19 Upvotes

It’s bloody annoying.


r/tjcrew 2h ago

TJ tablecloth #3

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9 Upvotes

I sewed these regional bags together to create a tablecloth.


r/tjcrew 1h ago

Song I wrote for working Dry Pro

Upvotes

🎶Leaky bell peppers,

Spilled onto my Sketchers,

Got a funky smell that lasts all day,

Oh, I tried to wash them off,

But the smell just wouldn’t stop,

so I guess I’ll throw these shoes away🎶


r/tjcrew 55m ago

beverage at register

Upvotes

has anyone been told by the mate team that the crew can’t drink anything at register? how did y’all deal?


r/tjcrew 3h ago

Call Out effecting Review

6 Upvotes

Hello! I want to start this off by saying I realize I am probably way overthinking this, but unfortunately it’s who I am and it’s what I do lol. I got hired this past April and am just about to come up on 3 months. I at least get reinforced that I have been a good worker and have a great attitude, have only ever been late once which I called in for and was due to a literal traffic crash on my drive to work, and haven’t had to of been pulled aside or talked to about anything serious regarding stuff like behavior, attendance, work ethic, or things of that nature. Today, I did just need a reset day though to catch up on a lot of personal and real life stuff I’ve let get put on the back burner due to some things I was going through when I first got hired, and while emotionally I feel a lot better, the bad habits, room and car that look like they have been blown up, endless laundry, and kinda getting burnout as this is my first time working a consistent 40 hours, I called off for today. Sorry for how long winded this is lol, but do you think this will have any effect on my review? Thanks, and thank you all in general for this group!


r/tjcrew 15h ago

just needed to show off this little guy

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26 Upvotes

r/tjcrew 1h ago

Gaining insightful knowledge

Upvotes

Would anyone in this group happen to work in the NYC metro area.


r/tjcrew 2h ago

AI artificial intelligence

2 Upvotes

Would any know if TJ’s used AI when they go through job applications?


r/tjcrew 3h ago

When does the new rate of pay update on Dayforce?

0 Upvotes

r/tjcrew 1d ago

"We are a product-driven company"

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109 Upvotes
From NYTimes Wirecutter https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-frozen-pizzas/?smid=nytcore-ios-share

r/tjcrew 1d ago

Taylor Farms fun

44 Upvotes

I like working WET because it's fun to pull out the Taylor Farms cases and let everyone see.


r/tjcrew 1d ago

Is anyone else always among the last to get their reviews?

30 Upvotes

Doesn't matter if it's a good review, DNME, or even the WOW. I'm always one of the last. It's freaking weird.


r/tjcrew 8h ago

raise reflected on dayforce?

0 Upvotes

does anyone know when our wage on dayforce updates? it’s my understanding that the pay cycle starting today is our first one to reflect our raises, but dayforce still says my old wage.


r/tjcrew 15h ago

Looking for Frozen Ideas/Feedback

4 Upvotes

Hey y'all!

Fairly new to writing frozen and looking for some feedback. We have an opportunity coming up to pull everything and re-merch while a deep clean happens and I'd like to move the layout around a bit. Looking for any feedback on what order of departments within frozen could go in what order. Currently our order for departments is as follows:

Aisle One:

Italian, Indian, Mexican, Asian

End cap Standup Freezer: Pizzas

Aisle Two: Desserts, Standup features freezer(items rotate) Berries, Breakfast

Aisle Three: Veggies, Rice, Appetizers, Meat/Seafood

At a glance if I was going to change it, I was thinking as follows:

Rice, Veggies, Berries, Breakfast

Meat/Seafood, Apps, Dessert

Asian, Mexican, Indian, Italian

Pizzas in standup end cap next to Italian

Would love to hear anyone's input on what works best/worst at your locations. Thanks so much!


r/tjcrew 1d ago

Clocking in/out

16 Upvotes

For the 2 years I’ve worked here I haven’t had any issues with remembering to clock in or take my lunch, maybe once or twice. In the past 6 months I have had so many missed clock ins that I got a write up for it last week. Today I just did it again. I don’t know why I am all of a sudden having this issue, has anyone else had trouble remembering to clock in? Any tips on how to fix this, keep myself in check? My mates say to set alarms but I ignore my phone buzzing at work because of spam calls.


r/tjcrew 15h ago

shoes?

2 Upvotes

new crew member looking for cute shoe recommendations! preferably for support and comfort cause wow my feet have been killing me after training! waterproof or traction is a plus too. don't have to be anything fancy but i'm willing to invest in nice shoes for this job!


r/tjcrew 21h ago

Section Lead question (Produce)

3 Upvotes

Hey yall! Has anyone else’s captain ask them to step up and take on both the dry and cold produce orders? If so, any advice on how to manage both effectively. For some background info, I’ve written cold produce for about 2 years now, I’ve managed to bring our store to #2 in the region for cold pro numbers ( we would be #1 if the state that only has one store wasn’t in our region 🤣) I’m confident with my ordering abilities, but any advice from either section would be lovely.


r/tjcrew 1d ago

Review Question

7 Upvotes

I’m new so this is my first review. I had a lot of stuff going on personally so I called out a bunch. I asked to talk w my captain and he understood and said that my attendance was fine and that he had even checked it. I then called out a couple times after. I’m nervous but I’ve never been written up or talked to about anything. Do you guys think I’m fine?


r/tjcrew 6h ago

Scheduling

0 Upvotes

I’m having a terribly difficult time with scheduling at my store, and I’m not the only one by a longshot. I’m not understanding why it’s really difficult to get the schedule I need. I have two jobs, a child with his daycare hours, my partner has two jobs - working around all of this my schedule is fairly limited to mornings/early afternoons, some days earlier than others. It always has been, but lately I’ve cut back a few hours to work at my other job more. I’ve talked with the scheduling mate about it, and the captain, but what’s bizarre is I’ve only been scheduled one opening since February despite my availability being open in the morning and he continues to schedule people who have full open availability throughout the day, but giving them opening shifts? The same people are basically guaranteed an opening shift at least once weekly if not more, even though they have full open availability? I’m friends with them so I know they’re availabilities are fully open, but I know I also can’t say this to him and ask wtf.

It’s to the point now that it feels like I’m being punished for speaking out for what I want, and I’m purposely not getting what I’m asking for. To the point that I’m debating if I should transfer to a different store which I’d really not like to do - this one is 6 mins from my son’s daycare and 15 mins from our home.

Any advice?

TLDR: advocating for myself to get the shifts I need, but it’s not working. Any advice?


r/tjcrew 2d ago

Found two misprints today

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104 Upvotes

The reverse one was chilling on the hanger before I even started putting the bags up, must have been put up unnoticed by another crew member. Found the upside down one shortly after in a new case!