And we mean ANYTHING! Just tell an employee that you want to try something and they will open up the package and give you a sample. Even wine, depending on the laws in that state.
Products that don't look the prettiest, like a bent box or an apple with a brown spot, are donated to local organizations. Everything that isn't sold, including flowers and produce, is given away.
Well, sort of. Those check-out bells don't just look cool, it's a special employee-only code since the stores do not have an intercom system. One ring calls for an employee to come help out at the register. Two rings means a customer has a question and three rings asks for a manager.
How does Trader Joe's have such amazing customer service? They always overstaff the stores to make sure there are enough people covering the registers and enough people on the floor to answer customer questions.
Trader Joe's has a no questions asked return policy. You don't like it? You don't want it? Even if you already opened it, you can return it.
Every store employs an artist, or two, or three, to create all those fabulous chalk illustrations. Their only job is to create art work around the store. Occasionally they man the register.
The employee breakroom is stocked with every new product. Someone is even assigned to cook the new food so employees will be able to recommend new items to customers.
A lot of the Trader Joe's locations have a toy hidden somewhere in the store for kids to find. If you find a toy, bring it to the register and you'll get a prize!
Every single Trader Joe's location has a plastic lobster displayed somewhere in the store. No one knows why it's a lobster. Have you ever seen it?
Forget Disney World. Trader Joe's demo station is the happiest place on Earth. According to two employees, if you hang around the demo station a little before closing, the employees try to clear everything out so you can basically eat all you want.
Trader Joe's employs a few Senior Buyers with the awesome task of traveling the world, looking for new products to carry. Where do we sign up?
If you've even wandered down an aisle and wondered how everything was so cheap, you're not alone. Trader Joe's has deals with suppliers directly so they don't have to go through distributers to get the products on the shelves, making everything cheaper.
All of their products are marked down to the cheapest possible price so you won't find any Trader Joe's coupons, sales or special deals. Even the famous Fearless Flyer doesn't contain any coupons, just information about new products.