Office Headquarters – Trader Joe’s — Local services in Boston

My friend (who is from India) just had an awful experience at the Trader Joe's on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, MA. The cashier (who might have auditioned for "Duck Dynasty") wouldn't bag his groceries. He had no problem bagging the items for the white customer ahead of my friend. The cashier just glared and asked my friend, "When you going to start bagging?". He then explained that it was store policy for customers to bag their own groceries when the store was busy. There was ONE other customer in the line. (and this is NOT store policy). My friend refused and the cashier mumbled, "Well I suppose I can bag these for you. Now did you want the cold items in a separate bag? Should I place these crunchy items on top? etc. etc. etc." Ya know I'm just trying to get it exactly how ya like it, okay?" What a schmuck. This was actually the THIRD time a TJ cashier curtly told my friend to bag his own groceries. That's two cashiers at the Memorial Drive store and one at Coolidge Corner. He left extremely distraught. He did speak to an employee outside the store who apologized, said she would speak to the cashier and asked if he would like some flowers. He declined. She did not invite him inside to take his info and complete an incident report. Nether did the store manager who my friend called later until my friend insisted that a report be filled out and gave his name and phone number. These things are happening on a regular basis in Greater Boston - I've heard so many terrible stories from other South Asians. And now the racist toxin has come to Trader Joe's - which used to be my favorite supermarket.

Update: 05/13/18 It happened again...a different cashier at the Cambridge Trader Joe's on Memorial Drive expected my Indian friend to bag his own groceries. When he refused, the guy mumbled and scowled as he started bagging. My friend had had enough at that point and said to put everything back because he no longer wanted to purchase the items. The cashier then stormed off, throwing up his hands and shouting that he was only trying to help. At that point a shift supervisor came over and offered to ring everything up for my friend. He agreed and asked the supervisor why none of the white customers around him were being told to bag their items. The supervisor only said, "I'm sorry that you feel that way". Ummm...no,sir. It's not about how I FEEL. It's about the blatant racism of your employee who happily bags the groceries of white customers but expects Indians like me to bag my own. Maybe TJs needs to post signage stating that brown customers are expected to bag their...

Starting a week ago Trader Joe’s stores in my area have been out of dogs premium lamb meal and rice formula for dogs, 8 lbs bags. TJ bar code number 00932455. According to store manager at the Clifton NJ store it wasn’t “orderable” and they couldn’t give me a time frame or reason for why and when it would be back in stock. I called TJ corporate offices and was directed to speak to a product specialist who after numerous unsuccessful attempts to find the correct product and lots of confusion finally was able to find the right SQU by bar code only. Apparently TJ doesn’t have any idea on when this dog food would be back on the shelves. After all the time I spent on the phone with a very uninterested and unmotivated to help me specialist I asked to be transferred to her manager. I left a super clear message asking to give me a call, but to this day that manager didn’t return my call. It’s been a week. Now, the core: any dog owner knows how difficult it is to find the right food for your pet. You also know how painful it is for the dogs to have their food switched. It’s a real process followed by diarrhea, stomach issues, skin issues and other health problems. I am sure TJ knows all the above and chooses to remain negligently silent regardless of the problems they are creating. My advise to them is: don’t be in dog food business if you don’t fully understand the idea or can’t handle the accountability part of business. Dogs can’t wait as they don’t get variety like humans. You can’t afford to have production interruptions without having contingency plan that actually works for dogs and their owners. Still waiting for TJ managers to reply. PS: by the way that same food is available in 20lbs bags on the west coast as we speak. What a...

Our Complaint Now Reported and Posted/Shared: .....

""Store #501 Beacon Street - Coolidge Corner Brookline, Massachusetts

The unjust & humiliating incident occurred Thursday June 15 at abt 12:40pm

A cashier, named Nena, with a non-friendly, bad attitude, extremely rude and mean, gloating (making faces) and exhibiting the enjoyment of humiliating me -- uses term "Jesus Christ" !! ...the acting floor manager arrives to do the exchange...but actually laughs at us while looking at her and immediatly sides with her...refuses to agree/acknowledge that no cashier should ever be using the Lord's name while behind the register...then flips the new trend of race card on us, refuses us service and threatens to call security on a mom & child!...

This rude cashier, didn't want to be there the moment I stepped up to the counter and she noticed it was not a sale but a return.. she immediately "you're going to exchange all this" and started with a bad attitude and so it all escalated, needlessly..

We will never forget this experience for the rest of our lives and it's...