Why is Trader Joe’s so chaotic?

[Anonymous]

The cheese aisle is always so chaotic I can't get close. It's annoying and I leave without cheese a lot of times.

[Anonymous]

I hate Trader Joe's based on three visits to one. It wasn't crowded but except for bread, didn’t have anything we would eat. Looked like a lot of frozen stuff, mostly with lots of spices and "exotic flavors."
I can get cheese at Whole Foods which sadly is chaotic and crowded.
Trader Joe's has a real following. Costco seems to also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you go within the first hour they open, it's calm and relatively quiet. I go on Sunday mornings and it's just fine.

DP, Tried doing this this morning, which is how I typically shop there (when the doors open). The one in Rockville is now opening at 9 (surprise surprise), which does not work well. I am tired at night.

Right well you have to go when it’s less convenient for people to be there if you don’t want it to be crowded. Another hack I’ve learned is to go during mid-afternoon like 2:30/3pm. It seems to be a weird lull - the retirees have all gone home, as well as the SAHMs, and the after work crowd hasn’t arrived yet.

[Anonymous]

The stores are small and aisles are narrow. I go mid morning during the week and it's manageable. Not fantastic but manageable. I refuse to go on the weekends. I also refuse to go to Whole Foods on the weekends. They're both bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you go within the first hour they open, it's calm and relatively quiet. I go on Sunday mornings and it's just fine.

DP, Tried doing this this morning, which is how I typically shop there (when the doors open). The one in Rockville is now opening at 9 (surprise surprise), which does not work well. I am tired at night.

Right well you have to go when it’s less convenient for people to be there if you don’t want it to be crowded. Another hack I’ve learned is to go during mid-afternoon like 2:30/3pm. It seems to be a weird lull - the retirees have all gone home, as well as the SAHMs, and the after work crowd hasn’t arrived yet.

Right, I was going at 8 and now they open at 9.

[Anonymous]

It is run by hippies. Did you expect anything less than chaos ?

[Anonymous]

It's where the worst drivers congregate.

You can tell a lot by how people 'drive' their cart, as it correlates to how they drive on the road.

[Anonymous]

Have you never been to a TJs before OP? That is how they ALL ARE.

[Anonymous]

I'm lucky as a SAHW I know the best 2 days of the week to go and the best time window. I do feel bad for the regular people who have to go at peak times, though. Just like costco, the Manager told me the best time/day to go and to call him to set stuff asides for me.

[Anonymous]

You exactly described the Eastern Market location.

[Anonymous]

I usually go to the Darnestown road one. Produce section can be crowded sometimes, but once I'm done with produce I have no problems. My usual time is weekdays, around 4 pm.

[Anonymous]

It's frustrating. And when I try to go at opening or closing, yes there are fewer customers, but the staff is desperately restocking, and so I still feel crowded and in the way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They tend to have small stores with bad parking lots and a chaotic layout inside the store.

I don’t understand the layout at all. It’s not pleasant.

[Anonymous]

Huh? I find TJ’s extremely well organized. The staff are very accessible if you need to find something. It does get crowded but you just need to go with the flow. The lines move extremely quickly even if long.

[Anonymous]

Y’all would get eaten alive in Fairway ca. 2000.