The interview process was easily the worst I've experienced, which is saying something. Let me explain. After applying, I was contacted by email to setup a time to interview over the phone. So I did. But then I got an email the next day saying I had an interview scheduled on another day; at a time I was not available. But I made myself available.
Then... no call. So, I called the store I was interviewing with. There was at least continuity there. Or so I thought. Because they weren't expecting me. But the team member in store did a quick screener interview on the spot. And he decided I passed the vibe check. So he scheduled me a time to talk to another associate (not manager for some reason) on the phone the following day. Cool.
No call. So again, I called. And a different team member had no record of my previous call or anything. I mentioned the name of the person I was supposed to talk with. And they said, "Yeah she's not in for the rest of the week. But I can do the interview." Cool. Same exact questions all over again. Whatever. I passed, so he scheduled me to talk in person to the store manager the following day. (At least the time between interviews was very short).
So I show up. They have no idea who I am. The store manager and an associate manager come find me. They do not have my resume. They don't know who I am. But they tell me they can do an interview. And then they bring me. Into. The Back.
Woof. They sat me down in the back corner of the stock room on a plastic milk crate. And then thought better of it and gave me a plastic folding chair like they had. They separated us from the people on brake in the stock room with a folding bamboo curtain. So... no privacy. In the dark corner of the stock room. At least I had my plastic chair lol? They gave me that dignity.
They opened by telling me all about how amazing Trader Joe's is. Particularly how much on hand cash the company has (keep this in mind for later).
Then they asked what I know about TJs. And I was like... 'uhhh you're a grocery store. This is where I buy all my groceries.' Wrong. They looked at me with coy smiles, like they were waiting for me to say something stupid like 'Trader Joe's does groceries.'
"Oh we're not a grocery store." (oh?)
"And we're not a retailer." (right, I didn't think you were a retailer)
"We're so much more!"
Ugh, the rest of the interview was them trying to convince me that the value they add to their communities is somehow both groceries and also transcendant of groceries... how they change lives every day with their smiles and positive attitudes. They were very insistent that people come up to them every single day of the week and ask them directly why everyone working there is always smiling and happy. I am not exaggerating. I'm barely paraphrasing. It was the cringiest, obvious cult mind strategy.
Okay, so we get to the part about pay. And they say "But the thing we're most proud of is that we pay all our employees a living wage." Oh? How much? "17 dollars."
17. Dollars. From the company with no debt and tons of on hand cash. In 2025. Ugh.
So, at this point I realized they hadn't even said whether this was a part-time or full-time position. It wasn't in the rec, and nobody had talked about it. When I asked, things got even weirder. They explained that they cap everyone at 36hrs a week for... quality of life.
And when I openly pointed out that many companies do that so they don't have to pay out health insurance, they said. "Oh no, you'll get health insurance even if you're a little below that."
What? That's... actually kinda nice. So, still need to know how many hours this position is for though.
"Oh well, if you do well, we can get you up to 36. If you show that you're a part of the crew, and you're willing to give 110% every day, we can get you those 36 no problem. So, we'll start you around 16-20. And we'll see if you need to go up or down from there."
Down? From 16? Okay, it was at this point I realized this was a grift. So, I just played nice and wrapped up the convo. They opened the bamboo curtain, and I was allowed to leave the dark back corner of the stock room.
They said "We'll call you this afternoon to let you know."
They never called.
I never called.
I no longer shop at Trader Joe's.