(I sent this letter to Trader Joe's rep, Jim Poppe, a year ago but Trader Joe's did nothing):
In late March I contacted Trader Joe's in Media, PA about an ongoing problem that had frustrated & discouraged my husband & me for years; the lack of an express or "bag-your-own". I was very surprised to get a reply stating that such lanes would be opened shortly. Happy with that news, I visited the Media store again to see the progress. Because I had more than 30 items, I was ineligible for the express lane for 15 or fewer, but it was nice to see it was there. As sense would dictate, I headed to the shortest line & waited, patiently anticipating a better experience with the Media store.
As I waited longer & longer, I overheard the woman ahead of me telling the cashier, Justin, that she had a $200 limit & needed to keep track of her total b/c she might have to put some things back. I realized it was going to take a while so I looked over to the other lanes to see if I any looked shorter; no. By the time the 11th shopper left while I was waiting, it was clear to me that Justin, & the managers who hadn't bothered to do anything about the bell, really didn't care how long I stood there.
Finally there was a lull in the line next to me. So with no one waiting in my line or the one next to me, I pushed my carry-basket on the floor between the two checkout counters hoping I could go with whomever could process me first. I stood there another minute or so waiting for one of the transactions to complete. Suddenly two elderly men, one with a shopping cart that was 90% empty, the other with a basket, came up behind me. In an impatient & abrasive voice, one demanded, "What line are you in?"
I turned around to explain I had been waiting a long while, & was simply trying to take the next checker available so I could finally process my order. Silly me, I thought these individuals were human beings who would show some empathy or consideration. But my predicament--or even my existence--was just not convenient for these men. They were incapable of understanding where another person is coming from, or furnishing the morality of doing what is right & fair. The second man said "Well I don't care what you are doing. I am going here," & he forced himself forward. The first man echoed him, & said "Me too," & they both hovered around me to bully themselves into the line that looked like it would be open faster, where the checker had just finished & was processing payment.
The first man physically PUSHED me with his shopping cart to barge in front of me to the checkout. Yes, he PUSHED me with his cart. I am a young woman, & this grown man was resorting to physical offense in order to get his way. This was physical, & that is assault as far as the law is concerned. It was absolutely mind boggling that a human being would do this to any other human being, much less a man treat a woman that way--a woman who could be his grandchild! I have never in my life experienced something so belligerent or inappropriate from a perfect stranger.
There I am being bullied by two geriatric thugs who haven't the moral enlightenment to even be ashamed of their behavior. Meanwhile, witnessing all this, Justin, from the line where I was first waiting, decides to butt in & says, "There need to be two lines here. So don't cause more problems & just sort it out among yourselves." This comment was decidedly a snarky quip at me, b/c once he said that, the two men made triumphant grunts & pushed me again to get closer to the counter! I was beside myself with disbelief at how people can behave like that, all of them. What was Justin's comment supposed to do to help? I was being bullied to the point of someone physically pushing me with a shopping cart, & instead of doing something to reconcile the abusive behavior, Justin was reinforcing the harassment.
I was assaulted and harassed at this store and when I called the manager from my cell on the way home he did absolutely NOTHING. He didn't even want to know the name of the checker who aided and abetted the assault by old men. Then I wrote all this in a letter to Jim Poppe, the rep for TJ's corporate, who again did nothing. This company tries to posture the image of being free-thinking, liberal, and "happy", but no one who works for the company has shown me any such ideals; my experience is folks who have no concept of how to get along in the world with moral or humane decency, which may be why they got stuck as grocery store workers in the first place. If the cashier's life did not work out as planned, does it give him the right to take it out on the unfortunate souls who have the misfortune of shopping at Trader Joe's? Thanks for the ASSAULT by your customers on your premises, AND for the verbal harassment from your employee Justin (I still have receipt as proof of visit), and thanks for being such good honest souls as to to do absolutely NOTHING about it. read more