Trader Joe's Employees Can't Stand These 10 Customer Habits

At the time of writing, there are over 500 Trader Joe's stores in the U.S. and thousands of Trader Joe's employees staffing them. Many of these people are happy with their work. They've taken to social media to share that their colleagues are supportive and friendly, and for the most part, the pay is reasonable and the environment is relaxed. But that doesn't mean that bad days never happen. 

Sometimes, Trader Joe's employees get seriously frustrated by the customers they have to serve every day. We trawled through Reddit to get the lowdown on the customer habits that Trader Joe's employees just can't stand, so that we can all help to make everyone's day, including those that help us with our grocery shopping, a little bit easier. 

If you're a Trader Joe's fan (or a first-time shopper), this is important reading. The main takeaway? Kindness always goes a long way.

Trader Joe's employees have many responsibilities, and many of them involve making customers' shopping experience smooth and easy. They stock shelves, answer questions, work the register, and make displays, for example. But they can't do everything for everyone. For example: Putting carts back is usually a job for the customer.

Customers leaving their carts behind at the register, rather than taking them back where they found them, is guaranteed to irritate many Trader Joe's employees. When this happens, cashiers have to interrupt the flow of serving customers to take the cart back to the corral, which can, of course, result in delays for everyone else.

But it's not just the customers who leave their carts at the register who can really irk employees. It's also the ones who take them close to the corral, but then leave them just outside. Some say this is even worse than the customers who leave their carts way out in the middle of the parking lot for employees to retrieve.

In 2024, a teacher went viral for teaching her students that if a person can't fix something about themselves in 30 seconds or less, then it's not appropriate to comment on it. Perhaps this is something that Trader Joe's customers should keep in mind, because employees are fed up with being on the receiving end of comments about their appearance.

On Reddit, more than one employee has mentioned that customers have made comments about their acne while they were simply trying to do their job. Not only are these comments unhelpful, but they can also make people feel deeply uncomfortable. "I [don't] need a complete stranger pointing out my flaws," wrote one employee on Reddit.

Tempted to make a comment about a stranger's appearance while you're at the checkout? Even if you're trying to offer advice that you think is helpful (like acne tips, for example), it's usually best to keep the conversation to your grocery shopping (or perhaps the weather).

Cart etiquette extends beyond simply putting it back in the right place when you're finished using it. Many Trader Joe's employees also get irritated when customers leave their trash inside the cart instead of taking it with them or using one of the many trash cans situated around the store.

On Reddit, employees have complained of customers leaving things like dirty wipes in the cart (there's often a trash can under the wipe dispenser), as well as sample cups, napkins, or disposable plates and forks. Some note that these items are left on the shelves, too, which is also guaranteed to annoy most Trader Joe's employees.

Let's be honest, nobody really wants to handle other people's trash. This is why some Trader Joe's employees also get upset when customers try to hand them their sample cups instead of taking them to the trash can themselves. Some say that when a customer goes to hand them some trash, they simply pull out the nearest trash can and gesture toward it instead.

Retail workers across industries have many shared complaints. But one of the biggest ways to annoy an employee of any store? Tell them that they look bored.

Many Trader Joe's employees on Reddit say this is a surefire way to make them upset. Plenty say that they are unlikely to respond to comments like this with a smile and instead will keep their deadpan expression while continuing on with their job. In a similar vein, employees tend not to like it when customers joke that they need something to do, either. 

So, we'll reiterate our previous point: If you want to make conversation at Trader Joe's, it might be best to stick to small talk. The sunshine? Sure. Whether a certain item is coming back in stock? Absolutely. Asking someone if they're bored at work? That's a big no, unless you want to risk ruining someone's morning.

Taking children to the grocery store has many benefits. It can be a great way to teach little ones important life skills, like budgeting, for example, and making healthier choices around food. It's also a good way to teach them how to be respectful toward other human beings around them, including grocery store employees. That said, if your children frequently misbehave, this might interrupt the learning experience and result in some pretty annoyed employees.

Sometimes, Trader Joe's employees can find misbehaving children frustrating. Of course, it's natural for children to break the rules sometimes, but employees say that, on the odd occasion, parents can allow things to get out of hand. For example, some employees on Reddit have spoken about children throwing things at them while they're trying to check out their parents' groceries. "Yesterday a kid kept throwing register candy at me because his mom wouldn't let him get some," wrote one Redditor.

Others have recalled children running around behind the register, breaking things, screaming, and making a big mess in the bathroom. All of this led one Redditor to give their store the nickname "Trader Joe's Daycare."

At Trader Joe's, it's normal for employees to bag up your groceries for you. And most are very skilled at doing it. While they will get some guidance during their training, usually, employees learn how to bag efficiently and effectively on the job. After all, they do this task day in and day out, so it's natural that they have learned a thing or two along the way about the best ways to bag up customer items.

This is why some Trader Joe's employees find it a little irritating when customers try to tell them what to do during the bagging process. For customers who are very particular about which item goes in which bag, some cashiers would prefer that they simply take over the whole bagging process themselves instead of giving them constant instructions. 

For some, it's particularly annoying when customers give them guidance that they feel should be common sense. Most Trader Joe's cashiers know that delicate items like eggs shouldn't be packed first, for example, or that cold items should always be packed with other cold items, so telling them this when they're bagging up your groceries is probably going to irk them more than help them.

Another thing that is probably going to annoy the Trader Joe's cashier who is bagging up your groceries? Giving them dirty bags. On Reddit, some employees have described this as one of their biggest pet peeves. We're not just talking about a few stray crumbs at the bottom. Workers have recalled being handed bags with dirty workout clothes in them, for example, or bags with mold growing inside them. 

Some have even found live spiders crawling around inside the bags on more than one occasion. "If I had a nickel for every time I've found a live spider in a custie's bag, I'd have two nickels," wrote one Redditor. "Which isn't a lot but it's weird it happened twice, right?"

The lesson? Give your bags a quick glance before you hand them to a Trader Joe's employee to pack. If they're dirty, you can always opt to buy one of Trader Joe's own tote bags (which, let's be honest, are pretty iconic) instead. Alternatively, you can go for one of the store's paper bags. They are actually far more robust than they look and can be reused again and again.

Having good manners can take you far in life. They're a sign of respect and kindness and often mean that everyone leaves an interaction feeling good about themselves, rather than feeling stressed or annoyed. Unfortunately, many Trader Joe's employees say that customers often leave their manners at the door when they enter the grocery store. 

On Reddit, workers say that they don't enjoy talking to customers when they're busy trying to multitask on their phones, for example. Others take issue with customers failing to say "excuse me," and some say they can make it through the whole day without a single person saying those words to them. In fact, one Redditor recalled that, on one occasion, they actually had fruit dropped on their head because a customer reached over them and did not say "excuse me."

Other Trader Joe's employees have observed that customers will sometimes ignore their cheerful greeting and instead simply instruct them to start packing their bags, which they find rude. Some say that these interactions make them feel like some customers may have forgotten that Trader Joe's employees are human beings, too.

The U.S. is a nation of dog lovers — that's just a fact. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, as of 2025, more than 56 million households in the U.S. include a dog. Because of this, there are many establishments, like restaurants and even some stores, that are dog-friendly. Trader Joe's, though, is not one of them (unless they're service animals, of course).

Despite this, many customers do try to bring their pooches into Trader Joe's, and this can be frustrating for employees. It's not just annoying because it's a blatant disregard for the rules but for practical reasons, too. Some Trader Joe's employees say they have witnessed dogs knock over displays and urinate on the floor, for example. "People will still bring in their massive, untrained doodles and literally knock over entire wine displays and piss on the floor," wrote one Redditor. One employee even witnessed a dog poop on the floor, and the owner walked away without cleaning it up, causing other customers to step on it.

It's frowned upon to bring non-service animals into grocery stores — not just Trader Joe's. Federal regulations (like the Food Code) actually prohibit dogs and all other live animals (unless they're a service animal) from entering stores that sell packaged food items for hygiene reasons. So next time you're off to Trader Joe's, leave the pooch at home. Let's be honest; they'd probably much prefer a trip to the park anyway.

On Reddit, several Trader Joe's employees have complained that customers have walked up to them, often while they're stocking the shelves or unpacking boxes in full uniform, and asked them if they work at Trader Joe's. For some, it happens constantly, and with each ask, the feelings of irritation increase.

Unlike commenting on someone's appearance or not saying "excuse me," this one is probably not intentional. It's not always clear if someone is working, and you might think the polite thing to do before you ask someone a question about the store is to ask if they actually work there first. If you don't want to risk annoying someone, take a careful look at what they're doing, but also at what they're wearing. If they have on a shirt with "Trader Joe's" written on the back and the front (managers often wear a colorful Hawaiian-style number) and they have a name tag, chances are you can ask them a question without asking if they work in the store first.