You won’t believe some of these Trader Joe’s secrets!

If you talk to anyone that works at Trader Joe’s, the conversation inevitably veers towards wanting to know the low-down about working at “America’s Quirkiest Grocery Store.” And let Brainy Savings tell you: There’s A LOT of tea to spill!

Trader Joe’s has always embraced its mysterious side, whether it’s about how their wine manages to be so delicious and so cheap or how many brands secretly make their store-branded items.

It’s all part of the fun of shopping at the store, but there’s actually so much more intel employees are told to keep under wraps. Wanna know more? Here are just a couple of the juiciest Trader Joe’s secrets employees are keeping under wraps!

Trader Joe’s secret: The parking lots are annoying on purpose

For them to be able to offer items at such a great deal, there are many cost and space-saving things Trader Joe’s stores have to do. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this store’s parking lots are tiny and high-stress for a reason.

On top of that, customers are often stopping in for quick trips, which means it’s a high-traffic, 2 Fast 2 Furious zone most of the day.

Trader Joe’s secret: Employees are encouraged to give away items for free to customers

That being said, though, you have to be pretty special to get free stuff! Not everyone gets a petite bouquet of flowers or candy bar just for shopping at Trader Joe’s.

One employee told Brainy Savings that they’ve often gifted items to incredibly enthusiastic customers or, on the flip side, if a customer seems to be having a rough day and needs cheering up.

Trader Joe’s secret: You really CAN have as many samples as you want

Yes, it really is true! We just wouldn’t recommend making an entire meal out of your shopping trip. And remember not to chat up the sample-giver too much. They have to focus on making more!

Trader Joe’s secret: Prices do change on a particular day of the week

Depending on the store you visit, there’s a specific day of the week when prices shift at every Trader Joe’s. At the store where we spoke to an employee, it was Wednesdays.

This involves an employee walking around the store and noting how many items will be marked up or down the next day. Oftentimes, this is handy intel, especially if you want to shop after work.

Bottles of wine, bags of avocados, and new items being tested at various prices will often be sold for less.

Trader Joe’s secret: You can usually blame California shoppers for why a product is discontinued

Think about it this way: Many Trader Joe’s products are in a popularity contest with each other. If an item isn’t all that well-loved, it may not be given any shelf space next month or season.

And since there are so many Trader Joe’s locations in the state of California, the popularity contests are decided mainly by Californian shoppers. It’s essentially like a grocery store electoral college!

Trader Joe’s secret: You don’t normally have to return an item if you want to get a refund

In fact, employees prefer it that you don’t bring in those rotting, less-than-delicious items! They’ll take your word for it!

You can simply tell an employee or manager that something wasn’t up to par, they’ll look up the product code, and you can have it refunded in cash, or deducted from your bill all without bringing in a leaky old whole chicken.

Trader Joe’s secret: Your favorite product is most likely just on a “production delay”

It’s actually pretty common: You keep trying to find your favorite frozen chicken tacos, but they ALWAYS seem to be out of stock. It’s been months, hasn’t it? So, what gives?

Well, many things could be at play, and the Trader Joe’s database will usually filter it down to any “production delays.” This can mean so many different things: It could be harvest time, and the product isn’t ready.

Or maybe a supplier wants to increase the price, and Trader Joe’s is looking for a new company to buy it from. Or it can even be something bizarre, like when a factory caught fire or when monkey labor became outlawed… yes, seriously!

Trader Joe’s secret: This secret involves the frozen “Reduced Guilt” Macaroni and Cheese

You’d better sit down for this one, folks! Did you know that the frozen “Reduced Guilt” macaroni and cheese is actually just, well, the regular mac and cheese but half the size? Yup, it’s true. You can even taste-test them side-by-side if you don’t believe us.

Trader Joe’s secret: Trader Joe’s are placed in very specific cities for distinct reasons

People ask this all the time. But the truth is that it’s very strategic as to where stores are placed. Here’s the basic secret for a city to get a store: Trader Joe’s are usually placed in more extensive college towns.

In other words, a location has to have more than a few colleges and universities, ideally. Where the majority of residents are college-educated, with a median income someplace in the $100k area.

The reason is that they want to sell to young, educated residents who have plenty of Cookie Butter money.

Besides these Trader Joe’s secrets, here are some mistakes to avoid at this store:

-Using social media as your guide: Everyone is obsessed with the viral TikTok baked feta pasta. When that the recipe went viral, the entire cheese section was swept clean of feta for months… Yes, all six varieties!

This meant employees had to field complaints from angry customers all day long. Some solved this issue by posting a sign of a cartoon-y block of feta with a sad face in the section.

The point is that employees are doing their best to get an item back in stock, and there are things beyond their control. If you’re asking for “something viral you saw on Instagram,” don’t be surprised that the shelf is empty.

Instead, ask an employee for an alternative. They’re all pretty food-obsessed and likely have more than a few great ideas for you to try.

And if you’re looking for some new ideas on what to cook tonight, Amazon can help you out! Check out: What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking 

-Doing an employee’s job: Trader Joe’s workers have a specialized skillset that usually goes unnoticed and is under-appreciated. They keep track of a long list of rotating products, memorize hundreds of codes, and are experts in cooking and wine.

So if a worker inspects your produce, it’s not because they don’t know it’s a guava they’re holding. They’re simply looking for the code. They also know not to put things on top of eggs and to bag your frozen items together.

-Hoarding Items: Although most Trader Joe’s stores can’t and don’t want to prevent people from buying large quantities of items for resale, there’s a much more considerate way of doing things. You can order items by case.

This goes for anything from hand sanitizer to Mandarin Orange Chicken. That being said, most seasonal items aren’t available for special orders. But a quick phone call ahead of time to put some things aside will save you and those around you many headaches.

We hope you found this article on Trader Joe’s secrets useful. Be sure to let us know if you think we missed anything. In the meantime, if you liked this post, we also recommend reading: Costco Clothing: 6 Things You MUST Know Before You Shop