Trader Joe’s

Awesome store. Staff is always courteous no matter how busy the store is.

Typical Trader Joe’s except for absurdly long weekend lines. All lanes were open and the lines literally stretched from the cashiers at the front of the store down to the back aisle. We were in line to buy 5 items for almost half an hour last Saturday. The lady ahead of us was only buying eggs. I asked the cashier if this was typical and he said yes!

Went there last night for a few items, always checking new ones. The latest one was chocolate rolled wafers, Joseph was nearby stocking produce and offered a sample of the cookies it may not have been on the sampling schedule but he was very friendly and opened a package for me to try! What service! ended up buying some. Must try!

I am very big on customer service, & appreciate it when I see it. I come shopping here at least once a week and every time I see ERNIE with the biggest small on his face no matter what he is doing. He has approached me numerous times to see if I’m finding all my products. This last time I went in he did the sweet thing, I was with
my mother at the register checking out and he started to ask how our day was going and I had said it was my mom birthday and we were headed home to make dinner together. He then told her to go to the flower area and pick out any flower she likes as a gift from him to her on her birthday, it was the sweetest thing. It put the biggest smile on her face! I thank you Ernie for the beautiful flowers and great customer service!

Store #63 is fantastic! I want to give special recognition to Ernie and Paul. I have been helped by both of these gentlemen on numerous occasions and they always make my trip fun and easy. Ernie always has a smile on his face and is happy to help me find whatever I need and tell me about the product. He is fun, happy, and helpful. Paul has helped me upon checkout many times and tells me about some of his favorite products that we share. He is very nice and finds a way to connect with the customer even for the very short time that we are at check out. One time I went in and bought some wine with my friend a day before my birthday and when he checked my ID he told me happy birthday and gave me a peanut butter cup! It was a very small gesture but it made me feel so special and put me in an awesome mood. I don’t think I will ever forget that.
These two guys make me feel like I have friends at my local Trader Joe’s and that is why I keep coming back. Oh and all the food and snacks are amazing too!

Ehh, I’m not so much into Trader Joe’s or frankly, the whole organic movement isn’t for me. On one hand, they have some cool unique products that are tough to find elsewhere. But some of the standard stuff like Orange Juice and the produce is a little pricey for all the claims. I think it’s a decent place but ideally it’s better to pick and choose what items you want from here and what you can get at more mainstream places rather than exclusively shopping here. I understand where they come from with the BYOB (bring your own bag) to avoid paying a dime for each bag. It does save the environment too haha. Overall, I personally don’t see this as a special place and everywhere else is subpar but it does have some nifty stuff that’s worth checking out.

Staff here is always friendly and always helpful. The food is always top notch with great prices. They keep their stores clean and well organized. I love coming here.

I love Trader Joe’s. This location doesn’t make it any different from all the others. The people who work there are one of a kind! They are always kind and helpful! The food is always fresh, and they carry very unique dishes. All locations are always clean, and their return policy is GREAT!

This location needs to better train their staff on how to diffuse hostile situations, as well as train their staff on cultural sensitivity as well as how to deal with situations such as the one below. I am very disappointed in my visit this past Saturday, and do not wish to come back to this location even again if their staff as no sensitivity or is incompetent in making sure their protecting their patrons in hostile unjust situations. After all we are living in San Jose, one of the most diverse cities in the Bay Area, you would think they would have a little common sense in out to deal with situations like this:
Yesterday I took my family to go groceries shopping at this location to cook dinner since its not everyday that my family are all together as one unit to do something as a family. When I was standing in line behind this Caucasian elderly lady and talking to my brother this lady got straight into my face, she was literally like 1 cm away from my face and asked me to scoot back. I didn’t think much about this since I was in mid-​conversation with my brother that I have not seen in 1 month and scooted back, at this point I’m at least 2 feet away from her. After a while she looked straight at me and told me «Can you and your family please move all the way back over there because you are making me very nervous» and pointed nearly 3 more feet away from her, I told her no I am not moving because this is where the line is I don’t understand why I have to move to the back. She proceeded to tell me «I’m signing something right now and I don’t want you to see my signature and steal from me.» I was in major disbelief, and I told her I cannot see her screen, and I have absolutely NO INTEREST in stealing anything from her, when I am here to buy my own stuff with my family. This older lady went straight into my face and told me I have to move NOW. The same time my mom was asking my brother in Vietnamese what was going on because she was scared. This lady looked at the white cashier and told him «I fucking hate Filipinos» I was completely SHOCKED. I didn’t deny whether or not I was Filipino or had any interest in correcting her because at that point it did not matter to me, whether it is I’m Filipino, Vietnamese, black, whatever it was, this lady had no right to say that to me or to anyone. I knew that I didn’t have to clarify what I was because that was not the point the point was that her actions is unmistakably unacceptable in this day and age. I needed to stand up not for just for myself and my poor family but for everyone that have been mistreated by this racist in the past or will be mistreated by this indecent human being. I told her «you are a complete racist» and she continued to tell me in the most condescending tone «Yes, I am a racist what are you going to do about it?» I told her that was HER LIFE to live not mine so I have nothing else to say aside from I will not move and she looked at me and laughed and told me «Well its your life to live being a Filipino not mine, there’s nothing you can really do or say to me.» In that moment I really wanted to hit this pompous, self entitled woman right in the face but I didn’t because I refused to stoop to her level. My almost 27 years living here in the U. S and growing up being a proud American I have never once felt so completely stripped of my self respect, hard work, and love for my country. The first time in my life I felt completely speechless that there is a human such as this person walking the earth, and passing down these morals to her young and god knows who else. I mean the whole time I was thinking, is this forreal right now? In the middle of a busy Trader Jo’s during the holidays???
The worse of it all, and what hurt me the most, was when this was all blowing up in front of me, my family, the cashier, the asian guy behind me, and everyone else witnessing this bullshit, NO ONE said anything. The guy standing behind us even looked away after she made her racist comments LOUDLY. When I asked the cashier to retrieve the manager for me, he didn’t even grab him and this lady continually put me down and walked off. Granted the poor guy was probably flustered that this is happening in front of him but dude grow a pair and tell her to stop. As she was walking away from me she looked at me and smiled at me in the most condescending way ever, to make sure I knew that there was not one thing I could do to her or even for me or my family. The whole time the Cashier said not ONE WORD. Nothing. It was incredibly hurtful to know that this person is going to go home still believing what she did was justifiable and no one said ONE WORD on my family’s behalf was really what made me feel so broke down that I actually went to my car and cried. I don’t think I can ever come back to this location because of this. I understand that not all of the staff was involved but I left feeling a sense of unjust that happened to me and my family. I expected more from the staff.

The cashier, Edith (I think?), is amazing. I was in today and I noticed how attentive she was and she seemed to genuinely interested in her customers. My husband used to work at TJ’s. I know how much they pride themselves on being friendly but this girl takes the cake.

Called and asked to see if there was something in stock before I spent the time to drive over and purchase (I was looking for small herb plants) and the associate was very short and rude with me. Made it seem like a hassle for them to do the check and then when I got the answer and asked for the price they kind of laughed and was like well I’d have to go check again… So being the kind person I am I said «Oh never mind, it’s not a big deal» and they just hung up the phone. I get I’m not in store so I’m not a priority, but don’t bother answering the phone if you’re going to be rude and unhelpful.
Most employees are nice there but I’ve had a few that should probably be put in the back so they don’t have to deal with people because they definitely show they don’t want to deal with you! Otherwise, store always has what I need.

Love this store.
Friendly, helpful staffs. Good selection of quick fix healthy foods on the run & Reasonable price.

Trading Joe’s had surprising short lines @noon.
parking impossible close to Costco. lots of parking further away.
buys: Ace Pumpkin cider (2.99) 4% alc
–very sour
henry hotspurs hard pressed for cider (2.99) 5.8%
–flat taste with spurts of sourness
–made from fermented apple juice, sourness toned down by mixing unfermented apple
juice with fermented lot.
drips:
–pumpkin cider has more character,. henry’s cider isn’t easy to drink.

I love coming to this Trader Joe’s on Almaden Expressway! I’m a mid-​week morning shopper (drop off carpool kids and get all my errands done in a 1 mile radius). This store is more spacious than others and I always find what I need in the morning after 3 – 4 full bags of groceries for my family. I buy mostly organic. Prices are really good.
My weekly purchases include:
–organic veggies (bagged mixed greens, garlic, tomatoes, green onions, mushrooms, carrots, etc)
–organic seasonal fruits (strawberries, cantaloupe, mini watermelons)
–their delicious pre-​packaged salads in the clear box (Couscous, BBQ chicken, Harvest Chicken)
–organic frozen fruit for my smoothies
–frozen fat-​free rice & bean burritos (so yummy!)
–frozen Cowboy Quinoa Veggie burger (O.M.G. sooooo good. I’m eating less meat these days and this veggie burger is so darn flavorful you almost forget you’re eating a veggie burger!)
–non-​fat greek yogurt (more flavor choices here for non-​fat greek yogurt than Whole Foods)
–butter
–most basic items (flour, sugar, soy sauce, etc)
–orchids (inexpensive and I buy them every 3 – 4 months when their done blooming)
I don’t buy my meats here as I go across the street to Whole Foods and am happy to pay more $$$ for good quality meat. Buying fish and chicken in a package makes me nervous.
Parking is a little tight if I get here after 11am.
Cashiers are super friendly to me!!!
P. S. I get annoyed when people complain about the smallest things! Really people??? Save it for the worst things in life.

The store manager ‘Luis’ has got a real problem with ‘inaction’. Three times over the last 3 weeks I’ve reported a physical hazard in the form of a sharp piece of sheet metal that sliced me pretty good at the cash register a while back.
All three times, I was being very cool about it, and now with Luis, the deadbeat manager, I reported one last time and his response… «Uh, yeah, we’ll take care of it» with the most «I don’t give a shit attitude attached to it»
My response? I go back over to the hazard and use the blunt end of my pocket blade to force crimp the metal out of the way. I walked back over to him as he said, «We’re going to removed them sir», I said «Don’t worry about it, I fixed in 5 seconds what you couldn’t in 3 weeks».
F*ck you Luis and f*ck your lazy ass, I’ll drive to the next city to take care of business. How anyone considered you as manager of anything is the real mystery here. Captain Jason Jacobs, I hope you read this review and if you’re anything of a good captain who knows the meaning of running a tight ship, you will make this f*cker walk the plank in the most shark infested waters you know, hopefully the Sharks don’t get sick and puke afterward.

Spent the better part of the day in the emergency room Monday, after getting food poisoning from «naturipe» blueberries purchased from this Trader Joe’s. (The blueberries were washed three times before consuming them.)
I alerted TJ to the issue and the product lot number but received no response.
Too bad TJ doesn’t care more about the health of its customers.

I’ve found the service here to always be friendly. I don’t go to Trader Joes to do my full list of grocery shopping. I stop in for some quick novelty buys, typically. Trader Joes has an excellent selection of cheeses, their hummus is very tasty, and they have persian flatbread that you can cut up for dipping. They are a place to browse, to mix up your food selection. They also have a decent selection of wine, that aren’t overly priced. And, if you want a few natural toiletry items, such as Tom’s non-​flouride toothpaste, you can get it here. They also usually have the best selection of Emergen-​C, which I like to have on hand to boost the immune system. They will also often have taste samples, of some interesting items that I’ve often ended up purchasing.

I like this Trader Joes Store:
When you enter, you immediately see the fresh veggies to the right and fresh flowers.
Typical store layout that is well lit and easy to move around.
Customer service: ok.
Parking: ok to tight.
Tip: this store is tucked in the back, not very visible from Blossum Hill Road.

Always have a positive experience at Trader Joe’s. The staff is friendly, place is clean, and they sell healthy products. Some things at Trader Joe’s can run on the expensive side but that’s expected; this isn’t a Safeway or Lucky’s!
Oh and they sell cheap/​yummy wine!

Since my move back to the South Bay I’ve been trying to find a new regular grocery store to frequent for my weekly shopping trips. I tried really hard to make TJ’s my one-​stop store but it always left me feeling like I wanted more. Don’t get me wrong they have some really great stuff but I was always having to make compromises, or go someplace else to get what I wanted. TJ’s is a great place to swing by once a month, or so, and stock up on a few things that they do really, really well. It’s not that these are exclusive items, mind you, it’s just that they’re so bloody good nothing else can be substituted. With that being said here are some of my favorites that I like to stock up on when I do stop by here:
1) Their «California Estates Extra Virgin Olive Oil» is amazingly good and I’m not just saying that because it won the Consumer Reports taste test. You have to try it and see.
2) Their cheeses are pretty stellar with some pretty decent prices too. I highly, highly recommend their Pecorino Romano; it’s fabulous! Their Dutch Gouda & Parmigiano-​Reggiano are also outstanding.
3) Their dried pasta is some of the best I’ve tried and at an everyday low price of 99¢ it’s a great bargain, too.
4) I’m currently hooked on their «Harvest Grains Blend»; it’s a 16oz package of dried Couscous, Orzo, Baby Garbanzo– snatched straight from Mama Garbanzo!- and Red Quinoa. I toast the grains with a little butter and finish it off with chicken, or vegetable stock, and it cooks up in 10min! My toddler gobbles it up.
5) Their canned tomatoes are pretty good and are reasonably priced.
6) My one weakness here is their snacks are very tempting. Especially their chocolate covered pretzels. I could eat the whole thing in a day. Suffice it to say I try and avoid that aisle at all costs.
7) Nice selection of dried fruits and nuts with OK prices.
8) Their fruits and veggies are always fresh and good, but their selection leaves something to be desired at times.
Like I said before I really am a big fan of TJ’s; I just really wish they would carry more stuff. They almost seem to revel in the fact that they like to keep their stores purposefully small and only carry a limited selection. Which is fine this is America and it seems to be working for them. I’m just a busy guy who would prefer not to have to make multiple grocery store runs to get his weekly shopping needs met. If you have the time I suggest coming here first and then finishing off the rest of your list someplace else because the stuff they do have is usually quality. As for me I’ll stick to my monthly TJ’s run and hoard what I can in my pantry until the next time.