Pros
Most crew members are nice to work with; mates at my store are friendly and supportive, great captain who is humble enough to work on the floor and to stand in line when shopping for himself, eat with the crew and talk to everyone. I like that in case of disagreements, the mates or the captain are able to keep an unbiased viewpoint, or so it seems. I find that the "attendance policy" with warnings etc. is very fair. Serves well, if one has an emergency or a major problem where they can't exactly bring "doctors notes" etc. And the the records of the offences are being erased after 90 days. Generally speaking, I really like going to work and am looking forward to it (and I am generally a very picky person as far as employers go). We don't get too many obnoxious or self-entitled customers. Occasionally you'll get them, but that's not a norm. 10% off groceries and booze is nice! So is a 401k plan. (Not sure if I will get a health plan because I am not planning to reach 30 hrs/ week work load.) Generally speaking, this is a great place to work and I believe that if one has the right personality and will, it's also a great place to be promoted to a mate level. Other than that, yeah, this is a grocery store, the work is physical and it's not paid like if you were a Wall Street banker or a marketing manager. However, I think one can learn different aspects of running a grocery store here for a better than average in industry wage and I think that if someone is looking for a less physical job for more pay, they should just meanwhile look for something more fitting. Many better paying jobs actually require or consider retail experience very important and Trader Joe's is one of the better companies to acquire that experience. My two cents...
Cons
I am nitpicking here, really. Basically what they want (at least in my store) is part-time workers with full-time workers' commitment in all aspects - time commitment, emotional commitment, dedication and loyalty. That can feel pretty "soul-sucking" or like a "cult", as others have described and is pretty much the reason why I'm rating TJ's with 4 stars. The antidote to this issue is to come in and do the best you can, but have the guard up enough to not be sucked out of your shell at the end of the day. They emphasize how they value "having life outside work", but it can be problematic to get a particular evening off if you are typically scheduled for closing shifts - even if you have an almost open availability to work at different times of day as well. Apparently morning shifts are almost exclusively reserved for "seasoned crew members" (people who have worked for TJ's 5+ years) and so are, apparently, for a big part, day shifts. From what I hear, injuries are common. Do yourself a favor, get decent shoes. You will get run over by crew members with two-wheelers, by customers with shopping carts etc. Also, you should stretch and learn about safe lifting techniques. There is no official training on safety so your best bet is to talk to the "seasoned crew members" who will 99% of the time be open to educate you on one-on-one basis about safety and injury prevention. Although, in the 10-day training everyone will generally talk about safety and if you ask, they will show you how to lift etc. Also - get decent gloves because you will work in frozen section from time to time. Prepare to over-use a hand sanitizer or come down sick often. Why? Because you will handle cash and many of the "seasoned crew members" have warned that that's where catching a flu comes from. Also - wearing plastic gloves is not permitted at the check-out. (Some customers complained about feeling offended to deal with cashiers who wear gloves a few years ago so they prohibited wearing gloves at the checkout. Not strictly enforced though, from what I see and hear.) I don't like their confrontation tactics which because I find them intimidating: they will approach you out of blue, lead you outside and confront you and there will always be a "witness" mate with the main person who confronts. I understand why the system makes sense, but just be aware of it as it can get very uncomfortable.