agreed that is worse, DJP
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:23 (thirteen years ago) link
i go to trader joes once a year and then stare at my items and think...wow i spent $100 on nothing remotely edible. Awesome lemon papaya mango cookies, frosted chilis, a gallon of chocolate goats milk.
― Get me two meatball sandwiches Utah! TWO! (thebingo), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:26 (thirteen years ago) link
Maybe I'm just bitter because the 1st time I visited TJ's I was like "oh man, this cute granola-y chick totally wants me", 2nd time I was like "oh man this sun-ripened aged hippie totally wants to smoke a doobie with me when he goes on break", and then the 3rd time I was like "oh man this fitness chick totally...HEY WAIT A SECOND!!"
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:26 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah srsly the alternative to TJ's-style service is enormous disdain for you as a person, and total contempt for the speed or quality of work. I could handle "unfriendly" if it was ever also "coldly efficient" but it's not, and so I'll take the rictus grins with the maniacal over-packing of my tote bags.
― go peddle your bullshit somewhere else sister (Laurel), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:27 (thirteen years ago) link
we used to go to TJs exclusively for DUMPLINGS! and booze
ah, those glory years of being just out of college
xxp: lol this sounds exactly like the process a close friend of mine went through, only instead of ppl working at TJs... it was strippers
― 'lol u stuck with me now watch this ass expand, joeks on u' (DJP), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:28 (thirteen years ago) link
this is no more faux friendliness at TJ than at a farmer's market. this friendliness is probably more due to their getting paid an extra dollar an hour, because it has a different quality than the faux friendliness of a shitty craft supply store, where this checkout lady switched back and forth between sing-songy voice when dealing with customers and surly teen when chatting with her pal in the next aisle, like some kind of SNL sketch.
― Philip Nunez, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:28 (thirteen years ago) link
TJ reminds me of an upscale Aldi. Similar bare bones layout. My local Aldi has this 70s supermarket thing going on that I find endearing.
― oo girl, run that game (u s steel), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:29 (thirteen years ago) link
You all are making me feel so much better about not shopping at some highfalutin' place like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.
― http://tinyurl.com/vroooo0ooooom (Pleasant Plains), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:29 (thirteen years ago) link
whole foods dudes will get visibly annoyed at you! i think maybe that non-union thing is getting to them.
― Philip Nunez, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:30 (thirteen years ago) link
Whole Foods nowadays is just a regular supermarket with the word "organic" prominently displayed in random locations.
― 'lol u stuck with me now watch this ass expand, joeks on u' (DJP), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:31 (thirteen years ago) link
whole foods is highfalutin central. YEs i just spend $37 dollars on 4 yogurts and an apple.
― Get me two meatball sandwiches Utah! TWO! (thebingo), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:31 (thirteen years ago) link
this friendliness is probably more due to their getting paid an extra dollar an hour,
No, I'd be shocked if they weren't trained to be friendly. "find an item in their cart and comment on it!" etc
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:31 (thirteen years ago) link
Costco's with a self-checkout lane
Damn it, I wish Costco would try to crack the Sam's Club dominance in Tupelo. But that's another thread.
― The Louvin Spoonful (WmC), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:32 (thirteen years ago) link
Favorite ILX post about baggers: people who've been on TV whom you've pwned
― http://tinyurl.com/vroooo0ooooom (Pleasant Plains), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:32 (thirteen years ago) link
I like the idea of self-scanning machines but I feel like they have a lot of issues and the alram goes off and you have to wait for the person to come help and it's embarrassing because people are behind you etc. Ok, maybe it's just me. :(
― ENBB, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:33 (thirteen years ago) link
hahahaha poor ted danson!
― ENBB, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:34 (thirteen years ago) link
thats Sam Malone
― Get me two meatball sandwiches Utah! TWO! (thebingo), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:37 (thirteen years ago) link
WE NEED A PRICE CHECK ON THESE TAMPONS!!
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:37 (thirteen years ago) link
ERICA, HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO SCAN THE YOGURT! HURRY IT UP!!!!
― The Louvin Spoonful (WmC), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:37 (thirteen years ago) link
EXACTLY :-(
― ENBB, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:39 (thirteen years ago) link
NO, I'M SERIOUS! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO ENTER A QUANTITY ON THE LIMES, NOT WEIGH THEM! GODDAMMIT JUST LET ME DO IT!
― The Louvin Spoonful (WmC), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:41 (thirteen years ago) link
Are you having a panic attack yet?
OMG you're one of them!
― ENBB, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:42 (thirteen years ago) link
nearly!
I'm pretty self-sufficient when it comes to DIY technology, and I don't think I've ever once done a self-checkout that went smoothly.
― San Te, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:43 (thirteen years ago) link
My problem with self checkouts is that they are too SLOW. I've worked in shops. I know how to scan things. Move it along, machiney!
I'm guessing that doesn't include the checkout girl holding up a butternut squash and saying "now, what are you supposed to do with these? I see them go by and I've no idea what they are. Are they fruit?"
― trishyb, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:43 (thirteen years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/7otRw.png
― http://tinyurl.com/vroooo0ooooom (Pleasant Plains), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:44 (thirteen years ago) link
http://fooeyusa.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/mr_mom_1.jpg?w=490
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:45 (thirteen years ago) link
omg mr mom
― ENBB, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:48 (thirteen years ago) link
That was (weirdly) my absolutely favorite movie when I was a really kid. Like, i used to make my mom (not a mr.) let me watch it every day for a while.
i get my wife tampons all the time....i dont see what the big deal is.
― Get me two meatball sandwiches Utah! TWO! (thebingo), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:54 (thirteen years ago) link
It was my favorite movie too. North to drop off, south to pick up, moron!!yeah as an adult now, I don't get why he was so embarrassed.
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:57 (thirteen years ago) link
TJ reminds me of an upscale Aldi. Similar bare bones layout. My local Aldi has this 70s supermarket thing going on that I find endearing.― oo girl, run that game (u s steel), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 11:29 (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
― oo girl, run that game (u s steel), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 11:29 (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
FYI TJ is owned by Aldi
― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:57 (thirteen years ago) link
Woah - I fucked that sentence up. oops.
Anyway the self-scanners at the store by my old job were the worst. They always seemed to think you hadn't put the items in the bags correctly or were trying to steal something. Then it would take the person like 10 minutes to get to me from all the way across the store all while the line was growing and WMC was breathing done my neck and harassing me. Awful.
― ENBB, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:57 (thirteen years ago) link
North to drop off, south to pick up, moron!!
hahaha omg
MY WOOBIE!!!
And, yeah, nothing wrong with a guy buying tampons or having a price check run on some such thing though I'd probably laugh if that ever happened irl because it would seem so cliche like what happened when the golden girls all tried to buy condoms.
― ENBB, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:59 (thirteen years ago) link
line was growing and WMC was breathing done my neck and harassing me. Awful.
Just wave your tampons at him and glare. He'll back right off. The married ones know the score.
― trishyb, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:59 (thirteen years ago) link
id be more embarassed for a price check on hemmorhoid cream or enemas.
― Get me two meatball sandwiches Utah! TWO! (thebingo), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 17:00 (thirteen years ago) link
buying butt cream is what self-checkout lines were invented for
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 17:02 (thirteen years ago) link
they dont have those at CVS.
― Get me two meatball sandwiches Utah! TWO! (thebingo), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 17:06 (thirteen years ago) link
They actually do at many CVSs.
― kkvgz, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 17:07 (thirteen years ago) link
Embarrassment at the checkout line
― Get me two meatball sandwiches Utah! TWO! (thebingo), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 17:09 (thirteen years ago) link
not at mine.
The thing that bugs me about Trader Joe's friendly cashiers is that it's so obv a corporate-ordered faux friendliness. I like spontaneous, genuine friendliness, I really do.
I suspect that it's a combination of hiring gregarious people and training them to be friendly and outgoing. As a long-time customer service worker I don't care whether another service worker loves me to shreds and REALLY wants to chat or if they're doing their job. It's their job to be welcoming, and I for one appreciate it. Their eagerness and friendliness is done well - they don't seem to have scripts like a Chili's waiter or something.
― nobody wants my Diva Cup ;_; (Jesse), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 17:24 (thirteen years ago) link
people that still write checks for groceries are the real irredeemable scoundrels imho
― Darin, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 18:05 (thirteen years ago) link
― trishyb, Tuesday, March 29, 2011 11:59 AM (1 hour ago)
hahaha, yes, pwned
― The Louvin Spoonful (WmC), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 18:08 (thirteen years ago) link
My local supermarket still has the sweepy divider but they never use it, they just stare you down while you pack and the person behind you huffs.
I am used to the Aldi/Lidl way now there are plenty of both across Britisherland, but my first trip to a German Aldi was confusing as I didn't realise you had to pick up a bag before the checkout if you wanted one and pay for it, and my German was almost non-existent so it took a few goes to determine that that was what I was being told
so if anyone reading this was held up one morning by a clueless English woman buying armfuls of Ritter Sport minis in an Aldi-Süd in the student quarter of Duisburg, I am very sorry
― dimension hatris (a passing spacecadet), Tuesday, 29 March 2011 18:29 (thirteen years ago) link
Is the Aldi way the same as ours, in that
1) Scan as fast as possible, all items.2) Payment card takes ages to go through
― Mark G, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 18:49 (thirteen years ago) link
actually, it's Lidl. carry on.
― Mark G, Tuesday, 29 March 2011 18:50 (thirteen years ago) link
Dunno if it was fact or urban myth, but when I was at uni everyone said that the checkout staff at Aldi had to memorise the prices of everything in the store because Aldi were too tight to buy scanners. Actually this is patently bullshit. I never got around to going in Aldi because my boyfriend bought a bunch of microwave meals and some wine from there, and the plastic boxes melted all over the meals and the wine was like blackcurrant squash :(
― Not the real Village People, Wednesday, 30 March 2011 07:32 (thirteen years ago) link
I have vague memories of Aldi and/or Lidl not having scanners and everything being typed in by hand from memory. I think they've got scanners now though, I don't really pay attention, I'm too busy stressing about how I'm going to get everything over the shelf to pack it and will they have any boxes or will i have to spent 5p per extra carrier bag.
― ailsa, Wednesday, 30 March 2011 07:42 (thirteen years ago) link