In Soviet Russia, Joe Trades You
Despite its corporate keenness for pre-prepared foods, Trader Joe’s is a welcome addition to the city. We have always loved their store-brand baking ingredients, pastas, and cheeses, and have been really eager for the new Union Square outlet to open, if for nothing else than for a chance to get our hands on some Three Buck Chuck for cooking.
Since its debut last week, we have stopped in three times, and I’ll be honest here: each visit is worse than the last. Wednesday evening’s trip (the real capper) featured three entire aisles that were all practically stripped bare. By bare, I mean pre-glasnost USSR bare. Nothing on the shelves except for a few packages of pecans and a bag of kamut flour. That bare.
Then there are the lines of shoppers queueing up pushing carts loaded with the few items kept in good supply (cereal, baby spinach, packaged bread, and juices): these lines run around the perimeter of the entire shop at times, adding to the Iron Curtain ambiance. We have great sympathy for long queues–Whole Foods Market has them and has managed to keep them from ruining their business by keeping 20+ cashiers working full-tilt during the shop’s busiest hours. Yet Trader Joe’s had only 8 cashiers working to clear a line that stretched 2/3 of the way around the shop last night at 9:00. This explains a comment I overheard a woman make to the man behind her in the line: “I’ve been waiting here for 15 minutes just to buy a package of soy burgers and some frozen basil. What the hell am I thinking?”
A better question might be: What the hell is Trader Joe’s thinking? First week snags are understandable, but shelves should never be as empty as they are on Union Square. Is this all due to errors in planning? Did nobody anticipate that the store would be this busy? I can’t imagine that’s true–a quick look at Chowhound.com’s Manhattan board reveals several weeks worth of anxious anticipation on the part of NYC shoppers. And even if the magnitude of the crowds took the store’s management by surprise that first weekend, there is no excuse for not diverting more stock to the Manhattan store, STAT. It almost feels as if the management is playing a waiting game, hoping potential patrons will get frustrated, causing the lines to shrink to the point where the budgeted stock meets the store’s demand. Well, color us frustrated.
Trader Joe’s, you’ve got two strikes left.
Trader Joe’s, 142 14th Street (at 3rd Avenue), 212-529-4612
Trader Joe’s addition to Union Square has only been disappointing. Each time I have been there the shevles have been bare. And I also tried to go three times so far. I give up. I will go in the summer, when I just happen to be walking past and have a craving for Trader Giotto’s frozen pizza or some prepackaged zucchini. But most likely, I will forego their awful vegetable selection and their signature items and head to overpriced whole foods where the vegetables are fresh and the fish won’t make me sick, like one package of trader joe’s tuna did in the past.
Comment by rose — March 24, 2006 @ 11:46 am
Trader Joe’s have been in my area for about 2 years and while the lines have shrunk the stocking of shelves continues to be a problem. It’s frustrating but I still continue to go - I’m addicted to certain products. Check out the Slate article - apparently the things you mentioned are a problem at all TJ’s.
Comment by Ann — March 24, 2006 @ 4:28 pm
Excellent find, Ann! It’s always nice to have some independent corroboration when you’re pointing out faults, especially in a company that you honestly want to see succeed.
Rose, I don’t know about the fish, but I do have to admit that I like the lettuces at Trader Joe’s–bags of baby spinach and arugula for $2 is a pretty welcome change. But I’m with you on the selection at the Union Square shop– all they had in stock on Wednesday night were onions and peaches.
Comment by Nosher — March 24, 2006 @ 5:00 pm
i haven’t gone yet… i’m scared of the lines and what i’ll actually find. I’m such of a fan of their frozen veggies it would be highly disappointing to not find them.
Comment by Normah — March 30, 2006 @ 6:08 pm
I was scared away from Trader J’s by that serpentine line, too. I walked in and then about-faced several times. However, I do think things have quieted down a bit since the initial stampede. (But please keep it hush-hush - I’d hate to precipitate a new rush!) I braved the moderate crush last Thursday at 8:30, and the lines were no worse than Whole Foods. Plus, they’ve hired more checkers and started an express line, so it really isn’t too bad. I didn’t wait more than 5 minutes. The stock of produce was still pretty pitiful, but the rest of the shelves were decently stocked. Perhaps I got lucky, but I’m hopeful that this TJ is on its way to becoming a viable grocery option for those of us who live in the neighborhood.
Comment by alycia — May 17, 2006 @ 9:46 am
Alycia, we’ve heard reports to this effect. We’re starting to think that the sparsely stocked shelves are part of Trader Joe’s m.o. . Keep us updated!
Comment by Nosher — May 19, 2006 @ 3:00 pm