‘Bring Back the Coffee Samples!’: 8 Ways To Perfect the Trader Joe’s Experience, According to Fans

With its charismatic employees, laid-back atmosphere, and affordable prices, Trader Joe's almost feels like a utopia. Of course, the operative word here is "almost." If you shop at Trader Joe's long enough, you'll begin to see its shortcomings: the chaotic parking lot, the produce that rots in a day, the abundance of plastic packaging. But what if you fixed these flaws and let yourself imagine a perfect Trader Joe's? What would that look like? 

Trader Joe's fans recently asked themselves that question on Reddit, and the community responded with a long list of changes that would bring the grocery chain close to perfection. If you work at Trader Joe's corporate, take notes!

If there's one theme that'll come up again and again, it's that Trader Joe's stores are cramped, overflowing with customers and products. One unfortunate consequence of the store's lack of square footage? Above the freezer chests, you'll find an overcrowded shelf of sweets and snacks. This, on top of the crowds of shoppers, makes navigating this aisle more hectic than it needs to be, shoppers say.

Although Trader Joe's has taken steps to reduce its carbon footprint and reliance on plastic, fans still say the store isn't doing enough. One commenter complained specifically about the store's mochi, which comes packed in a thick, heavy-duty plastic tray.

Last year, Trader Joe's brought back its beloved samples after a two-year pandemic hiatus. But you've probably noticed some changes, namely that the retailer no longer serves free coffee samples. According to crew members on Reddit, TJ's nixed the coffee stations because "way too many customers abused it." Even so, some Trader Joe's fans are demanding their return.

Everybody loves seasonal items at Trader Joe's. But that's precisely the problem. Superfans storm the store and snatch up favorites, and then Trader Joe's takes forever to restock the items. Shoppers say the chain could easily remedy this by replenishing popular products more often, though others Redditors claim that it's out of the retailer's hands. "I used to work in retail forecasting ... and some products, depending on what they are, can have extremely long lead times," a commenter writes.

The pandemic sucked. Still, who doesn't miss empty freeways and deserted supermarkets? One Redditor proposes we return to the social-distanced shopping experience at Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's employees are so friendly that some consumers are convinced that they're trained to flirt with shoppers. "Is He Flirting with You or Does He Just Work at Trader Joe’s?" a Reductress headline from 2018 reads. While some shoppers like the extra attention, others wish they could opt out of checkout small talk. "Maybe a no talking line?" one commenter suggests.

Related: Why Trader Joe’s Employees Are Surprisingly Helpful and Happy

Multiple shoppers expressed frustration with the flower placement. Yes, they're beautiful, but they also cause a bottleneck at the entrance. Moving them toward the checkout line would make more sense, says one superfan.

The average Trader Joe's is between 8,000 and 15,000 square feet. The average Walmart Supercenter is about 182,000 square feet. While that's not really a fair comparison, the fact remains that Trader Joe's stores are tiny. In fact, they're so small that one shopper calls it "Trader Anxiety." And consumers have similar complaints about the chain's crowded parking lots. Unfortunately, however, it may not be possible for Trader Joe's to increase its store or parking lot sizes, as the small footprint helps the retailer keep low prices.