At one of the Traders I go to (reluctantly), the store staff are often too busy BSing between themselves to be attentive to any element of customer service. One might be talking about the last movie they saw and if you walk up, you feel like you're interupting something important to get their attention for a question or need for service because it can take a bit too long to get them to acknowledge you. Token gestures of free this or that or the expression of empathy doesn't, for me, make up the attitudes of indifference too many of them exude to customers.

I've sometimes been annoyed enough to want to quote the old saw - "Hey, jerk. You're here BECAUSE OF ME. Not the other way around. " I never have and never will, it's not my style. But their attitudes can be disappointing.

At both of the two, I find the "friendliness" at times seems shallow and put-on. Insincere. When you ask if they have more of something, the response is more likely to be a flat-out No on the spot rather than their offering to go check.

Sorry about your trike, lucille.

No Aldi’s here.

I quite often eat potatoes with the skin on, especially young ones.

This time of year we often graze. I love sitting outside with ”messy” food like cherries and spitting the stones willy-nilly, or fresh peas and flinging the pods into the bush. Right now I’m watching dragonflies and eating peanuts.

The other day we had onions and dill in cream on young potatoes. That was good.

I’ve been on a kick this week of a big mug of diet rootbeer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream while sitting outside in the evening.

She was eyeing the fruit bars at the checkout.

Chloebud, what a delightful and well mannered child.

Right now I’m watching dragonflies and eating peanuts.

Not that I ever doubted it, but yours is a life well lived.

I stopped at Aldi this morning on the way home from the dentist. I picked up broccoli, grapes, eggs, milk, and some pasta. Browed the Aisle of Shame but didn't see anything I wanted to spend money on. lol

I always mash potatoes with skins on. :)

“Chloebud, what a delightful and well mannered child.”

lucillle, thanks, she’s a sweetie! I was going to buy the fruit bar for her, but the checker wouldn’t let me. He wanted to give it to her for starting first grade.🥰

“But their attitudes can be disappointing.”

Elmer, that's unfortunate. I’ve never experienced anything even close to that at TJ’s, and I’ve been shopping there since their beginning here in Pasadena. They’ve always gone out of their way with customer service, and often in ways one would never expect. Far from disappointing for me, or anyone I personally know.

Dinner tonight is left over fresh King Salmon filet...not sure if I'll warm it or eat it cold. Probably a baked garnet yam and some aforementioned haricot vert from the farmer's market. Fresh market blueberries and cantaloupe for dessert.

No Aldi stores here; have never been in one. I do love Trader Joe's for many things, but not most cold case produce. In the winter they have some really good cherry tomatoes and I always buy avocados there. I do like their organic brussels sprouts in cello bags and when I can't get fresh, in season here, I like their haricot vert in cello bags. If I'm making volumes of cocktails, I buy their fresh lemons and limes, too. I will pick up organic milk there and they now carry my favorite Nancy's Organic Cottage cheese, so that can save me a trip to another store. Not much else because we have a fabulous food co-op here that sells wonderful organic produce, so I shop there when the farmer's market produce I like is over for the season.

Not being any kind of cook, my meals are pretty much whatever I am in the mood for.

I have an Aldi's but it's a bit of a drive. TJ's is really close and they are the nicest and attentive people I have ever run into. I don't buy a lot there but I do enjoy going.

My new go-to store is Fresh Market. I replaced Kroger with some exceptions to go to Fresh Market on a regular basis. They have a nice selection of already made food, they have specials like a $5 rotisserie chicken that actually tastes really good. So much better than Krogers. FM also has lots of organic produce and fresh fruit. They carry fresh flowers but they are way more expensive than TJ for that. They also have superior bakery products. They are a bit more expensive than Kroger but I find that I don't get any (or very little) junk food there so it balances out and better for me.

roxsolid's root beer float sounds tasty to me right now!!

The Aldi’s store that I shopped several years ago didn’t have wide selections of produce so I stopped going there. There is a new Aldi’s open recently in next town that I intend to check out soon. TJ is one of my favorite places with friendly staffs, fresh flowers and blooming plants although the store is usually very crowded. A friend invited us over for dinner this evening. We’ll have stir fry from garden veggies and discuss our fall travel plan.

Yes, root beer float sounds great too, and I like the real McCoy A&W!

Elmer is definitely in the minority about Traders' people. Although I have three male guys I now call friends, all the staff are wonderful. They are famous for moving products around and in the few times I've asked where something is, they don't just say four aisles over; they say follow me. Every single time. In my around 150 visits, there was not one time I wasn't greeted or didn't have a conversation with one or more of them. The bread lady and I would commiserate when our favorite bread was absent for a while. The manager heard me and said Let me check the date it will be back and he did. Now when he sees me, he says I see you've gotten your favorite bread.

At Aldi, the checkout person doesn't say hello, goodbye, even though I always thank them. Surly crowd although I will say Aldi's soft produce is superior to Traders. ie.. strawberries, blueberries, raspberries. And avocados are 49 cents and $1.49 at Traders.

I do the bulk of my shopping at Aldi, and have had few opportunities to visit a Trader Joe’s. Aldi had the dark red cherries for many weeks, for $2.49 per pound. They were excellent! The larger chain grocery stores had the same cherries for $5.99 per pound!

I buy most of our produce and meats at Aldi and have rarely been disappointed.

Note I mentioned that one Traders is worse than the others. The better one is still nothing much to write home about. We go there for the unique products we enjoy and tolerate the quirky, inconsistent service.

Most any store has better produce than Traders, we find its offerings quite disappointing more often than not. We're very selective and never depend on finding everything there on a produce shopping list that meets our expectations. A trip to another store(s) is usually required.

On to dissing Aldi ;-)

The products that are good, are really good. I think the ratio of what we like to what we're disappointed with is about 60/40.

As I said, we find Aldi produce is usually (not entirely) excellent quality with good prices. On the meat side, my wife has tried a few things that were a problem. Three that come to mind that got a thumbs down were Lamb chops, NY Steak, and a ham product. The red meat was of really poor quality and the ham was bland. Imagine a German owned company selling so-so ham!

There are enough other things to warrant repeat visits but we stay away from meat.

I grilled up pork tenderloin the other day and made a pasta salad which is chock full of vegetables, so that will be dinner.

DH likes Aldi's for certain things but then goes to a regular grocery store for everything else. I will admit their chocolate is really good and cheap. But if I go, I'm very specific and they won't have what I want...they may have mixed nuts, but it's not low salt...they may have tomato sauce, but it's not the fire roasted.. or whatever it is that I'm looking for. Too many misses for my taste.

They've opened up a new TJs not too far in the other direction and we went to look. It's a great store to browse in as they always have different things from what regular stores carry. I think the last time I went I got a guava spread instead of jelly. It's really tasty.

Most people I know like Trader Joe’s for certain things, and rely on their regular market for others. The same people also like living close to a TJ’s for those certain things. That’s fairly easy to do here in SoCal with so many locations.

One of my favorite TJ’s stories involved my elderly stepdad. He went to TJ’s and realized, as he was being checked out, he’d forgotten his wallet. The checker just sent him on his way with the groceries. It wasn’t a lot, maybe 7 or 8 items. The next day my mom went back to pay the bill, and they wouldn’t accept it from her. They just told her, ”No worries; it’s on us.” I never forgot that.

I've shopped at TJ's a few times, but have found most of their stuff is just average. Plus, the one nearest me is in a hellhole of a shopping center with a parking lot that was designed by blind orangutans.

“I wonder do some people take the lazy way out and mash them with skins on?” Or some people like to make potatoes as healthy as possbile so leave the skins on.

No Aldi's anywhere near me and TJ's is a 45 minute drive away so I visit infrequently. I do like TJ's a lot and find the staff attentive and helpful. My only complaint is they discontinue products that I love - not a lot but enough to be mildly irritating. I seldom buy any produce there as I don't like bagged stuff and prefer to buy by the item.

My go-to store is the flagship of a local chain. It's only 10 minutes away. They have exceptional produce, most of it locally and organically grown. I stopped today and bought peaches, raspberries, heirloom tomatoes and assorted cherry tomatoes. They actually have a local farm where they grow a lot of the produce they sell.

They also have a hot food bar and today that featured chicken enchiladas and Mexican rice. That's dinner tonite!

I love dragonflies. I think that PBS bug program stated that a dragonfly will eat about 400 mosquitoes a day. Don’t take tht to the bank. It might have been that the pay $400 rent a week, or mate 400 times a day.

These are just a couple examples of the ”certain things” from TJ’s I mentioned in my last post. These are always in my fridge.👍🏻 We like the Unexpected Cheddar on crackers (Triscuits), and the Garlic Spread on grilled lamb, beef, chicken or spread on sandwiches. Once you taste it it’s easy to figure out for yourself what you might use it for. That is, if you like a lemon/garlic flavor.

ETA - We also buy the Unexpected Cheddar in block form.

Petalique, I think they play dead 400 times a day. From National Geographic.

Yes, certain female dragonflies play dead—a behavior known as sexual death feigning. When harassed or pursued by aggressive or unwanted male suitors during the mating season, some species (such as the moorland hawker) will freeze, drop out of the air, crash to the ground, and lie completely motionless upside down until the male flies away

Also:

Female dragonflies sometimes fake their own death and drop to the ground to avoid unwanted mating. They also have hilarious survival and flight habits, like hovering like tiny helicopters, flying backward, and acting like miniature aerial police officers

Mind you, I have seen them eating mosquitoes, and mating today.

I love dragonflies. I think that PBS bug program stated that a dragonfly will eat about 400 mosquitoes a day. Don’t take tht to the bank. It might have been that the pay $400 rent a week, or mate 400 times a day.

No wonder they eat a lot of bugs, they need the energy.

This is a photo of one that I took last year.

It looks like hands in the air ”I give up”

No Aldis anywhere around here. I shop TJ’s and W-mart SuperCenter. Every Monday I sit down and make a dinner menu plan for the week, with a few extra options. Last night I made a Mexican stew from scratch with gr. beef, pinto beans, green chile, etc. So, something not spicy and quick to make tonight. Probably my Cuban Wraps or Crab Salad. Frankly, I’d love to just pick up some fast food, and bring it home to eat while we watch a movie, but my DH is always much more into healthful eating.

DH had an appointment at Costco to get his tires rotated, so he came home with a rotisserie chicken which was dinner.

Earlier I had gone to Aldi ( I seem to go there several times a week)to get salad and grape (the grapes were amazingly good). I prefer their produce ( quaity and price) to most. I also really like their dairy.

The only thing we've found that was disappointing more than once, so we don't get it there anymore, was hamburger patties. They were labeled 80% which we usually find on the grill to be the tastiest. Theirs was super fatty and smokin'!!

I love looking over their promotional items that they don't carry regularly.

BigTime Fa

n.

We frequently shop at Aldi’s and it’s generally the first place I go, to get as much on my list as I can, and then get the rest at one of the other chain groceries. I love their deli meats and cheeses, and their butter is cheaper than anywhere else. Our elderly cat has digestive issues, and we have found she is less likely to get the runs on one particular kind of Aldi cat food. I don’t buy their chicken breasts as they are cheaper elsewhere, but I often get pork fillets and spare ribs there as they are good and inexpensive.

They also have a dishwashing liquid which is as cheap as chips and is the equal top rated product, as rated by our consumer magazine. I didn’t used to buy cheap detergents as I found them to be vastly inferior, but I started getting this one for work and really liked it. In addition their laundry products are highly rated by our consumer magazine.

The staff are a bit of a variable, some are very friendly and helpful, others not so much. The Aldi we mostly shop in is in a small town with a high population of dysfunctional people and I guess sometimes they have to hire who they can get.

colleen - I have to ask - how does a town come to have a high population of dysfunctional people? Inquiring minds need / want to know. 😁

Grilled chicken breasts that had been marinating all afternoon, and a big salad. Taking my chances with Aldi arugula. I’m fortunate to have access to several grocery stores. I rotate around, depending on my errands route. But my favorite is Aldi. In and out quickly.

I leave skins on potatoes the one or two times a year I mash them. I like the flavor and nutrition.

Chloebud, that dip section of TJ’s is dangerous! 😜

Elmer….what?? I can think of one TJ in our area I haven’t visited, and have never run into what you describe at the others. I feel that I can ask any employee anything and will get an immediate response. I’ve not experienced any rudeness, only kindness and helpfulness.

I'm guessing Traders puts personality high on the qualities to get hired because the average person isn't that friendly and outgoing. A friend of my daughter's son, who has a master's degree, quit a highly stressful job and works at Traders. He said he likes the calm and friendly atmosphere and meets all kinds of people.

We used to buy our canned dog food at Aldi, and I buy butter there. Although their produce is better than Traders', I've given up on strawberries. I get one day out of them, and the rest are overripe. I used to like their miscellaneous aisle and actually bought a rug and a shoe rack, but lately it's pretty junky.

DH buys graham crackers, cukes, hummus, campari tomatoes, and eggs at Aldi's. He says the eggs are the best deal. But I do wash them before cracking them as they are not as clean as others.

Annie, doesn't that speak to the eggs being more local than from some big chicken production factory? I'm sure washing them is necessary but I would think better of them. Maybe I am wrong about that.

murraysmom, I don’t think unwashed eggs are allowed to be sold in USA grocery stores. I could be wrong, though.

I prefer unwashed eggs. They are not allowed in grocery stores in Canada. I get mine from a neighbour.

FWIW, TJs is on record for their hiring requirements - must be friendly and outgoing and always willing to be helpful.

Carol, definitely! Our niece worked at TJ’s and would confirm that.

@roxsolid You are correct that unwashed eggs cannot be sold in US groceries. I don’t know about smaller local farmstand type sales. I learned about the egg washing when I recently started getting eggs from my hair care person’s chickens. She explained the differences between store bought and farm fresh re the shelf life, storage and need to wash before using. Who knew? Apparently many but not me!

KW, my farm lady MIL, never washed eggs or refrigerated them.

The lady that I get eggs from, no refrigerating or washing. They are used up quite quickly, though.

The natural coating is called the ’bloom’.

The bloom's purpose in nature is to protect the egg from rotting during the 21 day incubation period it takes to hatch a chick. But with no rooster in the flock the bloom has no purpose other than to allow the eggs to be kept unrefrigerated for those 21 days. Beyond that they should be kept in the fridge. I have one Cochin hen that insists on being broody every couple months and sits on the eggs layed by the other hens. I have to battle her to collect the eggs. I tried to explain to her that they aren't fertilized (no rooster) but she doesn't listen.

I put mine in the fridge after I've filled a carton. I'll sometimes have 6 dozen in the fridge and keep track of which ones are the oldest so they get used first.

rox, Bloom! I had learned that. My egg lady gave me this cute instruction card with my first batch of eggs.

“ I tried to explain to her that they aren't fertilized (no rooster) but she doesn't listen.”

Haha Rox. That's hilarious and so true! Yep, might as well be talking to a wall! After I take the eggs from her she will get up and join the rest of the girls in the run but then the next day she's right back in the nest box sitting again.

LOL, I have friends like that, LJ.

You’ve got to love them.

LoneJack - That poor little hen - such a strong instinct to care for those eggs! Maybe you could present her with a couple new live chicks so she’d feel her purpose was accomplished?

I'm not sure that would work KW. She might not take to the chicks like she would if she hatched them herself.

" I can think of one TJ in our area I haven’t visited, and have never run into what you describe at the others "

sjerin, that's fine.

I don't know if "our area" is the same for you as for me. I've mentioned before that I spend time split about 50/50 between two different parts of California. I haven't said with specificity where either of the two are. I'd like to be able to have had better experiences similar to yours, but I haven't at these two locations.

I will neither confim nor deny that the TJ experiences I've described are or are not in the Bay Area region your name suggests is "our area" for you.

I could tell you, but then I'd have to shoot you. ;-)

Accept my response as serious but delivered in a way intended to be respectful but lightly humerous.

Maybe you could present her with a couple new live chicks

There are companies that actually make fake eggs for birds. Of course you don't want her to stop laying but parakeet owners will fill the nest with fake eggs which supposedly will do just that, perhaps you could put in one or two fakes to your little lady as a compromise, too few to stop laying but enough to honor her motherhood.

“NEVER…NEVER…NEVER…ALWAYS”

Hmmm, it seems Oly hit a nerve. I think gardengal‘s post pretty much nailed it.

He was doing a bit better for a little while after he was flagged for being mean and inappropriate, but I think he is drifting back to his old self. Oly doesn't deserve this.

Eggs should not be washed until (if necessary) just before using. The bloom on the outside keeps them fresh and also prevents nasties from getting into the egg through the porous shell. That the US government insists on eggs sold in grocery stores being washed is just another instance of the lawmakers having a poor understanding of how food safety works.

@KW PNW Z8, it's a long story. Start with all the indigenous people being removed to reserves outside of town in the 1940s and 50s. then when the reserves were broken up in the 70s, people from differing, traditionally warring tribal groups were rehoused in the town, often living next door to each other. The fighting continues to this day. Then also, the town is the district centre for support services for those who are indigent, having mental issues, drug issues, you name it. Often these people don't have their own vehicles and there is no public transport between towns and only few taxis in the main town, so most of the people requiring such support are located in this district centre. Education levels are poor, mainly because a sadly large number of parents don't parent, either too out of it on drugs and/or alcohol, or they don't know how to due to their great grandparents having been removed from their families by then government practice and raised in orphanages. These ancestors have passed on their lack of parenting skills through the generations. It's a sad mess, and even sadder, there is resistance to changing the status quo. When you're dysfunctional you often think that is normal.

@colleenoz Thank you for your explanation. It is indeed a long story and also a very sad one. There are many long standing and sad stories for groups of people with life challenges in first world nations that seem to be unresolvable. IMO, the worst one in the US is the huge homeless population found nation wide.