As a new crew member at Trader Joe's, my response to the captain's orders is "Aye Aye sir!" (and rightly so, for this is the true and proper response for all reliable and respectable crew members). As clarification for all you landlubbers, or "land lovers," this isn't just a simple "yes," but more accurately translates to say, "Yes, I understand and I will obey!"). With this in mind, and much to my contentment as I am typically an "early bird," I began my very first day of work at 6:00 AM. Wanting to leave around 5:30'ish, my alarm clock sounded at 4:30 AM, plenty of time to wash-up, dress in the newly acquired but traditional floral Trader Joe's t-shirt, and to eat a nourishing and relaxing breakfast of my favorite, warm oatmeal with the fixings. Mom was also up, putting together a lunch for Dad and doing this and that, so I didn't eat alone.
Upon arrival, I jumped right in, helping the crew re-stock, or re-shelve, the refrigerated produce. First, however, I was properly equipped with the standard "tools of the trade," as Damien, a "full-timer" and my "trainer" for the day, found me a utility knife and sheath, gloves, and a pen.
After unpacking and re-shelving some frozen broccoli, mixed veggies, and fruits, I was assigned to the "cheese" section (of course with some indirect help from other members of the crew who where near by, either having been assigned cheese or a near by product like bread or fresh produce). I quickly discovered that we, Trader Joe's, offers a large variety of cheeses, of all shapes and sizes, textures, flavors, countries, and different dairy sources: Blue, Havarti, Brie, Cantal, Comté, Port Salut, Saint-André, Feta, Dubliner, Mozzarella, Mozzarella di Bufala, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Provolone, Cheddar, Colby, Swiss, Romano, Parmesan, lactose free, goat's milk, and much, much more, of different origins and names (some I have never heard of, and many of them I cannot pronounce). It was fun! My work involved more than just re-shelving these different cheeses, but I will not bog you down with too much detail.
The morning went by quickly, but it was enjoyed as throughout each task assigned to me I met new crew members, and from them learned new "tricks-of-the-trade" as well as some of the "ins-and-outs" of the store. With only five minutes before opening, 9:00 AM, I was assigned the task of blowing up and tying strings to balloons. As an "old pro," having blown up and tied many balloons during his twelve years of T. Joe's experience, Damien demonstrated the task with a few quick and fluid motions. I on the other hand....(smile). Of course I was able to accomplish the task quite successfully, but as far as quickly and fluidly...let's just say I never thought I would be told that with time and practice I would be a much better balloon blower and tier (smile).
From balloons, I was pulled away by Damien yet again. With a "Sarah follow me!" and with a forward gesture of the arm and hand, we moved from the store front and cash registers to the back room, storage. I was assigned the task of spoils, as, with marker and hand scanner in hand, Damien demonstrated and explained the "spoils program" to me. The spoils were immediately picked up by a down-town food bank as it was loaded into a truck by two older gentlemen, who provided me with some assistance and friendly conversation. I also was able to meet one of the store's artists, Elizabeth, (of course, artist being only one of her many jobs, as all crew members are required to do a bit of everything...of course keeping in mind that many crew members, especially full-timers, have additional areas of "expertise" and/or jurisdiction), and a nice older aged woman of african decent, Johnnie, who is one of the crew members in charge of the demo station.
Not being knowledgeable and familiar with all of T. Joe's numerous products, weather it being its location and/or its availability, but eager and enthusiastic about assisting the customers, I was able to call on the expertise of other crew members throughout the store. Throughout the day I was able to interact with a number of crew members and customers, which I thought was both insightful and great fun. One great thing about T. Joe's I'm finding, among many things, is that the crew members are very friendly and also eager to help and assist others, both their customers and fellow employees. Elizabeth is one such member that I was able to learn from, as she kindly answered questions and led by example.
"Sarah follow me!," at Damien's lead I was assigned the task of re-shelving choclates and candies. Still getting aquanted with my trusty green utility knife, I opened, unpacked, re-shelved, re-organized, and collapssed cardboard boxes filled with sugary and sweet goodies like my Grandma Kempson's favorite Trader Joe's large milk chocolate bars (Grandma I thought about you today!), dark and milk chocoalte covered nuts and fruits, cookies and "dunkers," etc, as well as a new cereal bar. Of course, at the same time, as all crew members should and are encouraged to do, I was making consise but welcoming and friendly conversation with costumers who came my way. I assisted them in any way that I could, weather it was helping them locate root bear, wheat free waffles, pita bread, meatless meat ball (that is a new one for me too, they do exist though and T. Joe's does carry them...smile), peanut butter, etc.
Wouldn't you know it? I was also able to use my Spanish! The shorter version of the experience, but feel free to ask me in person about my first day; I noticed a man browsing with somewhat of an inquisative and somewhat lost expersion on his face. I asked him, "do you need any help finding something?" He replied, with accent and broken English, "I no speak English." My response, "¿puedo ayudarte encontrar algo?" (can I help you find something?), and his face expression changed, with a smile and a bit of surpsirse. We had a good little conversation in Spanish, and although I found myself feeling rather out of practice, as I am sure my grammar was both hesitant and lacking, he told me that he would be back if he had any questions. What he really was looking for was a job, to which I told him that I believed he would have to be able to speak a lot more English, as he would be interacting with the costomers a lot.
Other jobs, re-shelving and organizing some cereals, both old and new to the store, and of course, the task of bagging groceries. The later of the two jobs I didn't do much of at all today, but I know without a doubt that I will do plenty of bagging throughout my time at Trader Joe's. All in all, the day flew by, as it was very enjoyable and I was kept occupied throughout the seven hour shift. I truely believe, especially after today, that I'm going to enjoy working here. Come visit me anytime! For the rest of this week, being only a part-timer, I work Thursday, from 8AM - 3PM, and Saturday from 3PM - 10PM (the store however closses at 9PM).
PS - Sorry I didn't have someone snap a quick photo of me today, I'm sure Amanda and Zeno, and perhapes other family members will stop by during one of my shifts this week. Like myself, they really enjoy shopping at T. Joe's, and I'm sure they would be more than willing to take a photo....true evidence that crew members do actually work (smile), but we do enjoy our work!
