Employees at three Trader Joe’s locations are growing more and more concerned about catching COVID-19, Gothamist reports. Workers from stores in Murray Hill, SoHo, and on the Upper West Side tell Gothamist that cleanings haven’t been thorough, employee break rooms are not properly ventilated, and safety precautions like social distancing and mask-wearing are no longer being enforced among shoppers.
It isn’t specified whether the employees interviewed work at both UWS locations or just one, but a worker at the TJ’s on 93rd and Columbus told Gothamist that “They almost fired someone who insisted on wearing a mask at the beginning, before there was a mask mandate.” Another UWS worker told the outlet that “at least four of their coworkers have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last two weeks.”
Back in March, the UWS Trader Joe’s on 72nd and Broadway temporarily closed when a crew member tested positive, but this no longer seems to be the protocol.
Another UWS employee said they’re “… just concerned I’m gonna go to work and get infected and this is a job I have to do to keep my health insurance,” adding that they “…just can’t take time off.”
A common theme among TJ’s employees is being too afraid to voice these concerns to management, the Gothamist article states.
On November 20, Trader Joe’s re-published an announcement (from March) titled “Coronavirus Update: How Trader Joe’s is Caring for Crew Members and Customers” on its corporate website. One of the precautions outlined in the announcement states that Trader Joe’s has “temporarily closed some stores related to COVID-19 concerns, including for additional precautionary cleaning and sanitization,” though exact locations and timelines are not specified.
How have your recent experiences at the UWS TJ’s been? Have you felt comfortable? Leave a comment below or start a forum thread about it!
I am surprised to read this, only because whenever I have been at Trader Joe’s (UWS) in recent months, I have been impressed with the way they have limited people entering so that the store never feels crowded. I have not witnessed anyone in the store without a mask. These days I don’t shop anywhere where I don’t feel safe, and I feel Trader Joe’s has been very responsible in response to the virus.
There was a moment last Monday when the lower escalator was shut off for servicing causing a huge bottleneck on the lower level as hoards of customers clamored to go up the elevator one-at-a-time. That is the only time I’ve felt unsafe. Social distancing was not observed and it was a huge fire hazard.
The broadway and 71st street store is often too packed with people
Yesterday at the Columbus avenue store I was quite surprised when the cashier did not pack my purchases in the bag which I brought. She scanned them, then put them in an empty cart so that I could then put them in my bag. No explanation give.
This has always been the store policy in my experience. If you use one of their bags, they pack it for you. If you bring your own bag, you have to pack it. I believe they even have signs at the register and at the front door that state this as well.
Yes, Fairway has the same policy.
This is about the TJ at 72 & Broadway. I don’t see social distancing of customers enforced much anymore by employees outside or inside. One evening about a week ago there was no line outside. I was surprised by that. However, when I entered I found out that the very long single line for the checkout stations was almost in a circle and because of that they had shutdown the down escalator to get down to that floor. On another night an up escalator was not working.
I noticed that Trader Joe, on Broadway with 72nd Street, got crowded again. The line of people outside to enter the store is still large, but now it is going super fast, and inside, the line of cashiers is again extremely large, with little distance between one and the other. Before, people had to leave their carts at the entrance to the store and use the store’s own carts, and now everyone is entering with their carts. The store returned to the mess of before, super full and confused, so much that it ran out of products on the shelves.
I too have seen a laxness of the social distancing in the shopping areas and especially on checkout lines at the 72nd St store. The lines waiting to get in have, for the most part, been pretty ok vis-a-vis distancing (it’s self-regulated), but once you get into the store, there doesn’t seem to be any employee enforcing distancing rules, despite the markers on the floor on the checkout line. Also, there are almost never any of the disinfectant cloths in the containers set up for wiping off your cart.
Since much of the food at TJs is loose (unpackaged), it seems like cleanliness would be of primary importance here. I agree that this TJs was really good last Spring, but they seem to have stopped their oversight. It’s strange, because this store is one of the places that is almost always busy, so their business is doing well.
I have been going to the Columbus Avenue location on a weekly basis and I think they are doing a great job in maintaining distancing on the lines outside as well as keeping flow inside store at a respectable pace with social distancing in order. I have never seen any customer or employee not wearing a mask at all times. The store is very clean and always well-stocked. Employees are very pleasant and helpful. I feel very comfortable in going there on a regular basis.
The TJ on 72nd has indeed stopped doing any kind of social distancing. The line outside is small or nonexistent, but the lines to checkout are wrapping inside. Not sure when this started but I witnessed that 3 weeks ago. We have very few cases on the UWS and it would be nice if they could revert back to having us wait outside so we don’t help cases increase.
The Columbus Ave store has fabulous employees. EVERYONE wears a mask and there is social distancing because they control how many people are in the store at any one time. You breeze through because there is no checkout line. People are helpful and yes, the checkout person helped me pack my bags. Yes they could provide wipes for the carts or sanitary lotion/spray when you enter…but otherwise they get an A+ for effort and follow through.
Until Trader Joe’s takes care of its employees 1,000%, I most certainly will not be shopping there. Their health and well being is a priority, full stop. And they should be working in an environment where they could voice their concerns without retribution. This is unacceptable for Trader Joe’s and I’m not surprised seeing as all corporations seem to lose their way when it comes to greed.
I have been shopping at TJ since they first opened. I usually go to the one on 93rd and Columbus Avenue. From my observation, the lines outside are always long because they do not let too many people in at the same time. They also disinfect the space at the cash register and there is enough space between checkout. In my opinion, we the consumers need to alert management if we see anyone not following protocols.
I think, we all, have to make a complain at the store and around.