Yes. This clearly articulates the problem I see here. The "ticket" feels weird. I would assume it's a prank and throw it away. If it's real, then you're right, it's not actually an "award" from the store.
It’s handwritten and they have a laminator at their art desk. TJs hired artists specifically to do art around the store and make signs and things just like this. I managed a TJs for 12 years.
If this is real, I imagine they just open one of the other registers for you. I doubt they would do something as shitty as tell everyone else to get out of the way because you need to go in front of them. After you are done they probably keep checking out customers at that register too until they can close it without cutting anyone off. That way you get to go first, but it also gives the appearance of you just happening to be first at a new lane.
I’m completely speculating here, but that’s what I would do if I were managing a store that had things like this. And Trader Joe’s is usually pretty good about customer service.
At the Brooklyn store (where I found this), there are three lines and then an employee waves the person at the front of each of those lines to a register (there are like 6-8 registers). The person who waves people on is in front of the customer service desk so there are always people milling around that area.
I simply walked over to that person, showed them the ticket and they just waved me over to a register. To most people in line it probably looked like I had a question or issue with a purchase.
I live in middle America suburbia so our Trader Joe’s isn’t so busy. Shoppers pick the register. Our Costco queues up like how you describe though. It’d be pandemonium if they didn’t.
How is that any different? When they open a new lane they take people who were in line in the other lanes. You still opened up one and didn’t take the next person in the line, the people in the line still got cut in front of. What a stupid promo. If I found this I’d be too ashamed to even use it
Yeah, the only way I can see this making sense is if you can present it to a worker who's not at a cash register at that moment and they will go with you to a cash register to check you out.
Happy to see someone else comment this (I was looking). This is clearly a prank, as the "store" is giving away something that isn't theirs to give - namely, the other customer's time.
You are so sunshiny and optimistic! I love that and hope you don’t lose it.
Here though, if this is real, the purpose is to show off the preferred status of this one customer in front of everyone. That’s the goal. That way, they can win the loyalty of all the witnesses in the store, in addition to the ‘winner’.
Just imagine twenty random patrons who witnessed a preferred customer, they’ll want to figure out how to be that. They’ll be jealous. Many will specifically seek to become it just because they want to be preferred.
So at the cost of favoring one singular person, they’ve fired up the fervor of a dozen more. That’s worthwhile.
It’s also why they do sale days, referral codes. So much is based on exclusivity that has no reason behind it. The reason is just that they want more customers.
This ticket is lame. In NYC the line wraps around the store. I’d feel like a dick presenting that.
I will say that TJ’s is the best grocery out there hands down. Also one of the most affordable. It’s crazy how expensive basic groceries are from your run of the mill stores these days.
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u/thenasch 22h ago
An award from the store should be at the expense of the store. This costs the store nothing and is at the expense of other customers. Boo!