Re: Trader Joe's - The Yuppie 7- 11

In article <ri5l33t3urf77sfcpi99e11jjt12aghkda@xxxxxxx>,
Lou Decruss <LouDecruss@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

The new TJ's flyer came yesterday and I've been laughing my ass of
reading it. I drop in there about every 3 months and spend less than
a $100 a year there. The TJ's "Fearless Flyer" does say they'd "maybe
give you a laugh or two along the way", but this one was more amusing
than most.

The funniest one was the ad for their salsa kit. Two long paragraphs
carefully worded to not put down their other salsa products, but
claiming how easy you can make your own for less money than you'd
spend on tomatoes. The "nifty little clamshell container" contains
3-4 romas, an onion, a jalapeno, a serrano, one clove of garlic, and a
lime. And some basic directions. Are yuppies so stupid they can't
throw those together by themselves? LOL All this for only $1.99.
Not to mention the ingredients are pretty lame. No tomatillo,
cilantro, black pepper, or cumin? And one clove or garlic? I weighed
the four largest romas we got last night and they came in at 17.5 oz.
for 99 cents a pound. IMO they're taking convenience to a level of
retardation.

Say what? For trying to encourage people to make their own salsa instead
of picking up a container of pre-made salsa? I don't see that as
overconvenience.

I don't like a lot of the pre-pack stuff for items I'm not accustomed to
buying bagged or boxed - I think the packaging is wasteful - but I
understand that scales would be a huge expense.

I vote with my feet by not purchasing those items.

The chicken drumsticks are advertised that you only have to buy 5 to
get the "amazing" price of 99 cents a pound. We did a light shopping
trip last night and they were 69 cents and huge. The counter person
would have been glad to bag just one up. I guess yuppie chicks don't
want to have to communicate with Pedro long enough to buy a fresher
product at a cheaper price.

Maybe they don't have the time to go all over town to find the best deals.

Fresh Mozzarella Medallions for $2.99 for an 8 oz. tub? Ah yes!
Suzie yuppie doesn't want to get the $500 set of knives dirty. We
recently got 2 pounds at Costco for $6.99. But I had to cut it
myself. Darn! I had to wash a knife.

And have a costco membership, and fight the crowds there ... the nearest
costco to me is in the next county and is almost always a zoo.

(I usually purchase my cheese at one of our cheese stores, except for goat
cheese/cream cheese, which are better deals at the Trader.)

The only thing out of the almost 90 items in the flyer I'd go there
for are the wasabi peas. I've had them they're wonderful snack food.

They're good.

Not a coffee drinker? They've got the best prices locally going on
fairtrade, and they have fairtrade dark roasts, which I prefer.

I also recommend the lemonade - no high fructose corn syrup, but real
sugar, thank you very much!

I have a few friends who love TJ's and use them as their primary
store. They're all yuppies. They buy the "heat and eat" stuff. None
of them can cook but they get what their family thinks is home
cooking. I'm happy for them but that sure wouldn't work here.

Some of their 'heat and eat' stuff is a-plus double good. It saved my
sanity when my kitchen remodel was happening, and kept me fed in a
semi-healthy manner when anemia or nausea meant I wasn't interested in
cooking. I'm in the process of trying to reproduce the orzo salad.

There's plenty at TJ's for those of us who are more hands-on - organic
meats, baking supplies (King Arthur Flour, nuts, butter, dried fruit),
free-range eggs, canned goods at very good prices, the cheapest pasta
around, and they've very much pulled their socks up with the produce, at
least in my stores. Much more of it is up to my standard; I used to only
buy the bagged limes there (yes, I can get them for cheap at the Mexican
market, but I would need to make another trip) and there is an interesting
collection of more-prepped fruits and veg to encourage their use.

I shopped more at TJ's when a bout of severe anemia meant that I could
make ONE shopping trip for food a week and I needed to pick my store.
TJ's was it about half the time.

The wording in the flyer is clever and the cartoons are amusing, but
for some reason their advertising annoys and kinda insults me. Why
would they use someone named "Audrey Dumper" in their radio ads? Not
only is her voice horrible, her name sure doesn't make me want to run
to TJ's. She should be speaking for toilet paper or bathroom cleaning
products. Their "get your attention" advertising sure doesn't work on
me.

Well, it did get your attention ;)

I know many people here love TJ's but I think the place is a joke.

My mileage varies considerably.

I think you're wrong to generalize TJ's customers based on your small
sample. Believe me, I see all kinds of folks in mine.

Charlotte
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