Employee Review of Trader Joes - Check out more reviews of working at Trader Joes

Let's start by stating the positive, my company has great benefits and a fun environment. People that work at Trader Joe's are usually happy and it shows in their work. The customer experience is incredible and we stock the shelves with great products.

Now the negative: I am considered part time crew member yet work forty hours a week. They give me less responsibilities than management yet more than a part time crew member. Whenever we have a store visit from a regional manager I am leaned on heavily. They depend on me and are forced to make due when I am not at work. I work in retail (manual labor) yet I am one of the few that has to sit at a desk to do my job. Because of this I am treated like I have a silver spoon in my mouth. So I am forced to complete my deadlines working on a cobbled together table and sitting in a fold out chair. I am paid the same hourly rate that the other part time employees are paid yet my review is based on different criteria. On a daily bases many interoffice company emails are directed towards. I am responsible for the appearance of the store and all marketing of products. My job title is called "Crew Member" yet all levels of management in the company call me an "Artist". I believe it is a common opinion among management that artists are a dime a dozen and replaceable. I have a Bachelor in Fine Arts with an Emphasis in Illustration yet I spend many days "coached" by Store Managers on how to improve my work. Mind you most store managers don't have a college degree in anything much less art. When you express an opinion it is considered confrontational.

I know this message will make me sound like a bitter employee who is difficult to work with. I actually have a great working relationship with my store managers and they probably have no clue how I feel. Even if I passed it on to my store manager (which might be the end of my days as an employee) they couldn't do anything about it because the decisions are made at a much higher corporate level. So talk to my regional manager you say? Did you read the part where I said I have a good working relationship with my managers?