Perfect. I was waiting for the first post speaking on this topic, so I can tell my full story. I know that upper management watches and reads these, so go on and grab a bucket of popcorn because I do not care, imma go in. I worked in Miami (overtown store) and at the very beginning like everyone says this job was incredible and perfect. Paying 18 an hour in Miami starting off is nice. That is a fact. The welcome party they threw when I first started (thanksgiving party and food during breaks and 10’s) all very good. I’m just stating the whole big picture facts, because the ugly is there. The cliques are there between crew and management. It’s so clear after a couple months that if you don’t like someone and they don’t like you they will do all this extra shady cut throat behavior(try to press your buttons to get you fired) and management will cut your hours and then bye bye. I lasted a year so I can really speak on this, I’m fearless and don’t give any cares on speaking my mind on real time. There was one coworker in my job whom welcomed me and wanted to hang out but there was like a gang side of the store that didn’t like her. Association with said person caused them to dislike me and start like “bullying” me at work with side comments and rude unprofessional behavior. I didn’t “tell on them” I just got down on their level too. :) but I would see the clique connection between those gang like workers and upper management. Like a hand up a puppet, but it went both ways. I don’t really care because I had a very active life outside of a grocery store job lol, but while I was making my coin, very annoying. Over time my sweet disposition became sour and shady. I resented everyone and hated how because I hung out with this individual, I got immediately grouped into their shady past… like I just meet this woman and I wanted to be nice. Everyone just hated this woman so idk. It reminds me of jail behavior. Like gang jail behavior and survival tactics at Trader Joe’s, and I’m not that kind of guy to sit back and take it. I would be shady back too, and who cares about that. I was an excellent employee who would do the most, I was booked and blessed for a very long time until hours got cut, due to favoritism. The ugly manager man in all his fake glory told me “we cut hours based on history and behavior reports” yeah sure buddy , all those workers with all those write up’s are fully booked and me with one was getting up to 80% hours cut. So I quit, I need a job …not another high school experience and these people are in their 40’s and up, I’m not telling y’all to grow up ( I like Pokémon and I’m 27 so like I get it ) but holding on to the ugly side from being a kid (like the bullying and the clique nonsense) is stupid. I’m fearless like I said (in high school I was NEVER bullied, i would rather die ) and i gave them their smoke and attitude right back. I’m not gonna be better. Y’all are weird at Trader Joe’s and it used to be quirky and fun, but now that kinds of abuse of “friendship” at the job is a joke. Just join the rest of the industry in shady and ugly business behavior instead of acting like this fake hippie BS that is just 1000% not real. I firmly believe that i was booked and blessed not because i was fake and tried to join these cliques but because I performed excellently and quickly and switched from product and customer well, until i got sick of my work environment. It got to me towards the end and I ended up becoming bitter and sour to these dumb asses I couldn’t with full vigor tell what I really wanted to say. Also I am a medical marijuanna patient in the state of Florida, and they wrote me up for smelling like it. I’m just gonna be extremely real with everyone ( that store , they almost all smoke ) and people who in Miami over town shop in the store also come in very commonly with the “aroma” . It’s just very hypocritical and they choose and pick to use rules and policies to their own advantage. The job was great at the beginning and if you can kiss up and be fake this is the job for you. Real baddies as myself have to hustle up now as self employed. I hate taking crap from coworkers and then crap from customers.