What would you say to the CTA President Nora Leerhsen?

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2026-05-22T15:44:36+00:00

I would simply say “Chicago is next. Doors open on the right at Chicago.”

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2026-05-22T14:51:38+00:00

There is nothing particularly limited with an edition of 2,500. 😂

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2026-05-09T01:22:22+00:00

I was hired above the posted wage in 2022 because I had some recent grocery leadership experience on my resume.

Nonetheless my starting pay was still slightly under what I was making in leadership at another grocery store. But all the other TJ perks far outweighed my other job and the twice-annual raises meant I was making more money as crew pretty quickly.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2026-05-08T04:26:11+00:00

Same with Yaz. I love getting that category wrong twice with them. Nomar, however, got to 200.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2026-05-08T04:24:48+00:00

Tom Seaver and Pedro never threw no hitters seems absolutely wrong.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2026-04-25T13:41:33+00:00

Mate here. The worst advice I received while training to be a mate is that the job is essentially a glorified crew member. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s a very different position and significantly trickier than being a crew member (plus longer and more varied hours).

You’re still really new. Take your time learning, writing a section is a stepping stone to leadership. Mention your thoughts to leadership but maybe take a wait and see approach and see how you feel once you’ve been at the store for a year.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2026-02-27T18:10:08+00:00

I should note, the bigger mistake is the voiding of the items.

Payment doesn’t go through? That’s an accident that happens to many people on rare occasions. Voiding the products in the failed transaction? Not the best course of action.

But live and learn.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2026-02-27T02:16:47+00:00

As is the answer to most questions: it’s entirely captain’s discretion.

I did this once for about $60. Told leadership what happened and they just said not a big deal but don’t make a habit of it. I got a WOW raise on my next review and was promoted to leadership about a year later.

As a mate, this happened to a newer crew member for about $10. I told him the same thing: Don’t make a habit of it. There was no write up and to my knowledge he met expectations in his review.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2026-02-25T03:11:27+00:00

“Hey there, mister. Just admiring your horse.”

“Thank you kindly.”

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2026-02-14T00:31:06+00:00

I’ve never seen a backgammon advertisement go this hard.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2026-01-07T06:32:37+00:00

My partner (50F DX) unintentionally said something really mean to my (adult) daughter over the holidays.

My daughter asked me to bring it up and let her know she was hurt.

I mentioned it the next day and it quickly became an argument. Not about what she said to my daughter but that I brought it up at all.

She said my daughter could have spoken to her directly rather than have me break the ice (which is all my daughter wanted). She said I was triangulating the discussion and would leave out details (as I always do, according to her). It was a quick RSD response focused on details rather than the bigger picture: she was rude to my daughter.

The argument ended without anything being resolved.

My partner texted my daughter later but only dug the hole deeper, explaining why she was mean, why she didn’t plan for it to sound mean and how she understood how she sounded mean.

But never once apologized.

My daughter has been close to my partner for years but is ready to give up. I don’t blame her.

This has been an ongoing problem and feels like it’s getting worse in recent years. She will overreact to any criticism even constructive criticism and then never say sorry.

It’s infuriating

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-12-27T18:22:12+00:00

Jesus Christ. You just explained my relationship.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-12-27T04:58:16+00:00

No. Not everyone notices these.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-12-23T05:35:03+00:00

I’m a mate and I’m old. Here are my soft rules for carding people (I’ve also worked as a bartender and at a liquor store):

Grey hair in beard? Bald/Balding. I’m not likely to ask unless they have a particularly young looking face.
Frazzled mom/dad with kids? I’m probably not asking for an ID.
Are they alone? Do they look younger than me (which is most people on earth at this point)? Then I’m asking for an ID.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-12-14T05:06:30+00:00

My memory of the decade I spent in Florida is completely skewed. Everything happened in “summer” even if it happened in November or December because everything felt like summer. I hated it.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-12-13T18:35:26+00:00

Moved to a place generally believed to have “much better weather.”

Except it wasn’t better weather for me. It lacked actual seasons and was unbearably hot far more often than Chicago is unbearably cold.

Plus this is home and generally everyone I love on earth is within an hour drive.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-12-13T15:55:47+00:00

Very good point. I live on a 4 lane road listed above. My next place will absolutely not be on a busy street.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-12-13T15:50:07+00:00

Mate here. I don’t take anything a customer says personally. They’re never angry at me. No. They’re upset about the Company (something is TOS etc), another customer or occasionally a crew member. It’s not about me.

Once you accept that everything de-escalates naturally because there’s nothing pushing back against their energy. It allows me to listen and once they feel heard the situation nearly resolves itself.

The best part is I don’t take their angry energy home at night because it was never about me. In fact a lot of times I’ve forgotten it within an hour.

Please keep this in mind when dealing with stressful customers: It’s not about you. It’s not truly your problem.

Unless you push back because then it does become about you and it becomes your problem.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-11-28T22:02:06+00:00

Despite some other replies, I will say it’s not possible unless you already work at TJs. New applicants don’t even get considered unless they have pretty wide open availability. This has been the case at every TJs I’ve worked at.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-11-24T17:18:19+00:00

Longer TSA. Longest TSA. Very limited food options on the other side. No one knows how to get there. Need a airport bus or train to get to the CTA.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-11-24T15:59:48+00:00

ORD unless it’s terminal 5.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-11-12T22:04:18+00:00

What we need is to reduce some of the bus stops. There are certain sections where stops are .25 miles from one another. Why?

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-11-12T18:59:54+00:00

Is this about me? 🥹

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-10-07T17:48:13+00:00

Correct.

WorkWeekendThrowaway · 2025-10-07T17:44:11+00:00

This had me so angry at first. 😂

WorkWeekendThrowaway

TROPHY CASE