Unlike other stores nixing some mandatory cashier interactions in favor of adding more self-checkout options, Trader Joe’s does not plan to implement self-checkout in any of its hundreds of stores, company executives have confirmed.
In a company-released podcast published Monday, Trader Joe’s CEO Bryan Palbaum and President and Vice CEO Jon Basalone answered questions from customers and employees.
At one point, the podcast hosts asked Palbaum and Basalone about rumors that self-checkout would be coming into Trader Joe’s stores. Headquartered in Monrovia, California, the company operates around 560 stores across the U.S.
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“That’s as false as false can be, because we believe in people and we’re not trying to get rid of our crew members for efficiency sake,” Basalone said. “I don’t know what the reasons are people put self-checkout in.”
During the podcast, Palbaum and Basalone denied other rumored features coming to Trader Joe’s stores, including drive-through sample cups of coffee and in-store restaurants with in-aisle waiting areas.