Trader Joe’s executives say employees will never be replaced by self checkout and he insists those chatty cashiers are not trained to flirt

• Trader Joe’s has no plans to add self-checkout kiosks to its stores, two executives said.
• The grocer isn’t “trying to get rid” of employees with kiosks, they said in an episode of the company’s podcast.
• The executives also tried to dispel a rumor that Trader Joe’s trains employees to flirt with customers.

Self-checkout has become ubiquitous at many grocery stores. But Trader Joe’s is avoiding the option, one of its top executives said in an episode of the company’s podcast.

In the latest episode of “Inside Trader Joe’s,” Jon Basalone, the company’s president and vice chief executive officer, was asked by a host about a rumor that Trader Joe’s plans to add self-checkout kiosks to its stores.

“That’s as false as false can be,” Basalone said. “We believe in people. We’re not trying to get rid of our crew members for efficiency’s sake.”

On the podcast, he recounted a time he couldn’t get a self-checkout kiosk at another store to scan an item and had to get help from an employee. “I do this for a living, and I can’t get this thing to work,” he said.

“It’s not fun,” Bryan Palbaum, Trader Joe’s CEO, said of self-checkout. “I have fun bagging groceries and working at the register. Self-checkout is work. I don’t want that.” Palbaum became CEO at Trader Joe’s last month, replacing Dan Bane.

Stores from Target to Five Below have added self-checkout kiosks to their stores. Many chains are expanding the concept: Kroger, for instance, converted one of its Tennessee stores into a self-checkout-only location last month, according to local TV station WKRN. Amazon Fresh is adding self-checkout kiosks to some stores after eschewing the option over its first three years of operation.

Some Safeway grocery stores in California have added gates at their self-checkout kiosks that require customers to scan their receipt as a theft-deterring measure.

Basalone and Palbaum also tried to debunk another rumor: That Trader Joe’s employees are trained to flirt with customers. The grocery chain’s employees are known for being chatty, they acknowledged, but they’re never instructed to be flirtatious.

Trader Joe’s maintains a friendly environment in its stores, Palbaum said. “Compared to maybe perhaps other retailers, I could see how that might be misinterpreted,” he said.

“You go through this world, and you run into so many people that aren’t genuine, that aren’t kind to you,” Basalone said.

This might be a difficult rumor to squash, though. Instagram and TikTok are filled with posts about Trader Joe’s flirty cashiers.

It might not be flirting, but Trader Joe’s cashiers are certainly famous for asking customers about their day, their favorite foods, and other small-talk topics.

But Basalone insists, “That’s just what niceness feels like.”