I knew I liked Trader Joe's, and not just because I like their merchandise and their way of doing business. Their stores have a sense of humor and a sense that their customers are human beings who like quality at good prices. The sales staff is congenial, and they have free (and delicious) snacks and coffee for customers!
So why am I writing about food stores when there is so much of consequence going on in the world?
I'm doing it because the management of Trader Joe's has shown they have spines of steel and refused to cave in to pressure from what we now call the "cancel culture."
What started all this was an online petition posted by a high school girl, a senior in – where else? – Northern California. It seems she had her nose out-of-joint because there are products in the Trader Joe's stores that use plays-on-words in their names. The main focus was on the international foods, which are called "Trader Jose" if they are Hispanic or "Trader Ming" of they are Asian.
Her petition demanded that the store change the labeling because the packaging and labels are "racist because it exoticizes other cultures – it presents 'Joe' as the default 'normal' and the other characters falling outside of it – they're 'Arabian Joe,' 'Trader Jose' and 'Trader Joe San.'" Bottom line, the girl was calling the products "racist" because they perpetuate harmful stereotypes, and the stores were racist as well for allowing them to be sold. Her demand was to change it all.
It's reported that the petition collected some 5,000 signatures, not many, considering the scope of their demands, but initially, it appeared the store might cave in and change some of the labeling.
I will admit that when I first read about this, I laughed – and then I was furious. I got the email address of the corporation and sent them a forceful note saying I am a long-time customer (having started in Los Angeles and now in Northern California) and begged them NOT to cave-in to the demands. I said the product names are tongue-in-cheek and funny, and the corporation must not acquiesce to the politically correct petition.
Apparently, I wasn't the only person to react that way, for the company has said that it did hear from their customers, and most were not unhappy with the labeling and, in fact, didn't see it as stereotyping.
The company resisted any claims the ethnic food brands are racist and said it makes decisions based on customer purchases and feedback, which apparently, they got!
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Their statement went on to say that "Decades ago, our buying team started using product names, like Trader Giotto's, Trader Jose's, Trader Ming's, etc. We thought then – and still do – that the naming of products could be fun and show appreciation for other cultures. "
They went on, "These products have been really popular with our customers."
Considering that customers are the determinant of the success of a business, it sounds like a really good idea to listen to their customers and not the sour whining of a liberal schoolgirl, who probably doesn't even shop at Trader Joe's.
The history of Trader Joe's goes back to the Pasadena, in Southern California, 62 years ago. It started with one location and spread like wildfire as people decided they liked the ambiance, the merchandise, the prices and the staff.
A measure of the success of the operation is that there are now 505 stores in 42 states and Washington, D.C. Not bad for an outfit that manages to create the ambiance of a small store that caters to their customers.
I was a customer when I first moved to Pasadena, then to Santa Monica and then to the Bay Area. There is no way I would change my shopping habits and no way I would support the company if it decided to make any changes because of a politically correct effort by some liberal teenager who really should stay home and study her algebra.
In a statement last week, the store said, "We make decisions based on what customers purchase as well as the feedback we receive from our customers and crew members. If we feel there is a need for change, we do not hesitate to take action."
They added that it feels the names of its international foods show "appreciation for other cultures."
The founder of the stores, Joe Coulombe, died in February 2018 at 89. The chairman and CEO of the company now is Daniel T. Bane, and I extend my congratulations to him and all the directors of Trader Joe's for the courage to stand up for their rights to run their business as they see fit and resist the politically correct pressure so rampant in our culture today.
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