{"id":577155,"date":"2023-06-02T22:17:32","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T19:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/trader-joes-explains-why-its-parking-lots-are-so-small\/"},"modified":"2023-06-02T22:17:32","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T19:17:32","slug":"trader-joes-explains-why-its-parking-lots-are-so-small","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/trader-joes-explains-why-its-parking-lots-are-so-small\/","title":{"rendered":"#Trader Joe\u2019s Explains Why Its Parking Lots Are So Small"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Any fan of Trader Joe\u2019s knows that the joy of picking up a jar of Everything But The Bagel seasoning is weighed against the despair of dealing with the specialty grocer\u2019s often sardine-like parking lots. Well, for frustrated customers everywhere, the brand has offered an explanation.<\/p>\n

The popular specialty grocer has a podcast<\/a> called \u201cInside Trader Joe\u2019s,\u201d where hosts and employees Tara Miller and Matt Sloan discuss subjects like why Trader Joe\u2019s doesn\u2019t have online shopping or tips on navigating its wine selection and more.<\/p>\n

An episode from October 10, 2022 titled, \u201cWhat\u2019s Up With Trader Joe\u2019s Parking Lots<\/a>\u201d has offered a definitive reason as to why we all need to take a deep breath and say a prayer before parking at most TJ\u2019s locations.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s a tweet,\u201d Miller said, pointing to a trio of tweets about TJ\u2019s parking lots, including one from June 2022 where a user aptly and sarcastically compares their brain to a Trader Joe\u2019s parking lot. This serves as a jumping off point for the discussion.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMatt, what is up with our parking lots?\u201d Miller asks Sloan.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike a lot of things related to Trader Joe\u2019s, this can be traced back to the very first location, the Arroyo Parkway store in Pasadena, which has had, and still very much has a challenging parking lot. And by that, I mean it\u2019s small and it\u2019s busy,\u201d Sloan said of the first store that opened in 1967 which still operates to this day \u2014 and appears to have a parking lot<\/a> tantamount to a game<\/a> of Tetris.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat size factor, it\u2019s small, and the busyness factor, lots of people parking cars, well, those are the two reasons that our parking lots can be, well, a bit challenging,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n

Miller then explains that Trader Joe\u2019s stores are small, and on purpose, too. The powers-that-be at TJ\u2019s have always held true to the more personal nature of its interiors rather than the cavernous nature of other big box stores, although the company said they tend to have just as many customers at one time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere tend to be a lot of people, maybe not even more people than you might find in a regular grocery store,\u201d Miller said. \u201cBut if our stores are 10,000 square feet and those stores are 70,000 square feet, it feels like more people. But what does that have to do with the parking?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sloan offers the answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you design a parking space or you allocate spaces for parking for a retail store, it\u2019s based on the size of the store,\u201d Sloan said, perhaps pointing the finger at city planners, who clearly have not tried TJ\u2019s Mandarin Orange Chicken. \u201cSo you mentioned how small our stores are relative to other grocers. Well, that\u2019s true and that can have an effect on the number of parking spaces allocated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA 12,000 square foot store will get far fewer parking spaces than a 70,000 square foot store,\u201d Miller adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Sloan responds. \u201cNow let\u2019s say that 12,000 square foot store has 500 people visiting and the giant store has a 100 people visiting, the parking lots are going to feel very different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you spend any time on social media<\/a>, looking at things about Trader Joe\u2019s, you will find there are lots of conspiratorial theories about our parking lots and people out there in the world really seem to think, not all people, but a number of people, that we are purposefully making horrible parking lots,\u201d Miller says,\u00a0<\/p>\n

This mirrors a lot of chatter on social media, with funny tweets<\/a>, TikTok videos and even Reddit threads on specific TJ\u2019s parking lots that are trouble spots in locations as far flung as Massachusetts<\/a> and Florida<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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There are even memes, as evidenced by a funny Reddit post<\/a> called, \u201cTrader Joe\u2019s Parking Lot Starter Pack.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe argument could be made, \u2018Hey, Trader Joe\u2019s just make your stores bigger.\u2019 But that kind of changes who we are. We have small stores, so they come with small parking lots,\u201d Miller says. \u201cIf we had bigger stores, sure we\u2019d have bigger parking lots, but we\u2019d feel like a different store.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller says TJ\u2019s gets accused of opening stores with the world\u2019s most ridiculous parking lots on purpose all the time. \u201cThat\u2019s not our plan. We try to get as much parking as possible. In some municipalities, we can\u2019t get any parking at all,\u201d Miller says, adding that some TJ\u2019s have absolutely no parking at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cParking can be an energized experience,\u201d Sloan says, thanking the TJ\u2019s crew for taking care by collecting carts and keeping things moving in lots across the country. \u201cAnd thanks to you for taking up the challenge to find that spot when you do your shopping.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, the next time you\u2019re about to scream because someone took the last parking space on your next visit maybe just sing that immortal Joni Mitchell verse<\/a> from \u201cBig Yellow Taxi\u201d instead, and exercise a little patience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n