Speaking of lining up in Trader Joe’s, I’m really wondering what’s up with this laminated printout stapled to their “Artisan Breads” sign, where people in line can read it as they shuffle down the queue. It’s the full text of a New York Times article entitled A Long Line for a Shorter Wait at the Supermarket, praising Whole Foods stores in Manhattan for their single-queue system, and at the same time disparaging Trader Joe’s.
Now, here in DC we know that the Foggy Bottom TJ’s uses the single-queue system, and last I checked, the Whole Foods stores in Tenleytown and Clarendon do not, so why post this competition-lauding story for TJ’s customers to read? Is it there to prove the author Michael Barbaro wrong? Or just to prove that the single queue system is superior regardless of what store it’s applied in? Or to highlight some kind of contrast between Trader Joe’s stores in DC and NYC? Or did some disgruntled shopper pin it to the back of the sign where the cashiers wouldn’t notice it?
Someone ask the cashiers at TJ’s about that, because I forgot to yesterday.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
