Craig is temporarily a post-doctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute who is looking for a permanent position. He spends most of his time balancing his overwhelming geekdom with normalcy so he can function in the real world. Luckily his wife likes his geekiness.
Peter Etnoyer is a Graduate Research Associate at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He studies deep corals and ocean fronts, and he loves to be on the water.
Kevin Zelnio is a Graduate Student Researcher at Penn State studying the ecology of hydrothermal vent and methane seep communities. He raises awareness of the plight of the spineless through folk music.
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Category: Just One Thing Challenge
Posted on: February 19, 2008 3:39 PM, by CR McClain
I am now waiting on word form the Buying Department
Hello Craig,Thank you for your product feedback and requests. We will forward your
concerns and comments to our Buying Department for review and
consideration.Thank you for your inquiry and thank you for shopping at Trader Joe's.
K-----
Trader Joe's Customer Relations
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Comments
I too got a response... underwhelming to say the least:
Eric,
Our buyers go to great lengths to ensure that we are receiving seafood
that is coming from sustainable, legal sources that have a minimal
effect on the environment. Our vendors work with the regulatory agencies
directly involved, ensuring that the product is legally caught or
harvested. Should we ever receive verifiable evidence to the contrary,
we will discontinue business with that particular vendor.
Ultimately, it is our customers that determine what we carry in our
stores. They vote with their dollars, letting us know directly through
their purchases what they wish for us to carry. This policy applies to
every product that we carry. If the volume of sales should ever drop on
any item, it would stand the risk of being discontinued and no long
brought into our stores.
Sincerely,
Amy
Trader Joe's
Customer Relations
Posted by: Eric | February 19, 2008 4:56 PM
I used the web form submission and never was emailed a confirmation and haven't received a response.
Posted by: kevin z | February 19, 2008 5:05 PM
You guys ready to encourage Trader Joe's to help fix some fisheries, perhaps in California where they're based? I think it's a stronger thing for them to do than to "just say no" to orange roughy.
Posted by: Mark Powell | February 19, 2008 7:47 PM
Small changes...at first
Posted by: CR McClain | February 19, 2008 8:53 PM
I've had problems with Trader Joe's in the past too, which surprised me because I expected them to be much more involved in conservation issues. I was putting together a citywide food drive where we worked at more than 20 major supermarkets across Seattle where more than 100 AmeriCorps volunteers would just be sitting outside asking for canned food donations. The two Trader Joe's were the ONLY two stores that were not receptive to the idea, and they actually reacted rather hostilely.
That being said, they strongly encourage people not to use plastic bags, which was another part of the challenge :) For whatever reason, they seem only to be interested in their own initiatives, which is still better than some places...
Posted by: Max | February 20, 2008 7:24 AM
I got a nearly identical response:
Hello JP,
Thank you for contacting us. We appreciate your feedback regarding the Orange Roughy and will forward your comments to the appropriate Buyer.Thanks for your input.
Thank you for shopping Trader Joe's.
Sincerely,
Ana
Trader Joe's
Customer Relations
Posted by: slim | February 20, 2008 11:49 AM
It's good for them to hear this. Don't assume that short term refusal means no impact from the letters. They may do something else in response, or you may increase the urgency of some things they're already planning to do on their own. I suggest trying to open a dialogue with a more open-ended question. Like follow up in a month and say: I see you're still selling orange roughy, are you interested in sustainable seafood in general? Are you doing other things? Are you interested? Looking for advice?
Posted by: Mark Powell | February 20, 2008 11:59 AM
Mark,
As always thanks for you input. The advice from someone with experience in these areas is always welcome.
Posted by: cR McClain | February 20, 2008 12:09 PM
And then we mount a "corporate takeover" if they don't listen
Posted by: Jim Lemire | February 20, 2008 12:18 PM
I got the same/similar response today (4/20/2008):
Hello Paula,
Thank you for your product feedback and requests. We will forward your
concerns and comments to our Buying Department for review and
consideration.
Thank you for your inquiry and thank you for shopping at Trader Joe's.
Kellye
Trader Joe's Customer Relations
Posted by: Paula | April 21, 2008 11:43 AM