In 2018, a customer secretly photographed Geoffrey Owens best known for playing Elvin on the Cosby Show working at a Trader Joe's in Clifton, New Jersey, and the images were published online in an attempt to "job-shame" him. Instead, he was able to get more work as an actor because of it.

[u/AdSpecialist6598]

He went on to explain that most actors and indeed most entertainers are gig workers. For every a-lister many other actors work gig to gig and having steady work and a steady income that pays well is really hard because the field is so unpredictable. And many actors including many well know actors and artists have to have a secondary source of regular income between gigs and for most working entertainers it means getting a regular job and taking whatever roles you can get.

[u/junkyardpig]

Shaming anyone for any job  that doesn’t involve hurting someone is despicable. Also, Trader Joe’s seems like a great place to work.

[u/ScaredEngraver → u/junkyardpig]

TJ's did burn me out eventually and I had to leave, but I wouldn't have taken any other retail job. If things ever get bad I'll definitely return

[u/AltruisticScar950 → u/ScaredEngraver]

Same. And working there through covid was so shitty. The company has devolved like most things in society, but it used to be fun

[u/GlitterPirateKiki58 → u/ScaredEngraver]

As a customer, I love the employees at TJ’s!

I know that all retail jobs kinda suck (I’ve had a few…), but the TJ’s staff make it a more pleasant place to shop.

[u/paperbuddha → u/junkyardpig]

Trader Joe’s and Costco are the two GOATs from what I’ve read/seen.

[u/GirlOverboard → u/paperbuddha]

I’m sorry to say that while individual stores may be lovely places to work (I’ve known many an employee whose experience was great!), Trader Joe’s themselves are staunchly anti-union and clearly anti-workers rights, aligning themselves with Amazon and SpaceX to try and dismantle the National Labor Relations Board under the argument that the board is unconstitutional.

[u/99timewasting → u/junkyardpig]

My old roommate was a manager at Trader Joe's and made more than I did in my 9-5 office job

[u/Intelligent-Dot-3343 → u/99timewasting]

Yo, high-key working at Trader Joe's has always been my mental "fall-back" plan if I get laid off or something and can't find work in my industry. They treat their employees pretty well. Good benefits. Discounts on groceries. It's a really sensible, solid job, tbh.

[u/Crafty-Purpose5540 → u/junkyardpig]

My step mother works there and loves it.

[u/joeg26reddit → u/Crafty-Purpose5540]

Trader Joe Step Mom

(New porn genre unlocked)

[u/harriettehspy → u/joeg26reddit]

C’mon guys, it’s funny. No need to downvote.

[u/melgibson64 → u/junkyardpig]

Since the first time my mom went to a Trader Joe's years ago she has said she's going to work there part time when she retires because she loves going in there and how personable everyone is. That should be any time now so we'll see if she does it.

[u/scarves_and_miracles → u/junkyardpig]

I think it wasn't so much that people considered Trader Joe's a shameful job, it's that there's a (perhaps not unreasonable) assumption that this guy must have been paid a lot of money and gotten a ton of career exposure as a regular actor on the biggest show on TV, so you just don't expect to see him working a job like that, and people wonder if he fucked up and squandered his success somehow.

[u/Sugarhoneytits → u/junkyardpig]

It's good honest work and Geoffrey's supporting himself through life. What a shitty thing to do to a decent man.

[u/dingdongdeVilish → u/junkyardpig]

Trader Joe’s is great. As a customer I met my wife there. She still works there

[u/thetravelingsong → u/junkyardpig]

I work as a job coach and I’ve worked with probably 30 or 40 different employers over the years. Trader Joe’s is the best employer of people with disabilities that I’ve worked with.

[u/she_bacon → u/junkyardpig]

Geoffrey has a family to feed too. Why are people so horrible? I loved Elvin, btw. Shame on that person for trying to shame him.

[u/sdiss98 → u/junkyardpig]

Coulda shirt shamed him tho. That bad boy needed retired about a decade before that photo was snapped…

[u/AmputeeHandModel → u/sdiss98]

*Need to be retired