It’s happened to many customers: they try a new item from a grocery store only to bring it back home, eat it, and be underwhelmed by the experience.
While some consider it a learning experience and simply vow to never buy the product again, other folks bring the items back to the store for a refund.
One customer has gone viral on TikTok for saying she did the latter with two boxes of mini chicken tacos from Trader Joe’s. After purchasing the tacos, Sydney Adams Yi, a baker who posts under the handle @sydneyyi3, wasn’t exactly thrilled with how they tasted, and thought the image on the box varied greatly from the actual tacos she received.
@sydneyyi3 Don’t say I didn’t warn ya! Thanks T Swift. #traderjoes #traderjoesfoodreviews #haul #food #traderjoesfinds #fyp #foryoupage #k18results ♬ original sound – Sydney Adams Yi
Yi uploaded a video detailing why she wasn’t a fan of the mini tacos, and urged other Trader Joe’s shoppers to steer clear of them.
In a follow-up video, she documented her process of returning the items to Trader Joe’s. The video received over 39,000 likes and hundreds of comments on the platform.
“OK, today is the day these babies go back,” Yi said to start the video. She then walked into a Trader Joe’s with her receipt and chicken tacos in hand. When Yi entered the store, she immediately told an employee that she had a return. After confirming that Yi intended to buy more items during her visit, the worker told her what to do about her return.
“OK, just let your cashier know, and we’ll take these off your bill,” the worker said.
“Oh, OK, you don’t need this?” Yi asked, seemingly referring to her receipt.
“No, don’t need that,” the worker responded. “Just tell them you have a return, and they’ll call us over.”
@sydneyyi3 I had to do what was right. #return #traderjoes #traderjoesfoodreviews #haul #lifestyle #fyp #foryoupage #tacos #food #groceryshopping #groceryhaul ♬ Spinning Monkeys – Okasansan08
Yi thanked the worker before walking away to begin her shopping. The clip then transitioned to her standing over boxes of mini beef tacos in the frozen food section. “Nope, ain’t no way in hell,” she said.
When she finished shopping, Yi went to a checkout lane and informed her cashier that she had a return. The camera then cut to the worker ringing a bell above the register, signaling that they required assistance.
“That was very easy. I just returned both of those wretched boxes to Trader Joe’s. All done!” Yi said as she left the store.
In her car, she smiled and said that she “deterred some woman from buying that exact same box of mini chicken tacos.”
“I said, ‘You see this picture on the box? How it’s so full and delicious looking like that? Yeah, the chicken is about this big in there, so don’t get it,’” Yi said. As she spoke, she demonstrated the paltry amount of protein with her fingers.
“She thanks me for telling her and she put them right back in the cooler case,” the TikToker continued. “All the stuff that I purchased today was cheaper than the return, so it’s a good day, I guess.”
In the comments section, many viewers agreed that they aren’t fans of Trader Joe’s mini chicken tacos. Several also praised the store for its generous return policy.
“I merely mentioned to the cashier that i didnt like something I bought last trip, and they gave me a credit for it,” one user wrote.
Others said they would be intimidated to try and return something because they don’t want everyone in the store to look at them after an employee rings the bell.
“Now I’ll never return anything [there] because I don’t want them to ring that bell lol,” one viewer commented.
There were also some who remarked that it had never even occurred to them that they could return food items to a grocery store.
According to Club Trader Joe’s, the store has a “generous return policy” for customers who aren’t satisfied with any items they purchase.
“Trader Joe’s has a generous return policy—you can bring almost any item back to the store for a full refund, with or without a receipt. This includes food items you’ve opened and even eaten and non-edible products that didn’t meet your expectations,” the blog reads.
The Daily Dot reached out to Yi via Instagram direct message and Trader Joe’s via email for further comment.
