Amazing timing - I returned my first ever item to Trader Joe's today, and the experience was memorable.

My wife bought blackberries this morning. Tonight, after dinner, we realized they were moldy. I went to exchange them at about 8:30 pm, just before closing. The store was out of blackberries, though. I called home to ask if there was anything else I should get.

"Olive oil" was the answer. So I walk up to the counter, ready to do an exchange, and the cashier looked at the $8 bottle of Olive Oil, the $3 carton of moldy blackberries, and said:

"Yeah those are about even. Have a good night." He then shooed me out the door without even ringing anything up on the computer.

That kind of autonomy is not what you expect from ANY retail establishment, let alone a grocery store.