You can also ask the crew members to open up a product you're not sure about

Rick Wilking/Reuters

Worried that you're about to waste your money on a product you've never tried before? You can ask a crew member to open it up (as long as it's non-alcoholic) so you can try it.

In fact, employees will probably thank you for that.

"I love when customers ask to try products," a Trader Joe's manager wrote in a 2016 Reddit AMA.

"We get to finish whatever the customer wanted to try," a Trader Joe's crew member wrote in a 2018 Reddit AMA.

The Trader Joe's manager wrote that there are certain limitations to how much free food the store will give out to prevent shoppers from taking advantage of the policy.

"We're not gonna grill up a steak for you," the manager wrote. "I've only experienced two or three occasions where a customer tried to take advantage of this."

In those instances, customers would ask crew members to open up over 10 products.

"Management had to step in and kindly inform them that one or two products is fine but we have to draw the line somewhere, plus we have the no hassle return policy where you don't even need to bring a receipt, so they can buy with product with confidence and if they don't like it are welcome to return it," the manager wrote.