Speaking as a mostly carnivore, there's not a bit of difference between their meat and what I can buy at Walmart. None of the beef is grass finished. The entire rest of the store is meaningless to my way of ancestral eating. Besides beef (bone, muscle, organs, and fats) I eat only fruit. Mainly avocados, olives, and apples. Again, no difference from what I can buy at Walmart or anywhere else. At the molecular level, the human body only "eats" glucose and lipids. These upscale "health food" stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's are (for me) completely unnecessary.
Anthony Bourdain once said: "Whole Foods: Sanctimony at any price." That said, I have found staff to be knowledgeable, talented and personable, never once surly. But then, I haven't been to one since 2015, having moved to Asia. I shopped there for things that couldn't be found anywhere else, and there were actually some amazing bargains, here and there.
I have worked at whole foods for the last seven years and I can say it is significantly worse since amazon took over. every small perk we got as employees is being slowly chipped away at. Whole foods used to be very dedicated to treating its team members well and that is no longer true in my experience. I will also say that we are busier than we have ever been.
I talked to Whole Foods employees and are happier than ever they're making more money than they were before and yes it is busier because it's one of the best place to work for I would be very thankful if I was you
@@markdraper3148 I'm happy that the people who you spoke to are happy but that's not what I'm hearing in my store from my coworkers. I am grateful that they help me support my family but I mourn the culture we lost in the transition to being another branch of Amazon.
I walked into my neighborhood WF yesterday and the shelves in dairy were EMPTY. There were hardly any workers and I thought, "did they quit" or were they fired? The original owner should buy back the store.
My husband lost his job at Whole Foods due to the Amazon purchase. His position across the entire company was eliminated. It ended up being a good thing for him but he stays in touch with old coworkers and they say it is going downhill to work their as an employee.
No matter the size of your employer, a good rule of thumb is if you enjoy your job and hear an acquisition is in the works, go ahead and start sending out resumes.
My farm has been a local vendor to Whole Foods for 21 years. They are as committed to us as ever. Their support has been crucial to our success and growth. This video feels like a hit piece to me. The grocery business is hard. Personally I am grateful for their support. I hope they continue to thrive.
I have seen none of the things they’re claiming to be true in my area (Ft Lauderdale suburbs). Customer service is incredibly superior to Target and Walmart. Lots of local suppliers, great produce and very happy employees. Definitely a hit piece.
@@natureloversadventures7335 That's good to know. I've been leary of placing an online order because I'm exceptionally picky & I read labels to make sure there's certain things not listed in what I purchase.
The issue is with the workers and how they are being treated from what i'm reading. I don't think your positive experience alone means everything is wrong in this video or that it's a hit piece.
WFM should have stayed true to their original purpose of organic, non-organic, and local options; they should have never sold to Amazon. I love WFM, used to work there, and each store was unique to the local. Sure, prices are a little higher than the usual market (Kroger, WM, Albertsons, etc.) but honestly, like Central Market, you get better quality and the stores are usually much cleaner. It's worth the extra cost....IMHO.
I opened the 2nd store in NYC on Columbus Circle in 2004. There was a 2-day training; it was really informative & detailed; I enjoyed every minute. I watched the CEO/owner right before it was sold to Amazon answer with a straight face when asked if he would sell WFM; he said “no.” I was truly disappointed when several months later the sale was announced. The sole purpose of a business is to make as much profit as possible, and I’m assuming they did just that. Employees, company culture, environmental concerns, living wages, health care, etc. seems not nearly as important as profits, ROI & stock value.
We moved to Bee Cave, TX in 2017 - been shopping at WF since the mid 90’s in the Northeast. The produce quality has gone down while prices have gone up. We’ve found better quality organic produce at the local H‑E‑B for less.
I knew they would go down once Amazon took over. So sad. Amazon wants to put EVERYONE OUT OF BUSINESS. They want all malls to close everything. We are going to be left with no choices whatsoever except Amazon. I go to everything except Amazon today. I hate that Amazon is monopolizing everything. So many things on Amazon, clothes, appliances etc are horrible quality. I specifically look for places even online that are AMERICAN MADE AND MANUFACTURED. I’m seeing a gradual rise in others wanting the same thing.
You’re right Lara :( I’ve worked for Whole Foods for 11 years and started there at 22. Was an amazing company for my first 7 years and then the aliens took over
@@Camquarters I saw the difference in Whole Foods as a patron after Amazon took over and I felt badly for the employees at the time. Now they have these Amazon Fresh stores with no employees whatsoever, robots and walk in walk out. I refuse to patronize this. Wish the best for you. It has to be disheartening to say the least.
I used to work at WF while in college some years back; before the sell to Amazon and it was truly a lovely experience. It was my first introduction to healthy and organic. The company paid well and cared about employees (even offered stock, a 401K and a discount) most of my pay, went right back to them 😂) but I noticed an immediate change, once Amazon took over 😖. At one point, my local store never had fresh produce and unfortunately, I’ve purchased some spoiled ground beef and chicken (both organic) which never happened when the store was owned by Bob Mackie. My local stores don’t seem to have lost customers but the Amazon prime employee’s are a huge annoyance when shopping. And yes, the employees don’t seem as happy, as when I worked there 😩
Most of the grocery items that can be purchased at Whole Foods can be purchased at another grocery across the street for less. What used entice me to shop there were the prepared items, soups, deserts and breads which over the past couple years have all decreased in quality and availability while at the same time skyrocketing in price. The hot food bars are just gross... always looking dry and picked over, and hardly being freshened after the initial food is put out. And they refuse to experiment with any new prepared food items. What I can buy there today is the same as what I could buy 5 years ago. Whole Foods: if you want to survive, bring people in with what used to differentiate you. I can buy crackers, milk and cereal anywhere.
I said the same. I purchased a handmade burrito five months ago. Never again. Their bar foods are disgusting and looks unsanitary. Whole Foods before Amazon used to have a great selection of interesting plant based foods. Not anymore. You're right. C sd n get staple items cheaper elsewhere.
Unfortunately they don't let us experiment in the hot bars anymore, it's "put these 4-5 recipes from 4-5 styles out for service." Lots of those foods come already made in bags but most of the time they're out of stock. But it all being premade is so they can hire people who barely know how to cook at the minimum of $15 to do the job. My store manager says we can't just make the dishes from scratch based off the ingredient list because of some legal thing involving variance in nutrition? Which is one of many things that changed with Amazon's buyout. But I've worked in a grocery hot bar before and I was allowed plenty of freedom. Not only that, but it was great for selling off any extra meat or produce before it would have to get thrown out. But in the case of whole foods, I've talked to our regional "leaders" about how I don't like putting food out that I KNOW isn't going to sell, be it hit or cold-packed, the only answer I got was "the spoilage has been accounted for" I don't think that should be something to account for, you should want to sell food you know will get bought. But my pfds regional manager is just a giant douche of a yes man who is completely out of touch with the actual work he demands of his stores. My theory is that Amazon is using Whole Foods as an intentional money pit to balance out all the profit from their other branches.
They've leaned towards a consignment model to rent out their shelf space. Which has resulted in multiple brands of the same products. Does this seem like a grocer that has taken a careful selection of goods to carry or just a shelf space landlord? Their publicity is their product sold to their renters. Thereby adding to the final price tag.
@@Soapgirl64 I've been in a few Denver locations that are okay. The one remaining location in the Springs and the new one in Castle Rock are *not* good. I've been often enough to know my observations at those locations aren't flukes.
I loved Whole Foods before Bezos. Funky, young dedicated, helpful staff excited to work there. Delicious prepared foods to go. Local produce. Very Austin vibe. Now it is joyless corporate greed all the way, just like Bezos.
They even want us to ring up our purchases and bag our own items. Less cashiers discourage using them as lines get long. They no longer hire attractive females but that is a personal observation.
@@iii___iii I guess it is discriminatory to hire by looks. I think they hire non attractive females so males will not flirt with the workers. Less flirting equals more productivity by the staff. Bezos uses the chinese factory model for his stores.
Whole Foods has gone downhill since Amazon bought them out. They no longer offer dishes in the deli or hot bar that are tailored to the local fare or seasonal items. It used to be a treat to go in there and get salads and hot foods that were delicious and fresh, now they are bland and boring, stale and predictable, dry and tasteless. So sad because we shopped there for 20+ years, and now I don’t know if there is anything to replace that…
I used to work at WFM, and about two years before the Amazon acquisition, I quit to move on to other things. I used to work in the prepared foods department, and I can tell you in the time period I worked there, about ninety five percent of the prepared foods were made fresh in store by the cooks working in the kitchen. The team members I have kept in contact with that still work there after Amazon took over say that nearly all of the food comes in pre-packaged now. They unpackage it, heat it up, then put it out on the sales floor. I can't say for sure if this is company wide or if it is unique to the store I used to work at. But, this practice definitely screams Amazon, and it is very far away from the company values I was taught when I worked there.
@@ShaunPuzon I just posted about this. It’s company-wide. I’m a customer and the other customers don’t know it’s all prepackaged food. The brown gravy at thanksgiving in Santa Barbara came out of a clear plastic bag and I could tell the worker was not supposed to let the public see that. I told my son and he just groaned. His roommate was a cook at Wfm in Albuquerque and it was a skilled job. No more. The deli workers are just order takers now, no pride or connection to cooking. Most restaurants now do the same thing. The workers just heat up the food. My dad owned restaurants. It would be much more simple for the owner and if the place is busy like paninos it would be tempting to adopt the practice. But how soul destroying! So chefs have to work in one hub? Or maybe all chefs will be out of work and it’s just one big assembly. Shudder!!!!!! I did food demos at wfm - at Christmas when Amazon bought wfm, with no word nationwide, we were all let go from work at our biggest customer wfm. That was thousands of independent contractors, mostly young mothers and seniors. We had other stores but the bulk of steady work was at Whole Foods. Thank you bezos! That’s the second job he took from me! The first was when he made a deal with goodwill in Denver to take all their donated textbooks so they never made it to the retail goodwills. The goodwill ceo was making 800,000 a year. My income and independence as a book buyer, bookseller was gone. That’s when people have to apply for public assistance. Bezos should have stayed in space!
I believe Amazon acquired Whole Foods just to have an infrastructure to be able to do grocery delivery, these Whole Foods will eventually just be a warehouse with Amazon shoppers.
Yes and who is going to prepare, package and put out all of this said food for the Amazon pickers? My husband is in bakery and is slammed every day working sometimes 10 hour shifts with hardly a break.
I went to Whole Foods a few weeks back (first time since Amazon took over) and it was HORRIBLE. The produce and meat were not fresh and not one employee said a word to me. Like the video, the store was overcrowded with order pickers and not actual customers. I also do not like the requirement to have Amazon Prime for online shopping.
I can only give an opinion based on my experience. I love Whole Foods. The employees are friendly and helpful. The food is always fresh. Their brands offer wonderful quality and an excellent value. I’ve been shopping there since 2008 and never had any problem
I TOTALLY AGREE! They should not put down this great store. ALWAYS at every single one I have been to…the employees are super helpful and friendly. The store is organized well and the products are high quality. I WILL NOT LISTEN TO THIS BECAUSE IT IS NOT TRUE FOR 80-90% of customers I am sure.
I disagree with the statement that “Walmart” has better customer service than Whole Foods. Employees at Whole Foods have helped me out find items every time I have asked, unlike Walmart employees who have told me “I don’t work in that department”…or “I’ll call someone” and they never do.
Whole Foods is definitely a higher end shopping experience than Walmart, where employees drag and can never be found. I’d never buy food at Walmart anyway.
Most of my favorite products at Whole Foods disappeared after the Amazon takeover. E.g. Delicious naan bread was replaced by the Whole Foods brand that tastes nothing like it. Favorite sourdough from a local bakery in Williamsburg is also gone. It seems that they fired their employees, as the store is poorly run. Shelves are often empty, the store is messy. A few times the fish and meat I purchases were not fresh. It's downhill.
I tried to like Wholefoods but it's difficult to shop there. There is a certain aura of snootiness among its customers and surliness (thanks Mashed) among its staff that is real off putting. Trader Joe's customers in socal are similar but its staff are always friendly. At the end, I feel much more comfortable shopping Aldi and Costco and have not needed to shop at other places.
Ive been thinking the same for a while. Value wise and still getting organic or other home items, Costco is absolute the value king. Whole foods you get unique items but the prices are just too high.
Thanks for telling it like it is. Can't stand Trader Joe's snooty customers. I only go in there twice a year to buy soap and can't wait to run out of there.
Well said. I 2nd this. I shop frequently at Costco, Aldi's, Sam's Club, and a couple of other organic, health oriented stores and find that all things that matter to me are covered without a need to find my way into Whole Foods or Trader Joes. I cant stand being around stuck up folks. Gross.
The Whole Foods that I shop is truly a nightmare with the Prime Pickers dominating the aisles. Whole Foods needs to open dedicated dark stores exclusively for the Prime Pickers/delivery service. Many of the store employees are surly and somewhat unpleasant to deal with. The purchase by Amazon is definitely lowered the chain and more and more, Sprouts Farmers Markets is getting my business. Places like Kroger (Smith's), Albertson's ,Von's are store that I DO NOT shop as the experience is awful, the stores are too big and the vast majority of their products are unhealthy ultra processed crap sold by big agriculture. Healthy, organic and better foods are simply and afterthought.
Pickers have changed all shopping experience from grocery to Target. I've had conversation with many managers about the need to emphasize customer service with pickers as well, but as long as they're paid for efficiency and speed, and complaints are ignored, it is another way in which the world has changed.
I agree. Vons and Albertson's have terrible selection of mostly industrialized foods, and loaded with aisles of junk as well. As bad as Whole Foods may appear, I can find decent quality foods that I can enjoy eating.
They lost me as a customer once they started charging a $10 surcharge for delivery - $10 plus a delivery fee. I'd rather do curbside at my local super market.
Yep! you hit it on the noise. Lost me too. Went back to local store who give discounts and better prices. Amazon primes warehouse has free delivery and fresh foods--so far so good. I wonder when they are going to bleed customers for delivery charges, etc.
No surprise here. I predicted a lot of this when Amazon took them over. Selling local farm raised goods was the appeal of Whole foods - I predicted Amazon would drop those products from the line ups. Like going to a fine restaurant and seeing the Sysco truck pull in.
I worked for them and quit when I got a .25 cent raise instead of the $2.50 I was supposed to get for being a trainer during the $15 minimum pay increase.... The store at 3:45 is actually the one I worked for
I worked for Wf for around 8 years. I missed a couple of meetings that are in the morning (I worked late nights) Then my mom died. I didn't call out, so that was enough points to fire me. I never got any points until AMAZON took over.
The closure of whole paycheck will be mourned by no one. As for bezos fresh booty stores, they will never be able to present the variety of goods that say Kroger and it's vast family of stores already does. Amazon should just get out of the food business and concentrate on the most important project to the company and that is to send Jeff Bezos to Mars and leave him there.
I'm a Prime member and Amazon's food prices aren't too good. I find local retailers can often provide the same products cheaper and without the requirement of buying more than I want. In a case I checked just today, a simple cheap product I could buy for anywhere from $.75 to $1.25 at local stores cost at Amazon over twice the top price and had to be bought in a lot of 12. Whole Foods prices for all groceries appears to be what Amazon is aiming for.
Sick of Bezo's arrogant smilesmurk....one day he will be in the ground, also...YOU ARE NO BETTER just made by the public...so humble yourself or go build an empire on Mars IDIOT...
It didn't take too long after Amazon purchased WF to notice the difference in shopping. Employees seemed to be nervous, hesitant to slow down to answer customer questions and the long wait to checking out was totally unacceptable. I have stopped going there.
because the company don’t hire more people, I work there as a janitor and I help cashiers to do carts 🛒 , If it was not for me, they would take even longer and longer helping customers 🧐
@@adriana-jn8ru not at whole foods market where I work, maybe they can look like that but when customers with a bad actitud leave from the store, they surely don’t care about that people including you 💁♀️ As a janitor , believe me that I don’t see them crying 😢 after that people leave
Yes this channel is RIDICULOUS! First and last time viewing it. WHOLE FOODS IS STILL AWESOME AND UNIQUE. No other grocery measures up at all. Many love WF and they far outweigh the complainers.
Though the chain needs to remain, I cried the day I found out that Amazon bought out the stores. I knew it marked the end of an era and it’s movement. It was a movement that had a soul, and when Amazon bought it, that soul was ripped out. I could feel it when walking around the store, which prompted me to ask if something changed, when I was told about the sale to Amazon. Then suddenly Prices soared, products disappeared, the prepared foods now had a bunch of unhealthy additives like sugar and canola oil, and the friendly community vibe disappeared. The workers there are wonderful, very helpful and on the ball, but I suspect they’re being treated more like machines than persons.
The hot food bar and salad bars have gone downhill. Their holiday meals have also suffered. We bought for Thanksgiving and the side dishes were only mediocre. It used to be my favorite grocery chain, but now I prefer Sprouts or even the pricier Lazy Acres.
I was at Whole Foods today. I’m not a regular shopper. I do have Amazon Prime and like that I can return items there. There was no nightmare shopping due to order pickers. The hot sauce I like went up $2 on Amazon but I could get it delivered from Whole Foods for the old price. It’s so close I stopped by. The customer service has always been great at the location by me. Staffed with friendly stoners mostly.
Amazon has massive grocery warehouse now, so they no longer have store shoppers unless it’s Wholefoods specific orders. They fulfill Amazon Fresh orders from the warehouses. They’re basically competing with their Wholefoods stores. My guess they will sell the stores or just absorb them at some point. The delivery fee for just Wholefoodsis $9 now while Amazon Fresh remains free.
@@jaeshasway But Amazon loses money with free delivery. They lose money on "free" shipping with prime. They gain from getting more customers, and being the go-to store for most shoppers. But on shipping and delivery, they lose money.
Whole foods' customer service has completely diminished once Amazon bought it, in my experience. I'll also never forget the day this man in about his late 50's, asked a young male employee where an item was and the response was literally: Dude, I don't know; try that way...
Used to shop there but since the ownership change, I feel the quality, service and energy of the market has gone down. It is my last choice now. Used to be where I shopped.
I don't know enough to have an informed opinion, but I always wondered if they bought Whole Foods just to run it into the ground & put it out of business. It makes me cynical when a giant corp. buys out a successful, smaller company that had been known to focus on local and treating their employees well, promises they "won't change," and immediately changes despite their promises.
Got food poisoning at the hot bar the meat loaf. Diarrhea, vomiting. Thought I was dying, whole foods is not a good source of healthy foods, beware be careful, it's scary.
All health food stores are taking a hit due to the widespread job losses due to the pandemic. Despite the health-promoting characteristic of health food stores in general, many people are pivoting to cheaper groceries that cost less just to keep a roof over their heads.
People are unwilling to pay Whole Foods’s outrageous prices during a global pandemic. If Whole Foods wants to bounce back, then they need to find solutions in making organic food more affordable and accessible for the general public, while simultaneously finding a way to maintain a strong minimum wage and benefits for employees.
Its gonna take a while for that too happen. The truth is real food is very expensive. And they dont want to admit to the world that real food is running thin.
it's only gonna get worse. theyre going to start selling us even more intense franken food soon and limiting our meat consumption. solution? shop at the farmers market
@@revblank You missed his point. When it came time to codify the practice of having to label foods as GMO into law Whole Foods financed the movement against doing so.
i used to work at whole foods and absolutley loved it!! sadly saw little by little you had to chat less with your regular customers and rush along.. and so many little things like that. now as a customer i still shop there and get delivery but feel pretty annoyed it's now 9.99 per delivery on top of your amazon prime membership.. I can understand things go up, but maybe a monthly fee would be better. Not to mention the prime shoppers literally have gone so down hill. Used to be awesome now half my produce is rotten everytime.
The delivery drivers are contract employees hired by whole foods. Try to understand that the store hardly keeps any of those $10, it goes to the driver and they probably spend 30 minutes round trip and $5 on gas to deliver your groceries to you. To you it might be a lot to spend, but to many others you're paying a semi-ethical wage for services received. Even if you live close to the store, it takes time for the driver to acquire your order and depart. Nothing is ever instantaneous. Get used to it too, I don't see gas or delivery fees decreasing.
My Whole Foods sucks so bad now. I rarely buy from there anymore and I used to go twice a week. The employees look like they are Stockholm Syndrome victims and barely make eye contact. The life force has been completely drained. There are more Prime shoppers than actual people shopping. It’s dead, sterile, and a shell of its former self.
Replacing almost every previous vendor with the 365 brand is absolutely ruining the WHOLE reason people shopped there to begin with. It’s depressing in there now bc it feels generic and communistic. 365 brand is almost always an inferior product.
Surly staffers indeed, I’ve experienced that on about 4 to 5 occasions. The horrors of staffers who think they own the place and alienating prime shoppers at their volume, destroy the justification for the high prices. The in-store luxury experience was the brand’s crown. All that has gone to shit.
Love the selection at Whole Foods but they seemingly only hire sickly, pale, purple or green haired, iron deficient vegans who have tons of disgusting tattoos and piercings. You know, people you’d prefer didn’t handle your food. I can’t help but feel like I’m funding Communism every time I shop there.
Amazon ruined Whole Foods. It used to be my favorite grocery store. Now I go to Fresh Market. The produce and overall products are not high quality anymore.
Everyone says Whole Foods pricing is expensive, but it genuinely is not relative to what it sells. I've been a purchaser of organic foods for a larger portion of my life and collectively you will not find better pricing anywhere else. Sure maybe if you go to Costco, you'll be able to find a 3-pack of Amy's Organic Chilis for cheaper, but you won't be able to find everything else you'd need for a grocery-run organic. Also, Whole Foods sells a lot of specialty/international ingredients which yes can be expensive, but if you are a purveyor of the exotic and don't want to have to make an extra 20-minute drive to the Asian market or wait 3 days for that one ingredient you need for a recipe, then Whole Foods is your best friend. I won't deny that for those who don't have an exotic tongue, buy exclusively organic, and deeply care about quality ingredients they'll be able to find a cheaper grocer. But if you are, then all around Whole Foods will be cheaper and especially so with the prime membership.
The prime shoppers don’t stand in lines and I don’t believe you have to have a prime membership to order online either. I work at a Whole Foods and it’s busier than ever. Our local products are decently priced more so than conventional stores. I can say since Amazon took over some perks for team members have changed some for the better and some for the worse. It’s called sign of the times people learn to evolve
I've currently worked for WFM for nearly 15 years; the benefits and bonuses have gotten worse year after year since then to near worthless. The Amazon takeover has just made everything escalate. At least 50% of our customers are overly entitled and treat every employee like crap, just 3 months of "hazard pay" since beginning of Covid although outside of Nursing/Doctors we are the most Essential workers around. Cases are at record levels in our stores yet nothing has changed. While I hate Mackey it's just gonna get worse once he leaves (as he is probably the only thing stopping Amazon turning us into full-on Amazon). As an aside I feel that if you stick to 365 or WFM branded items its just as expensive as most stores it you buy their premium company products (even w/o my discount).
I had all my groceries delivered from Whole Foods during the pandemic, using the free delivery option, always took the suggested tip for the delivery, so I paid to the delivery person. Whole Foods did a great job supplying the food. I tried other stores that did not do well at all. This made me appreciate Amazon's and Whole Foods dedication to quality of food as well as quality of service.
They got rid of all their beloved products and prepared foods and local products and the stores became like boring warehouses and no longer felt upscale. They also got rid of many organics and created generic 365 brand that eliminated beloved private brands. In PA their organic produce goes bad fast-too long of warehousing.
Definitely expensive which I’d assume helps the bottom line. Service is great as far as treatment but the stores seem to be understaffed creating a delay in service which hurts the overall experience. I believe Wholefoods had one of the best salad bars found anywhere. After Covid, the quality and selection diminished which I’ve noticed has lowered foot traffic
I was a loyal WF customer until Amazon took over and everything changed. I've pulled back significantly how much I spend there. The experience is just not the same.
That's sad to hear because once Amazon took over the employees are much happier that customers and tell us how thankful they are for that quality and standards are much better now
@@markdraper3148are you sure? 🤔 (my english is not good)… I work there as a janitor and I see some employees complaining because Amazon shoppers use their break room, restrooms and other rest areas that from some years ago they didn’t have to share. Also , when I see supervisors busy doing amazon returns and I talk about that, they say “you are right, we shouldn’t do returns”. Another thing I see It’s that amazon shoppers don’t work safe, they almost hit customers sometimes. Also, many whole foods employees don’t like to do carts 🛒, I help them gladly because I see them busy. Also, they don’t have paid vacations
@@angelsaidferreira5193 yes I'm very sure always those who are going to complain that are just never happy in life it's unfortunate but that's how life is
@@angelsaidferreira5193 yes I am very sure I know is a janitor you weren't part of the team leadership so there's a lot of things here that you probably didn't understand but teamwork is teamwork
This year was the first year in over a decade I didn't use Amazon for any holiday shopping at all. It's because of the way they just stack boxes in our mail room and don't deliver them to my door anymore. If I wanted it delivered into a pile of all my neighbors mail... IDK, I wouldn't.
@@petemitchell6788 My door number is part of the address already on the label. I shouldn't have clarify that I want it at my door and I won't. That detail should be pretty obvious. Instead, I've simply stopped using Amazon and delivery services and go get what I want locally.
I've shopped at Whole Foods for at least a portion of my groceries since the late 90s and it has definitely gotten way worse since the Amazon purchase. Employees are more hit and miss in knowledge and helpfulness, produce quality is far less consistent, product selection has shrunk dramatically, meat and fish departments have gotten worse, and inventory management has gotten mediocre at best. Note that a lot of these changes happened long before COVID. As far as the virus is concerned, they still haven't reopened my favorite part of the store, the bulk section, and their mask policy discriminated against people with medical waivers counter to both county and CDC policy. I now find myself going there less and less, usually focusing on when Amazon has cheap or free Prime promotions.
Here's my take, I just got hired and have been here for a few weeks. a few things I've noticed. They pay $15/hr , it is part time work, no benefits and you will be asked to change you schedule to meet the store or teams needs almost weekly. They are vigilant about making sure they get every ounce of productivity squeezed out of you, almost run militarily. ex --> when stocking shelves they actually have you sign in on a sheet so you are clocked to have so many cases opened and stocked. Never mind the frequent inquiries from customers or any other issue that might pull you away from your task. Their policies also draconian when it comes to sick calls, time off and such which is fine if the bottom line is worth it remember my previous statement very low salary , it's part time and no benefits oh but you do get a discount on already overpriced groceries so that's a wash. My thoughts are why would you even bother to stay here as you can make the same or most likely more without all the dictatorship vibes. I think they rest their laurels on the "whole Foods" mystique but when all is said and done they are no better than any other grocery store gig, in many ways probably worse
No surprise if they are on the decline, but I certainly haven't noticed. Still one of the best places to shop if you happen to be vegan and gluten free like myself. 🤷♀
I find almost everything I need vegan and GF at sprouts and it doesn’t cost me $260 . I used to go to Whole Foods regularly but now it’s maybe twice a year and they never have everything that I went there for . Very disappointing. Also most stores have really expanded their options for vegan and GF .
i love WholeFoods. i work as a cashier so it’s definitely overwhelming with all the long lines. we just got new carts and they all disappeared within a month due to the homeless and it really doesn’t help when amazon shoppers use the carts that are left for their shopping, leaving the customers with only baskets and lots of complaints to the employees.
The prices are just too high at Whole Foods. While I try to shop there and give it a chance, only the in house or 365 brands are in my price points. I cannot afford $20+ pounds of meat. I often times buy hot food or deli food there, but only to try something new or to "reverse engineer" a recipe or item that I can then make at home. The other day I was there, and saw potato salad in the deli at $6.99 a pound. Tuna salad was $9.99 a pound. While it may be good quality, I can go to KROGER and get it just as fresh for less than $4.00 or $5.00 per pound, respectively.
I love my WF market. I've seen most of the same employees for years. The perks for customers really do come from Prime. I just buy what's on sale, it's typically cheaper than any of the other markets. I always look online to compare. There are some things that are more expensive for sure, but it all goes on sale eventually.
There was a definite down turn in WFM when Bezoes took over. It took the WFM near me 6 months to get organic celery. The Prime Shoppers outnumber the customers. The Prime Shoppers are aggressive and just plain nasty, they destroy the shopping experience.
They are too expensive and it’s not worth a long wait if I only need a couple of things. I tried to buy bread flour on line from them, and they doubled my order. If I wanted the flour, I had to buy 2 bags. So I canceled the order. I just buy locally or from Trader Joe’s or Target now.
I welcome the demise of Whole Foods. Everything is so overpriced, even sale items. I can get the same organic things at my local grocery store for cheaper. And the workers in my WF act like they’re too important to help you, the lowly customer. Hopefully Trader Joe’s will take over the enormous building when its vacant. Their employees are pleasant at least.
i dont really like whole foods but im gonna disagree about the sale items. we have some "normal" grocery stores here in california (average...nothing fancy) that charge the same if not more than WF and i find WF sales to be very economical, actually.
Whole Foods was Never the same; after Amazon acquired it. It used to be a Fun, Exciting, Adventure shopping there previously. Now the JOY has gone; and it seems Dark & Soulless.
We have a new Aldi and I see so many expensive cars there. It's about a half mile from WF. I never found any reason to go back to Whole Foods. Haven't been in probably 15 years.
@@davidmccarthy6061 Same here. I get my groceries delivered from Safeway, Fred Meyer (Kroger),and Sprouts and do very well. Haven't been inside a Whole Foods in almost 20 years.
I love my local WholeFoods and I’ve have nothing but good customer service! I love their expanded produce options and the variety of food items. Aldi’s has too many red lights to get to it for the savings. I usually shop at Publix the majority of the time. We just got a Sprouts- and boy, their prices are so high! Makes Publix look cheap!
The worst thing about Whole Foods is that there are fewer organic foods and prices are higher with their Amazon Masters. In addition, the entire concept of a paid subscription to have access to weekly sale prices is a flawed failure. I shopped there at least 2x per week until Amazon bought them.
I didn’t realize Amazon purchased Whole Foods. I don’t shop there much because it’s ridiculously expensive but I won’t be shopping there at all anymore. Amazon can suck it.
Ha, love you doll. Yes, AMAZON is gross. I would NEVER buy anything from Amazon. People need to get off their bumps and go buy what they want and need. It's so robotic how people do not leave their homes and buy everything from Amazon. It's so vile and gross.. America is a business driven by profit
I used to work in the Chicago Metro area and SF Metro Area and have to agree, the company has taken a hit in several areas. I currently live in the Portland Metro area and some stores are so vacant I feel like I am at a library. The staff in the Bay Area were so accommodating when it came down to product information we often heard lots of compliments from customers who typically shopped elsewhere. The customers would tell us that they liked our store because of the vibe, the product knowledge etc. Whole Amazon is to sterile and Jeff is all about churning our the Mullah. It really is a shame that the WFM Execs sold out to Amazon. I used to work at the Walnut Creek store in the mid 2000’s, that store jammed and we had such a dynamic crew. We used to have SAMPLE WEEKEND and draw in hundreds of new customers. Each Department would sort of go into a Whole Foods Market Olympics mindset and see who would get the Gold for sales that weekend. It was so cool, we had loads of newbies throughout the store.
Been there 15 years its my career so all of you talking poop about the workers who have poured their heart and soul into Whole Foods need to sit down. Some prices dropped when Amazon took over however due to inflation some prices are going up. Yes you can get some of the same products but make sure you read the ingredients for example, we carry heinz ketchup but it does not have high fructose corn syrup like in other stores. We are still number one in fresh organics not that rotten stuff you see on the shelves at other chains. Yes foot traffic may be down but amazon prime rakes in a lot of money for our stores and we still carry local products. my favorite is our local honey and fesh egg farm that deliver to us. If you boycott us your not boycotting the company you are boycotting all the employees who work there think of them.
I shop at WF regularly and it’s the best for me who buys all organic, grass fed, etc. I can buy if all in one place… it’s almost always the cheapest option for the type of foods I buy in SoCal. If you compare Heinz ketchup like you said to primal kitchen of course it will be more expensive. No comparison!! When I compare specific product to other stores, WF is almost always the cheapest in price especially when sales pop up compared to thrive, sprouts, etc.
I get two 10 minute brakes, plus 30 minutes. No one as yet, has told me to pick up the pace, or checked if I came back late from a 10 minute brake. There are no slackers in the bakery and Managers are chill. So far, so good. The Customers are happy to shop here and most are smiling 😊.
I LOVE Whole Foods… won’t shop anywhere else. Great quality produce, meat, seafood. Friendly employees and crazy CLEAN. It’s always super busy. We still have a lot of local goods as well.
I can say most of this is not true in my experience. I work for Whole Foods and at my store they treat their employees very well and we have benefits that I never got at Kroger chains even as part time. We are always beating our sales records for the previous years. And with inflation the way it is, it is the same price if nit cheaper to buy at Whole Foods than it is at Safeway and king Soopers. Plus the customer service is infinity better at Whole Foods than Walmart. Come on we all know that. Walmart doesn’t care about its customers or employees they just care about the money. This is just click bait to drive worry. Don’t buy into this bs
Sarah lets be real and cut to the chase. The quality has went way down and amazon ran all the local business out, when they had them have samples in the stores and in kennesaw georgia close down great coffee shop for that mess of a coffee they have. I talk lot employees it all bad. Everything Amazon touches they destroy.
We do have local companies come in and give samples of their products. This week is a company based in my town of castle rock is coming in to sample their products and put them on the shelves and they take their proceeds and helps people with learning disabilities. I agree that Amazon sucks but Whole Foods is still making the differences that count. Plus all of our waste and out of date products go straight to food banks as soon as we close.
Ok “Amazon shoppers” are Whole Foods employees that go around and pick up the items and bag them up for Amazon flex drivers to pick up and deliver. So they are fellow employees so naturally we share employee bathrooms locker rooms and break rooms. And there is paid vacation and paid sick leave. And I got double time for holidays last year. So I don’t know where you are getting your info but it’s definitely not any of that at my store.
I used to love whole foods. I didn't know amazon took over I haven't been there in awhile since it gained the nick name "whole paycheck". I thought I was the only one that thought the prices was way ridiculous that and the armed security or cop just standing around looking at you creeping just ruined it for me.
Whole Foods is more of a boutique grocery store these days. The people who work there don't have the knowledge or passion to improve the American food desert. It's more like a vending machine with prepackaged and processed items than a market.
I used to shop exclusively at Whole Foods. I never shop there now. They’ve abandoned their original customer base. It’s unpleasant and I very much dislike shopping among all the instacart people. Also, the bossy, superior, woke atmosphere is a huge point for me.
Whole Foods never seemed to cater to large families with several children. High prices for small amounts of food. Dangerous displays that children shouldn’t touch. They were built without the biggest spenders in mind. Another reason to shop at Costco for big families.
I rarely go to Whole Foods anymore. The quality is not great, WAY over priced because of the lack of quality. Out store just isn't nicely laid out and it is kind of grungy. I loved the original Whole Foods. It was pricy but their produce was just wonderful and was worth it.
Now with the $10 delivery fee, I’ve given up on online orders. I used to use this service for the humane certified animal source foods. Now I only buy from Whole Foods on the rare occasions I am near one.
I can’t testify to many years as I started working during pandemic. I will also say that each location is different. The location I am at is an embarrassment. Poor pandemic response, lazy leadership, and bad location makes it a hard commute. The waste is disgusting to watch. Everybody works day to day with no planning. No respect when they hire people over people who already carry the position, but are out sick. Or decreasing your wage before they speak with you about it. 3 depts have their shit together and the rest are so unprofessional it’s laughable. Can’t retain staff except for 3 cleaning people in the last month. Too many people are illiterate or can’t comprehend necessary English to get through tasks. Amazon shoppers are great people here and there, but the whole program is laughable. No direction, mishandling or spoiling, some people are gross, basically as to why I wouldn’t want things delivered. Isles are always flooded with them. No wonder the CEO is peacing out and so will I come February. Wouldn’t wish for anyone to put up with that popcorn circus. Stupid idiots handing out coloring pages for appreciation week.
