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‘I wake up ... from nightmares:’ Why Whole Foods workers are hating life
www.miamiherald.com ^ | February 05, 2018 12:16 PM | By Madeleine Marr

Posted on 02/05/2018 2:42:34 PM PST by Red Badger

You think your job is a grind?

Try working at Whole Foods, which is apparently a pretty tough place to clock in every day.

“I wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares,” an anonymous staffer told Business Insider, which spoke to 27 current and former workers. “The stress has created such a tense working environment. Seeing someone cry at work is becoming normal.”

Crying? There’s no crying in supermarkets!

Seriously: What’s the problem?

Seems the Austin, Texas-based chain, which was bought by Amazon last summer, has initiated a new inventory system called order to shelf (OTS) that is pretty hardcore — and breaking down morale. Amazon’s founder is Jeff Bezos, who went to high school in Miami-Dade.

Business Insider ✔ @businessinsider

'Seeing someone cry at work is becoming normal': Employees say@WholeFoods uses "scorecards" to punish employees for failing to comply with its inventory management system http://read.bi/2DT1Ob6

According to Supermarket News, OTS is when distributors and suppliers deliver small batches of product to retailers, which helps stores keep back-room inventory down and, of course, saves money.

When asked by the Miami Herald to comment on employee complaints, a spokeswoman did not specifically address the issue.

“Whole Foods is committed to providing the best selection of high quality products and in-stock for our customers,” Whole Foods’ Brooke Buchanan said Monday in an email.

To keep shelves fully stocked, staffers have to hustle more than ever. To add insult to injury, managers walk around conducting pop quizzes, doing spot checks and checking off scorecards to determine how quickly the shelves are replenished.

Kurt Eichenwald‏Verified account @kurteichenwald

After @Amazon took over @WholeFoods, my wife said the place seemed like a place of misery with frantic employees wrapped up in so much make-work that customer service was gone. Now we know why. We go to central market and regular grocery store now.

“Do all items on sales floor have accurate signage?” reads one of the myriad questions on the scorecard for a produce staffer.

“Are all displays that are not pulled down at night maintaining 75 percent holding power or greater throughout the day?”

Some shoppers at the Coral Gables Whole Foods reacted with surprise to hear the news that Amazon had acquired the popular grocery chain Friday, June 16, 2017. Shoppers all said how much they loved the shopping experience of Whole Foods, but some liked the idea of using Amazon online as a possible alternative to shopping and traffic. Miami Herald

A scorecard grade below 89.9 percent is considered failing and the employee may be subject to termination, not to mention humiliation.

“The fear of chastisement, punishment, and retribution is very real and pervasive,” another worker told the site, which adds that the harsh working environment has caused many people to quit.

Ironically, OTS may not even be helping the bottom line. Business Insider reports that many Whole Foods are experiencing food shortages because of it.



TOPICS: Agriculture; Business/Economy; Food; Gardening
KEYWORDS: districtofcolumbia; grocery; jeffbezos; washingtoncompost; washingtonpost; wholefoods
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1 posted on 02/05/2018 2:42:34 PM PST by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

Whatever... hard work for an income? Sounds reasonable... but in the ‘crunchy’ world of whole foods I’m sure these folks are stunned at having to hustle.


2 posted on 02/05/2018 2:44:45 PM PST by Frapster (Bacon!)
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To: Red Badger

Snowflakes working for control freaks.
What could possibly go wrong?


3 posted on 02/05/2018 2:46:00 PM PST by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
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To: Red Badger

My Wholefoods is chock full of employees of dubious sexuality, and rampant liberalism.


4 posted on 02/05/2018 2:46:35 PM PST by pinkandgreenmom
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To: Frapster
but in the ‘crunchy’ world of whole foods I’m sure these folks are stunned at having to hustle.

The tattooed, blue-haired snowflakes love the idea of organic pet food and lavender oil. A boss-person telling them about performance metrics? Not so much.

5 posted on 02/05/2018 2:47:09 PM PST by PGR88
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To: Red Badger

Believe me...we go to Whole Foods all the time. Nothing but snowflake hippies. It’s like college campus. If you aren’t a liberal, you’re not welcome on the staff.


6 posted on 02/05/2018 2:47:48 PM PST by albie
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To: Red Badger

This fools when to work for Whole Foods not realizing Whole was the middle name and Foods was the last name. The first name is A$$!


7 posted on 02/05/2018 2:51:02 PM PST by MIchaelTArchangel
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To: Red Badger

If someone can’t handle the procedures of a job…then they need to find something in an easier industry and make less money. The slow and lazy should get the jobs/salaries they’re capable of performing.

Everything I did for 30 something year was open for audit by the FDA. I did well because I didn’t mind the difficult work and documentation required.

If you want to “phone it in” you should get “phone it in” jobs/salaries.


8 posted on 02/05/2018 2:54:21 PM PST by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: Red Badger

I’m guessing this is someone still living at the parents house.


9 posted on 02/05/2018 2:54:30 PM PST by Huskrrrr
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To: Joe 6-pack

And no safe space...........


10 posted on 02/05/2018 2:56:38 PM PST by Lockbox
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To: Red Badger

Amazon has a reputation for being a hideous place to work. This article is the same as other articles detailing their warehouses.


11 posted on 02/05/2018 2:56:49 PM PST by Vince Ferrer
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To: Red Badger

soon to be replaced by non-complaining robots, anyway


12 posted on 02/05/2018 2:57:41 PM PST by faithhopecharity ("Politicans aren't born, they're excreted." -Marcus Tillius Cicero (3 BCE))
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To: Red Badger

I totally understand this. I work fast food with younger people. They have zero work ethic, while holding up the wall and bitching about how hard they slave. Delicate lilies and snowflakes, indeed.

Does no good firing them, either, as the next lot is just as bad. I’m not talking about students, but twenty/thirty-somethings, with experience.

While preferred by the owner, a family friend I’m helping out, it is not easy finding older, or former military, workers.


13 posted on 02/05/2018 2:57:47 PM PST by ApplegateRanch (Love me, love my guns!�)
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To: Red Badger

Visited Whole Paycheck in FTC once and have never returned. What an assortment of snowflakes and sissies.


14 posted on 02/05/2018 2:58:58 PM PST by lesko
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To: Red Badger

we tried out shopping at Whole Foods. It was maybe 20 years on now. At least 15.

They had carrots on sale for $8.98 a pound.

We walked out. never went back


15 posted on 02/05/2018 2:59:26 PM PST by faithhopecharity ("Politicans aren't born, they're excreted." -Marcus Tillius Cicero (3 BCE))
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To: Red Badger

ps:
Whole Foods is affectionately known as “Whole Paycheck”


16 posted on 02/05/2018 2:59:56 PM PST by faithhopecharity ("Politicans aren't born, they're excreted." -Marcus Tillius Cicero (3 BCE))
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To: Red Badger

I worked at a huge grocery store in Indianapolis for 5 months (3rd shift). I was expected to shelf a case a minute each work day. Hated it.


17 posted on 02/05/2018 3:00:54 PM PST by killermosquito (Buffalo, Detroit (and eventually France) is what you get when liberalism runs its course.)
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To: pinkandgreenmom
My Wholefoods is chock full of employees of dubious sexuality, and rampant liberalism.

Amazon, having killed off all the book stores that used to be their habitat, now employs them as slave labor.

18 posted on 02/05/2018 3:03:18 PM PST by Paine in the Neck ( Socialism consumes EVERYTHING!)
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To: Red Badger

Went there this evening. One of the clerks at the express counter was complaining to another that she only got two days off this week. The tragedy!


19 posted on 02/05/2018 3:08:53 PM PST by Textide (Lord, grant that I may always be right, for thou knowest I am hard to turn. ~ Scotch-Irish prayer)
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To: Red Badger

What’s wrong with the questionnaire? Appears to be pretty much tickle-file stuff that could apply to many jobs.


20 posted on 02/05/2018 3:08:54 PM PST by blueplum ( "...this moment is your moment: it belongs to you... " President Donald J. Trump, Jan 20, 2017)
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