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.
Being that it’s Amazon, I doubt they have jobs much longer.
They must be “lifers.”
Retailers now punish managers for inventory so many retailers have none. It’s killing retail.
I agree, most of the workers are snowflake or geezer hippies. Most of the customers are hippies of all ages in Birkenstock sandals, tie died shirts and man buns. I don’t fit in at all LOL.
Whole Foods has really good meat and fish but it’s at least 30 percent more expensive than meat and fish at Fry’s/Kroger. I do most of my grocery shopping at Fry’s.
#24 My sister told me of her friend with the same attitude. He did 1 thing at a machine shop for many years but when they were making changes he ended up being laid off as he would not update his skills. He became a part time janitor and even that was too much for him.
I agree that WF’s has high(er) quality meats/seafood, than most general grocery stores.
Here in Texas, we have HEB. HEB Prime steaks and wild caught seafoods are even better than the WF’s selections.....IMHO.
Plus, I can still purchase my other grocery items (Premium brands/name brands/store brands) for a fair price, in one stop.
What’s not to love about HEB?
Amazon has a reputation for being a hideous place to work. This article is the same as other articles detailing their warehouses.
It’s mathematically impossible to reach 100 on that test. So they should just fire everyone with a score below 100. Think of how much they would save in salaries and benefits.
I worked for a major chain back in the 70s and early 80s. Now receiving a small pension, doesn’t hurt. Hated it from day one, box boy to management ... the youngest ever to that level at the time. No one was thrilled with the job, we just did it. Paid a car off and bought a condo by age 22 with no help from any( 6 days a week with 1 vacation for 4 years). We just did our job and did it well, and said yes sir. Our safe place was called an unemployment line. Which I did collect, once for a week, my whole life.
What’s not to love about HEB?
For one thing, their produce department consists almost entirely of Mexican goods.
Good grief...cry me a river, you’re shelf stockers for crying out loud.
Good grief...cry me a river, you’re shelf stockers for crying out loud.
Scroll up and tell us how jejeune, trite language masquerading as operating guidelines serve as anything other than to keep any grocer wageslave in a perpetual probationary status.
One assumes you're not familiar with the Mao-would-be-proud 14 Rules that Bezos instituted after spending his Amazon formative years figuring out how to surmount every employer that came before him to f*** his employees harder than coal.
Bezos is a piece of living shit.
We all have choices.
JIT is out-of-hand, when you know that lettuce is sitting at [surprisingly, an online company that doesn't have any interest in coolers/freezers but is dabbling in quick-hold inventory] instead of the store itself, which has a actual small-but-working cooler, and an actual small-but-working freezer....
“employees of dubious sexuality”
It’s certainly a different world out there now. And not for the better.
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