Whole Foods' customers apparently beneath WalMart's

[kenny]

Yikes!
Holy Crap!

How can customers in a health food store incite such a rant?
Kinda crazy, but a fun read:

https://medium.com/race-class/d778c31aa9be

 

[momhappy]

I shop a Whole Foods regularly (and have shopped Whole Foods in other locations) and I've never noticed any angry customers. Quite the opposite actually. I think that no matter where you go, there will be angry people around from time to time.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

That was fun. I like Fairway myself, lol.

 

[kenny]

OMG, there's more.

http://guycodeblog.mtv.com/2014/01/09/whole-foods-people/

SNIP

Whole Foods isn’t just a grocery store; it’s an entire movement. The franchise specializes in organic goodness and attracts a very specific breed of patrons and employees. They’re present in almost any Whole Foods location. Guaranteed you’ve met some of these people at the quinoa paradise – or you actually are one of them…

1. The Overzealous Employee

Their bumper sticker reads, “Wild About Organic!” They LOVE working at Whole Foods more than those Wal-Mart employees whose greatest joy is the daily “Gimme a W!” cheer. This person knows where EVERYTHING in the store is located — from lavender oils to smoked mozzarella — and as you pick out apples, she shouts “GRANNYSMITH!” like a contestant on “Family Feud.”

2. The Non-Employee Employee

It’s weird that this type of person exists, but they do. They’re almost always patrolling Whole Foods and they don’t even work there. They just love the ambiance of the place and have hung around for so long that they have the whole establishment mapped. Much like the Overzealous Employee, they’re eager to share a bunch of suggestions for what you should buy, yet they never actually have a shopping basket full of anything.

3. The “Just Got Back From The Gym” Lady

She’s in sweats, sneakers, a fleece, spinning pants — anything to make you understand that she goes to the gym. You’ll find her jogging down the aisles with her cart and stocking up on Greek yogurt. She also has just one banana in her basket and countless 365 store-brand bottles of water. If you’re anywhere near her, just move to the side; she doesn’t have time for your shenanigans. She goes to the gym, after all.


4. The “Hey, I’m Just Here For Lunch” Guy

More often than not, Whole Foods is strategically placed in the vicinity of a corporate campus, college town or just a really congested area. So, you’ll find a bunch of people who really only venture into Whole Foods for ease of access. They’re the ones eating boxed sandwiches and not doing any grocery shopping. You’ll recognize them by their business attire and overall general malaise sitting in the vegan-filled food court.

5. The Hippie With A Bowl Of Oats

This guy is dressed like he works the register at the nearest mall’s hemp goods store. He’s white, yet has a a pile of homemade dreadlocks on his head and a t-shirt from either a Phish or Grateful Dead tour. He eats everything from the salad bar that looks scary, like wheatberries. What the hell are they anyway? He knows, and looks at your cold sesame noodles with disdain.

6. The “I Don’t Know How I Ended Up Here” Employee

This guy isn’t from Whole Foods stock. He doesn’t eat organic food and he doesn’t know what a pescetarian is, yet here he is carting bushels of star fruit and wondering why his job is selling weapons from Fruit Ninja. Don’t ask him anything about the store; he’ll just sic the Overzealous Employee on you. Oh yeah, and he devours the Free Bird nuggets during lunch — it’s the only fried thing he could find.

7. The “This Place Is Too Expensive” Customer

When she gets her groceries total, she makes a face like the cashier waved a dead skunk at her. Then she mumbles about how this place “costs too damn much,” yet shows up at the same time the following week to stock up on the same expensive food she’ll complain about all over again.

 

[iLander]

double post

 

[iLander]

I hate shopping in Whole Foods, except for the bakery, which has awesome little cakes.

I have seen all the people mentioned in the second article, and I want to poke them with a stick. But I don't have time for that, I'm too busy trying to figure out which peanut butter isn't going to taste like oily crap. I wander around, laughing at the self-righteous people who I KNOW eat Doritos and Cheese Nips when no one is looking. I take pictures of the bizarre selections at the deli, and at NO point do I think "Hmmmm, I feel like crunching through some octopus heads today." I sometimes buy my dogs' food there, and they refuse to eat it. I think it's a doggy version of Tofu. I find Whole Foods pretentious, a bit silly, and tedious. And still I go.

For the cakes.

 

[kenny]

I find Whole Foods pretentious, a bit silly, and tedious. And still I go.

I love you for embracing your inconsistency, and also for writing, "I feel like crunching through some octopus heads today."
Will you marry me?

 

[iLander]

I find Whole Foods pretentious, a bit silly, and tedious. And still I go.

I love you for embracing your inconsistency, and also for writing, "I feel like crunching through some octopus heads today."
Will you marry me?

Okay, but I get your ring!

 

[kenny]

I find Whole Foods pretentious, a bit silly, and tedious. And still I go.

I love you for embracing your inconsistency, and also for writing, "I feel like crunching through some octopus heads today."
Will you marry me?

Okay, but I get your ring!

Okay, but you only get to look at it, superglued to my finger
I get to ogle yours too.

 

[recordaras]

That's pretty funny. We do most of our food shopping at WF and haven't really encountered angry people even though we are in MA (except for that one guy on St. Valentines day who wanted to buy a bunch of flowers, but got tired of waiting in line and threw them on the floor before storming out dramatically), but the olive oil for the monthly condo salad really made me laugh - we might be a smidge guilty of this, since I really like to explore my options before making a choice (and yes, we have hosted such condo meetings ourselves). However, we never use carts, only baskets, so it can't be that much of an annoyance.

 

[momhappy]

Um, almost every woman at my regular grocery store (not Whole Foods) is a just-got-back-from-the-gym-lady, including myself. It's called multi-tasking. You go to the gym, drop off a package at UPS, and whip in for some groceries before heading back home. It's about getting things done, not about bragging that you've been at the gym….

 

[iLander]

I get to ogle yours too.

Oh, Kenny, you are not the first man to say this to me. But you are certainly the most interesting.

 

[kenny]

Um, almost every woman at my regular grocery store (not Whole Foods) is a just-got-back-from-the-gym-lady, including myself. It's called multi-tasking. You go to the gym, drop off a package at UPS, and whip in for some groceries before heading back home. It's about getting things done, not about bragging that you've been at the gym….

Oye!
Defensive much?

Mom, I've noticed that many things I post get under your skin.
Interesting.
I now look forward to your responses to me.
I don't post stuff to bait or torment you.
You just happen to be a person who's baited and tormented by things I like to discuss.

What I love about the things I've linked to in this thread is it shows not only how much people vary, but how much people vary in their observations and interpretations of others.
Are WF shoppers really angry?
Who know? Who cares, really?
It's all good, means nothing, holds no weight or authority.
It's just fascinating and fun to read the sometimes-extreme perspective of others.

 

[kenny]

I get to ogle yours too.

Oh, Kenny, you are not the first man to say this to me. But you are certainly the most interesting.

You're so bad!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I'm the lunch shopper and proud of it!!!

One reason I also like the store is they have some great deals on their 365 products, so I stock up. There are rude people everywhere, but I mostly don't pay attention bc I almost always am starving & focused on filling my salad bar box.

I've never seen anyone flip out even when shopping around the holidays. I never enter the store with expectations of people being nice! It is just a food store, IMO! Oh, and the worst rude worker was at a Walmart. I've been in there about 10 times and one time I asked a stock gal if they had Pierre water and she shook her head and gave me a dirty look. I could have flipped out, but my son was with me and I started laughing. Again, I never expect grocery store employees to be nice...

 

[JewelFreak]

That writer makes me think of the old saying, "If you run into one a**h*** in a day, it's too bad. If you run into 2, it's bad luck. If you run into 3 a**h**** in a day, it's YOU."

 

[kenny]

That writer makes me think of the old saying, "If you run into one a**h*** in a day, it's too bad. If you run into 2, it's bad luck. If you run into 3 a**h**** in a day, it's YOU."

Exactly.
The shift from, it's out there, to it's in here, is fascinating to me.

So much of what we feel is out there is really inside us.

 

[OreoRosies86]

I love Whole Foods. I love Trader Joe's more, but I still shop at WF at least a couple times a month for coffee and stuff that smells good, vitamins, blackberry water. It is pricey, but I love that place

 

[Sakuracherry]

People watching at whole foods is fun. There are a few locations in NYC and each one seems to attract different kinds of people.

 

[AGBF]

When I saw this thread I went looking for an old thread in which I told a story about one of the worst experiences I ever had short of something life threatening or something that involved serious illness or a threat to a family member or an animal. I guess what I mean is it was one of the worst-maybe the worst-bad social situation experiences I had, but it didn't rise to the level of personal tragedy!!!

Here is a reprint of the posting! I had not named the store when I first wrote this, but it was, indeed, a Whole Foods store!


by AGBF » 31 Aug 2007 16:23


I am enjoying this thread. I have heard the wisdom in what pretty much every poster wrote. I completely agree with Ellen about the manners of others (they do not resemble mine) and also with Deco (I am happier expecting nothing). I loved Wink's point about acceptance. I definitely see a correlation between accepting the situation as I find it and happiness. I guess everyone has just said something I can relate to .

One of my worst experiences with someone rude was in a grocery store. It was hideously embarrassing for me. I don't know if I ever told it here. It happened in an upscale organic food market in an upscale Connecticut town with very wealthy, thin blonde women shopping for expensive, healthy foods. (Since this incident I have had my cart stolen from the first-i.e. the produce-aisle and so I now always hold onto it with one hand.)

I was overweight and not well dressed at the time of the incident. I do not recall how overweight I was or what I was wearing; I recall that when the scene began that I was very conscious that I did not look like the person more likely to be in the right!!!

I had taken an empty cart into the store with me and started shopping in the produce aisle. I remember that I picked up some green grapes, which I had in the little basket in front. I then picked up a few other things and moved into the cheese and yogurt area.

While I was looking for an item my cart disappeared. I looked around for it and saw, as has happened before many times in stores, that another customer had mistakenly taken my cart. Usually I point this out, my fellow customer realizes the error, and we resume shopping, each with his own cart.

In this case the young woman, who had a daughter of about six to ten years old with her started to argue with me. She said (loudly), "Are you crazy?". She said she had brought this cart in with her from outside. She yelled that I was just too lazy to go bring in my own cart, so that I wanted to take hers. She asked her daughter if she hadn't brought this in with her. (The daughter shrugged.) I pressed my point, trying to get her to look at my groceries. She screamed, "This woman is crazy!" and got another cart, emptying all her purchases into it as she screamed. In her frenzy she started to drop all my purchases (which were under hers) into her new cart, too, and I shrieked, "Not my grapes!"

Somehow that must have penetrated because she said to her daughter (not a word to me!!!!), "This woman may be right. This may be her cart. Come on."

In the meantime I felt like a big, fat spectacle who had been publicly humiliated in front of everyone in the store. It all took place at what seemed (at least to me) to be an enormously high decibel level and in what felt like the center of the store. I was yelled at and asked if I was crazy, told I was lazy and lying about a cart! I felt like a heroine that I was able to resume my grocery shopping after all of that....

But it really seems quite funny to me now. She was a very crazy lady, and my manners were impeccable. As one of my friends to whom I told the entire story pointed out, even when she screamed, "Are you crazy?" I was ladylike enough to reply, "No, but I think you may be" rather than something more emphatic like, "You are". . Live and learn.

Deb

 

[monarch64]

Omg, Deb! Your story is hilarious, thanks for re-posting! The article is great, too. I'm pretty sure I've run into Birdman in some form at the local groceries. We don't have Whole Foods here, we have a whole other level of snooty, healthy INDEPENDENT stores. Yup, they trump Whole Foods because they are even more hip and healthy because they're not a giant corporation and they source local fresh foodstuff. (That was sarcasm.) Super expensive, super healthy, and I love shopping there but I only go when I want something very specific I can't get anywhere else. (A vegan item from the hot bar, usually! LOL) Lots of Birdmen, yoga moms (is it me or do they all look alike?), and a lot of eccentric-looking academic types with unkempt hair and hippie clothes. I've never experienced anyone acting like the subjects of these stories, though. I figure in they're all stoned and that's why they're peaceful here.

 

[Harpertoo]

When I saw this thread I went looking for an old thread in which I told a story about one of the worst experiences I ever had short of something life threatening or something that involved serious illness or a threat to a family member or an animal. I guess what I mean is it was one of the worst-maybe the worst-bad social situation experiences I had, but it didn't rise to the level of personal tragedy!!!

Here is a reprint of the posting! I had not named the store when I first wrote this, but it was, indeed, a Whole Foods store!


by AGBF » 31 Aug 2007 16:23


I am enjoying this thread. I have heard the wisdom in what pretty much every poster wrote. I completely agree with Ellen about the manners of others (they do not resemble mine) and also with Deco (I am happier expecting nothing). I loved Wink's point about acceptance. I definitely see a correlation between accepting the situation as I find it and happiness. I guess everyone has just said something I can relate to .

One of my worst experiences with someone rude was in a grocery store. It was hideously embarrassing for me. I don't know if I ever told it here. It happened in an upscale organic food market in an upscale Connecticut town with very wealthy, thin blonde women shopping for expensive, healthy foods. (Since this incident I have had my cart stolen from the first-i.e. the produce-aisle and so I now always hold onto it with one hand.)

I was overweight and not well dressed at the time of the incident. I do not recall how overweight I was or what I was wearing; I recall that when the scene began that I was very conscious that I did not look like the person more likely to be in the right!!!

I had taken an empty cart into the store with me and started shopping in the produce aisle. I remember that I picked up some green grapes, which I had in the little basket in front. I then picked up a few other things and moved into the cheese and yogurt area.

While I was looking for an item my cart disappeared. I looked around for it and saw, as has happened before many times in stores, that another customer had mistakenly taken my cart. Usually I point this out, my fellow customer realizes the error, and we resume shopping, each with his own cart.

In this case the young woman, who had a daughter of about six to ten years old with her started to argue with me. She said (loudly), "Are you crazy?". She said she had brought this cart in with her from outside. She yelled that I was just too lazy to go bring in my own cart, so that I wanted to take hers. She asked her daughter if she hadn't brought this in with her. (The daughter shrugged.) I pressed my point, trying to get her to look at my groceries. She screamed, "This woman is crazy!" and got another cart, emptying all her purchases into it as she screamed. In her frenzy she started to drop all my purchases (which were under hers) into her new cart, too, and I shrieked, "Not my grapes!"

Somehow that must have penetrated because she said to her daughter (not a word to me!!!!), "This woman may be right. This may be her cart. Come on."

In the meantime I felt like a big, fat spectacle who had been publicly humiliated in front of everyone in the store. It all took place at what seemed (at least to me) to be an enormously high decibel level and in what felt like the center of the store. I was yelled at and asked if I was crazy, told I was lazy and lying about a cart! I felt like a heroine that I was able to resume my grocery shopping after all of that....

But it really seems quite funny to me now. She was a very crazy lady, and my manners were impeccable. As one of my friends to whom I told the entire story pointed out, even when she screamed, "Are you crazy?" I was ladylike enough to reply, "No, but I think you may be" rather than something more emphatic like, "You are". . Live and learn.

Deb

OMG - so funny!!!
I'm sure you guys remember it's getting real in the whole foods parking lot!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UFc1pr2yUU

 

[missy]

LOL. We shop mainly at Costco and Fairway and Trader Joe's though a Whole Foods has recently opened up right near us. So while Whole Foods is not my favorite (expensive compared to Fairway and Trader Joe's) we still go there occasionally because it's so close and they do carry some good things. I feel fortunate that we have all these wonderful choices all pretty close to where we live. And yes, the people are very "crunchy" at most of these stores (not including Costco hahaha).

Deb, what an experience! LOL that woman was a grade A b***h. I am sure you handled it with grace and good for you for continuing on with your shopping. She obviously has major issues to behave in that manner.

I find most of the shoppers to be pleasant enough though many of them a bit slow moving. My dh gets a kick out of how I maneuver in and out of the crowds. I like to get in and get the shopping done most of the time because you can really get lost in these stores for hours and before you know it the day is half over. Though sometimes I like to peruse casually most of the time I have an agenda.

What I find most annoying about any grocery store (not exclusive to organic foods) are that some people think they are the center of the universe and that there is no one else there. They just leave their carts in the middle of the aisles without thought or care as to whom they might be blocking when all they have to do is be considerate and move to the side yanno?

What I like best about these stores is the selection. And between all of the above stores we buy food from we have all our bases covered.

 

[JewelFreak]

I read an article about a high-school exchange student from Russia, sometime in the 70s or 80s. When she first went into a grocery store here in the States, she looked around at the incredible plenty -- and burst into tears. At that time in Russia people stood in line for hours to be able to buy one loaf of bread. I often think of her when I get crabby that I can't find something I want in the supermarket.

Deb, I used to stop into the same Whole Foods store where you had your hilariously awful experience. (I feel sorry for that woman, more so for her kid; she was off her meds!) It was usually stacked full of self-involved people. Why does it never fail that incidents like that happen to us on days when we feel fat, our hair is frizzy, we have a huge zit on our nose, somebody bit us at work, or we're wearing the worst clothes we own? It must be a law or something! But you handled it beautifully.

--- Laurie

 

[Dee*Jay]

I maintain to this day one of the main reasons I stayed married to Bill for ten years is because I HATE to go into a grocery store. HATE HATE HATE. I don't cook (although I do EAT) and short of imminent starvation I am not going near a grocery store. That being said, I have a client who (for reasons I simply cannot understand) loves to have lunch at a particular Whole Foods right on the Chicago River. We get our food from the area in the middle area and then sit outside on the patio. I will take him ANYWHERE and THIS is where he wants to go...

Apparently this is also the hottest place in town to go on a Friday night if you're looking for a date. I have (single female) friends who go home after work, "get ready" (whatever that means), go to the store and place a few strategic items in the cart (the mini carts, not the full sized carts) and then leave those carts off to the side as they sit at the WINE BAR with a nice malbec and a nibble of cheese. More than one hook up has been achieved in this way.

I've never had any "encounters" (of the crazy kind, of the leading-to-a-hook-up kind, or really of much of any kind since I rarely go to WF) but this has certainly been an entertaining thread!

And Deb, good for you for maintaining some sanity in what was clearly not a sane situation.

 

[momhappy]

Um, almost every woman at my regular grocery store (not Whole Foods) is a just-got-back-from-the-gym-lady, including myself. It's called multi-tasking. You go to the gym, drop off a package at UPS, and whip in for some groceries before heading back home. It's about getting things done, not about bragging that you've been at the gym….

Oye!
Defensive much?

Mom, I've noticed that many things I post get under your skin.
Interesting.
I now look forward to your responses to me.
I don't post stuff to bait or torment you.
You just happen to be a person who's baited and tormented by things I like to discuss.

What I love about the things I've linked to in this thread is it shows not only how much people vary, but how much people vary in their observations and interpretations of others.
Are WF shoppers really angry?
Who know? Who cares, really?
It's all good, means nothing, holds no weight or authority.
It's just fascinating and fun to read the sometimes-extreme perspective of others.

Oh, Kenny…. I wasn't being defensive. I took the the article in the spirit in which it was intended (as humor). I was simply pointing out that lots of women go to the grocery store in work out gear
I'm not sure how you perceive my posts here, or why you feel I'm defensive? I don't take anything personal here - I don't even know anyone. I may not agree with some of the opinions of others, but that doesn't imply irritation or "torment" on my part I appreciate all of the dialogue on this forum, which is why I participate. I respond to your threads, just as I do anyone else's. I welcomed you back after your leave and I can assure you that I am not at all tormented by anything you post. I have an odd sense of humor and perhaps my posts are not written as eloquently as others. No harm done - it's all good (at least on my part)

 

[ksinger]

Well, I confess I did not read most article, and the headline pretty much just got an eyeroll.

We shop at WF, but then OKC did not get one until about 3 years ago. In fact, the grocery situation in OKC has been quite dire for a very long time - we have no Costco, or Trader Joe's to name a few of the places that everyone else seems to take for granted. We have extremely limited choices, few local farmers' markets, relatively few vendors, and virtually NO independents any more. The produce here has been ghastly for a very long time, so when WF finally came in (only because they were cajoled and subsidized by Chesapeake Energy: WF didn't want to open here because we don't allow wine sales in grocery stores and OKC was too...something...to shop there. Tulsa was OK, but OKC? Fuggedaboudit.) I was thrilled to finally have a decent selection of fresh produce and a really nice deli - again, the kinds of things that other cities take for granted, you know? Many of the other groceries got nervous in the lead-up and upped their produce some too, so that has been for the good. So now we shop at WF for produce and deli type stuff, a local butcher for meat, and the regular grocery for stuff like condiments, TP, laundry soap, and favorite brands that are not exalted enough for WF.

I do find it entertaining, that because, apparently, Oklahomans are so benighted and backwards that we don't LIKE good produce (instead of there simply being a dearth of it) WF built the store with THE tiniest produce section I've ever seen in one of their stores. Naturally, it's so jammed with people in that tiny space that you could barely walk, let alone push a mini-cart. They finally admitted they made a miscalculation not only on the size of the produce department (they enlarged it), but also in their belief that we were too backwards to shop there (even without the booze sales, that opening was one of the top 10 they've ever had).

 

[AGBF]

Deb, I used to stop into the same Whole Foods store where you had your hilariously awful experience. (I feel sorry for that woman, more so for her kid; she was off her meds!) It was usually stacked full of self-involved people. Why does it never fail that incidents like that happen to us on days when we feel fat, our hair is frizzy, we have a huge zit on our nose, somebody bit us at work, or we're wearing the worst clothes we own? It must be a law or something! But you handled it beautifully.

--- Laurie

Thank you, Laurie. I also want to thank the other posters who laughed with me and supported me on this. It is only a distant memory now, but unless I one day get dementia, I shall never forget it! I am pretty sensitive and it did occur to me to leave the store and go to my car and cry when this happened. So to have stayed with my cart and shopped felt like getting back on the horse after a fall. (Which I also once did.)

I wish I always looked good when I went out. When I do go into a store for upscale shopping I make sure that I am well dressed and made up and so I do get treated well. But, in my opinion, that shouldn't have to be the case. Why should one always have to be in armor to face the world? Shouldn't I be able to run to a grocery store in peace?

By the way, we now have a Trader Joe's near us. It is wonderful!!!! It is by far my favorite store.

AGBF

 

[kenny]

What I find most annoying about any grocery store (not exclusive to organic foods) are that some people think they are the center of the universe and that there is no one else there. They just leave their carts in the middle of the aisles without thought or care as to whom they might be blocking when all they have to do is be considerate and move to the side yanno?

My pet peeve too.

I shop at Costco, Trader Joe's and a supermarket catering to the low-income latino community and generally speaking (gotta add that since so many think posting an exception vanishes a generalization) BY FAR the most considerate customers are at the later!!!

 

[kenny]

Um, almost every woman at my regular grocery store (not Whole Foods) is a just-got-back-from-the-gym-lady, including myself. It's called multi-tasking. You go to the gym, drop off a package at UPS, and whip in for some groceries before heading back home. It's about getting things done, not about bragging that you've been at the gym….

Oye!
Defensive much?

Mom, I've noticed that many things I post get under your skin.
Interesting.
I now look forward to your responses to me.
I don't post stuff to bait or torment you.
You just happen to be a person who's baited and tormented by things I like to discuss.

What I love about the things I've linked to in this thread is it shows not only how much people vary, but how much people vary in their observations and interpretations of others.
Are WF shoppers really angry?
Who know? Who cares, really?
It's all good, means nothing, holds no weight or authority.
It's just fascinating and fun to read the sometimes-extreme perspective of others.

Oh, Kenny…. I wasn't being defensive. I took the the article in the spirit in which it was intended (as humor). I was simply pointing out that lots of women go to the grocery store in work out gear
I'm not sure how you perceive my posts here, or why you feel I'm defensive? I don't take anything personal here - I don't even know anyone. I may not agree with some of the opinions of others, but that doesn't imply irritation or "torment" on my part I appreciate all of the dialogue on this forum, which is why I participate. I respond to your threads, just as I do anyone else's. I welcomed you back after your leave and I can assure you that I am not at all tormented by anything you post. I have an odd sense of humor and perhaps my posts are not written as eloquently as others. No harm done - it's all good (at least on my part)

Thanks Mom.
I guess I got it wrong … again.

Yes, it's all good.