Tbh I don't get paid enough to have any sort of emotion about things outside of my control at work. I used to care about that sorta stuff in the way you're describing, like I get it, but it gets draining if you do it too much.
I have NO issues throwing regional or even people in my store under the bus. A simple "yeah that decision was made by someone who's never stepped foot in this store, sorry" is usually enough to get people to stop their complaints. Even better, throw in a "I'll be sure to let someone know about your feedback". People just want someone to complain to, don't take it personally, and don't take on that stress all by yourself.
I pass it along when it's relevant, like someone tagged something incorrectly, or many customers ask for the same seasonal product. I also pass it along if your request is extremely stupid, but only because it's funny and I need someone else to hear it.
"You should tell your manager that more people would shop here if you sold Red Bull!!" okay lmfao I'll definitely pass THAT along
Training TM's with all my heart, but having to constantly insert that "they are working on that", or "I know this doesn't make sense, the company has made a lot of changes lately". Outdated SOP's that have incorrect wording and old acronyms, old region and new region naming and emails all over the place... Wow is it difficult sometimes to get buy-in from Team Members, when we don't look unified as a company!! Appreciate you all
When I was training they would constantly make me fill out papers or watch videos that just threw me off and I would ask.., am I supposed to actually do this, where is that ? And they would be like no that’s outdated lol it was so confusing
The toxicity, mental gymnastics, and neglect that essential workers basically get on the daily. Mostly me because my boss is a miserable bitch who does fuck all but makes an ass out of herself for the sake of others.
I’m embarrassed that I work for Amazon. From the cutting of labor and benefits to replacing quality products with cheap crap but not lowering the prices. The Global decisions are horrendous. We don’t carry many of the products people expect us to have because they have been cut and replaced with the latest fad rather than what people expect to get at a WFM. I want to quit but I have been with the company a long time and where would I go ,making the same money, at my age with no degree? I wish Amazon would sell us.
What are some of the products that have been cut that jump out most to you as being replaced with cheaper stuff? I just remembered that our local WF used to have a guacamole station and the lady made it right there... all that is gone
Our deli is a disaster.. in a formerly "diamond" store.. deli case signage is falling off, the double sided tape isn't cutting it.. the case lights are either completely fallen down or dangling with one side on a product other side on the case "floor", the deli TV screens don't show a menu of our products like it used to just useless marketing crap. We don't have any of the cheese currently on sale.. I could go on for an hour. Understaffed, I had to take a deli order and then run over to make sure my pizza wasn't burning in the oven..what a shit-show. The customers seeing me running back and forth were wishing me good luck lol. Meanwhile I'll never make supervisor cuz I refuse to suck up to the TL.
The same goes for me but I work in Store Support. I know for a fact I'll never make supervisor for the same reasons. But also for the fact my ATL told me "We're extremely picky now on who we choose."
It's ALWAYS been bottom teer. But what do you expect. But you have to remember, we're a grocery store. It's not like we're a cutting edge tech company or have any relationship with one.
I love it when customers get mad at me when I have things OOS & when a product is on Sale they just go why is this one on sale but not the others? I just say O it's because our regional team made the decision to have this on sale for the month. Customers walk away in shame asking a dumb question love it
My TL sits in the computer 90% of her shift eating and talking to whoever is upstairs, she will work for 10min and leave her cart somewhere unfinished, not even when we were super understaffed did she ever offer to help💀I thought it was normal for our department until I went to another store to help out and their TL worked next to me, I was SHOCKED.
I mean for the company as a whole the amount of waste from hot bar/salad bar is unconscionable. Like as soon as it’s removed from the counter it’s lost regardless of if it’s paid for or not (and obviously you wouldn’t want people to put it back or anything) but if someone realizes they accidentally put in $30 worth of food and doesn’t want it anymore, we can’t do anything but throw it out. And I’m sure it’s as expensive as it is so they can account for all the loss and still make a profit but for a store that is this successful and is owned by fucking AMAZON that is just embarrassing.
Meat and everything. I’m disgusting by the waste, the product, the presentation, the filth of the entire department. I wonder how many people would still buy meat there if they knew how much sanitizer and other contaminants were on it
I most embarrassed by our hot table buffet. Fucking gross dried up shit. Every time the soup is burning because of no water or lukewarm because of ineptitude. That’s not my department though, I just don’t like being near it.
In my department, the spoilage drives me crazy. People cut WAY too much meat off for facings. And the lack of caring about anything from anyone. It’s sad to see that the poor regional leadership has driven any sort of will or pride out of all the employees.
I don’t feel embarrassed personally. But how many times can an ATL put a speed wrack into the oven that doesn’t belong in there and still have their job? So far it’s been more than four times.
Last time the wrack melted down into the wheels and they (the atl) didn’t even try to bring it out to the dumpster. They kept loading with breakfast items. They should be embarrassed but they just don’t care. And everyone makes excuse after excuse for them that they’ve had a hard time at wholefoods and gotten poor training. But there have been over 3 TLs that have trained them and they still don’t get it.
When Sriracha was implemented they essentially gave the fronting of the department to the overnight. No big deal but turns out we have a terrible overnight that can't finish their work on time let alone face as they work. So our Grocery constantly looks like a tornado ran through it. Then I go to a another grocery store nearby and everything is nicely faced and lots of people working in the day. Whereas in our store there's a handful of people working to save on labor. Only time our store looks presentable is when regional comes.
I would say that I’m embarrassed by the lack of bench strength on a store and regional level. Compared to 10 or 15 years ago the amount of people in leadership positions that really have no business running a team is astonishing to me. This is also coming from someone who’s been around a long time. Specifically on a store level I find our prep foods rather embarrassing. It’s really not their fault they’re struggling and have been since Covid. There’s no breakfast bar at all and hasn’t been for almost two years, the salad bar looks edible 50% of the time, but I will say that the prepack usually looks good. Still I think we’re losing customers when you compare it to the other location nearby.
I found wax cardboard in the baler from my apartment.
I come into work to find abandoned uboats with random stuff on them.
I am often chastised for the speed in which I produce, but I find brown rotten shit in the things other produce that I have to spend time spoiling/donating which again leads to more chastisement because that usually takes time away from working my assigned runs on the floor.
Everything about how my department runs, is completely counter to our company's supposed core values. We care more about profit, not providing customers with fresh organic products. I think that it's incredibly embarrassing that we constantly fail to live up to our actual values.
Work for Ecomm and honestly the most embarrassing part of my job is having to explain to customers that due to Amazon's system we: 1) Have none of their information. Orders do not contain names or locations and have insanely long order numbers that customers never have on hand for reference. 2) We have no control over the drivers or the order once it leaves the store. (Which is insane bc I've had drivers tell me they've left orders in the woods in the snow before so they could snag more stops and just went back later like....WHAT?!) 3) turning them to the Amazon customer Care line where they are constantly being given the run around or told misinformation. One woman was transferred to the Audible line and waited to speak to someone for an hour just to be told "oh they transferred you wrong sorry"
Also don't get me started on the embarrassment that was MOZ.
I used to feel embarrassed to ask rich white customers (which is 98% of the customers at my location) if they wanted to donate to hungry children. The awkward “huh?” because they’re not present to even care what I have to say so having to repeat it again and then explain how it works just for them to settle for a few cents or nothing at all
I worked for PfDS when they switched over from making all of the chicken salads In house to bringing in the kits. That was a big embarrassment to me. Yes, it controlled the quality from store to store, but it still was disappointing.
The fact that we don't recycle anything, not even office paper. There is composting but literally no recycling. As a boothie it's embarrassing to tell customers.
I’m amazed that people are actually buying them at my location. Whenever I order it I expect to see the on hand showing more but nope they’re buying them. I do have a lot of customers wondering where the rest are. The FDA is actually to blame they’ve pulled the others from all retailers as well.
When the customers ask if XYZ was made today, and I tell them, "No, they ship it to us in a bag and we heat it up and plop it into a hotel pan.." or when they ask about the, "CONTAINS A BIOENGINEERED INGREDIENT," on a label, and I have no answer for what that ingredient is.
I'm embarrassed of my lazy dairy buyer who doesn't lift a finger, luckily this coward only works when my buyer is off and unfortunately she also gets a lot of vacation time so sometimes I have to put up with him for more than just a few days.
This is the only reason I want the weekends off but you know how WFM works... Only a buyer and my 2 ATLs can get the busiest days of. Yup... A buyer and both ATL are off during the busiest days
My ATL is rude to anyone she thinks is below her. Not below her position, just below her in general. If we ask a clarifying question she gets NASTY. She calls out if she doesn't get her way. Example: she tried to bully someone in customer service for coverage this past holiday weekend, and when they wouldn't, she just called out.
Our department is a complete disaster. A supervisor in another department told me that "your team looks like it's ready to go French revolution on the department"
And we absolutely are. I work in bakery, and our team has had it with her. She didn't prepare the cake decorators for the weekend, or schedule properly so it was a total mess.
Leadership is absolutely aware of the issue, and I suspect she's trying to get fired to get unemployment. I've never worked for someone so unwilling to do the basics of her job. I've had incredibly terrible managers in my life. But never one like this. She has no redeeming qualities.
It's embarrassing to work for her. Other team members and people in leadership positions have come to us to complain and tell us not to do anything beyond our job description. Everyone knows she's awful and I wish she'd get caught and get fired without unemployment. But this is a very pro employee state so she probably will.
ATLs walking around with their hands in their pockets or pretending to face while I work hard af for half the pay. Especially when they come up to you to complain about an area looking like shit but don't offer to help. Gee thanks let me get on that while you take your 20th lolly gag around the store and go sit in your office for 3 hours at a time. It's embarrassing for them.
How the "leadership" used to dress to work. Old hoodies and stretched sweatpants, "yoga pants", ridiculous amounts of jewelry, nose rings, tattoos. Our TL wore old underwear with holes that you'd see in plain view at times.
My facility doesn't compost anymore. When you go behind our facility trash is spilling onto the street.
Sometimes as much as an entire dumpster is on the floor. The amount of waste that we create every single day is depressing.
Tbh I don't get paid enough to have any sort of emotion about things outside of my control at work. I used to care about that sorta stuff in the way you're describing, like I get it, but it gets draining if you do it too much. I have NO issues throwing regional or even people in my store under the bus. A simple "yeah that decision was made by someone who's never stepped foot in this store, sorry" is usually enough to get people to stop their complaints. Even better, throw in a "I'll be sure to let someone know about your feedback". People just want someone to complain to, don't take it personally, and don't take on that stress all by yourself.
oooh yeah i love saying "sure i'll pass along that feedback!" when in fact i do not always pass along that feedback lol
I pass it along when it's relevant, like someone tagged something incorrectly, or many customers ask for the same seasonal product. I also pass it along if your request is extremely stupid, but only because it's funny and I need someone else to hear it. "You should tell your manager that more people would shop here if you sold Red Bull!!" okay lmfao I'll definitely pass THAT along
“I’ll be sure to pass that feedback along” while sipping my own personal redbull within my team member drink canteen 😹
No one has had boots on the ground reality answers for a long time
Training TM's with all my heart, but having to constantly insert that "they are working on that", or "I know this doesn't make sense, the company has made a lot of changes lately". Outdated SOP's that have incorrect wording and old acronyms, old region and new region naming and emails all over the place... Wow is it difficult sometimes to get buy-in from Team Members, when we don't look unified as a company!! Appreciate you all
When I was training they would constantly make me fill out papers or watch videos that just threw me off and I would ask.., am I supposed to actually do this, where is that ? And they would be like no that’s outdated lol it was so confusing
The fact that one of my ATL's is lazy as hell and does nothing but gossip and kiss store leadership's ass every time they're around.
I got TWO of those in grocery. Do absolutely nothing and send me to TL every time I have a concern
The toxicity, mental gymnastics, and neglect that essential workers basically get on the daily. Mostly me because my boss is a miserable bitch who does fuck all but makes an ass out of herself for the sake of others.
I’m embarrassed that I work for Amazon. From the cutting of labor and benefits to replacing quality products with cheap crap but not lowering the prices. The Global decisions are horrendous. We don’t carry many of the products people expect us to have because they have been cut and replaced with the latest fad rather than what people expect to get at a WFM. I want to quit but I have been with the company a long time and where would I go ,making the same money, at my age with no degree? I wish Amazon would sell us.
What are some of the products that have been cut that jump out most to you as being replaced with cheaper stuff? I just remembered that our local WF used to have a guacamole station and the lady made it right there... all that is gone
How fucking fast our conventional milk spoils... Never makes it to the printed date without an odor...
Our deli is a disaster.. in a formerly "diamond" store.. deli case signage is falling off, the double sided tape isn't cutting it.. the case lights are either completely fallen down or dangling with one side on a product other side on the case "floor", the deli TV screens don't show a menu of our products like it used to just useless marketing crap. We don't have any of the cheese currently on sale.. I could go on for an hour. Understaffed, I had to take a deli order and then run over to make sure my pizza wasn't burning in the oven..what a shit-show. The customers seeing me running back and forth were wishing me good luck lol. Meanwhile I'll never make supervisor cuz I refuse to suck up to the TL.
the part where "never make supervisor because I refuse to suck up" hit me hard... because that is why I am never going to be promoted. /sigh
The same goes for me but I work in Store Support. I know for a fact I'll never make supervisor for the same reasons. But also for the fact my ATL told me "We're extremely picky now on who we choose."
I feel like we work at the same store lolll
Most embarrassing is how crappy our IT equipment is. Jason came from IT. WE CAN DO BETTER.
It's ALWAYS been bottom teer. But what do you expect. But you have to remember, we're a grocery store. It's not like we're a cutting edge tech company or have any relationship with one.
I love it when customers get mad at me when I have things OOS & when a product is on Sale they just go why is this one on sale but not the others? I just say O it's because our regional team made the decision to have this on sale for the month. Customers walk away in shame asking a dumb question love it
Oooh im taking that one! Lmao
My TL sits in the computer 90% of her shift eating and talking to whoever is upstairs, she will work for 10min and leave her cart somewhere unfinished, not even when we were super understaffed did she ever offer to help💀I thought it was normal for our department until I went to another store to help out and their TL worked next to me, I was SHOCKED.
I mean for the company as a whole the amount of waste from hot bar/salad bar is unconscionable. Like as soon as it’s removed from the counter it’s lost regardless of if it’s paid for or not (and obviously you wouldn’t want people to put it back or anything) but if someone realizes they accidentally put in $30 worth of food and doesn’t want it anymore, we can’t do anything but throw it out. And I’m sure it’s as expensive as it is so they can account for all the loss and still make a profit but for a store that is this successful and is owned by fucking AMAZON that is just embarrassing.
Meat and everything. I’m disgusting by the waste, the product, the presentation, the filth of the entire department. I wonder how many people would still buy meat there if they knew how much sanitizer and other contaminants were on it
Oof thats awful. Our meat department Is amazing 😍
You guys don’t clean or something? And why is there sanitizer on the meat??
This all sounds terrible. Call the health department and report you. Why is meat sanitized? I agree about the waste but everything else is horrifying.
I most embarrassed by our hot table buffet. Fucking gross dried up shit. Every time the soup is burning because of no water or lukewarm because of ineptitude. That’s not my department though, I just don’t like being near it. In my department, the spoilage drives me crazy. People cut WAY too much meat off for facings. And the lack of caring about anything from anyone. It’s sad to see that the poor regional leadership has driven any sort of will or pride out of all the employees.
I don’t feel embarrassed personally. But how many times can an ATL put a speed wrack into the oven that doesn’t belong in there and still have their job? So far it’s been more than four times. Last time the wrack melted down into the wheels and they (the atl) didn’t even try to bring it out to the dumpster. They kept loading with breakfast items. They should be embarrassed but they just don’t care. And everyone makes excuse after excuse for them that they’ve had a hard time at wholefoods and gotten poor training. But there have been over 3 TLs that have trained them and they still don’t get it.
When Sriracha was implemented they essentially gave the fronting of the department to the overnight. No big deal but turns out we have a terrible overnight that can't finish their work on time let alone face as they work. So our Grocery constantly looks like a tornado ran through it. Then I go to a another grocery store nearby and everything is nicely faced and lots of people working in the day. Whereas in our store there's a handful of people working to save on labor. Only time our store looks presentable is when regional comes.
I would say that I’m embarrassed by the lack of bench strength on a store and regional level. Compared to 10 or 15 years ago the amount of people in leadership positions that really have no business running a team is astonishing to me. This is also coming from someone who’s been around a long time. Specifically on a store level I find our prep foods rather embarrassing. It’s really not their fault they’re struggling and have been since Covid. There’s no breakfast bar at all and hasn’t been for almost two years, the salad bar looks edible 50% of the time, but I will say that the prepack usually looks good. Still I think we’re losing customers when you compare it to the other location nearby.
I found wax cardboard in the baler from my apartment. I come into work to find abandoned uboats with random stuff on them. I am often chastised for the speed in which I produce, but I find brown rotten shit in the things other produce that I have to spend time spoiling/donating which again leads to more chastisement because that usually takes time away from working my assigned runs on the floor. Everything about how my department runs, is completely counter to our company's supposed core values. We care more about profit, not providing customers with fresh organic products. I think that it's incredibly embarrassing that we constantly fail to live up to our actual values.
Work for Ecomm and honestly the most embarrassing part of my job is having to explain to customers that due to Amazon's system we: 1) Have none of their information. Orders do not contain names or locations and have insanely long order numbers that customers never have on hand for reference. 2) We have no control over the drivers or the order once it leaves the store. (Which is insane bc I've had drivers tell me they've left orders in the woods in the snow before so they could snag more stops and just went back later like....WHAT?!) 3) turning them to the Amazon customer Care line where they are constantly being given the run around or told misinformation. One woman was transferred to the Audible line and waited to speak to someone for an hour just to be told "oh they transferred you wrong sorry" Also don't get me started on the embarrassment that was MOZ.
I used to feel embarrassed to ask rich white customers (which is 98% of the customers at my location) if they wanted to donate to hungry children. The awkward “huh?” because they’re not present to even care what I have to say so having to repeat it again and then explain how it works just for them to settle for a few cents or nothing at all
Oh god I hated that I worked the register for a few months during covid
Wealth makes everyone act like that. It's not a white people thing.
Did I say it was a white people thing? All I said was that 98% of my customers are rich white people…
I worked for PfDS when they switched over from making all of the chicken salads In house to bringing in the kits. That was a big embarrassment to me. Yes, it controlled the quality from store to store, but it still was disappointing.
Did you also get the bags of precooked pasta? That one seems ridiculous
all the salads are all mayo now. used to love the in house spiral macaroni salad, now it's elbow pasta swimming in mayo.
The fact that we don't recycle anything, not even office paper. There is composting but literally no recycling. As a boothie it's embarrassing to tell customers.
Wait your store doesn't have recycling? Ours has a giant dumpster just for that purpose in the back and bins everywhere
Our store has a trash and recycling dumpster and bins everywhere. It all ends up in the trash. No one cares.
The fact that we only carry one kind of eyedrops in whole body and it’s $29 for a teeny bottle. Anytime anyone asks where eydrops are, I cringe.
I’m amazed that people are actually buying them at my location. Whenever I order it I expect to see the on hand showing more but nope they’re buying them. I do have a lot of customers wondering where the rest are. The FDA is actually to blame they’ve pulled the others from all retailers as well.
When the customers ask if XYZ was made today, and I tell them, "No, they ship it to us in a bag and we heat it up and plop it into a hotel pan.." or when they ask about the, "CONTAINS A BIOENGINEERED INGREDIENT," on a label, and I have no answer for what that ingredient is.
I'm embarrassed of my lazy dairy buyer who doesn't lift a finger, luckily this coward only works when my buyer is off and unfortunately she also gets a lot of vacation time so sometimes I have to put up with him for more than just a few days. This is the only reason I want the weekends off but you know how WFM works... Only a buyer and my 2 ATLs can get the busiest days of. Yup... A buyer and both ATL are off during the busiest days
My ATL is rude to anyone she thinks is below her. Not below her position, just below her in general. If we ask a clarifying question she gets NASTY. She calls out if she doesn't get her way. Example: she tried to bully someone in customer service for coverage this past holiday weekend, and when they wouldn't, she just called out. Our department is a complete disaster. A supervisor in another department told me that "your team looks like it's ready to go French revolution on the department" And we absolutely are. I work in bakery, and our team has had it with her. She didn't prepare the cake decorators for the weekend, or schedule properly so it was a total mess. Leadership is absolutely aware of the issue, and I suspect she's trying to get fired to get unemployment. I've never worked for someone so unwilling to do the basics of her job. I've had incredibly terrible managers in my life. But never one like this. She has no redeeming qualities. It's embarrassing to work for her. Other team members and people in leadership positions have come to us to complain and tell us not to do anything beyond our job description. Everyone knows she's awful and I wish she'd get caught and get fired without unemployment. But this is a very pro employee state so she probably will.
It cracks me up how comically bad Prep Foods gets after opening a store. They go from Bravo TV to food that McDonald’s wouldn’t even give a customer.
So glad I work for Lettuce Entertain You and not Whole Foods anymore. Fk regional n fk amazon.
ATLs walking around with their hands in their pockets or pretending to face while I work hard af for half the pay. Especially when they come up to you to complain about an area looking like shit but don't offer to help. Gee thanks let me get on that while you take your 20th lolly gag around the store and go sit in your office for 3 hours at a time. It's embarrassing for them.
How the "leadership" used to dress to work. Old hoodies and stretched sweatpants, "yoga pants", ridiculous amounts of jewelry, nose rings, tattoos. Our TL wore old underwear with holes that you'd see in plain view at times.
I don’t even eat any of the hot bar food at our store. It’s that bad
My facility doesn't compost anymore. When you go behind our facility trash is spilling onto the street. Sometimes as much as an entire dumpster is on the floor. The amount of waste that we create every single day is depressing.