Whole Foods workers seek to unionize • Hacker News Board

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#51

Post by luckman212 » Thu, Sep 06, 2018, 11:31 PM UTC

ssalka wrote: post #39

matthewmacleod wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but if you're reminded repeatedly by management and you continue not to, then what would you expect to happen? I’d expect a massive fucking award for not constantly pissing off customers with this nonsense.

Agree - Amazon could very easily add a QR page to their mobile app, and install scanners at registers that fetch a customer's Prime account. No cashier questioning necessary. If you want Prime benefits at Whole Foods, scan your phone.

At the Whole Foods I shop at (NYC) they already have that.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#52

Post by Apocryphon » Thu, Sep 06, 2018, 11:31 PM UTC

conanbatt wrote: post #44

throw2016 wrote: post #23

There are trade bodies, industry bodies, industry associations, chambers of commerce, special interest groups, lobbying groups and it goes on. Every business and corporate is a member of multiple bodies to further their interests and nobody questions these groupings. Yet employee and worker bodies causes discussion and debate as if somehow only this aspect of economic life should not seek to promote and protect their…

All the other interest groups you mention definitely create the questioning and the criticism. They have just been more successful at permeating public perception. Almost always being complicit with the state. Doctors? Lawyers? Lobbying? They all get criticism. I also dissent with the model of "everybody commits an act against society, why shouldnt anyone engage in the race to capture the spoils". Do not institutiona…

The other interest groups, with greater power and influence, have already institutionalized it. Should the disempowered simply refuse to engage, and suffer for it?

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#53

Post by simonsarris » Thu, Sep 06, 2018, 11:32 PM UTC

imagiko wrote: post #38

I have noticed that the cashier's have gotten pushy about asking about a Prime account, and very recently about a charity donation. It's a good way to 'make' people donate when asked upfront. I'm sure the probability of people donating increases. When I denied, I was asked if I'd like to round off my payment and have the balance donated. Honestly, it's very annoying. Whole foods is unfortunately becoming an REI store…

The charity donation thing has been part of WF forever. They do it on and off over the years.

South Park making fun of them for it in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKsOwJ8AGWo

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#54

Post by matthewmacleod » Thu, Sep 06, 2018, 11:32 PM UTC

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #40

jblow wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do. I am a Prime member but when Whole Foods cashiers ask I say "no" because I just want to get the bullshit over with and get out of there.

No, you don't live in the world that matthewmacleod described. You live in a world where the customer doesn't want to put up with the nonsense. We all live in that world. But matthewmacleod lives in a world where the cashier will be rewarded (rather than fired) for ditching the script and just getting on with it. We'd all like to live in matthewmacleod's world, but I don't think any of us actually do...

Yeah, I appreciate that it’s a bit of a fantasy world.

This happens at shops I occasionally use in the UK now too, and with some of them it’s bad enough that I actively avoid shopping in them if there’s any possible alternatives. Point is that this kind of incessant nagging is another metrics-driven measure that doesn’t necessarily have the expected results.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#55

Post by simonsarris » Thu, Sep 06, 2018, 11:33 PM UTC

ssalka wrote: post #39

matthewmacleod wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but if you're reminded repeatedly by management and you continue not to, then what would you expect to happen? I’d expect a massive fucking award for not constantly pissing off customers with this nonsense.

Agree - Amazon could very easily add a QR page to their mobile app, and install scanners at registers that fetch a customer's Prime account. No cashier questioning necessary. If you want Prime benefits at Whole Foods, scan your phone.

This is exactly what every WF already has. You scan a QR code from your phone on a scanner that faces the customer.

(At least the ones in California and New Hampshire, so I assume everywhere in between.)

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#56

Post by EpicEng » Thu, Sep 06, 2018, 11:37 PM UTC

zandl wrote: post #35

EpicEng wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>One of the things I used to like about shopping at Whole Foods - no stupid club pricing Of course not; everything there is (was?) insanely expensive because they knew their core customers would pay.

You’re paying at the club stores, they’re just spreading it out over different items you buy. WH might still be more but the club isn’t about leaving money on the table.

>WH might still be more

Sure is. I understand that the club nonsense is a marketing stunt, but at the end of the day WH is (was?) overpriced, which is all that matters.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#57

Post by simonsarris » Thu, Sep 06, 2018, 11:37 PM UTC

driverdan wrote: post #48

s3r3nity wrote: post #15

My concern with this is that this will only accelerate the probability that Amazon Go merges with Whole Foods to have a cashier-free experience. >Shoppers, however, have saved millions as a result of the shake-up. This is why you're going to have a tough time getting sympathy from the public, and why I think (for better or worse) Amazon will win the PR battle. The average person now has access to healthier grocery /…

> The average person now has access to healthier grocery / purchasing options WF's food is not any healthier than the food you find in other stores.

There are no added hormones in WF meat. There are no hydrogenated oils in any of their products.

There are no phthalates in any of their beauty/wash products.

Obviously you can define health however yo want, and you can scan the shelves of other stores for these same things. Maybe you can find a couple phthalate-free shampoos in Target, read a bunch of articles and memorize the good brands and hope they don't change. Or you could shop at WF.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#58

Post by icebraining » Thu, Sep 06, 2018, 11:38 PM UTC

joering2 wrote: post #33

matthewmacleod wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but if you're reminded repeatedly by management and you continue not to, then what would you expect to happen? I’d expect a massive fucking award for not constantly pissing off customers with this nonsense.

They are separate entity from amazon afaik, and are unrelated to grochery shopping. Imagine every time pumping at BP being asked if you need libricant oil for your plane (that you dont have but they keep asking every time). Further the whole thing is a scam - wholefoods advertise Prime as get extra 10% off shopping but upon inqury I was told there are only some 60 items in the whole store that are Prime discounted. T…

Funny you mention BP, my local BP gas stations actually ask people if they have the card of a grocery's shop chain, since it give 3 cents/litre off.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#59

Post by EpicEng » Thu, Sep 06, 2018, 11:38 PM UTC

matthewmacleod wrote: post #47

EpicEng wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And you'd be fired because no one else lives in the world you've created in your head.

I get it. I know that. It’s not the cashier’s fault. It just kinda sucks that a transaction as simple as “buying some food” is now draped in this nonsense.

It does, but from their perspective, it works. Stores make more money (via numerous avenues) with stuff like this, so they'll continue to do it.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#60

Post by wpasc » Thu, Sep 06, 2018, 11:39 PM UTC

driverdan wrote: post #48

s3r3nity wrote: post #15

My concern with this is that this will only accelerate the probability that Amazon Go merges with Whole Foods to have a cashier-free experience. >Shoppers, however, have saved millions as a result of the shake-up. This is why you're going to have a tough time getting sympathy from the public, and why I think (for better or worse) Amazon will win the PR battle. The average person now has access to healthier grocery /…

> The average person now has access to healthier grocery / purchasing options WF's food is not any healthier than the food you find in other stores.

I disagree. in my experiences (anecdotal, I know), WF was a lot earlier to larger varieties of organic produce and organic products. It is true that many stores have caught up, but WF still has a larger selection of organic/fair trade certified/high quality meats than most other stores. Their animal welfare rating system alone is pretty pioneering (if it is to be believed). They have also partnered with more local growers and farmers than most other national chains.