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Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

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Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#61

Post by SeanBoocock »

EpicEng wrote: post #31
house9-2 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the things I used to like about shopping at Whole Foods - no stupid club pricing. Yeah, I have prime - but I am not putting the app on my phone and don't want to give my phone number out, or be bothered too. Just let me buy my groceries in piece.

>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.

Everything? No. Certain produce, bulk items, and white label products were cost competitive, and often cheaper, than regular groceries. At least that was true ~15 years ago when I used to shop there regularly, and save money, in the DC area.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#62

Post by bendoidic »

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…

Ralphs and Vons in California have been doing the charity ask for years. I always assumed it was their way of bragging later "how much they gave back to the community" while conveniently forgetting to mention those funds came from customer donations. I hate it, too.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#63

Post by bendoidic »

srtjstjsj wrote: post #49
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…

That's the new trend in many grocery stores. Someone on HN or Reddit mentioned that grocery charities are actually a tactic to estimate the sign of the derivative of e the customer base's grocery-discretionary income, as a hint of when to raise prices.

Interesting angle. Any resources to back up that claim?

Feels so dirty, like free health screenings for employees, when the real purpose is to built an insurance risk profile for a geographic area.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#64

Post by twothamendment »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #17
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 Because every other grocery store is selling poison? The average person doesn't even have a WF near them to shop at.

Your comment made me search for the nearest one. According to Google Maps, the nearest Whole Foods Market is over 10 hours away. I guess I'll shop Half Foods Market like I always do.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#65

Post by sergiomattei »

deathanatos wrote: post #46
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.

And that's part of the problem. I go to Super Duper in SF, and every time, the employee is forced to ask: "Have you been to Super Duper before?" If I say yes, "Welcome back!" if I say no, "Welcome!"¹. It is pointless. All I want is lunch. Want to see that I've been here before? You have my credit card number… ¹The exact words might not be right, the point is that there is no meaningful difference to the customer betw…

Now that's just being antisocial.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#66

Post by acjohnson55 »

deathanatos wrote: post #46
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.

And that's part of the problem. I go to Super Duper in SF, and every time, the employee is forced to ask: "Have you been to Super Duper before?" If I say yes, "Welcome back!" if I say no, "Welcome!"¹. It is pointless. All I want is lunch. Want to see that I've been here before? You have my credit card number… ¹The exact words might not be right, the point is that there is no meaningful difference to the customer betw…

Lol, "have you dined with us before" is the most irritating thing. I usually want to say, "no, but I've dined at a thousand other restaurants, will this be radically unfamiliar?"

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#67

Post by ALittleLight »

matthewmacleod wrote: post #20
crazygringo wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is that any different from grocery stores asking everyone if they have a reward card, clothing stores asking if you have their credit card, McDonald's asking if you want to super-size that, or bartenders being required to offer to upsell liquor? It's extremely common for cashiers to be required to ask if customers are part of whatever program is relevant, if they would like the current promotion, etc. Nobody's go…

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.

How are you annoying customers by giving them an opportunity to save money? Perhaps the customer is a Prime member and doesn't know or doesn't recall that they will get a discount.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#69

Post by nothrabannosir »

EpicEng wrote: post #29
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.

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

Don’t worry Matthew, I live there. We can start our own company and hire each other, and we’ll never talk to customers, ever. We sell silence. Come to Matthew’s head and pay us not to talk to you. It’s like Disneyland for grown ups.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#70

Post by caconym_ »

HammerJack wrote: post #36
caconym_ wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, so unskilled employees shouldn't be so entitled as to want the protection of unions (etc.)... but also unions are bad for them? Come on. Workers of any skill level are "owed" whatever they can get, because that's the same ethic employed by their employers.

You have to remember though, if a corporation is doing it, it's good business/capitalism. If an individual is doing it, it's greed or something similar. E.g. wage negotiations.

Silly me, I forgot! Thanks for the reminder, friend.
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