Overall great atmosphere with poor discipline Policies
Whole Foods as a company and the way that it is theoretically designed is a model that I think a lot of companies could learn from. They support the environment as well as try to cultivate an overall healthy work environment with fair benefits and gain sharing for all employees that offers further incentive to effectively sell and continue growing the Wholefoods brand. I would buy stock in this company myself as it is still not at its peak of growth.
On my typical day I would get in at about five minutes before my scheduled time, to have enough time to change into the jacket and apron that was required of all employees. I would then go in and great everyone working there and immediately report to my supervisor, then either help serve customers at the counter if it seemed busy, and if it didn't seem busy I would look to fill anything that needed to be filled in the case or any supplies that were needed on the counter. I would always ask a supervisor if anything needed to be done if I couldn't find anything but typically there was always something that needed doing and the days would go by a bit more quickly when you were always looking for something to do or clean, which has to be done several times a day on most surfaces as we are handling raw meat. This included procedures such as frequently changing gloves between different species as well as wearing a cutting glove when serving meat. Stocking the counter during busy hours was a task that focused you to work quicker, more e
Prosincentives, gainsharing, working with meat
Conssome coworkers
2.0
Cashier | Bellevue, WA | May 16, 2020
Corporate Wolf in Hippy Sheep’s clothing
“Whole Foods is a lot like communism, it started with a nice idea in theory but in practice... ehh“
Whole Foods, organic bliss; the land of hemp milk and honey. A paradise for shoppers, if you look the other way on spending $20 for a salad that you could have made for $5.
Whole Foods is like Vegas. You go there to feel good but you leave broke and disoriented. Though everyone hates to love “Whole Paycheck”, as an employee, I quickly just flat out hated it.
Ok hate is a strong word, there are far worse jobs out there, I’ll just say once being employed there, I felt massively mislead.
The chill hippy vibe I had hoped to find wasn’t totally absent but often punctuated by crazy, demanding, inflexible, customers and leadership.
Whole Foods: Green Sheen Machine. Don’t be fooled by their earth-tone interior, granola/hipster/yogi hybrid ambiance. It’s a facade, they’re a corporation out for the other green.
A greenwashing company uses buzzwords like 'sustainability' and 'community'— words which are plastered all over every surface in a Whole Foods.
As an employee this veil of hippy camaraderie was lifted, exemplified by many things, one of which being:
RULES:
The long list of nit-picky, no-budge, hair-splitting, pedantic rules which they strictly enforce. This rule has since been changed, but when I worked there employees could not color their hair any color that was “unnatural”. I had 4 very small purple highlights that I got an actual warning for. But another e
ProsDiscount
ConsCouldn’t afford to shop there, even with discount.
5.0
Food Preparation Worker | Danbury, CT | May 27, 2014
I enjoy going to work, great atmosphere, people, food and mission.
Typical day: Providing services on the Chef's case (Cold items produced by kitchen staff and sold by counter staff) and Deli (Applegate and Wellshire items along with a great deal of in house items) More experienced members bounce back and forth between deli, CC, pizza and burger as needed. Kitchen staff will assist on the CC and other stations in a pinch.
Management:
There is a great deal of support between staff and supervisors. Everybody is on the same page and communicates well. We are sale focused, but in an excited way, as we have monthly profit sharing and half of us make the food - doing well feels like a good reflection on our ability and makes us extra pay. The supervisors also communicate with each other very well. We have a CIA chef as our head, he expects a lot from each individual in a way that shows confidence in our abilities as part of the team and is very understanding with scheduling and requesting days off.
Hardest part: Deep cleans and closing shifts. Tardiness.
Taking apart the cases all the way down to the fans and cleaning everything to the bone on Sundays and generally taking the place apart at night. The food is beautiful and elaborately displayed and it takes everyone to break it down at night - but everyone helps everyone including in the dish room until we are all set - then everyone goes home at once. This might mean staying over your shift, just be prepared. But hey, no one wants to stay late so it usually gets done pretty fast
ProsFlexible schedule, career classes and advancement opportunities, co-workers, atmosphere, cross-training, working with vendors
ConsYour job requires a detailed knowledge of products which can be intimidating.
1.0
Cashier | Denver, CO | Dec 16, 2019
Biggest disappointment in my entire job history.. Please reconsider applying here!
I was so excited when I got hired here but man, oh man, I could tell immediately they were very understaffed and mismanaged. My first few days there, I had NO management training or guidance. I was stuck in a room for hours doing training videos, and then I would be pulled out to go wrangle carts and bring them in. I was very confused but I wasn't mad about getting to move my legs and get active. Then, that's all they had me do for almost 2 weeks straight. I was hired as a cashier, and I hadn't ANY training in this two weeks. I also had an injury that I made every manager aware of, which made it hard for me to push carts, but I did it anyways. Since the first day, I didn't get introduced to all the management and who I should report too, and when I asked, I received a different answer every time, or it was someone I was not introduced to. I had no one I could talk to about job help or anything in general. When I tried to interact with the other cashiers, they treated me like I was trash. The girls all looked at me like I was a nobody, and were very curt and rude with their responses, and the guys just treated you like you were invisible. I had no guidance for my time at Whole Foods, and when I tried to talk to one manager, she brushed everything off and honestly, she made me feel worse, like I was the problem. I felt a pit in my stomach every time I walked into those doors, which really sucked because I adore Whole Foods and all they stand for, but it was a really awful exper
1.0
Baker | Paradise Valley, AZ | Aug 27, 2020
Would You Rather?
● Work-life balance
The hours are only available to management favorites, regardless of how much time is needed to actually finish a full day’s bake. There’s no quality check to leave all workstations clear for the next employee’s shift. Even if you do set yourself up for success, your work will be undone and your shift will begin with cleaning up after the last person who used your station. Management texts at random, even if you don’t consent to sending and receiving texts as a form of communication. There’s no balance because the work day is so stressful that it’s impossible to relax when you’re suffering from one day and dreading the next. They consider 32 hours full time.
● Pay & benefits
Pay is tricky, because you may get a good hourly rate, but you’re only working 32-35 hours, which reduces you’re salary overall significantly. Benefits are okay, insurance is pricey, sick pay is quick to accrue, but you will be punished for utilizing it - my manager even asked me inappropriate questions about my condition after I requested use of my earned sick time.
● Job security and advancement
Advancing is impossible under certain members of management. Skills and experience are undermined, priority for all positions are given based on favoritism, and even the favorites are taken advantage of. Training is minimal, they even have a trainer assigned to each team but they are treated like a free employee and they essentially just run errands for management.
● Management
Management i
1.0
Customer Service Associate / Cashier | Capitola, CA | Oct 13, 2020
Understaffed Amazon Prime Hellhole, Good Work Culture is Dead
Work-life balance
Work-life balance at Whole Foods Market is fine when staff levels aren't critical, but Amazon keeps slashing our labour budget, making management ask for more hours, then just scheduling you over avalibility and hoping you ignore that and show up. Keep an eye on Kronos. They'll also throw out your avalibility sheet if they think they can get away with it. Shifts are getting more intense, burnout is regular.
Pay & benefits
My pay and benefits at Whole Foods Market are good, but slowly getting worse. They have a 401k.
Job security and advancement
In terms of job security at Whole Foods Market, I think that no one can ever get fired unless they don't show up on time. Stay as long as you'd like, but be prepared to share your workplace with other unfireables.
Management
In general, managers at Whole Foods Market are incompetent and petty. They lie to eachother and to their employees, and are never to blame for their mistakes. There are a few good ones in there but many of them have left, or are planning to.
Culture
Collaboration with my colleagues at Whole Foods Market is great. Only thing that is good about this place is the coworkers, but many of the best ones are quitting, I'll soon be honored to follow in their footsteps.
Overall
My experience working at Whole Foods Market is mixed. I professionally grew there, I made so many fun memories and I know what a good workplace can be. I loved that individuality was supported and encouraged, that every store ha
4.0
Cashier | Jacksonville, FL | Dec 23, 2014
Great company, good job depending on your team and team leaders
Great place to work if you like your job. One of the best retail grocery jobs around. Some of the company guidelines and procedures are stupid but its worth the money.
I had to quit due to my impossible manager and my girlfriend having been on my team and myself in general is kinda emotional and impulsive. but that's besides the point...? haha
*Don't date someone in the same department, work hard, talk less, and you should be good.
Its a retail environment so if you don't like customers and having to fake relationships with co-workers than get a solitary job.
The hardest part of my job was staying happy at work. I get a bit down some days and when you work a repetitive job its easy to feel low. For the most part though I worked my butt off and truly had a good 1.7 years at this place.
Frankly wish I could have stayed but to be honest some things about the place also allow me to accept that I no longer work there. I had a few past friends who worked there and it got stale doing the whole "yeah we should chill sometime soon" "how have you been" thing that past friends do but never actually go hang out. As well as having had my brother work there before me and having people always ask me about him as soon as they saw me "hey so hows your brother doing?!" "why don't you call him and find out ..think of something actually creative to talk about instead of spitting out the first thing that comes to mind." haha
Other things that bummed me out was that half of the t
Prospay is a lot higher for lower skill positions compared to other stores, discount, fun meetings, meet friends, career advancement opportunities depending on skill and age and your team, learn a lot about food and the company itself, looks good on your resume, no drug tests
Conswhole foods procedures, customers can be stupid, some co-workers think they're cool as sharks and act all hipster, if not that you have to remain polite to people who are not to you, i recommend keeping stuff to yourself, bc its retail and rumors and gossip spread like crazy among bored workers, some managers dont follow the core values
4.0
Grocery Associate | San Francisco, CA | Jan 2, 2017
Great job with great company and a lot of food
In grocery, most days are filling stock, helping answer customer questions, walking customers to products, and maintaining the look of the store. It can be very fast paced as popular items sell out extremely fast, and you have to be ready to fill a hole. Depending on your shift, you may be more focused on throwing load which will involve a lot of lifting and carrying, or restocking shelves as they deplete during the day. There is not a lot of idle time, so the day can pass quickly.
Management is some of the best in all retail, but your mileage will vary. (Personally, I have a so-so manager, and I get a little envious of the departments that have better managers.) But the self-empowering corporate culture trickles down. Many times they are very hands off--initially it surprised me that team members coordinated their own lunch breaks instead of being told when to go--but very helpful when you have questions. There is thorough multi-day training before you step onto the sales floor--typically two to three days. (Out of all my retail jobs, only two of them had significant training sessions--Whole Foods and the Apple Store.)
Coworkers are great and very interesting, tho this will depend on where you work as well. (My store has two colleges close by, so most team members are young students.) They'll typically be very helpful, even when from another department; spills are common and ANY team member nearby will usually stop what they're doing immediately to help out.
The gro
ProsGreat corporate culture, great coworkers, so much food, very easy-going management
Conscan be very physical work, can get crowded, better pay than average retail but not by much
2.0
Produce Associate | Tulsa, OK | Dec 21, 2020
Dangerous during covid, tough during normal times
I got in before the Amazon takeover and saw a glance of what the company once was. When I first started I thought I was going to make this company my career. The pay was good and raise at first were good. When it was raised to $15 entry level it was great. Most of the coworkers are great, my direct TL is tough but fair and cares about us. Despite all that I'm looking for the door. The company progressively expected more and more from the workers, while cutting was our labor to bare minimum. They want us to work at a fast, robot pace in my department. We work almost every holiday and tend to hurt myself at least once a year from having to go so fast during a rush. It takes months to get rid of bad employees. Uneven expectations from certain employees, good employees just expected to make up work from bad. You get one 30 min. break in a shift but often are so busy you forget or can't use it. Training is hit and miss, some departments over trained and others are thrown in after a day and expected to just figure it out. The covid response was good at first compared to the rest of the industry, but quickly became bad. People are allowed to walk in maskless, rules broken constantly. The temp station is a joke the infrared camera temps people 90-95 degrees making it virtually impossible to be turned away. Covid outbreak spring up constantly from the relaxed rules. It's almost impossible to soical distance often you work shoulder to shoulder with people. You can feel how little the
ProsPaid 30 min breaks, great starting pay, pleasant coworkers
ConsNo benfits for PT, hard to get FT, overworkerd, bad covid response, corporate expect too much
3.0
Team Leader | Pennsylvania | Jun 3, 2014
Great place to work if you do not have a degree.
This is a fun place to work at if you get along with your co-workers. The dress code is casual. If you are in management you can pretty much choose your own schedule, based on your department needs. If you do not have a degree, you can work your way up from the bottom. You can start out as a cashier and end up in upper management if you follow their course. You can learn everything you need to know about retail if you choose to.
The negatives: If you do have a degree, it means nothing. It does not help you get a job there or help you advance in any way. This is frustrating for people with an education.
If you manage a department in the store, you are still hourly- not salary. This means that you clock in and clock out, only get paid for the actual hours that you are punched in, and can end up at the end of the year without your full salary if sales for the store were not good. This can happen if the department you work in isn't doing well and you have to cut your own hours to compensate for the loss.
Another negative is that it is retail (whether you are in management or not). You will work weekends, holidays, long days (12 hours), short days (4 hours), basically anytime within the 24 hours (you could start at 2 AM or 2 PM). You may have to work until 11 PM one night and start at 6 AM the next day. But then you may have 3 or 4 days in a row off. But then you may have to work 12 days in a row! This bothers some more than others.
The benefits in my opinion are h
ProsDiscount, Fun, Casual, Ability to learn retail from the bottom up.
ConsHours, Benefits, Pay, Leadership Structure
Questions And Answers about Whole Foods Market
If you were to leave Whole Foods Market, what would be the reason?
Asked Mar 19, 2017
People stay because they can’t get any other job. Who wants to stand, pull, lift, carry ridiculous loads and work nonstop like a tedious assembly line on nights, weekends and holidays and put up with customers who look down on “essential” workers while the rest of the world is safely (working from) home during a global pandemic especially?!?
Answered Dec 17, 2020
The Kenwood store has people as “leaders” that have no business acumen; let alone people skills.
Fraternize with Team Leaders after hours at your apt and you will get a big pay increase. Daily Covid exposure from employees and customers
Answered Dec 17, 2020
If you were in charge, what would you do to make Whole Foods Market a better place to work?
Asked Jan 28, 2018
In my opinion, it is already a great place to work.
Answered Nov 21, 2020
The leadership, favoritism....politics
Answered Nov 11, 2020
What is the best part of working at Whole Foods Market?
Asked Dec 7, 2019
Great discount, better pay than most jobs in FLA, and co-workers.
Answered Jan 28, 2021
Working side to my Dept manager and 3 aother of my coworkers who had core values and loved the trade
Answered Nov 28, 2020
How are the hours? Do staff really have to work every weekend like I've read on these reviews?
Asked Mar 25, 2016
Yes!!!
Be prepared to come in on days off, early and stay late and be sent home early because nobody shows up or follows a schedule.
If you say no, they will not say anything until your review one year later and use that to only give you a few quarters extra raise; at least in Kenwood, OH store
Answered Dec 18, 2020
Really bad place to work. You are just a number to them not an employee. They are ultra paranoid about non existent unions and send other departments into yours to try and get you fired. Its a creepy, hostile, untrustworthy store. This is coming from a butcher. Go to a real store.
Answered Oct 10, 2020
What is the policy on colored hair, tattoos and facial piercings?
Asked Jun 10, 2016
By accident I posted a response before without answering the piercing part, Please allow this submission to go through and disregard the other one! This is from the actual official dress code manual from wfm! I am a current employee there.
7. Hair: Hairstyles or colors that are considered shocking or offensive by Store Leadership are not permitted. All long hair (longer than shoulder length) must be restrained in food service areas, Dreadlocks are permitted, but must be clean, neat, and restrained, and may need to be contained in a store-approved Whole Foods Market hat. 10. Jewelry and piercings: Moderation in jewelry is required. One single facial piercing is permitted. Septum piercings are not permitted. In all food service or prep areas, no watches, bracelets, rings, or dangling earrings are permitted, other than a wedding band. Stud earrings are permitted in food service and prep areas. 11. Tattoos: Tattoos may be visible, but any tattoos that could be considered offensive must be covered.
Answered Aug 18, 2020
7. Hair: Hairstyles or colors that are considered shocking or offensive by Store Leadership are not permitted. All long hair (longer than shoulder length) must be restrained in food service areas, Dreadlocks are permitted, but must be clean, neat, and restrained, and may need to be contained in a store-approved Whole Foods Market hat. 11. Tattoos: Tattoos may be visible, but any tattoos that could be considered offensive must be covered.
