FTC ONCE AGAIN SEEKS TO BAR WHOLE FOODS/WILD OATS MERGER

this has now turned a little personal, so if you're not interested in my past history with whole foods please stop reading now, (thanks)


1st things first, lets air my dirty laundry

Paul is correct about me being "terminated" from wfm, for reasons which the folks at the Department of Labor in KY thought i should file a lawsuit over (not my style and way too time consuming) regardless, it was determined that i was terminated without just cause and thus eligible for unemployment benefits by the state of KY - the dept just notified me that i was eligible for "additional benefits" but i declined the invitation

the premise of my termination related directly to my "attitude", i often questioned the leadership at the Louisville wfm regarding policies and procedures which seemed to differ from the "core values" of wfm and the straw that quote broke the camel's back as they say was in direct relation to my response to my team leaders direct violation of whole foods protocol by not storing the beer properly (beer should be in a locked storage area at wfm or on display)
anyway i made some comments that were relayed back to other members of leadership < even though they were made under the guise of a private discussion> and in the end were absolutely misquoted (not that any witnesses to this event, ie matthew crow, were ever questioned about my statements)

so anyway, before my termination i received several written warnings//write ups relating to the following activities
1- the fact that they fed us donuts, coffee, and pizza at team meetings (instead of wfm products) - i questioned how this related to our core values
2- why we were not being given raises based on performance, but only across the board increases
3- why team leaders were allowed to entice team members with false rewards
4- why none of the recycling loads from wfm louisville ever made it to the recycling facility while i was there
5- leadership thought i was promoting a pro-union stance (the last store leader at wfm louisville directly threatened me with termination on this one)
6- my criticism of fellow team members who were not pulling their weight within our department
7- my overall criticism of the level of immaturity present in the leadership at wfm louisville

- i beleive it was a total of 3 written warnings covering the previous areas over a 1 year or so period

i was never reprimanded for performance issues, absenteeism, or tardiness at wfm louisville

now that we're over that hurdle
david and matt can speak for themselves, but to say they were "fired" may be a little too harsh, they had both given notice to leave the company

wow

and for the record everything thing that gets put into a recycling or a compost bin at whole foods is ALWAYS recycled or composted, the only exception to this is if the recycling company deems a load of recycling too contaminated with non-recyclables...which does happen, though rarely.

rarely, must include the entire time i worked for wfm
because i know from discussions with current and former leadership members at wfm louisville, that all of our recycling was "too contaminated with non-recyclables" to be accepted by the recycling company during my tenure there

now, i haven't been dragging any person's name through the mud and i agree there are a lot of great people that work at wfm and i'm still friends with several of them

wfm is not what they claim to be
and i'm certainly not the first or the last who will say it

it just so happens that david, matt, and myself have seen wfm louisville from the inside out
and none of us could quietly stomach what we saw, and keep toeing the company line as staunch mackey supporters
the concept is great, the paperwork looks fantastic, but its just a really good package, with the same dirty secrets inside that every mega corp has locked away

i will also acknowledge that my view of wfm as a whole is seriously biased by what i've seen in louisville
the louisville store operated as an ambiguous step child of the company while i was there with very little regional support (louisville is in the mid atlantic region of wfm world and headquartered in maryland, at least when i was there this was the case)
we rarely had any contact as team members or buyers with regional leadership, except via email
no kidding, it sometimes took me weeks to get new beers into the system so they would scan accurately at the registers


Robin, thanks for clearing up if TP worked for wfm or not, i've asked him before and he said he did not,
i'll admit i'm suspicious by nature and sorry TP, but you just sound like someone who is making money from wfm, no offense intended

and lets be fair about this one
don't listen to my opinions about wfm
find out the information for yourself and decide if you want to spend your money there
but don't just take their word for it
talk to current and former employees (there are plenty of wfm forums and networks out there)
search for whole foods and unions on google and see what you find
talk to other "natural" retailers

and Paul W is currently employed by wfm

BTW paul
beer will always be better

shawn, matt, dave...all former employee's of whole foods...the first 2 were fired...hence all the nasty posts you find on this forum. please take anything these folks say with a grain of salt (no sort of grocery store pun intended). i dont usually say much about it...but it's just absurd the amount of trash they spout on here. anyone ever notice that when one of them starts something it's not long till the other two pipe up? and for the record everything thing that gets put into a recycling or a compost bin at whole foods is ALWAYS recycled or composted, the only exception to this is if the recycling company deems a load of recycling too contaminated with non-recyclables...which does happen, though rarely. it's time for the whole foods bashing on this forum to end...there's alot of great people that work at this store and it's not fair for the three of you to constantly drag their names thru the mud.

Hmm..where do I start? I have RARELY had bad things to say about WFM, and, indeed have promoted many of their products on this forum over the years (I.E. Niman Ranch, Dry Aged Angus etc. etc. and I challenge you Paul to search all my previous posts before YOU spout off!). YES, I did work for WFM, and NO I was never fired (I quit to open my restaurant). There are a lot of GREAT people working for that store but is that REALLY the issue here?? I don't think that any "names have been dragged through the mud" except, perhaps Whole Foods in general (though there are a select few in leadership where my drag line is way too short...). The only issues that I had during my tenure there was with a few incompetent, lazy, and unethical team leaders, and with their hiring practices for those positions ( a fairness issue which you may be familiar with but afraid to chime in lest you risk you're own job....eh?). As for myself, I bought into the whole philosophy of that company, only to quickly be disenchanted by what I saw as the true reality....they pay only lip service to the goals and values that they pretend to uphold. In that, I think Shawn and I are in agreement...Now, I will get off my soap box...peace brother!

shawn, matt, dave...all former employee's of whole foods...the first 2 were fired...hence all the nasty posts you find on this forum. please take anything these folks say with a grain of salt (no sort of grocery store pun intended). i dont usually say much about it...but it's just absurd the amount of trash they spout on here. anyone ever notice that when one of them starts something it's not long till the other two pipe up? and for the record everything thing that gets put into a recycling or a compost bin at whole foods is ALWAYS recycled or composted, the only exception to this is if the recycling company deems a load of recycling too contaminated with non-recyclables...which does happen, though rarely. it's time for the whole foods bashing on this forum to end...there's alot of great people that work at this store and it's not fair for the three of you to constantly drag their names thru the mud.

For the record: I have never worked at whole foods, but I do know Shawn and Dave. Shawn, Matt and Dave are all valuable contributors to this forum and like many of us post often. Not only do they respond when one of the others do, but to any post that has relevance to them. I am offended that Paul W implies that the contribution of Dave, Matt and Shawn is trash. I personally believe both Dave and Shawn are ethical and valuable to the forum. We all know that opinions are like @#$%@#$%, but that is what this forum is about. I have not seen where anyone has bashed Whole Foods in the past and if anything Paul W opened the gauntlet.
If my fellow Forumites read the responses from Dave and Shawn, IMO they will represent how things really are. Let me say that I don't shop at Whole Foods and have know personal knowledge, but I respect the opinions of both Shawn and Dave. For me, that's good enough. If you agree with me please support DCE, Carly Rae's and CPC.

[Robin Garr]

For the record: I have never worked at whole foods, but I do know Shawn and Dave. Shawn, Matt and Dave are all valuable contributors to this forum and like many of us post often. Not only do they respond when one of the others do, but to any post that has relevance to them.

I would agree with all you wrote, Kurt, but would also add that Paul W is also a frequent contributor and all-around good guy. I think a lot of people with deep emotional investment in this issue are posting in this thread, and emotions make for strong (and sometimes angry) opinions. We can live with that, although posting personal criticism of our peers is bad juju.

I was intrigued with the mention of a worker fired for alleged union organizing. One of the biggest things that has put ME off Whole Foods was an assertion in the NYT a while back that Mackey is "virulently anti-union." I sent off an Email to WF's Mothership and got back a response that put it in softer terms but didn't really deny it. In spite of everything else, that's a deal-breaker for me, and it makes me wonder if there might be a way to set up a little organizing effort from outside the Louisville shop, just to p*** them off ...

I think I'll start wearing my United Farm Workers button when I go in there ... and yes, I do still shop at Whole Foods, although I find that I'm spending a lot more of my grocery dollar these days in Lotsa Pasta, Doll's, Rainbow Blossom, Burger's and the farmers' markets.

Elizabeth, TP does not work for WF. He is a long-time, respected forum member and an expert on financial issues. Please don't be too quick to accuse people ... generally speaking, "stealth spammers" get outed pretty fast around here, and TP is not one of those.

Robin,
I wasnt trying to accuse anyone of anything. I was just stating that I didn't know a fact. I do agree with TP's financial analysis but my post was to get two answers. First, being that I recently moved to St. Matthews from the Highlands, I wanted to know what alternatives to WF were. Second, I wanted to know if Shawn had a problem with WF. I got my answer to both questions. I apologize if I seemed like I was making accusations. And I agree with you that TP is a long-time respected member as I enjoyed his posts even as a shadower of the forum. Also, I don't even know what a stealth spammer is. Now I think that's it with this thread for me.

shawn, matt, dave...all former employee's of whole foods...the first 2 were fired...hence all the nasty posts you find on this forum. please take anything these folks say with a grain of salt (no sort of grocery store pun intended). i dont usually say much about it...but it's just absurd the amount of trash they spout on here. anyone ever notice that when one of them starts something it's not long till the other two pipe up? and for the record everything thing that gets put into a recycling or a compost bin at whole foods is ALWAYS recycled or composted, the only exception to this is if the recycling company deems a load of recycling too contaminated with non-recyclables...which does happen, though rarely. it's time for the whole foods bashing on this forum to end...there's alot of great people that work at this store and it's not fair for the three of you to constantly drag their names thru the mud.

I'm going to join Shawn and make my own disclosure statement.
I worked for the Whole Foods in St. Matthews for more than a year and a half. I also once worked for a Whole Foods in Chicago back in 1994-95. Back then Whole Foods was much more consistent with it's promise of treating employees with dignity and putting their happiness right up there with generating profits. This was the 90s and the company still sold many products for a great price. The well-known nickname Whole Paycheck had yet to be coined let alone be accepted with near universal acknowledgement.
From my experiences the decade between 1995 and 2005 changed the company irreversibly and not for the better.

I was 'released' by Whole Foods in January 2007. I was 'terminated' without cause as determined by the state of Kentucky. The reason I was fired was that I had put in written notice I would be quitting to open up Derby City Espresso. I gave 40 days notice and offered to train the person who would be following me in the position of coffee buyer. I was 'fired' the following Monday. I was asked by the store manager to sign a piece of paper saying I was leaving voluntarily. I refused.

To speak directly to Paul W: You hear from all three of us when we have something negative to say about Whole Foods because we were all party to working there and seeing firsthand the deep flaws in the business model and day-to-day operations. The fact that this is not some lone gunman style criticism and that there are several of us who criticize Whole Foods should lend credibility to our claims not reduce it. All three of us have gone on open our own restaurants (in my case espresso bar). We all are members of the restaurant community in Louisville. I doubt that Shawn or Dave pine for the days when we were simply grocery store clerks. I know I will never miss or return to the days when I worked as a cheese monger/coffee clerk. It's so much better being my own boss and owning my own place. None of us, to my knowledge, have ever made any accusations against Whole Foods that are not backed up by the facts. I'm happy you like your job at Whole Foods Paul W. good for you. Somebody has to do that job and better you than me.

I am not surprised at your claim that anything placed in a recycling bin at Whole Foods is 'ALWAYS' recycled. However, what about all of the items not placed in a recycling bin? What do you do about those? I go through my garbage cans at DCE at the end of the day to remove any recyclables that may have been tossed in there. Does Whole Foods St. Matthews? That might be a task requiring labor. Labor costs money and money. My argument is that recycling is not a priority of Whole Foods. They will not spend the extra money required to have a truly comprehensive recycling program because it would hurt the profitability of the store. They do not go beyond the simplest of recycling programs. When I worked for Whole Foods I remember one load in three of recyclables being deemed contaminated due to people not rinsing their recycling properly or non-recyclable items being placed into the recycling bins. Has this percentage decreased? When I left Whole Foods in January 2007 I think there was only a small percentage of the store's bio-waste that was being composted. Maybe 3%. The rest went into the compactor. Has the store increased this percentage? I hope so. Here at DCE I have a comprehensive composting program. Fully 98% of our bio-waste is composted. Sure it's easier for me, I'm a small business. Whole Foods is a big box. But one that claims to go the extra mile in it's PR. But does it really?

As a former shareholder in Whole Foods I am dismayed by the mismanagement of this once wholesome company. Based on my experiences while working at St.Matthews I was dismayed to see a culture of boot-licking and preferential treatment for those who toadied up to store and department management. Competence wasn't rewarded loyalty was. 'Good job there Brownie.' I no longer saw the culture of excellence that had typified the company in it s mid-90s rise to power. So I sold my shares and got out of the store and went into business for myself.

What you have never seen on this board is myself or Dave or Shawn disparage any of the individuals who work at Whole Foods. We have never 'dragged anyone's name thru the mud.' When I speak critically, it is critical of the corporation. I do not run around saying false or slanderous things about Whole Foods. However I continue to hold a critical view of the company. They continue to line up with other big-box retailers against unionization and worker organization. They continue to buy tomatoes from farms with substandard labor practices in Florida. They continue to fly in produce from around the world at great carbon cost like every other supermarket in the USA. They continue to be a poor investment. Their share price has dropped from its highs by more than 50$ in the past 4 years. This slide is not only attributable to the increased costs of assimilating Wild Oats. The company is fundamentally flawed and ill positioned to operate efficiently and profitably in this market climate without growing by absorbing it's competitors. it will have to seriously rejigger itself in the market place to recoup its sales figures and shareholder value.

What I am calling for is the end of the cult of personality surrounding Whole Foods and the acknowledgement that they are just another supermarket. Just another corporate entity driven by nothing other than shareholder value and the bottom line. I am calling for the removal of our collective rose colored glasses. Whole Foods is an expensive supermarket, not anything more or less. They are not going to save the planet. Eating their salad bar is not going to make you green. Being seen shopping there is not going to improve your standing with the Sierra Club or the church.

I admit to having an issue with the way the store and the company is managed. I look forward to the day when Whole Foods returns to it's roots as a company that truly makes a positive difference in the lives of its employees and consumers. Until then I reserve the right to be critical. Whole Foods has no soul.

first, being that I recently moved to St. Matthews from the Highlands, I wanted to know what alternatives to WF were.

Rainbow Blossom- Rob Auerbach has been fighting the good fight since the 70's. Locally owned and fairly priced. What better place to shop? If they do not have an item I bet they will stock it if you ask. Paula is the manager in St. Mathews.

i didnt mean to imply that everything these guys post on the forum is trash...just alot of what they have to say about WFM. sorry if i offended, i wasnt trying to attack anyone's character, mearly trying to remind everyone that these guys (matt and shawn) have personal issues with whole foods that stem from their being let go...and we are always reminded of these issues whenever anything is brought up on this forum about WFM. i have differnet opinions of the company than these guys, im not saying it's a perfect company, it's a good company...but im not a part of this forum to be an advocate for WFM, im here because i like to see what's going on in the louisville food scene. sorry if i took it too personal, i just get tired of the bashing. im not going to get into any further debate about the issue.

[Robin Garr]

I wasnt trying to accuse anyone of anything. I was just stating that I didn't know a fact.

No offense meant, Elizabeth. TP is a good personal friend, and I jumped to defend him. I'm sorry if I jumped too hard.

I do agree with TP's financial analysis but my post was to get two answers. First, being that I recently moved to St. Matthews from the Highlands, I wanted to know what alternatives to WF were. Second, I wanted to know if Shawn had a problem with WF. I got my answer to both questions.

I'll agree with Rainbow Blossom as a full-service grocery store specializing in natural foods. I would also add Lotsa Pasta as an outstanding international specialty foods store and Italian deli. And I would add Doll's and, back in the Highlands, Burger's, as high-quality, locally owned supermarkets. Doll's in particular, although not 100 percent "whole" foods, does have a LOT of high quality natural products, including Green River grass-fed beef from Kentucky.

I apologize if I seemed like I was making accusations. And I agree with you that TP is a long-time respected member as I enjoyed his posts even as a shadower of the forum.

As above, no apology needed, and I apologize in return if my spirited defense of my friend came across as a slap at you.

Also, I don't even know what a stealth spammer is. Now I think that's it with this thread for me.

In light of the above, I hope you don't feel you have to leave. You've done nothing wrong here, and the thread is actually quite interesting as long as folks avoid personal attacks - which seems to be the case now.

FYI, a "spammer," of course, is a person who posts unsolicited advertising for a profit-making business in which he or she has a personal interest. A "stealth spammer" is one who posts this type of material without disclosing the connection. I used the term not as a slap at you but with the intention of pointing out what TP is not.

'nuff said? Again, I'm sorry if I left you feeling roughly dealt with.

Wow, a guy takes a short break from the board and finds his name all over the place!

Robin, thanks for the clarification in my absence today. I appreciate it.

Anyone who goes to my profile and clicks through to my web page listing will see that I am a principal with an investment management firm. I've been doing this for more than 25 years and have never worked for any grocery store (although I've been guilty of shopping for groceries on occasion!). We (my firm) do NOT own Whole Foods stock (nor do I personally), although I would at the right price (this ain't it yet, in my opinion). I have done some "roots" research via email and some board postings trying to find out if folks are going to Whole Foods less today than in the past (gas prices, tighter economic conditions). So, guilty as charged with being interested in the business of WF.

thanks for the support my fellow ex-pats

shawn