Whole Foods Market Services reviews & complaints 68
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poor quality/poor service/attitude
Bocal Raton Whole Foods. Indifference to service, bad quality/expired foold on shelves, no response to complaints.
4/9/10 $192 total purchase to include OJ, Quiche, Chicken Salad. Chicken salad contained bits which appeared as closely cut to bone and taste was suspect. Quiche contained hard pieces of ham, taste also suspect. OJ date of expiration 4/9/10 (did not have glasses with me, would not have believed the date would be the very same date purchased). Submitted complaint via website 4/10/10, no response. Returned to store 4/16/10, asked for location of pate', shown, asked about mousse pate', told by clerk "this is the pate'" commented on his attitude and decided to request manager. "Evan" arrived after 5 mins, advised of last visit issues (OJ, Quiche etc.) his reply (after an obvious display of what was an indifferent attitude) was "I am sure it was not intentional, we make mistakes" . He then proceeded with ... "Well, what is your problem today?" at which point I advised I would again contact the home office to which he responded: "You do that" and walked away. Given Regional Manager name, called number, left message for "Juan" to return call regarding store issues, call never returned.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
bug infestation
Whole Foods markets itself as being a healthy living, lifestyle store. I had purchased two organic basil plants in the summer, as their display of garden plants and herbs was very attractive. After I brought them home, I repotted both of them. Within two weeks, my garden was overrun with with small black, hard shelled bugs. Not only was that not horrifying, I started to notice small notches on the leaves of my other, healthy, bug-free plants. Two weeks later, one of my plants was pretty much, defoliated and a number of others were missing significant portions of their leaves.
I trapped a couple of the problem bugs and took them to my local garden store, where there were classified as "vine weevils". Whole Foods has sold me basil plants which contained vine weevil larvae in the soil.
I called up Whole Foods to speak with their plant department. I was told that I could receive a refund for my $3 plants. What Whole Foods failed to acknowledge was that their supplier was selling plants with larvae in the soil.
Thinking that the plant department would like to know about chemical-free, biological treatments with nematodes, I tried to explain to the person that they should look into this for their remaining plants. I was told that "nobody else has had this problem", and "I can offer you a refund of $3". Additionaly I was told to use "complementary" plants in my garden to get rid of the problem bugs. Unfortunately this was poor advice as (1) I had a number of plants that are not bug-friendly already in my garden and (2) once the weevils are mature there is no other way to get rid of them aside from individual capture. I have been told by a number of garden stores that nematodes are the best way to prevent a vine weevil infestation.
I am incredibly disappointed that Whole Foods (1) sold plants infested with bugs, (2) refused to acknowledge the problem, (3) refused to look into preventative measures so other people don't lose their plants to these nasty creatures, (4) the attitude that a $3 refund would be sufficient and (5) the excuse that they only use organic suppliers and that nothing could be done without the use of chemicals. To date, I have spent over $50 just to take care of this problem. I have been told that I will likely have to spend another $50 in the spring to ensure that none of the lavae live through the winter and reproduce next year.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
bad food
Purchased fresh wild shrimp at the Brighton, MA location of Whole Foods/Bread and Circus. Slightly suspicious regarding freshness of 2 or 3 of the shrimp purchased. Telephoned store and spoke with manager. Potential problem immediateley explained by manager as a difference in coloring when dealing with wild shrimp versus farm raised shrimp. I have been a satisfied customer of this store for over 10 years, very few problems - until now. The shrimp in question were bad. Store manager, Donna, refused to take any action. In this instance, she dismissed a basic health issue.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
unsafe bulk food canisters
CC:
We were in your store today, July 5, 2009, at approximately 2pm. We did some shopping through the produce area and then proceeded to the bulk foods aisle. Julie got some bulk sesame sticks and as she stood there an entire container full to the brim of rice fell out of nowhere on to the top of her head. I am appalled at the way this situation was handled. She clearly was out of it and was stunned at what just happened..in pain and crying. A team leader named Cherish went and got her a bag of ice and 2 bottles of water, wrote some stuff down on a blank sheet of copy paper, gave her a business card and said to call her if anything more comes of it. No incident report was made, a medic was not called to make sure there was no further damage...just a "Have a nice day".
So now, the rest of our day is ruined. My girlfriend is laying in bed in pain with a terrible headache...I'm sitting here worried and watching her to make sure she doesn't have a concussion. We had plans today, which included shopping at Whole Foods, and fifteen minutes into being in your store, our plans are gone because you have failed to keep your store safe for shoppers.
Cherish mentioned that it's not the first time you've had issues with these bulk canisters falling off the wall...even mentioning she had trouble with the pumpkin seeds canister just last week. She also mentioned that sometimes the brackets break and that's why they fall off but that there was no reason this specific canister fell off the wall saying the brackets were not broken or anything.
Within 5 minutes of the incident, there were already employees cleaning up the mess and taking photos of the wall the canister had just fallen off of...quick action for a store that cannot even muster the concern for a shopper to even have a store manager come out to fill out an incident report or contact a medic specifically because this is a head injury.
I am quite surprised that a retailer of your stature could not handle this type of situation properly, likely because a low level employee was sent to handle an incident that she is clearly not trained to handle properly.
I am care copying this message to your regional and corporate offices because your team leader was fully aware there is an issue with the bulk food canisters being a safety concern to shoppers. I will never shop in a Whole Foods market again and I do plan on warning your shoppers of this danger since you have not done so yourselves...allowing shoppers to be clubbed over the head while standing unknowingly in danger.
Julie is an electrician construction worker, must wear a hard hat for work and works strenuously throughout the day. If she is unable to attend work in the coming days due to this incident you will definitely be hearing from me again. Needless to say, the both of us are extremely dissatisfied with our experience at your store this afternoon.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
food poisoning
In December of 2008, I had cheese samples while walking through the store. I also purchased a couple items from the store that I had for lunch. Within an hour I was sick and later in the evening I became violently ill. In the middle of the night I ended up unconscious on the bathroom floor and was taken to the emergency room in an ambulance. The emergency room doctor confirmed the timeframe for the food poisoning from the cheese. I sent my bills to the company months ago and all they do is stall but they don't pay the bills. They won't even process the claim if I don't go to the store and allow them to take a copy of my driver's license. Whole Foods has been very uncooperative and unresponsive. Apparently the company's "Core Values" do not apply across the board. There is a Better Business Bureau complaint filed and available online
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I don't think product is real Monterey Jack. It would not truly melt over burritos in the oven at 350 for 30 min.
Best By Date May 23 16
PC C2 16:37 B
SKU [protected]
With all the talk of wood fiber in cheese these days just thought Id mention this product. I make this recipe often and never experienced anything like it. Little taste and wouldn't melt.
Purchased fresh wild shrimp at the Brighton, MA location of Whole Foods/Bread and Circus. Slightly suspicious regarding freshness of 2 or 3 of the shrimp purchased. Telephoned store and spoke with manager. Potential problem immediateley explained by manager as a difference in coloring when dealing with wild shrimp versus farm raised shrimp. I have been a satisfied customer of this store for over 10 years, very few problems - until now. The shrimp in question were bad. Store manager, Donna, refused to take any action. In this instance, she dismissed a basic health issue.
You can't get food poisoning in an hour from cheese. the incubation period of food borne illness is 24 hours
I got very bad food poisoning from eating some tofu from the cold bar and some rice from the hot bar at a Whole Foods store in Massachusetts. Within 20 minutes of eating the food I became violently ill at work. They are either recycling the food, i.e. it is not fresh or they are not handling the food in the hot bar/cold bar properly, i.e. maintaining the required temperatures while the food it out.
Apparently it is very unsafe to leave cooked rice out long after making it or to reheat and reserve cooked rice.
If an organization capitalizes on the phrase "core values" it should PAY-UP! I have spent thousands of dollars with this store. I now have to re-think my patronage to this allegedly community conscious company.
taste is teterrible food at a riduculous price
We thought Whole Foods offered much better quality and choices. Well, we just bought a salad for $17 that would feed one person and stale "freshly baked bread" for $4. This is outrageous and in light of the financial crisis it is ludicrous. Terrible food for a ridiculously high price that I will likely throw away because it sucks so bad.
Whole Foods should be ashamed of themselves selling overpriced crap to people who work hard for their money and tried to feel the store out.
I think you should reimburse us the money you robbed from us.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
What's "outrageous" and "ludicrous" is you buying a one-person salad for $17.
buyer beware. the salad is 7.99 a pound, so you should have been more cautious.
A few hours after lunch, a customer returns to a restaurant and complaints to a waiter that he got sick after eating the chicken salad. The customer claims that the chicken salad he had eaten for lunch was for responsible for his illness.
How should the waiter handle this customer complaint?
molded bread
I worked for whole foods market for many years and have charged people premium dollars for "fresh" bread that litterally sits in a warehouse "par-baked" for weeks. It is then baked and sold as freshly baked bread. There is nothing fresh about this bread, many times I have to scrape the mold off the top before I can bake it, I NEVER wear gloves when I bake this bread--Whole foods market is an illusion and it is ripping you people off--next time I will tell you about the rotten meat they sell.
Joan, Thanks for the 'heads-up' but why aren't "more" people aware of what's being done, as how about those who have certain conditions where things like this can make them sicker then those of us who aren't ill? I realize in this economy most people wouldn't want to 'rock the boat' so to speak, but when it comes to people's health issues I really wouldn't want to have that on my conscience, and you can never be certain when 'your' turn might come. Better safe than sorry, even if that means I'd have to find another way to do it.
Bea K
Food Hole Suxks Dick! They are a huge monopoly and there mark up is so high because its all about the illusion of green chic and the quality is often questionable. I used to work for a small local independent chain that got bought out by Food Hole. Rather than become a phony "team member" I made like a rotten banana and peeled outta that place.
(By the way, nice stock value there folks, maybe because people are wising up to the fake "Whole-ier than thou" attitude.)
They even went so far as to lock the dumpster to prevent homeless and needy people from having free throw away food. "We aren't in the business of storing marginal food, " said the GM. "It's a liability!" (or is it a life necessitating resource...hmmm, you decide.) Apparently they aren't in the business of taking the small amount of time to organize giving it away to hungry people either. Take your organic vegan soy chai mate latte and blow it out your wheat-grass enema you a-holes, and then swallow and choke and meditate on it.
Whole Foods Market Services - assault
Hello My name is Martin. I'm a videographer and reporter for NPR, Youth Radio based in Oakland, and Radio Arte in Chicago. Most of my work involves health education, food security activism, human rights campaigns, and nutrition. I have been a Whole Foods customer for about three years now. My family decides to spend a little more on food so that we can eat...
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I am an abused long term customer who has just awakened from the manipulation and propaganda that Whole foods spins.
This year, over 50% of the Items that I purchased from Whole Foods were bad: moldy, stale, rotten, undercooked over cooked, and tasteless.
When they first opened up, 98% of their produce, baked goods, and prepared foods were wonderful. Alas, in recent times, the quality has decreased considerably.
I made the mistake of returning much of the spoiled, moldy, expired, and bug infested items to “Customer Service.”
Like Wal-Mart, Whole Foods will cut off an individual customer’s ability to address grievances after what they consider numerous returns or complaints even with receipts.
The deception of Whole foods staff being positive, kind hearted, and concerned with 100% customer satisfaction is revealed when you confront them with the ugly truth. Their true colors are shown when you don’t buy into their sticky sweet illusions.
Whole Foods management and “team leaders” have also shown me their loathsome natures filled with contempt which is defended with character assassination and manipulation.
I was accused of abusing their return policy and labeled a “serial returner.” Several team leaders have falsely accused me of "tampering" with their products. I can never return any of their products, even with a receipt and I am banned from shopping at Whole Foods on threat of arrest.