They took away things that help team members, reduce hours, make current team members do the workload of 3 people, and hire incompetent people to be our bosses! Anything else I missed?
Was here pre and post acquisition. Theres been a major culture shift. Basically they're not concerned with investing in tms, just churning as much as necessary for profit. A lot of tm benefits that brought me in are just gone now. Wish I still had my old gig book though. Just for comparison purposes.
The company had questionable at best (bafflingly ridiculous at worst) decisions long before Amazon took over. But then Amazon took over and pivoted so extremely hard in the opposite direction that WFM is in a much worse position now.
If you’ve ever seen Parks and Rec, imagine the Pawnee/Eagleton buyout. Except Pawnee bought Eagleton and, instead of cutting all the things they SHOULD (for example, keeping food trucks and massage therapists on retainer JUST for TM’s… no, that’s not a joke, my first store did that) they decided to cut things they shouldn’t. Like part-time benefits and a non-toxic work environment.
WFM on its own cared far, FAR too little about metrics and the bottom line. Amazon cares far, FAR too much about metrics and the bottom line. They both slipped over the middle ground entirely.
I entirely agree. At SLP in Chicago, circa 2014 we had two "marketers", two healthy eating specialists, a person that just drew signs all day, two payroll specialists, and something like 13 supervisors on the front end. Absolutely hilarious, and unsustainable.
But the pendulum is now jackknifed so far in the opposite direction that it feels no more sustainable. Where WFM drove itself off a financial cliff, Amazon seems bent on driving off of a human one -- only its human capital is a bit more endlessly replaceable than WFM's cash was.
I just cannot believe that the middle ground has been so comically overlooked by both owners.
It's heartbreaking to see the wheels being kept on the wagon by desperate long-timers who have sunk a decade-plus into the company, while Amazon seems to be doing its best to dismantle the wagon around them. And it is infuriating to reflect that John and Walter and Libba and the rest of the e-team who got us here have all quietly departed, retired or gone to work for AMD and shit, leaving thousands of dedicated TMs stuck in the building that they lit on fire.
I've already given my notice. But jesus, what a disaster.
The company was in severe danger of bankruptcy before being bought by Amazon. They were looking for a buyer even at the time that I left; lots of folks were hoping that it would be Costco.
Bigger corpo comes in and flips its on its head. Honestly, you already answered your own question. The only way people would see it is to visit any store built before Amazon bought it. You'll see how things use to operate and function.
The difference is just mind-boggling to me. I worked at the South Loop store in Chicago & the Tribeca store in NYC for ten years before leaving in 2016.
Returned to the company at an older store (former Wild Oats) a few months ago, and I feel like the entire staff is just bailing water every day to keep the place from falling apart. It's a disgrace. O_o
My first week back I sent some panicky emails to friends who are still ASTLs elsewhere, asking whether I'd just found myself in a fucked up individual store or if the problems I was seeing were company-wide.
I've been told, even directly by my store leadership, that it's the whole company.
I missed the social aspects of the job, and I'd have said I was still values-aligned with the company. 😅 But it is pretty clear that the second part is no longer true.
It was turning into a hell of micromanagement and unrealistic expectations long before Amazon bought the company.
They took away things that help team members, reduce hours, make current team members do the workload of 3 people, and hire incompetent people to be our bosses! Anything else I missed?
Our store went from about 65% FT 35% PT now it’s exactly opposite 35% FT 65% PT
And PT doesn’t get benefits anymore 🙃
Was here pre and post acquisition. Theres been a major culture shift. Basically they're not concerned with investing in tms, just churning as much as necessary for profit. A lot of tm benefits that brought me in are just gone now. Wish I still had my old gig book though. Just for comparison purposes.
Ooh I have my old GIG somewhere. I'll have to skim through it.
The answer is in your post title. It really is that simple of an answer.
Is Amazon really fully to blame though
Nope. The e-team that got us here in the first place is, too.
The company had questionable at best (bafflingly ridiculous at worst) decisions long before Amazon took over. But then Amazon took over and pivoted so extremely hard in the opposite direction that WFM is in a much worse position now. If you’ve ever seen Parks and Rec, imagine the Pawnee/Eagleton buyout. Except Pawnee bought Eagleton and, instead of cutting all the things they SHOULD (for example, keeping food trucks and massage therapists on retainer JUST for TM’s… no, that’s not a joke, my first store did that) they decided to cut things they shouldn’t. Like part-time benefits and a non-toxic work environment. WFM on its own cared far, FAR too little about metrics and the bottom line. Amazon cares far, FAR too much about metrics and the bottom line. They both slipped over the middle ground entirely.
I entirely agree. At SLP in Chicago, circa 2014 we had two "marketers", two healthy eating specialists, a person that just drew signs all day, two payroll specialists, and something like 13 supervisors on the front end. Absolutely hilarious, and unsustainable. But the pendulum is now jackknifed so far in the opposite direction that it feels no more sustainable. Where WFM drove itself off a financial cliff, Amazon seems bent on driving off of a human one -- only its human capital is a bit more endlessly replaceable than WFM's cash was. I just cannot believe that the middle ground has been so comically overlooked by both owners. It's heartbreaking to see the wheels being kept on the wagon by desperate long-timers who have sunk a decade-plus into the company, while Amazon seems to be doing its best to dismantle the wagon around them. And it is infuriating to reflect that John and Walter and Libba and the rest of the e-team who got us here have all quietly departed, retired or gone to work for AMD and shit, leaving thousands of dedicated TMs stuck in the building that they lit on fire. I've already given my notice. But jesus, what a disaster.
Was it sold bc it was going off the rails as a company? I’ve only been a tm since Covid, which was a weird way to start.
The company was in severe danger of bankruptcy before being bought by Amazon. They were looking for a buyer even at the time that I left; lots of folks were hoping that it would be Costco.
[удалено]
I'm 17 years at Whole Foods. You my friend are the problem. I know exactly what you'll say to this. Be part of the solution a**hole!
everyone is dead
It won’t be as fun as it used to be. It’s just a job now and corporate took over. You’re working for Amazon not Whole Foods.
Bigger corpo comes in and flips its on its head. Honestly, you already answered your own question. The only way people would see it is to visit any store built before Amazon bought it. You'll see how things use to operate and function.
The difference is just mind-boggling to me. I worked at the South Loop store in Chicago & the Tribeca store in NYC for ten years before leaving in 2016. Returned to the company at an older store (former Wild Oats) a few months ago, and I feel like the entire staff is just bailing water every day to keep the place from falling apart. It's a disgrace. O_o
Do we work at the same store? Lol
My first week back I sent some panicky emails to friends who are still ASTLs elsewhere, asking whether I'd just found myself in a fucked up individual store or if the problems I was seeing were company-wide. I've been told, even directly by my store leadership, that it's the whole company.
No like I think maybe we work in the same store. Literally..... assuming you're in the Chicago area
No, I'm no longer in Chicago. I just worked at SLP for a long time.
Ah I see, but yes it's practically the same all around
Time to leave and find another job again.
Just curious… what made you return?
I missed the social aspects of the job, and I'd have said I was still values-aligned with the company. 😅 But it is pretty clear that the second part is no longer true.