The tweet purports to lay bare the gap between the chain's righteous image and less than optimal work experience. The details are ugly: wasteful practices, employee abuse, cheapy attitudes - but then are we really surprised? The web has conditioned us to live for this sort of thing. It used to be that 'vengence is mine, sayeth the Lord,' had some truth to it. Now even reporters cant offer 'off the record' assurances because they know they'll get scooped by their source on his or her own blog, tweet or YouTube video.
So what do we think the managers of the Whole Foods in Toronto are doing right now: restacking the tomatos in Aisle 7? Undergoing 'Reeduction' provided by former Khmer Rouge guerrillas? Updating their resumes?
'Sticking pins in voodoo doll likeness of former employee who trashed them on Twitter feed that's gone viral' might be a logical place to start. But get used to it. Every employee is a potential Woodward & Bernstein and payback is not a beach. JL
Sheila Shayon comments in Brand Channel:
Brands concerned with internal brand engagement would do well to heed what's going on at Whole Foods right now. The upmarket grocer is lambasted as is more of a “faux hippy Wal-Mart than an 'earth-and-body-friendly organic foods paradise” by a disgruntled employee of five years in a 2,343-word resignation letter to former bosses in Toronto, where there is one Whole Foods Market location, in the tony Hazelton Lanes retail complex in Yorkville.
After the former employee's letter hit Gawker, the "I quit!" letter has been retweeted, shared on Facebook, picked up on the Huffington Post and other sites, and generally embarrassed the company. His accusations range from mistreatment of and underpayment for employees; hypocrisy and inadequacy in environmental policies; sanctioned customer abuse of staff; shrinking portions of food ... let alone quality that is “really quite awful on average” and not healthy as advertised.
"Oh, you sometimes intentionally order too much just to guarantee a full shelf, knowing full well the product will most likely be thrown out?"
"Oh, the food here is really quite awful on average? Almost everything that prepared foods makes is terrible. The pizza used to be pretty good but the slices have shrunk, the toppings are sparser and it's usually extremely overcooked. The sandwiches are the stuff of nightmares."
The author of the letter, unnamed but identified as a disgruntled bulk buyer at the chain's Toronto location, claims he was attracted to the Whole Foods ethos, as he “appreciated and respected what the company said its philosophies were at that time. The 'core values' essentially. However, it didn't take long to realize what complete and utter bulls**t they are.”
His other damning comments include: “For the love of god, learn to respect women. You have no idea how insulting and aggravating it is to be around someone who is so condescending to all the women you work with. Stop calling them 'mamma' don't refer to them as 'beautiful'... for christs sake, just keep all pet names off the table. You are NOT complimenting women, you are being open about not knowing their names, and lazy enough to not read a name-tag.”
His sign-off: “As I've said above a few times: you work at a grocery store. Go ahead and relax. Also, Whole Foods will try to make you feel like they are doing you a huge favour by employing you. It's really a mutual agreement or transaction. Don't fall for the guilt trips. Call in sick if you need to, etc.. There are laws in place to stop them from taking advantage of you. And if you're thinking 'This is just the way it is. Suck it up!. You're the biggest part of the problem. I'm afraid we can't be friends. Just enjoy life. It's pretty short, you know?”
While cranky employees venting their frustration are nothing new, this complaint has become a meme on the social web. No comment from Whole Foods on the email, so far. The main corporate blog today features this story: “Whole Foods Market establishes new foundation to make significant impact on ending childhood obesity through increased access to healthy foods.”
And for a brand that we've featured as a social and digital leader, there's no acknowledgement on Whole Foods' corporate Twitter or Facebook pages ... or on its Toronto store's Twitter feed or Facebook page.
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