store manager

Whole Foods Market

This was a great position to learn the ins and outs of retail management from financials to merchandizing. Team member issues were rife and the process by which you disciplined was drawn out and fraught with danger (they involve lawyers out of Texas). Store Leader was absent much of the time and being away from mid-Atlantic regional offices meant he could get away with it. He got away with a lot. As each store has much freedom, the quality of the individuals running it can determine how things are. We were a highly profitable store but as the 2nd in command I had to witness some abhorrent stuff go on including inappropriate dealings with female team members. When reports were made about thefts it just depended on who the person stealing was, and whether any thing was done. The company as a whole was great although you better be prepared to play the politics game, however that is most companies. I have to say I loved my time at the company except for the last few years. A lot depends on your immediate manager. I worked under 5-6 different leadership teams and only one was truly horrible. The rest I was able to learn valuable retail, customer serivce, and people skills

Whole Foods is not your typical grocery store and the people it attracts are generally a cut (or three) above. There are a lot of food fanatics, and a generally positive work atmosphere. But there is also a lot of pressure to try harder and do more. Don't get me wrong--I like that. But it can be pretty smug at times. On the other hand, it is a fast-growing, highly profitable company that likes to promote from inside. 

My advice: if you are young and strong, fresh out of college and can't find a job, get ANY kind of job with WFM and work your butt off. Within six months you will likely be a supervisor; a year later you may be an assistant team leader, then a team leader, etc. They are looking to triple the number of stores in the next 5-10 years. Lots of growth potential, and while the pay is not as great as some would have you believe, you can move anywhere within the company, and if you want to cash in your chips your experience there will be highly regarded anywhere. It doesn't look like much but it can be a great start.

With the worst management I ever worked with, the leadership has no clue what they are doing and all they care about is to impress their immediate bosses to get a promotion.  There is no appreciation for people who really work hard. Staff turn over is the higher I ever came across but nobody care about it.
The funniest part is during the 2 days induction you pass through a brain wash process which makes you believe you are starting the best job of your life. Absolutely rubbish! Nobody cares about you, nobody cares about quality, nobody cares about customers!
It is such a shame a large company like that has such an clueless management! 
When bosses from the USA are about to come a big theatre starts! All fake just for the bosses to see! As soon they leave, everything goes back to "normal"! 
Standards of quality extremely low! Even Tesco probably have better food... and cheaper! 
Biggest disappointment of my life

The company was once a great place to work but TM happiness, communication, and resources for TM excellence have continued to decline.  Hiring freeze, and off again/on again requirement to follow seemingly arbitrary number of positions in “staffing guidance” during the pandemic started avalanche of epic proportions in terms of staffing.  Resolutions were slow to come, poorly communicated and when rolled out, generated increasing delays in hiring and staffing. The morale, and financial impact created in the stores by staffing challenges could have been lessened if the company demonstrated more strategic thinking and less knee-jerk responses.  

I was a Team Leader/ATL for 6 years. The demand got overwhelming and the amount of labor I was given decreased more and more by the year, but with expectations only going up. They pay isn't bad, but the amount they want you do with so little help got to be exhausting. I left after 11 1/2 years.

very good place to work with understanding system which allows for a accommodating life with family.
i worked from 2012 till now and has been a very good exprience overall but its time to move on and evolve, with better future and better earnings.

I first started at wholefoods in 2010, needless to say it was an entirely different culture. Training was a huge part of the onboarding process and other team members were excited to do so. Now not so much. 3 days in a class room and then it is more of a sink or swim mentality.

It was good from the beginning nice people warm welcome. but in the end i was doing several works i shouldnt of been doing everyweek and at the same time teacher did not teach me causing me to not be able to do everything quickly

Worked at Whole Foods for three years now and it's a decent place to work. Easygoing people and room to move around from department to department until you find a good fit.

Roster based and fun environment where we learn to respect people from all walks of life. management is student based and hence they understand student situations and commitments , good food safety practices and amazing staff.

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