DD calls it "Whole Paycheck".

Linda

I only go there unless there is specifically something I want because it's too expensive. Maybe 1-2 trips a year. But when I do go, it's always crowded. I like the chair massage though! Once I made a trip up just for that.

When stores are new, they struggle with many problems until they settle in. Tuesday had to be a difficult day for all employees. I'm not making excuses for them--I hate stores where employees ignore customers, don't ask if they can help find something, etc.

Narrow aisles...yuck. Smoking at the door...no way. I don't like underground parking, either, but maybe in PA it's good.

I am sorry you had such a bad experience.I would call the main headquarters or email them and let them know of your experience,esp about the smoking...YUCK.We have a Fresh Market here and I love it.Dont do my weekly grocery shopping there,but do like certain things,and like you said sometimes cheaper than my Kroger.

Shelley

What a disappointment.
We have a huge Whole Foods here and it is great. The meat dept is wonderful with Prime and Choice.
The fish market is also a very good one.
Some prices on regular grocery items are higher then say Safeway, but generally prices are all about the same.
The store is big with wide, well lit aisles.
Maybe because it is an older store. If they remodel it they would probably squeeze things together to make room for more merchandise and ruin the store.
To bad you had such a bad experience, usually they are nice stores to shop in.

I wouldn't consider it a "supermarket"--I call it a specialty store. Some people do most of their shopping there (like Trader Joe's), but the store caters to a very distinct shopper: someone who wants prepared foods, "organic" foods and small-batch canned/frozen items that supermarkets won't devote aisle or fridge space to.

I know you're probably not going back, but if you do, you should immediately talk to the manager about the smoking haze situation. Smelling that would definitely have ruined my appetite for food-shopping.

There was a Whole Foods a block away from where I live; they closed it in favor of a new one they were building about 15 minutes away. I had stopped in several times on my way to work if I hadn't packed anything for lunch--everything there is expensive. I'm glad they closed the one near me. (Clementines are in season, right? That's the only way the chain would be able to price-cut.)

If I recall correctly, I never found their chicken or salmon to be any better quality than my regular supermarkets'.

Ours is very nice. Expensive for many items, but they have a huge variety of merchandise. Bulk bin products are reasonable, and they have a lot of organic produce. I like it.

Having an employee smoking area where customers must walk, and having someone in the meat section who doesn't know choice from prime (I'm pretty sure he got it backward) are things that might warrant complaints to the manager.

I did write emails to both the local manager and corporate Hqtrs. That was Tuesday, and I haven't had any response from either.

I believe in alerting management before airing complaints.

As to opening day confusion....two months ago, a Wegmans opened up here. To huge crowds, and they had all their people well trained and running smoothly.

No smoking at the entrances, either.

I find no excuse for someone who tells me they are a butcher, and doesn't know the USDA rating.

The store is 65,000 sq ft....it's a supermarket.

We don't have a Whole Food here but they opened a Fresh Market in Gainesville while we lived there. We went once or twice, but it was so pricey we decided to stick with Publix. My sister in Ft. Wayne was raving about their Salmon Wellington, so I bought a couple and the salmon was fishy-tasting. Ick! Maybe it was just a bad day for it!

I loved the store though and they had beautiful plants and orchids. Also, lots of nuts, coffee and other things to buy in bulk. The deli area was awesome!! Going there was an experience in itself.

Are Fresh Market and Whole Foods sort of alike?

I wasn't referring to size=supermarket. There are a lot of standard products that Whole Foods won't sell. Last time I checked, they wouldn't sell Diet Coke (maybe all Coke products). It's simply not a place to go to do all your weekly shopping and stock up on pantry basics and everything else.

Now, Wegmans is a SUPER supermarket. There is no comparison in terms of product selection, quality and service.

Give them time. They just opened.

I enjoy ours. Parking lot always packed.

Employees are so willing to help.

Love their cheeses and breads!

Plenty of space to move around.

I used to live about two blocks from a Whole Foods.

About the only things I bought there were cheese and bread. The prices for those items were reasonable, and the quality was better than the regular super markets.

Monica, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I'm glad you complained to management.

I love my Whole Foods and shop there 2x per week. The store is good size with very wide aisles. It is pricey, but I don't do my main shopping there. I have Celiac Disease, so Whole Foods has been my saviour. It's the only place I can get freshly made gluten free products. I rarely buy meat at Whole Foods, I prefer Costco, as they carry prime at a good price.

Whole Foods is great for buying spices from the bulk bin. You can spoon out as much as you need, and it is much cheaper than buying them prepackaged.

I agree Wegmans is the best. I wish they would build one in Raleigh.

I wish we had a WF's closer- I LOVED it when we lived in the Bay Area. Even if we did have one here, I'd still mostly shop at Trader Joe's. You can't beat their prices and the food is GREAT!

Blessings,
Haley

Sorry it started out bad, maybe within a few months they;ll stock more and better merchandise. there are two WF's fairly near me but I've never visited them.

I went because it's closer than Wegman's and so many people rave about it.

No comparison.

I shopped Whole Foods the year I was on a yeast and gluten free diet, trying to remedy sinusitis. (Until then I never realized that yeast is in just about everything that's canned, bottled or frozen! It's in things you'd never suspect, like...oh...soup.)

I'm fortunate to have three very good grocery stores within a couple of miles: a Jewel (SuperValue), a Dominick's (Safeway), and a small local chain called Sunset -- where the staff unloads your shopping cart onto the conveyor belt for you, bags your purchases, and would carry you out to your car if you let them. LOL They all carry Choice and Prime beef now, although not so long ago I was going to a butcher and Costco to get anything better than Select. I don't remember that there was Select grade beef in the supermarkets when I was a child and young wife. ??? (Dark ages, eh?)

Another long-time, smaller shop that delivered has folded. A Fresh Market is supposed to occupy that space, but it could be a while in this economy.

Sorry to slip off-topic, but I'd love to know if that specific diet helped your sinusitis, chisue.

Our WF is very nice, but too expensive to visit more than once in awhile.

I am on a tight budget and still do all of my shopping at WF. I even buy my cat food, health and beauty aids and cleaning products there. I don't consider them a specialty store. What I like so much about WF is that their products are natural without a lot of unhealthy ingredients. If I shopped at Dominicks or Jewel and read the ingredient list on many of their products they mostly contain saturated fats and additives. What I eat is very important to me and I am willing to spend more for my health. They don't carry soft drinks because it is a junk food product. They have many healthy snacks to choose from. I don't buy any meat but when I did in the past it was top quality. I have "learned" how to shop WF without breaking the bank. I eat mostly fruits, vegetables, grains, fish and cheese. They have great wines too. I never spend much more than $6.00 on a nice bottle of wine. I agree it is overpriced but I've tried all the competition and I can't find the same quality containing all natural ingredients.
Donna

Our Whole Foods is not close so I am very rarely there. But when I do go I purchase items I can't get around home. My newest addiction is their Cherry Vanilla Creme Soda- I just wish it did not take 45 minutes to get to the store! Oh, and at New Years we pigged out on some of their salsa's and dips. No more costly than what I get at Ingles and the taste was to die for.

Trish

Fresh Market is closest to me. I go there frequently. Much smaller than WF.

Love their meat selections.

Whole Foods is in the designer food business. It's for people who need to be "sold" what "quality" is because they don't know how to pick out good stuff for themselves. Kind of like Home Expo etc.

"DD calls it "Whole Paycheck".

LOL!!!!! I enjoy their smoothies, but only go once in awhile when I am in Houston. Jamba Juice, I think they call it.

I am about 3 hours from our closest Whole foods but still get there twice a year. I will save up money before I go so that I can stock up. You can't beat their 360 degree brand, love their olive oil, rice crackers and vinegar. I also like that you can sample any product that they have there. I usually try a couple of every olive that they have at the olive bar before buying. I also like the 360 brand shampoo, conditioner and lotion. I don't buy meat there, couldn't believe the price, especially since we have our own homegrown meat in the freezer here at home. Last favorite is the bulk foods, the dried fruits, nuts and snack mixes are the best. I am just glad that there isn't one closer, I guarantee that I would be in big trouble lol.

Stacie

wildchild,
I disagree. The products I purchase at WF usually are not available at the "other" stores. I eat mostly foods in their natural state. The only packaged foods I buy are pasta, bread, tomato sauce, etc. For example, I use Rao's Pasta sauce. You can't buy it at most mass market chains. I also like Amy's Organic products and the although the "other" stores carry them they charge more. The Salmon is superior at WF. They have more vegeterian options. I've tried shopping at Jewel or Dominicks and found most of their products to be highly processed. I don't want to use a laundry detergent with dyes and perfumes. I buy Ecover or Seventh Generation cleaning products. I use Tom's Of Main soaps and toothpaste. I really feel WF has the best quality products. I also purchase the majority of my products that are organic. What goes both in and on my body are worth the extra cost.
Donna

Monica, hold tight. We had a Whole Foods open in Richmond about 2-3 years ago and it took them about six months to get it right. We noticed a nearly complete turnover in employees during the first year; I suspect that many employees who formerly worked at other supermarkets found that they didn't cut it at WF. The employees working at our store now are all top notch and know their products very well, including being able to suggest substitutions if I cannot find an ingredient.

I have noted that I spend no more money at WF than I do at the traditional supermarkets, so I think the label of Whole Paycheck is very undeserved. What is very costly is the prepared foods and salad bars, but those are also expensive at other stores. We don't buy that sort of stuff.

Like Donna, we don't buy much in the way of packaged foods either, except for pasta, canned tomatoes, etc. We buy these when they are on sale and stock up. The produce I have purchased has been top quality, as has the seafood and the meat.

We don't shop at Whole Foods that often, mainly because it's out of our way. And...it's always very busy. I don't know that I could do all of my grocery shopping there, but I do love their 360 products. I have never been disappointed in any of them. I love the cheese selection too. They carry dairy products (from a dairy that the name of slips my mind) that come in glass containers that you pay a deposit on. I buy them just because I love the glass containers. :) Once they get the kinks worked out, your store may be nicer...especially the whole smoking cloud.

CindyB is right about pricing. Organics do cost more, even in our "regular" stores. I mentioned the soda in my first post but neglected to say that a six pack was actually cheaper than a six pack of coke (not on sale) at BiLo or Ingles. I paid like $3.00 for a big tub of salsa and $1.99 for a jumbo bag of fresh tortilla chips.

Trish

Two years ago when they started to build your store, their business model was very different. In today's economy Whole Foods is not doing very well overall. People can't, or won't, buy designer foods at high prices like they might have two years ago.

I'm guessing the store operating budget was scaled way back as a result of the current economy, which wasn't forseen when they planned it. Since they started it, they had to finish it but it probably doesn't look like what they originally planned in better times.

Oh, Whole Foods here has smaller aisles. I guess they think it's more intimate and boutiquey. More like a Health Food speciality than a chain grocery store.

Donna - You are looking for specialty items that are not readily available. Whole Foods didn't make you organic. It's something you do and WFs meets your needs.

But look around you next time you are in the store. The majority of customers are yuppies who are there so they can say they shop there for overpriced product and be organic for the weekend. LOL Or brag about how much they spent for cheese.

Ever check out their classes? Some local "celebrity" chef will show you how to slice a carrot and make salad for a mere 45 dollars per person or so. LOL

Then there is the special parking for hybrid autos. How elitist is that?

Really when Whole Foods was just a little store I used to shop there for fresh produce once in a while.

But around where I live they are popping up like Starbucks and drawing the same customer base.

Fortunately I live in an area with lots of alternatives plus I am not into the organic thing that much.

If I want fresh produce I can garden. I can go up into the mountains and pick my own organic apples and not have to pay 4 dollars an apple.

I can go to little ethnic shops that deal in simple old fashioned foods.

I don't want my grocery shopping to be an event. It's food. Cooking is science, it's no mystery to me.

I don't want a massage in a grocery store either.

I have issues with all the supplements people take because they are "natural". Whole foods sells loads of them. Seems to me if one is eating so healthy one wouldn't need to be buying all those supplements.

Call me cynical but if one has special food requirements and WF meets their needs fine. But that doesn't seem to be the case where I live. I have friends who just love to spend their weekends at WFs. They are the same people who think Olive Garden is Italian and Benihana is real Japanese.

I just smile and keep my mouth shut. ;-)

I forgot to mention in my previous post that the big, long building with our new Whole Foods in the middle has a laundromat on one end and a 99¢ store on the other -- a great balance, in my opinion!

The parking lot they share is always full.

Our Wegman's has a larger organic fresh produce dept than the WF, same for the meats...and also has multiple aisles of both organic boxed, canned and dairy foods.

wildchild,
I travel to Paris weekly and would love to shop and eat like a Parisean...but that is not reality. I live in a big city in a highrise and can't grow my own food. When I shop I go when the store is empty so I don't shop with all the "Yuppies." My choices of grocery stores are Trader Joe's, (don't like their food at all), Dominicks and Jewel, (too processed), or Treasure Island, (Poor food selection). Whole Foods has the best quality food.
Donna

I travel to Paris weekly and would love to shop and eat like a Parisean...but that is not reality. I live in a big city in a highrise and can't grow my own food

I understood that Donna. That's what I was trying to get across in my last post. My comments do not relate to people like you who use the store wisely. I have no issue with people shopping there like you who are doing it for all the right reasons. It's the Disneyland crowd that annoys me.

They changed ours from small and basic to one of the super duper mega ones. I don't like Costco, TJ or Walmart either but when they have someone I need I shop there. Like you I avoid the crazy hours.