Employees at Whole Foods Market say the company’s new policies have thrown their workday into chaos, with one supervisor saying it’s not uncommon to see stressed-out employees crying on the job.
Workers for the Austin, Texas-based supermarket chain tell Business Insider that the store’s new “order-to-shelf” inventory system has been taking a toll on the staff since the guidelines were implemented last year.
“I wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares about maps and inventory,” said one Whole Foods employee who spoke with Business Insider. “The stress has created such a tense working environment. Seeing someone cry at work is becoming normal.”
Under the new procedure, store managers and employees are instructed to display the store’s inventory mostly on its shelves, rather than hold a larger inventory in a back room and constantly restock — a practice that leads to stores “constantly running out of products,” according to one employee.
Making matters worse are the new "scorecards" that managers are expected to grade their employees with. According to Business Insider, these scorecards record how an employee stocked a certain shelf, or managed the storage area for their department. Supervisors are also expected to quiz employees on the best-selling items or sales goals for that particular week, and deduct points for unsatisfactory results, if necessary.
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[Whole Foods Market was recently acquired by Amazon. --Editor]
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"store managers and employees are instructed to display the store’s inventory mostly on its shelves, rather than hold a larger inventory in a back room and constantly restock — a practice that leads to stores “constantly running out of products"
ReplyDeleteWHAT? either you have it or you don't. This makes no sense.
They (Amazon) have a warehouse facility in Eastern PA that are constantly whining about not being able to hire people. No one will work there. Most that apply are doing it as a stop gap to being unemployed and can't find work. Its ugly and the community knows it.
ReplyDeleteAmazon and all of its CIA holdings are typical of modern "just in time delivery systems". The goal is to reduce inventory costs. The plan is to stock the item just as the last one sells. Think about it. A monumental goal wrought with opportunities for "failure". When employees are unable to meet the new "goal" the employee is blamed instead of the recognition that the "goal" is unreasonable.
ReplyDelete840
ReplyDeleteI have heard the same thing.
We are being squeezed (workers) by corporate profit budgets.
Inhuman work conditions
ReplyDeleteTreating people like machines.
Snowflakes melt under pressure.
ReplyDelete853 that's the American way from a private industry standpoint over the last 20 years. Squeeze squeeze squeeze for all that nut, give workers minimal residuals.
ReplyDeleteWork for the feds - they cannot treat employees like slaves. Aside from EVERYONE hating on the Feds, once you get in (which isn't that hard if you are willing to move), the opportunities are endless.
Just remember when you talk about the Feds, you do compete with veterans when getting in the 1st time - but after that, your career is up to you. Not some wish on private industry paying you big bucks!
Quit if you are having trouble with your job...don't let it kill you, geez...Ray...
ReplyDeleteSnowflakes can't handle it, it is called actually working something we did back in the 70's and nobody told us that we had to do it we just kept the shelves stocked, the extra merchandise was kept in the stockroom or under the counters.
ReplyDeleteWhole Foods was a wonderful store with happy, helpful employees until the Amazon acquisition.
ReplyDelete8:35 you don't seem to understand if you have 10 cases ao a certain item you can'y put all 10 cases on the shelf there just isn;t enough room. That being said have things changed at Food Lion they seem to run out of things quite often.
ReplyDeleteAmazon is one of those businesses that expect maximum out from employees who are paid minimum wage.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to find another job that treated the employees with dignity and paid living wage.
Acme seems to have stocking issues too sometimes. I have also found items there to have already expired dates on them.
ReplyDelete