[huggerwocky]

Since Horison was the only organic milk in gallon size they sell at our local whole foods ( and other dairy products,too, hardly any choice) I felt compelled to let whole foods know.

The reply starts with

"Despite all the talk about Horizon recently, we still find that they
meet our quality standards after our CEO visited their Farms."

So there you go. Nothing of it is true!

But I'm also dumb and blind apparently since : " With that
said we are not "nearly exclusively" or even "mainly" featuring Horizon
milk in any size nor in any category."

And "Although we really like Organic
Valley, we feature and promote Clover Organic Milk which we think a far
superior milk."

Well, maybe...so where was it last time I visited?

As said, I complained that's how it seems to be, especially compared to the choice we had in Minneapolis.

Just for your information, I have to say, I am majorly pooed and wonder what alternatives I have. Maybe I was also mistaken when I saw the only organic and gras fed meat they had was ground beef ?

I never would have thought that the availability of true organic food could be such a challenge

 

[saratc]

I have been very unhappy with Whole Foods and like you, I'm very frustrated since it is one of the few places I can buy organic foods. I feel like ever since they got bought out and changed from Fresh Fields to Whole Foods way back, they have been on a slow decline. The stocking of their foods and choice of brands are not really following the market demand, IMHO. They stock a lot of mainstream, large company products, and don't keep up with the niche brands that people want. The Whole Foods near me does carry grassfed milk -- Natural by Nature, but it is always out, so every time I see it, I buy two. I saw non-homogenized milk there once, but there were only two bottles and I never saw it again. It's not like the grassfed milk, pastured bacon, and raw honey, and other items I buy don't sell -- they sell like mad. It just seems that the Whole Foods are more concerned with making sure the name/large brand products are better stocked. But the Horizon milk is always in stock. So is the Morton's salt. It doesn't make any sense to me (which is why I am suspicious) to be stocking a large named brand product rather than keeping up with the market demands.

Not to mention that I feel like the new addition of the dessert bar in the Whole Foods near me goes against the whole idea of whole foods. I have yet to find a dessert made with whole wheat or whole grains and honey rather than refined sugar...

 

[annethcz]

I've never even been to a whole foods, because we have an awesome co-op close by.

But someone posted a link awhile ago, a correspondence between John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, and Michael Pollan, the writer of the book The Omnivore's Dilema. I haven't read the book (although it's on my list of things to do!). Apparently, the book is somewhat critical of Whole Foods and it's business practices. The conversation touches on some of the issues you've brought up- you might be interested to read it.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blogs/jm/

 

[smeep]

Did you receive the reply from the store itself or did you email it to the company? Every store is different and carries different things. As a whole, Whole Foods has quite a variety of organic dairy and meat products. However, each store is very different. Some will carry a little bit of everything and others will only carry one or two things, it mostly depends on their customers in that area. Definitely talk to the actual store (if you didn't before) and discuss it with them. If it's available to them, they'll probably be able to order you whatever you want. Just talk to them...they're GREAT with customer service! They will do whatever they have to in order to please you (I had a TL who actually drove to another store, bought what the customer was looking for that WF was out of, and she dropped it off at the customer's house) and if they don't then ask to speak with the Shift Leader and talk to them about it. 99% of the time they'll figure something out for you.

(I used to work at Whole Foods, can you tell?)

 

[huggerwocky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by annethcz I've never even been to a whole foods, because we have an awesome co-op close by. But someone posted a link awhile ago, a correspondence between John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, and Michael Pollan, the writer of the book The Omnivore's Dilema. I haven't read the book (although it's on my list of things to do!). Apparently, the book is somewhat critical of Whole Foods and it's business practices. The conversation touches on some of the issues you've brought up- you might be interested to read it. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blogs/jm/

Thank you, that makes an interesting read

. I will look at the book for sure,too!

 

[huggerwocky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeep Did you receive the reply from the store itself or did you email it to the company? Every store is different and carries different things. As a whole, Whole Foods has quite a variety of organic dairy and meat products. However, each store is very different. Some will carry a little bit of everything and others will only carry one or two things, it mostly depends on their customers in that area. Definitely talk to the actual store (if you didn't before) and discuss it with them. If it's available to them, they'll probably be able to order you whatever you want. Just talk to them...they're GREAT with customer service! They will do whatever they have to in order to please you (I had a TL who actually drove to another store, bought what the customer was looking for that WF was out of, and she dropped it off at the customer's house) and if they don't then ask to speak with the Shift Leader and talk to them about it. 99% of the time they'll figure something out for you. (I used to work at Whole Foods, can you tell?)

When you go to the website you can choose a store regarding your concern which is what I did. The woman who replied had an abbreviation behind her name suggesting she's the sales representative for Southern CA or LA or something.

I am just a tad unhappy with the tone of the reply regardless of the content,too. If I compare the 2 stores I've frequented most in my life, yes, this particular store has the HORIZON label everywhere....even now, despite the controversy, which, as we know now, is baseless for whole foods and non existent.

 

[smeep]

Quote:

Originally Posted by huggerwocky When you go to the website you can choose a store regarding your concern which is what I did. The woman who replied had an abbreviation behind her name suggesting she's the sales representative for Southern CA or LA or something. I am just a tad unhappy with the tone of the reply regardless of the content,too. If I compare the 2 stores I've frequented most in my life, yes, this particular store has the HORIZON label everywhere....even now, despite the controversy, which, as we know now, is baseless for whole foods and non existent.

They usually have a comment area (near the entrance/exit) where you can write down a comment and then they reply and post it. You may want to post something there or just talk to someone directly. (If you talk to someone, ask for the Grocery Team Leader.)

I don't blame you for being unhappy with the reply. I totally agree with you on that. I definitely recommend talking to someone at the store you go to most often and telling them about the reply as well. They *should* do something about it.

 

[huggerwocky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeep They usually have a comment area (near the entrance/exit) where you can write down a comment and then they reply and post it. You may want to post something there or just talk to someone directly. (If you talk to someone, ask for the Grocery Team Leader.) I don't blame you for being unhappy with the reply. I totally agree with you on that. I definitely recommend talking to someone at the store you go to most often and telling them about the reply as well. They *should* do something about it.

I'll do that next time I'm there, we just don't go there frequently as it is kind of far and the organic selection just isn't great IMO. 3/4 of the produce is coventional so I just get organic from Trader Joe's.