Slog News & Arts

Line Out

Music & Nightlife

« Re: Here Comes the Bounce? | Cycling Infrastructure »

Monday, July 28, 2008

Bagging on Whole Foods

posted by on July 28 at 14:12 PM

Spotted this in a comments thread

Off topic but on Whole Foods what pissed me off about them is they will only allow the reusable bags THAT YOU GET FROM THEM in their stores. You cann’t use the reusalbe bags from PCC, or QFC for your groceries. There is a sign on both entrances to the Whole Foods on 65th and Roosevelt. So much for “being green.”

So I called Whole Foods at 65th and Roosevelt.

“That’s not true,” said Mario, the store’s manager. “We allow any reusable bags. The signs say, due to security reasons, we ask that you don’t shop into your reusable bags. We had people using them to shop… and some people were filling reusable bags up and walking out the door, without paying. So we had high shoplifting and theft in the store due to people shopping into reusable bags.”

If store employees spot someone using bags to gather their groceries, they ask the customer to please use a cart or a basket.

“But not at any time have we told any customer that they can’t use bags from other stores,” says Mario.

The signs outside the store, for the record, reads…

Dear Whole Goods Customers: Due to security reasons we require that you please shop with our green baskets or shopping carts instead of your reusable shopping bags. Thank you for shopping with us and your understanding in this matter.

RSS icon Comments

1

this is, by far, the most boring posting I've seen.

Posted by MEC | July 28, 2008 2:17 PM
2

Sign reads like the Whole Foods lady sez to me.

Sounds like the commenter needs to work on the reading comprehension part of living.

Posted by abe | July 28, 2008 2:17 PM
3

Shoplifting will become a bigger problem when everybody has their own bags. It has always been a classic "trick" to bag your groceries so it looks like you paid for them as you walk out the door.

Posted by crk on bellevue ave | July 28, 2008 2:17 PM
4

Their sign seems pretty clear to me. Please read twice before ranting and raving.

Posted by Myles | July 28, 2008 2:20 PM
5

I was just in there on Friday. I use my bags as I shop and then dump everything out of them in order to ensure that I don't buy too much or too little, since I do practically all of my errands on foot. Never really thought about how it looks to the cameras or other people. Will be kind of annoying in the future, but I'm sure I'll be able to handle it. I figure 1 full basket plus another large item or two will work for two bags. I love how I don't make a big deal about this shit, but I also love those who do.

Posted by Mr. Poe | July 28, 2008 2:25 PM
6

I leave Slog alone for a few weeks and you people are posting a moron's inability to read a fucking sign? Jesus fucking Christ in a rotten cum filled shit bag!

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger | July 28, 2008 2:33 PM
7

This is indeed a boring post, but it makes you wonder: Just how many baldly incorrect statements, borne out of poor reading/comprehension skills, are out there online? A billion? 10 billion?

The internet is becoming more cluttered and useless every day.

Posted by Matthew | July 28, 2008 2:33 PM
8

I was just in there on Saturday (for a cold drink, not groceries)! I almost crossed paths with Mr. Poe in meatspace!

Posted by Fnarf | July 28, 2008 2:33 PM
9

OMG a calm and rational post on the Slog !?
What is the world coming to?
But then Dan Savage is listed on the "Enemies of the Slog" list

Posted by Epimetheus | July 28, 2008 2:34 PM
10

PCC in Fremont doesn't seem to have this kind of policy (don't know about the others). I go over there for lunch a few times a week, bring a canvas bag, shop into it, and empty and rebag on the way out. I can see why that's tricky. I suppose I'll carry a basket next time I go in just to make life easier on the staff.

Posted by Glenn Fleishman | July 28, 2008 2:36 PM
11

@10, the internet is a series of tubes filled with incorrect statements. And Mr. Poe.

Please make a note of it.

Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | July 28, 2008 2:38 PM
12

Thank God this has been addressed and resolved.

Posted by Pink Bic | July 28, 2008 2:42 PM
13

*@7

Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | July 28, 2008 2:43 PM
14

Seriously though, I just put stuff in my coat pockets until I can't fit in anything else and try to remember to unload it all at the check out counter. The key is to forget about the more expense stuff and remember the cheap stuff.

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger | July 28, 2008 2:53 PM
15

Dang! I was all ready to march down there, all smug and self-righteous with my reusable Safeway bag, and throw a GIANT fit.

Oh well, thanks for saving me the embarrassment, Dan.

(And I am of course kidding about going down there and throwing a fit).

Posted by rb | July 28, 2008 3:02 PM
16

Obviously the commenter is mistaken, but also afflicted with some seriously linear logic. You don't have to use a "shopping bag" at all if you don't want to, I'm sure any sort of bag you have will do. My bike bag holds plenty.

Posted by Dougsf | July 28, 2008 3:15 PM
17

@10 - heck, sometimes I bring my backpack, and use that to bring home my PCC groceries.

But ... I still use the plastic bags from both PCC and Fred Meyer for my garbage liner (which becomes my garbage bag). The excess bags get turned into park benches (plastic) or giant puppet heads (paper).

Posted by Will in Seattle | July 28, 2008 3:32 PM
18

"..we require that you please..."

"require" and "please" contradict each other. From the context of the post it's clear they mean "you must shop with our carts", so the "please" shouldn't be there.

Posted by Kris | July 28, 2008 3:44 PM
19

Please present your papers, citizen.

Posted by Will in Seattle | July 28, 2008 4:39 PM
20

@18
Typical Seattle: faux politesse.

Posted by PC | July 28, 2008 5:40 PM
21

The only person more confused than the shopper who misread that sign was the employee who wrote it.

If you want your signs to be understood, make them brief and to the point: "please do not place unpaid items in your shopping bags."

Posted by Furcifer | July 29, 2008 12:59 AM

Comments Closed

Comments are closed on this post.