I'm inclined to think that my rating of this particular Whole Foods location would be applicable to many of them. This is not to say that all Whole Foods locations are poorly run, but that the general philosphy of the Whole Foods chain seems to contribute to my disappointment.
To start, this Whole Foods has all of the organic responsibly produced products you typically expect from the retail chain. Everything from toilet paper to river salmon, beef franks to soy protein powder. Nothing wrong or at fault there.
Parking: The lot at this location is so undersized it is almost comical. During busy shopping times, my wife and I have actually given up trying to find an opening and instead stopped at Safeway on the way home.
Store Size: The store itself is also far too small to accomodate the customer traffic they experience. The aisles are much too narrow, in many cases not wide enough for two shopping carts to pass one another. The prepared foods and wine/cheese area is a particular mess, especially when poorly behaved children are in the area.
Product Selection: As I browse the goods offered for sale, I am sometimes reminded of how political the selection process must be at Whole Foods corporate. While they are willing to sell you a non-organic-certified bottle of wine, you will not be able to find a can of soda or fruit drink sweetened with aspartame or splenda. Too bad for you diabetics out there.
More on Product Selection: Although in general you could do your 'daily' shopping at a Whole Foods, there are definitely times when their lack of brand representation can make things awkward. Got a favorite brand or flavor of thoothpaste? Don't expect to find it there. How about a favorite maker of sugar-free chewing gum? Sorry, out of luck.
Prices: Yes, it is expensive. Much more so than a typical grocery store (Safeway, Albertsons). Vastly more so than a discount chain (Costco, Wal-Mart). But that is simply the price you pay for being able to consume food with a more or less clear conscience. If you are looking for competitive prices, this is not the place for you.
Service: This is defintely one place where Whole Foods does excel. The people know their store, their product, and are always available. There is never a shortage of staff at the meat/fish counter, and the checkout lanes are usually fully staffed.
So in the end, the hassles of physically shopping at this location (lack of parking, always too crowded inside) and the lack of certain products and brands was enough to send my wife and I back to the local Safeway for our daily shopping.
If we're looking for really high-end stuff for a dinner party, we'll still head to Whole Foods and suffer through the bad parts. But for regular needs, Whole Foods just doesn't quite do it for us.
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