Madness, where everyone’s a winner

by Chuck O., April 15, 2009 | Permalink

Whenever I’m with a group of friends- or strangers- and I mention I work at Whole Foods Market, inevitabley there’s a contest to see who can be the first to shout out something about the high prices at our stores.  Usually, it’s a tie with most everyone a winner since both Whole Foods Market shoppers and non-shoppers are under the impression that our prices are higher than other markets.  Some popular comments-

“I can’t believe how much your seafood costs!” 

“Why is your produce so much more than ____?”

“The pasta salad at your stores is so good but why is it higher than down the street?”

Rather than focus on product differentiation here and the fact that our pasta salad is prepared in the store with pasta we cook and vegetables and a dressing and doesn’t arrive in a “milk carton” container or the fact that our seafood is delivered to us 6 days a week from our own facility in Gloucester, I am going to talk about an event which happens periodically at our stores and is very heavily promoted on the radio.  So, in case you take the T to work or walk or listen to your iPod instead of the radio, I am letting you know that it’s time for the Whole Foods Market

You’ll find avocados at 5 for $5- that’s $1 each for those who are mathematically-challenged- and sirloin tips for $4.99lb.  Mike from our Meat Team says the tips make great fajitas!  Anyway, I challenge you to find products of the same quality at a lower price!  The sirloin tips are $3 off our regular price and $2.30 a pound lower than I saw elsewhere on my way to work this morning.  OK, you may find a deal on avocados on Saturday afternoon at the Haymarket but I guarantee they won’t be as large or in as good a shape as ours.

Continuing, we’ve got extra virgin olive oil from Italy and some sweet and tasty bay scallops plus pasta primavera, crostini, and in-store baked focaccia!  The cool thing is that this sale lasts for two whole weeks so you can stock up over time.  Plus you don’t need a card of any sort and you can purchase as much as you need- so everyone wins… like in the shouting contest my friends enjoyed before Madness began!  (Note:  please call ahead if you need to purchase cases of a product.)

At this point, I assume I’m temporarily out of danger of being beat up for the price of beef at my store this coming weekend.  On second thought, I may not see many of the “Let’s trash the prices at Whole Foods” crowd until the Madness Sale ends.  Chances are they’ll be shopping or enjoying a homemade meal of beef fajitas with fresh guacamole; hopefully, by the time they are done eating, I’ll have access to specials for May.

Leave a Reply

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on topic and not abusive. For more information, please see our Comment Posting Guidelines. If you have a store-specific inquiry, please contact your local store.