Whole Foods, Part Inconsistency and that's a good thing!

As a north side Chicagoan, I usually go to the Lake View Whole Foods.  I've been a Whole Foods shopper since they first opened in Chicago.  At one time, when friends or relatives would drive me to the store, I used to always go to the North Avenue store until about 1999/2000.  I liked that store, both for its selection and the management.  While doing a management project in my MBA program, I had met the Regional President and the Regional Vice President (whose name I still remember, Bob Marks, who came from their Fresh Fields buy out).   From around 2000 I started shopping only at the Lake View store, both due to it's closeness in terms of public transportation for me, and the fact that the North Avenue store started to be a not so pleasant experience, especially at the checkout.  The management that I had known back then had left, and the management that came in seemed to contribute to a downward spiral in keeping the energy in the North avenue store "up" and feeling good.  With that in mind, it was not an incentive to even go in there, much less shop there.

I was at the North Avenue store today, and I was really quite happy to see how things have changed for the better.   While I was looking for toothpaste, an employee gave me a friendly "hello" - not the robotic stuff I get at "my" Whole Foods in Lake View, but a genuine, (like Trader Joe's) type of greeting, where the person's energy is open and not closed.  Wow, I was thinking to myself... at least one of the three stores in Chicago has a friendly person in it.  I have to admit that when I first came through the doors of my long missed store, I felt a different energy than I remembered from before.  I momentarily thought that either they hired Dr. Phyllis Light (she does business energy clearings and helps to raise the energy and conciousness in a space to a higher place) or they just had a major change in personnel since I've been there last. 

My mother wanted me to pick up some dried food items, and I could not find it, despite several roam arounds in the appropriate place.  I finally asked one of the guys who was trying to stock some shelves.  He suggested I wait or shop in the vicinity while he goes to find out where it was, and said he didn't want to drag me all over the store.  Since I was bundled up from the cold (having to take two busses and trains), I really appreciated it.  When I returned, he told me where the item was, and walked me over to the section.  I rarely find people who have energy that feels genuinely kind, especially when interupting them while they are trying to do their job, so I was more than floored by this experience.  I was also feeling good that I had one good and one stellar people experiences while shopping at this Whole Foods.  Then came the telltale checkout.  The cashier was a young, funky kind of guy who was on the fun side.  This was the kind of cashier that I used to enjoy having as my last shopping experience when I'd go to the Lake View store (before things got depressing).  I left the store feeling good that at least this location in Chicago hasn't lost its soul.  One out of three isn't great, but it's better than 0:0.

Comments

[Phil Versten]

My wife was "Assistant to the Regional VP" (Bob Marks) back then, and came to Whole Foods with him from Fresh Fields. I got to know Bob and his family. An outstanding person and a great family. Lost touch with them at some point and that is a shame. He was one manager who genuinely "got it" when it came to recognizing that sincere concern for the customers is paramount to success.

[Phil Versten]

My wife and I knew Bob Marks and his family. My wife was his assistant at Fresh Fields and for a while at Whole Foods. Unfortunately we lost touch them with them, but we're better people for having known them. Bob was (is?) a genuinely good sole. He sincerely believed that concern for the customer was paramount to success, and he was right. the last I knew, they moved back east from whence they came. I hope he is well. Thanks for remembering him.

[consumermaven]

It's great that there are others who remember Bob Marks beside myself. I thought his management style was very evident in how the North Avenue Store 'felt' in terms of consumer atmospherics. I'm also glad to note that the last time I was at "my store" in LakeView, the customer service interaction was improved.