4 ms·

Amazon has a reputation for ruthless efficiency. Seems speculative to assume that they bought One Medical because of its high level of care and that they are ab

by eli 4y ago

Amazon has a reputation for ruthless efficiency. Seems speculative to assume that they bought One Medical because of its high level of care and that they are able to manage the company in a way that it continues. There are plenty of Amazon acquisitions where the service got worse post-acquisition, was relaunched as something else, or was simply shuttered.

crazygringo 4y ago
But Amazon already did the same with Whole Foods. It continues to be premium. There were some temporary hiccups at one point with a new backend system but that was all. So I don't see why they wouldn't be doing the same they've done with Whole Foods, which is maintaining the high level of service, because that's the proven successful business model.
- slantedview 4y ago
  Whole Foods workers were impacted by the acquisition. Since healthcare depends on high skill workers, any impact to them will harm customers.
- j0hnyl 4y ago
  Whole Foods is absolute TRASH after Amazon bought it. The food used to be good and now it's absolute crap, less options, utter rubbish no better than keyfood. At least in NYC anyway. (multiple locations)
  - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
    > in NYC anyway True in Wyoming and the Bay Area, too. Produce and fish aren’t as fresh as competitors. It’s cheaper. But not premium.
    - sgc 4y ago
      I don't find this true at all in my bay area location. Their fish is still the freshest in the area, including when comparing to the local fishmonger. Their produce is well above the quality and freshness of other stores except one, which they can match. Their bakery is still quite good. Variety is roughly the same. It's the same old overpriced-but-reliable Whole Foods.
  - crazygringo 4y ago
    I'm in NYC and I have no idea what you're talking about. The food is the same. Nothing has changed that I can tell. Same hot/cold bar. Same produce. Same meat and fish. Same in house brands. Same pizza. Same bakery. Main differences are just a lot more self checkout and areas for Amazon returns. And Prime discounts of course. What food do you think got worse?
    - rcme 4y ago
      The produce has changed a lot. Now, the fruits and vegetables leave a lot to be desired. If you compare the best from Whole Foods and the best from Fresh Direct, you'll see that Fresh Direct is a clear winner in most categories, but especially in produce and meat. The two used to be a lot closer in terms of quality.
      - j0hnyl 4y ago
        Even the prepared food has changed. It's feels cheap and tastes like shit, but carries the same price. Gowanus whole foods had a whole section of moldy cold cuts not too long. If people haven't noticed what I'm talking about, its probably that they just don't remember how nice it used to be before.
      - crazygringo 4y ago
        Sorry, but I just don't see it. Only difference is Fresh Direct puts a produce quality rating so you know when ordering online what the quality will be. The only store that has consistently better produce at scale than Whole Foods in NYC is Eataly, but it's more expensive and there are only two of them. Before that there was Dean & Deluca but they've long since gone out of business and their prices were astronomical -- but I swear their produce section was like a museum and the vegetables were almost works of art. I find it funny that when you drill down, the only supposed quality decrease is in the "freshness" of produce and meat, the two things that are ultimately the most subjective. I've shopped at a lot of supermarkets for a long time, and I truly have to wonder if people are simply imagining a decrease in freshness simply because it fits a preconceived narrative that if Amazon bought it, it must have gotten worse. Because with my own eyes and taste, I don't see it at all. And it's not like this is ancient history hard to remember -- Amazon only bought WF five and a half years ago.
  - zeroonetwothree 4y ago
    I haven’t noticed any change whatsoever in my Bay Area location
- dml2135 4y ago
  Whole foods has absolutely gone downhill after Amazon bought it.
- anon7725 4y ago
  Your prior should be that after Amazon acquires a company and Amazon "leaders" make their way into the corporate structure, that company will go downhill in terms of any customer-service differentiator. cf Zappos, Whole Foods, etc. The differentiators - usually reflected in motivated staff with the freedom to solve customer problems, but also in the case of WF a focus on quality fresh food, etc - will be relentlessly driven down. WF continues to be "premium" but it's definitely not the same chain that it was a decade ago.
- adolph 4y ago
  Disagree. I had reasonable hopes Mackey had struck a business preserving deal. Recently discussed the homogenous thin sponge they still market at "ciabatta" with folks who go more often. They said the all bread is now outsourced and terrible. My reasonable hopes stemmed from what HEB has done with sub-brand Central Market. While CM isn't quite as awesome as its high point, more CM goodness has rolled into regular HEB than bean-counting into CM.
- JohnFen 4y ago
  > It continues to be premium. It does? Not in my area. I've never been a Whole Foods customer, but my friends who were have universally said that it has become much worse.

by eli 4y ago

crazygringo 4y ago

But Amazon already did the same with Whole Foods. It continues to be premium. There were some temporary hiccups at one point with a new backend system but that was all. So I don't see why they wouldn't be doing the same they've done with Whole Foods, which is maintaining the high level of service, because that's the proven successful business model.

slantedview 4y ago
Whole Foods workers were impacted by the acquisition. Since healthcare depends on high skill workers, any impact to them will harm customers.
j0hnyl 4y ago
Whole Foods is absolute TRASH after Amazon bought it. The food used to be good and now it's absolute crap, less options, utter rubbish no better than keyfood. At least in NYC anyway. (multiple locations)
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > in NYC anyway True in Wyoming and the Bay Area, too. Produce and fish aren’t as fresh as competitors. It’s cheaper. But not premium.
  - sgc 4y ago
    I don't find this true at all in my bay area location. Their fish is still the freshest in the area, including when comparing to the local fishmonger. Their produce is well above the quality and freshness of other stores except one, which they can match. Their bakery is still quite good. Variety is roughly the same. It's the same old overpriced-but-reliable Whole Foods.
- crazygringo 4y ago
  I'm in NYC and I have no idea what you're talking about. The food is the same. Nothing has changed that I can tell. Same hot/cold bar. Same produce. Same meat and fish. Same in house brands. Same pizza. Same bakery. Main differences are just a lot more self checkout and areas for Amazon returns. And Prime discounts of course. What food do you think got worse?
  - rcme 4y ago
    The produce has changed a lot. Now, the fruits and vegetables leave a lot to be desired. If you compare the best from Whole Foods and the best from Fresh Direct, you'll see that Fresh Direct is a clear winner in most categories, but especially in produce and meat. The two used to be a lot closer in terms of quality.
    - j0hnyl 4y ago
      Even the prepared food has changed. It's feels cheap and tastes like shit, but carries the same price. Gowanus whole foods had a whole section of moldy cold cuts not too long. If people haven't noticed what I'm talking about, its probably that they just don't remember how nice it used to be before.
    - crazygringo 4y ago
      Sorry, but I just don't see it. Only difference is Fresh Direct puts a produce quality rating so you know when ordering online what the quality will be. The only store that has consistently better produce at scale than Whole Foods in NYC is Eataly, but it's more expensive and there are only two of them. Before that there was Dean & Deluca but they've long since gone out of business and their prices were astronomical -- but I swear their produce section was like a museum and the vegetables were almost works of art. I find it funny that when you drill down, the only supposed quality decrease is in the "freshness" of produce and meat, the two things that are ultimately the most subjective. I've shopped at a lot of supermarkets for a long time, and I truly have to wonder if people are simply imagining a decrease in freshness simply because it fits a preconceived narrative that if Amazon bought it, it must have gotten worse. Because with my own eyes and taste, I don't see it at all. And it's not like this is ancient history hard to remember -- Amazon only bought WF five and a half years ago.
- zeroonetwothree 4y ago
  I haven’t noticed any change whatsoever in my Bay Area location
dml2135 4y ago
Whole foods has absolutely gone downhill after Amazon bought it.
anon7725 4y ago
Your prior should be that after Amazon acquires a company and Amazon "leaders" make their way into the corporate structure, that company will go downhill in terms of any customer-service differentiator. cf Zappos, Whole Foods, etc. The differentiators - usually reflected in motivated staff with the freedom to solve customer problems, but also in the case of WF a focus on quality fresh food, etc - will be relentlessly driven down. WF continues to be "premium" but it's definitely not the same chain that it was a decade ago.
adolph 4y ago
Disagree. I had reasonable hopes Mackey had struck a business preserving deal. Recently discussed the homogenous thin sponge they still market at "ciabatta" with folks who go more often. They said the all bread is now outsourced and terrible. My reasonable hopes stemmed from what HEB has done with sub-brand Central Market. While CM isn't quite as awesome as its high point, more CM goodness has rolled into regular HEB than bean-counting into CM.
JohnFen 4y ago
> It continues to be premium. It does? Not in my area. I've never been a Whole Foods customer, but my friends who were have universally said that it has become much worse.