As a long-time customer of Whole Foods in the Kentlands, Maryland, both my wife and I were flabbergasted by our recent experience that started with an order with the meat department on November 12th, and ended with the store manager (Melissa Niane) accusing us of placing an order for the incorrect item; a claim by the store manager that their personnel (Seeku) didn’t write the order down incorrectly; and their personnel not being responsible for a missing order that was placed almost two weeks prior to Thanksgiving. While the incident itself was poorly handled, the accusatory and snarky attitude of the store manager against a customer, her refusal to resolve the issue, and her staunch stance that “our employees at Whole Foods are always right and the customer is always wrong” has really turned us off to shopping at Whole Foods in the future. For those interested in the details of this incident. The original order was placed on November 12th at 3:00 p.m. when I called Whole Foods and spoke to Seeku in the meat department to place an order for an 8 lb. leg of lamb with an extended bone. We had placed this order in years past with no issues, so thought nothing of placing this order again for Thanksgiving. (This order was NOT placed with the Holiday Desk). On Sunday, November 21st my wife happened to be shopping at Whole Foods and while there she went to confirm that they indeed had a record of the order and that it would be ready for pickup on November 23rd. She went to the meat department and asked them to confirm the order would be ready, and the meat department sent her to the Holiday Order Desk. After waiting for one of the two women to be available, my wife gave the women the information only to find that the Holiday order desk had no record of the order. As my wife knew I had placed the order, the women that was helping her went back to the meat counter and then brought a notebook back to show my wife that the order was in fact written correctly as an 8 lb. Leg of Lamb for pickup on November 23rd. My wife left the store reassured that the order would be ready for pick up on November 23rd. On Tuesday, November 23rd my wife went back to Whole Foods to pick up the order. When she arrived she went to the meat counter to pick up the order. The employee behind the counter informed my wife that not only did they not have our order, they did not have any lamb. My wife inquired what could be done. He asked if my wife wanted to speak with the store manager who happened to be close to the meat counter. My wife explained to the manager, later identified as Melissa Niane, the story which had been shared above. Melissa went to the back of the store to search for herself and came back and said he was right. My wife then explained she had ten people coming for thanksgiving and what were they going to do. My wife suggested they call other stores as Melissa did not offer to do anything to remedy this situation. After my wife’s suggestion Melissa in a dismissive fashion told my wife to take a seat in their cafe. My wife went to the Customer Service counter and asked for the store manager not realizing Melissa was in fact the store manager as she never identified herself. My wife could clearly hear through the customer representatives telephone, “is that that lady with the lamb”. After sometime Melissa showed up with a wrapped meat package and a piece of paper and represented the package as a boneless leg of lamb. Melissa insisted that was what I ordered and repeatedly pointed out my name on the piece paper that accompanied her and said isn’t his name Mark. Isn’t it. The accusatory tone and obsessive need for Melissa to assign blame to the customer versus working with the customer to solve the problem was perpetuated when my wife suggested that maybe the order was taken incorrectly Melissa insisted over and over that was not even remotely possible and was insistent we the customer were at fault. I should point out 3 things, first, the name on the paper was spelled incorrectly so could it be she pulled someone else’s order in error thinki
rgnix
Nice stuff, and especially good food for a grocery store, but stuff here is EXPENSIVE. Brace your wallet for the impact.
Jim Gregory
Express lanes are faster when in a hurry.
Scott Klein
One of the few places where we can get fresh grapefruit juice.
Nicole
Always very crowded but so is every one I've been to!
Mikey Z
The hot prepared food bar is very much a let-down compared to other Whole Foods. I wouldn't try it again.
Mikey Z
Was not impressed with the hot food bar. Would not get again.
Jason Morris
The food and store is awesome
Jeremy C
The new coffee bar is far better than any other coffee in Gaithersburg.
Customer service is excellent. A new coffee bar will be coming after the first of the year!
Maria Galperin
They're setting up an awful new layout today. Cutting the vegetable section in half and ruining the open floor plan. We asked and it seems permanent. Seems they're just reducing the selection.
Candace Child
Buy One Get One Free Pizza EVERY Tuesday!
Virginia Aspilcueta
Eating here is very good.
Marie Fischer
Today - Organic grapes $2.99/lb. cheaper than conventional.
As a long-time customer of Whole Foods in the Kentlands, Maryland, both my wife and I were flabbergasted by our recent experience that started with an order with the meat department on November 12th, and ended with the store manager (Melissa Niane) accusing us of placing an order for the incorrect item; a claim by the store manager that their personnel (Seeku) didn’t write the order down incorrectly; and their personnel not being responsible for a missing order that was placed almost two weeks prior to Thanksgiving. While the incident itself was poorly handled, the accusatory and snarky attitude of the store manager against a customer, her refusal to resolve the issue, and her staunch stance that “our employees at Whole Foods are always right and the customer is always wrong” has really turned us off to shopping at Whole Foods in the future. For those interested in the details of this incident. The original order was placed on November 12th at 3:00 p.m. when I called Whole Foods and spoke to Seeku in the meat department to place an order for an 8 lb. leg of lamb with an extended bone. We had placed this order in years past with no issues, so thought nothing of placing this order again for Thanksgiving. (This order was NOT placed with the Holiday Desk). On Sunday, November 21st my wife happened to be shopping at Whole Foods and while there she went to confirm that they indeed had a record of the order and that it would be ready for pickup on November 23rd. She went to the meat department and asked them to confirm the order would be ready, and the meat department sent her to the Holiday Order Desk. After waiting for one of the two women to be available, my wife gave the women the information only to find that the Holiday order desk had no record of the order. As my wife knew I had placed the order, the women that was helping her went back to the meat counter and then brought a notebook back to show my wife that the order was in fact written correctly as an 8 lb. Leg of Lamb for pickup on November 23rd. My wife left the store reassured that the order would be ready for pick up on November 23rd. On Tuesday, November 23rd my wife went back to Whole Foods to pick up the order. When she arrived she went to the meat counter to pick up the order. The employee behind the counter informed my wife that not only did they not have our order, they did not have any lamb. My wife inquired what could be done. He asked if my wife wanted to speak with the store manager who happened to be close to the meat counter. My wife explained to the manager, later identified as Melissa Niane, the story which had been shared above. Melissa went to the back of the store to search for herself and came back and said he was right. My wife then explained she had ten people coming for thanksgiving and what were they going to do. My wife suggested they call other stores as Melissa did not offer to do anything to remedy this situation. After my wife’s suggestion Melissa in a dismissive fashion told my wife to take a seat in their cafe. My wife went to the Customer Service counter and asked for the store manager not realizing Melissa was in fact the store manager as she never identified herself. My wife could clearly hear through the customer representatives telephone, “is that that lady with the lamb”. After sometime Melissa showed up with a wrapped meat package and a piece of paper and represented the package as a boneless leg of lamb. Melissa insisted that was what I ordered and repeatedly pointed out my name on the piece paper that accompanied her and said isn’t his name Mark. Isn’t it. The accusatory tone and obsessive need for Melissa to assign blame to the customer versus working with the customer to solve the problem was perpetuated when my wife suggested that maybe the order was taken incorrectly Melissa insisted over and over that was not even remotely possible and was insistent we the customer were at fault. I should point out 3 things, first, the name on the paper was spelled incorrectly so could it be she pulled someone else’s order in error thinki
Nice stuff, and especially good food for a grocery store, but stuff here is EXPENSIVE. Brace your wallet for the impact.
Express lanes are faster when in a hurry.
One of the few places where we can get fresh grapefruit juice.
Always very crowded but so is every one I've been to!
The hot prepared food bar is very much a let-down compared to other Whole Foods. I wouldn't try it again.
Was not impressed with the hot food bar. Would not get again.
The food and store is awesome
The new coffee bar is far better than any other coffee in Gaithersburg.
Tuesday buy one large pizza get another one free
Restaurantji Recommends
Customer service is excellent. A new coffee bar will be coming after the first of the year!
They're setting up an awful new layout today. Cutting the vegetable section in half and ruining the open floor plan. We asked and it seems permanent. Seems they're just reducing the selection.
Buy One Get One Free Pizza EVERY Tuesday!
Eating here is very good.
Today - Organic grapes $2.99/lb. cheaper than conventional.