Pure Baloney at Whole Foods

Pure Baloney at Whole Foods


I’m in complete agreement with writer Alyce Lomax’s assessment of Whole Foods CEO John Mackey and his sham blogging under a fake name. Like Lomax, I, too, am fond of the company. My understanding is that it has long enjoyed the reputation of being one of the best company’s to work for, and as a long time patron of its largest store – the one in Plano at Park and Preston – I noticed that there were many long term employees.

I also noticed that, generally, there are three basic types of customers who patronize that store: 1.) People who are ill and seeking quality foods and vitamin supplements to help their condition and who, because of their circumstances, value the truth and nothing but the truth. 2.) People whom I fondly refer to as the “nuts and berries types” who eschew some of the more traditional practices of food production – such as the spraying or other methods of application of chemicals to food crops and the adding of hormones and other unsafe and / or inhumane practices of the beef and poultry industry. These are people who want to leave a small footprint on the environment and are people with a social conscience, which they have perceived Whole Foods as having too. 3.) Affluent people who want the best and are wiling to pay a high price for it and are accustomed to being treated well and treated with respect.

These are not the kind of folks who seem prone to take unethical, deceitful behavior lightly. Mackey’ behavior is an insult to them and to their respective core values and beliefs. As someone who is supposed to be a good leader, he demonstrated a real lack of understanding of his audiences and a real lack of respect.

He betrayed several principles of PR. He did not show good stewardship, truth or transparency, which is ironic for a store that is known for carefully and completely listing all the ingredients found in it’s products. The company has long enjoyed a good, solid reputation and is perceived as a company that is socially conscious. Mackey jeopardized all of that by playing the kind of unseemly, cheap trick that one would find in a carnival show. Shame on him.