Whole Story

As a concierge team member in the Whole Foods Market flagship store in Austin, Texas, for five years, I thought I had been asked every question under the sun. But after a recent move upstairs to become our Global Support office’s receptionist, I quickly realized that I was mistaken. Sure, I still get calls from customers, but their questions can be different. And I also get calls from possible new vendors, potential new Team Members, interested investors and lots more. One of the perks of my job is that if I don’t know the answer to their various questions, I have a surplus of knowledgeable team members who do. As an ongoing series, I’ve decided to take a handful of the frequently asked questions I receive and demystify them.

Q: “I want to work for Whole Foods, how do I apply?”

A: We accept applications for individual stores, regional offices and global support via our Careers page. You can search through each state and even look for a specific location. The application process can take between 30-45 minutes so it’s a good idea to create a login and password so you can fill out the application at your own pace. Check out the Careers page for helpful links regarding benefits, hiring processes and why people work here. Various stores accept paper applications but check with your local store beforehand. If you want to follow up on an application, make sure to contact the specific location where you applied; we empower our locations to hire for their needs instead of having a centralized hiring process.

Q: “Who do I tell if my town is perfect for a store location?”

A: We are growing fast and it would be great to hear about a town that we haven’t considered for a new store. Take a look at our stores in development to see if we have a store headed to your area.  If not, you can go to our customer service page and select “store location request” in the topic menu. If you have a suggestion for an available building, check out our real estate page for guidelines and a master broker list.

Q: “My son just left for college and I want to make sure he’s eating right, do you have any tips?”

A: We have so many great options, where do I begin! A fantastic opportunity to make sure that your son is eating healthy, preservative-free food away from home is to buy him a Whole Foods Market gift card. (Of course, he needs to have one of our stores in his college town. Check our store list if you aren’t sure.) We make it easy so you can manage a gift card online with an auto-reload option. You can set up a personalized schedule for the reload to be applied to the gift card or automatically recharge the card when it reaches a minimum balance to make sure he always has a way to shop!

These are just a few of the questions I’ve collected from the past week. I’ll be coming back with more answers to common questions in future posts. If you have any specific questions I would love to help find you an answer. Keep in mind that since we are a decentralized company, it’s always the best practice to check with your local store about their specific policies and procedures. But if it’s something I can help with, leave a comment below with your question or heck, give me a call at the global office. Stay tuned for more questions (and answers) next time — I’m betting we’ll all learn something new along the way!