Whole Foods Workers Say Amazon Prime Shoppers Are ‘Vultures’ Overwhelming Stores

Whole Foods workers say Amazon Prime shoppers are crowding aisles and ignoring safety rules

Online grocery shopping is more popular than ever, which of course requires someone to actually go to the grocery store and pick up all those items. Through Amazon Prime, members can do their Whole Foods shopping from their computers, but Whole Foods employees say stores are now being overrun by Amazon Prime shoppers, who are ignoring safe distancing rules, emptying shelves, and generally making it harder for Whole Foods employees to do their jobs, according to a new report from Business Insider.

One Whole Foods employee called Prime shoppers “vultures,” saying empty shelves before anyone can restock them, and often have to rely on Whole Foods employees expertise when locating items. There’s also the issue of missing items. “If the item is out of stock, the Prime shopper must scan a QR code belonging to the Whole Foods employee to continue working,” writes BI. This leads to Whole Foods employees sometimes having lines of Prime shoppers around them, waiting to have QR codes scanned.

It’s a frustrating situation, but one in which everyone is trying to do their job. Whole Foods employees need to stock shelves safely. Amazon Prime shoppers need to get as many orders as they can in a day to make a living wage. No one wants to lose a job right now.

Anyway, Whole Foods is owned by Amazon, meaning the shoppers and the Whole Foods employees are all employed by Jeff Bezos, who has made $35 billion this year.

And in other news...

• McDonald’s all-day breakfast might be gone forever. [Delish]
• 7-Eleven is giving away free pizza on October 4, in order to get in on the popularity of delivery pizza. [RB]
• Ohio legislature has passed a bill that would make to-go cocktails permanently legal. If signed by the governor, Ohio would be the second state to legalize to-go cocktails, after Iowa. [Restaurant Hospitality]
• Buying veggie burgers made by Big Meat still contributes to their factory farming and emissions. [Vice]
• Daniel Boulud is experimenting with a new restaurant ownership model — sponsorship by luxury brands. [Bloomberg]
• An 89-year-old pizza delivery man got a $12k tip after a customer fundraised on TikTok, because we live in a country where the elderly have to financially rely on going viral rather than any comprehensive social safety net. [KSLTV]

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]