Whole Foods: Closing your store to better serve you

The cleverly word-crafted sign in front of the Hillsdale Wild Oats store informs customers that the store will close Oct 13 “as we can better serve you through the other Whole Foods Markets and Wild Oats Markets locations.”

Let’s see, to better serve us in Hillsdale, Whole Foods, which recently bought out Wild Oats, closes its store here …. That’s a novel approach to customer service.

Interestingly, Judy Hertz of Hillsdale, concerned about the closing of the store, e-mailed Whole Foods noting that the closure was happening just as senior citizens were moving into the new Watershed housing project 100 yards or so away. (The photo below shows the closure announcement with the new Watershed building in the background)

Hertz urged Whole Foods to reconsider in light of the needs of neighboring seniors.

Instead a Whole Foods PR representative replied that the closure shouldn’t be a problem because Hillsdale customers could shop conveniently at the Whole Foods store in nearby Tanisbourne.

Yes, you read that right: Tanisbourne.

Could this be the old confusion between Hillsboro and Hillsdale? Does Whole Foods even know where Hillsdale is?

Whatever.

Texas-based Whole Foods, which clearly has not a clue about what is convenient for us, may be doing our community a big favor by closing its Hillsdale store and making it available to a more responsive, less geographically challenged occupant.