WF: Why are the meat guys on a pedestal?
Okay, this isn't a complaint, it's curiosity. I've only been to one Whole Foods store, so maybe this is a quirk of this one store, but the areas where the workers in the meat, seafood and cheese areas stand, their floor is at a higher level than the floor level of the rest of the store. So they're all sort of towering over the customers. They have to bend down a bit to hand over the food.
Is your WF set up like that? Any thoughts as to why? I suppose it gives them a better view, but from my side, when they hand me something from "on high" it feels like when I was a little kid and an adult bent down to give me something.
Are they trying to make us feel like those workers are superior beings? Or does WF just think that we like being served by a race of giants? And if that's the case, why aren't the produce guys on stilts? Just kidding about that, but I can't think of any other stores with that sort of setup. And it has to be for some purpose, since those three areas are separate from each other.
And I think the bakery and hot food/deli people are at floor level, but I've never bought anything there, so I'm not completely sure.
Whaddaya think? And are there any other food stores that have odd setups like that?
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10 Comments:
Lots of them are like that. If the floors were even and the meat guy or gal was particularly short, they would have a heck of time handing stuff over the counter to the customer. I worked in a WF that did not have the pedestal. Every now and then I would cover a shift in the meat dept. I'm 5'6" and I had to really reach to hand stuff to customers. And if a customer was very short or in a wheel chair, forget it. I had to go around to the front of the counter. Not a big deal on a Tuesday at 11am, but on a Saturday afternoon every extra motion puts you farther in the weeds. A lot of stores also put low displays in front of the cases, which makes it even harder to hand off packages since the customer can't get close to the case. The pedestal also makes it easier to hand off big things like turkeys - the employee doesn't have to lift the turkey up and over the counter, they can just bend down a bit.
ProfessorChaos at 1:35PM on 06/04/09
I don't have a WF in my area, but our local grocery store has such a "curb" as well for the meat, seafood, and deli areas. I think that @ProfessorChaos' explanation is the reason why. So the phenom is not confined to WF.....
Maureen at 2:03PM on 06/04/09
I like being able to make eye contact with the folks who work behind the meat or fish counter. I think it's an elegant design solution given that their job regularly requires them pass things over a 5' tall counter. I wish the bakery people were also raised up. Not all of us are tall...
chgoeditor at 2:37PM on 06/04/09
It's because us meat guys ARE special !!!
onepercent99 at 4:00PM on 06/04/09
I'm so glad there's a logical answer.
From the correct angle, I can almost imagine they're up on a stage. I halfway expect them to break into song and dance, like some horrible dinner theater where the servers stop serving and start singing instead.
dbcurrie at 5:51PM on 06/04/09
I thought you meant on a pedestal on a pedestal. Like, who do they think they are? Haha. There is one guy in the meat section at my WF and he's a total jerk. Always grills me (no pun intended) on what I'm doing with the meat, and gives me a snotty look whenever I order anything. ANYTHING! Even filet! So anyway, he's on some kind of pedestal...
pearl at 6:58PM on 06/04/09
I've seen this pedestal thing in fish markets as well. I agree that it's so they can communicate/pass things to the customers.
I wonder if it's a different type of surface (since you're dealing with raw meat/fish and therefore contaminants) that is easier to clean/non skid.
gingercookiewithlime at 7:36PM on 06/04/09
i've never noticed this anywhere. i'm tall but still. i'm gonna have to check this out.
dearrie at 8:01PM on 06/04/09
@db - you should totally ask them to sing you a song! The folks at WF are usually pretty cool, you might be able to get them to do it.
@ginger - At the one I worked at the floor behind the meat counter was the same as the rest of the store. They make the whole store easy to clean. People are clumsy.
ProfessorChaos at 8:29PM on 06/04/09
I always thought the wooden platforms were there to give the butchers some relief from the cold concrete floor.
Grumpy Old Man at 11:28AM on 06/05/09