Summary: After getting caught overcharging customers in New York City, grocer Whole Foods will now pay back the city for their dishonest actions.
Over the summer it was discovered that Whole Foods was overcharging their customers in New York on items such as produce and pre-packaged fresh products. Critics of the store started referring to the grocer as “Whole Paycheck” because of the inflated prices.
The store tried to get out of the problem by apologizing and placing blame on their employees but the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) was not willing to let them get off so easy. Whole Foods has implemented a price-auditing system in an attempt to address the problem but the DCA is also requiring the company to pay $500,000.
DCA Commissioner Julie Menin released a statement, “After discovering the troubling and repeated mislabeling of pre-packaged goods at Whole Foods last year, we are happy to have reached an agreement with Whole Foods that will help to ensure New Yorkers are better protected from overcharging. Whether it’s a bodega in the Bronx or a national grocery store in Manhattan, we believe every business needs to treat its customers fairly and with this agreement, we hope Whole Foods will deliver on its promises to its customers to correct their mistakes. DCA will also continue its vigilance in making sure New Yorkers are protected every time they check out at the grocery.”
The stipulations include paying $500,000, conducting quarterly in-store audits from at least 50 products in 10 different departments in all stores, the removal of all mislabeled products upon discovery of anything marked incorrectly, implementation and enforcement of policies and procedures to eliminate estimating the weight of packages, and conducting training for all employees involved in weighing and labeling products.
Whole Foods only remarks in their statements that they are paying in order to put the incident behind them. They have had a tough year with shrinking revenues and criticism of their prices and animal welfare rating system.
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