It was a simple twist of fate that brought Union City resident Bill Jones to where he is now. Having, over the years, been a radio personality in Philadelphia, a TV anchorman in Decatur, Ill., and a “retail specialist” for Verizon, Jones was retired and had taken up photography to pass the time. He opened a photo studio on 20th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York. His daily walking route took him past the Chelsea home of the Whole Foods Market on the corner of 24th Street and Seventh Avenue, which was under construction. A sign in the window advertised Whole Foods as a “fun place to work.” So, he walked in. In the two years since, he has become something of a minor celebrity by taking one of the most mundane activities of modern life – grocery shopping – and turning it into something fun or at least diverting.
Jones is the Chelsea Whole Foods Market’s “line director” and it’s what he does with that job that makes him so special – and resulted in his being the subject of a recent profile in the New Yorker.
But first, a little history.
The Chelsea Whole Foods Market is located in the old Veteran’s Administration building in Manhattan. It was never intended to be a food store. The designers of the market were faced with the daunting task of where to put registers. The floor plan of the location discouraged the usual supermarket armada of 10 or so registers in a line with mass amounts of floor space for waiting customers and their carts – the space simply didn’t exist. So a plan was devised that used the “bank style.” Basically, the registers are lined up on two sides of a wide corridor at the front of the store. A single line of customers is then divided into three separate shorter lines as it approaches the registers…which is where Jones comes in.
“I use two different phrases – ‘…is yours’ and ‘… is ready,’ ” Jones said last week. “It’s fun. I have a lot of fun with the customers.”
Jones began as a grocery clerk, but it didn’t take long for management to realize that he was in the wrong department. “To say he’s our mascot would be insulting,” says Whole Foods Marketing Team Leader Meredith Petrin. “He is the face, the heart, the emcee of our store. No other store has this. He makes it all work.”
At first, when the store opened, people “dropped their bags and left the store when they saw the lines,” according to Petrin. “The lines are visually intimidating.” The concept of “line director” was tried, but the cashiers who were pressed into service in that capacity hated it. Jones was brought in and an immediate change happened.
“Bill pulls it all together,” said Petrin “He makes it make sense.”
With a voice that cuts through the din of a busy food store, Jones announces “18 is ready!” then a second later, “11 is yours!” The return customers who know Jones already have a smile on their face. The looks on the faces of the folks indicate that, if only for a brief second, they are having their moment of fame. It’s the supermarket equivalent of “The Price is Right.” (“Joe Smith of Manhattan, c’mon down!”) There is even a feeling of “possession” – “Number 12 is MINE.” Something Petrin agrees with. “Oh definitely,” he said, “the majority of the customers love Bill and love when he calls their turn.”
It wasn’t always that way, though. “At first, people did not like being told where to go,” said Petrin. But after a while, people realized how quickly they were moving through lines that according to Petrin can sometimes snake all the way to the rear of the store.
Jones works the noon to 8 p.m. shift, Monday through Friday – the store’s busiest. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. “This is the most fun I’ve ever had,” said Jones. “Usually, the gratification from a job comes when the paycheck arrives. That’s not the case here. We have people that live on the Upper East Side that visit friends here in this neighborhood just to come here.”
Jones’ co-workers are effusive about him. Cashier Jody Thompson said, “Can I say ‘he’s the s—-‘?” Seriously, he’s an amazing, amazing personality. He makes my day go faster, and people ask for him when he’s not here. That says it all.” Customers are just as complimentary. “It’s a uniquely ‘New York’ thing,” said Cristin Hubbard of Manhattan. “He seems to enjoy his work, and it’s nice to have someone who’s organized.”
Michael Amoruso, also of Manhattan, echoed that sentiment. “He’s polite, he’s funny. People like seeing him. We’re always glad to see him.”
So how is it that a man that has done so much and taken such a circuitous route through life winds up as a line director at a Whole Foods Market? The answer lies in his eyes, eyes that meet yours and don’t let go. It’s in his voice: commanding, but not bellicose. It’s in his nature: easy going, but in control, a product of the meditation he practices during his breaks.
Jones is a man of the world who nonetheless chooses to make his home in Union City, New Jersey, a town he “loves.” Never has food shopping been so fun.