Will with heavy bulk items and frozen stuff...I dont drive anymore and so have to catch a bus theses days
Yes. We order on line, and we have to tell them what hour we are coming (between 1 and 2, 8 and 9, etc) They have marked spots for pickup and we call them as soon as we park and tell them the no. of our parking place. We open our trunk, they place them in, and we're off! Its pretty nice. For 2 or 3 items, I go by myself (wife has a compromised immune system) to a market a mile away and get them. We've gotten somewhat used to it, but the other day, we decided to go into the store as usual and shop (of course with masks) and use the self checkouts, bag them ourselves, and out we went. We were happy to get back to normal (like coming out of a long, dark tunnel). It was the first time my wife has been out and around in a while (except for her infusions at the hospital) So, it seems as if we can begin to live the life style that we're used to (as long as there is not another surge in our city)
My last online grocery order was for toilet paper. Haagen Dazs ice cream bars. Several Marie Calendar meals (just for a change from my gourmet eating) white and red wine, Nescafe.
I have a friend with Hashimoto's disease. These are tough (and scary) times for folks in these conditions.
Our local supermarket just started a program where customers can place their orders online for pickup outside the store. My wife uses it now, and it's a point of contention. I might have to divorce her. I view it as a way that the supermarket can get rid of produce that no one would choose if they were in the store picking it out, as well as packaged foods that are nearing the expiration date, while she sees it as convenient. As it is now, she buys whatever she needs for cooking, or wants for herself, through this program, while I do my own shopping for things like fruit and other things for myself. I hate buying a bag of grapes when an eighth of the bag has to be discarded immediately, or bananas that are overripe. I don't see the convenience angle. The other thing that irritates me is that now, between the handicapped parking areas, the pharmacy pickup areas, and the new grocery pickup areas, I have to walk a half mile in order to get into the store. Otherwise, if you're going to have to drive to the supermarket anyhow, why not go in and choose your own stuff?
Your observation is very valid, @Ken Anderson . Our local Walmart is exactly the same way with fresh produce. If pineapples are $2 each, they will bring you the very smallest pineapple there, when I would be picking a nice large ripe one if i were inside shopping. I have had to throw away part of a bag of potatoes or tomatoes because they were bad and the shopper didn’t even notice. Our family is the opposite of yours, Bobby hates to go shopping, but he will drive me to the store to pick up the groceries after i order them online. So, the plan that i devised is this; I order all of the things that come in cans or packages where it does not matter which one the shopper picks up. Then , when we get to the store, I go inside and pick up the fresh produce, so I can get the good bananas and pineapples, and find any fruit or veggies that are on clearance. If there are apple fritters on clearance, I buy a package; so then Bobby feels like it was worth having to be at Walmart while I shopped. Absolutely, it is not as good as doing all of my shopping in the store, but it is a compromise that seems to work for us.
I have used the curbside pick-up service several times, especially during the whole covid thing. However, I was very reluctant for the same reasons as Ken. I just knew I was going to get bruised produce and have to throw half of it out. But...The first few times they did a pretty good job. I used the curbside service for a while longer, and then went back to do the shopping myself last Spring. Then I used the curbside service just last week because I really didn't feel like traipsing all through that horrible Hell on Earth Walmart store. I really hate that mega store but it has some items my Kroger store doesn't have. When I got home with my order, I had at least a dozen items that was dinged, dented, torn open, and bruised. I was furious. As I told them when I reported it, I wouldn't buy those items if I was shopping in the store and I sure as hell don't want them in my on line order neither. The whole point was not to go into the store but if I wanted a refund, I had to drive back out to the store and stand in line at the customer service dept. with 10 people deep already standing in line with one employee waiting on everyone. I won't go into the rant about the store having 35 check out lanes with only two express lanes that are opened, along with ALL the self check out lanes.
I still order my groceries delivered from HEB (Texas supermarket chain). I seldom have an issue with anything I order; they do an excellent job of selecting produce and meats that I specify. For instance, if I order bananas I can request "green bunch" or "ripe bunch" or if I want, just 2 or 3 bananas. With my last order I requested red grapes and I found them lacking, so I just called the store and they credited my card the $4.10 immediately. They always ask if I want a replacement item or a refund. If I want a replacement, they send it out with the next driver. I have stated before that having groceries delivered actually saves me money. I'm really bad about picking up "display items" that I didn't intend to buy. And my husband is worse. I can send him for milk and he'll come home with $100 worth of cookies.
Since Covid was so rampant where we lived in AZ, we started ordering groceries online and picked them up. Even though we were fully vaccinated and boosted, we didn't want to be around other people. Fast forward 2 years and we live in a different state now but I still order online. I'm not going in to be tempted to pick up things that we really don't need....actually, that's what hubby likes to do, so now he just drives me to pick up our groceries. It's worked out well and I'm going to continue to do it. We have a large freezer so we go to the meat market to get meat so we can see what we're getting, but all other groceries are ordered online (usually from Wally).
I have been using HEB delivery for at least 4 years, but this week I have decided to try Kroger. I got a $15 coupon to try out their service so I figured I'd see how it compares. I actually like the local Kroger store better than HEB when shopping in-store; they seem to have a broader selection. I placed my order late last night for delivery between 2 and 3 p.m. today. I got a text a few minutes ago that they are shopping my order and one item is out of stock (pork tenderloin), so they subbed a different brand. I OK'd the substitution and Bob's your uncle. Since they have a hot food deli I decided to order some fried chicken for our dinner instead of a rotisserie chicken. Guess we'll see how they measure up in a hour or so.
My wife has been using the curbside checkout at Hannaford, but I don't like the idea. I prefer picking the better bananas that are available rather than the ones that they know they need to sell soon, and I prefer getting Fresca in a can rather than a plastic bottle.
Both HEB and Kroger have options on their shopping websites to select "green" bananas or "ripe", and a space to write comments. I always choose firm avocados and green bananas. I also choose the type of soft drinks... I buy the smaller 12-oz plastic bottles of Coke that my husband prefers and the 7 oz cans which are just right for me. Does that store carry Fresca in the can? Maybe plastic-bottle Fresca is better than no Fresca. The Kroger delivery today was uneventful so I may be switching to Kroger going forward. I didn't have any complaints with HEB but Kroger just has more stuff to choose from. We thought the fried chicken was "OK," but won't order it again. It was a tad greasy.
Yes, they do carry it in a can, and you can specify green or ripe bananas, but the ones they choose are still not in as good shape as the ones I would pick if I were shopping in the store. It's entirely possible that my wife is to blame for the plastic sodas, but it's the second time I got something in plastic, which I would never choose.