Grocery Shopping

[sengsational]

Walmart Pick-up Process: Updated

To avoid this issue only fill your cart starting at 10 Pm or so..I have a CC number stored at Wal-Mart and that word seamlessly for me all the time

My plan is to toss $30 of stuff into the cart that won't be in short supply, then set the alarm for 1AM. I'll grab the phone, select a newly opened time slot, and submit the order (with a saved CC).

The next morning, I'll go to the computer and do my real shopping (you can add and delete items from the order very easily).

This only works because the slots available are for "Tomorrow", which, after midnight, means not the next day, so I've got 24 hours to mess with my order. Then the day after that, I go for the pick-up.

 

[brewer12345]

Why not just get flour at your grocery store like most people?

Do you live someplace unusual outside of the typical supply chain where you can't buy food?

I live in the suburbs of the largest city in my time zone. Flour is unobtanium and has been so for weeks.

 

[harley]

Why not just get flour at your grocery store like most people?

Do you live someplace unusual outside of the typical supply chain where you can't buy food?

Not Brewer, but nobody I know has found flour in a grocery store in the past month. Luckily we're keto eaters and don't need wheat products. And the almond and coconut flours are still available.

DW was just talking to our next door neighbor up north (we're staying in FL for the duration). She was saying that she hasn't been able to find toilet paper for quite a while, and is just about out. I told her to let us know when she wanted to stock up and I'll turn off our alarm and she can go into our garage up there and load up. We always buy at BJs, so we tend to have 30+ rolls on the shelf in the garage. We also have paper towels, and there's an empty fridge in the garage that she can use if she wants to stock up in food. Somebody might as well use it since we're stuck down here.

 

[cathy63]

Why not just get flour at your grocery store like most people?

Do you live someplace unusual outside of the typical supply chain where you can't buy food?

Are you sure your local grocery store has flour? It's been out of stock pretty much nationwide for several weeks now. If it's something you don't buy regularly, you might not be aware of the shortage, but it's frustrating for those of us who do bake bread. I think everyone who's suddenly stuck at home decided to unleash their inner Betty Crockers.

I just used the last of our bread flour this morning. I still have some rye, whole wheat and AP flour, so I'm o.k. for a couple more weeks, but I'm still checking the baking aisle every time I go to the store just in case they get some bread flour in.

 

[Jerry1]

Some of my friends and my kids are sanitizing their groceries but I think that’s going overboard.

I used to think it was overboard, but I've come to think it's worth doing - especially that which goes in the fridge or freezer. I'm worried that the cold could suspend the virus and have some ability to infect upon warming up. Plus, that could mean your fridge is contaminated. Of course, I'm no dr./scientist, but that thought changed my mind.

As for the non-perishables, it was easy enough to just let them sit for a day or two.

 

[ownyourfuture]

By your list of stores, you must be a fellow Minnesotan.

Correct. Mankato

 

[aja8888]

I went to our local Walmart this afternoon to pick up three of DW's monthly prescriptions.

We have 8 Super Walmarts in a 15 mile radius of here. I took a stroll down the TP and paper towel isle and the shelves were full of both. No one was taking more than a pack or two. It appears the hoarding is coming to an end over paper products.

I didn't check any other isles to see if disinfectant products were still in short supply. But there were plenty of eggs and dairy products available.

 

[RockyMtn]

Been using Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods mostly as they both deliver to the home. Love Amazon Fresh as they also have liquor! Done a few on line orders with parking lot pickup with Safeway but they never seem to have about half of what I order.

 

[timo2]

Toilet paper shelves were all still empty.

We usually buy large packages of toilet paper when we buy and we are still fine, but at some point we'll need another package I guess.

I'm still really confused as to why people would hoard that.

I'm not sure it is all hoarding. In the old days (last Feb), people were gone from home to work or school most of the day. That's where they use the toilet. So all that activity is now at home. Which means they have to use their own toilet paper. Since I'm fairly sure people don't know how much toilet paper they use in a day, Grabbing twice what they would usually buy makes sense to me.

Additionally, recent articles have identified that the commercial TP comes from a different supply chain than the TP for domestic use. So now much of the volume of commercial TP use has now switched over to the domestic TP supply chain.

 

[statsman]

Duplicate. Sorry! It really is a bad day for me.

 

[statsman]

Tried to go to the HEB and Walmart stores within a 15 minute drive from our house at about 3pm our time. It's raining and unseasonably cold for the Cedar Park/Leander TX area this time of the year. Usually around the mid-70s, I doubt it was above 45 degrees when I drove by the stores and probably colder than that with the wind chill.

And there they were, all lined up outside in the rain and wind. Some with umbrellas, some not. Some with masks, some not. Looked like more couples than solo shoppers. After skipping both Walmart stores and both HEB stores in Cedar Park, I went to the HEB store in Leander. No waiting line outside, but the store looks worse from a stocking standpoint than it did 3-4 weeks ago when the hoarding started. I was able to find 5 of the 11 items I was looking for.

To add insult to injury, we let a plumber in our house yesterday to fix a leak under our kitchen sink that I couldn't find the source of. Funny thing, the leak wasn't leaking when the plumber was here. He tighten everything down and left. Sure enough, when I returned from my shopping day in hell, there was a pool of water under the sink and obvious dripping. I think it is the Moen kitchen fixture that is the source of the leak. Turning off the cold water line stopped the leaking. At least we can use the hot water line in the kitchen until Monday.

All on my 61st birthday. Honestly, I generally don't think much about birthdays, but I suspect this one is easily in the top-5 all-time worst birthdays for me, and there is still 7+ hours left of it.

 

[Sunset]

Tried to go to the HEB and Walmart stores within a 15 minute drive from our house at about 3pm our time. It's raining and unseasonably cold for the Cedar Park/Leander TX area this time of the year. Usually around the mid-70s, I doubt it was above 45 degrees when I drove by the stores and probably colder than that with the wind chill.

And there they were, all lined up outside in the rain and wind. Some with umbrellas, some not. Some with masks, some not. Looked like more couples than solo shoppers. After skipping both Walmart stores and both HEB stores in Cedar Park, I went to the HEB store in Leander. No waiting line outside, but the store looks worse from a stocking standpoint than it did 3-4 weeks ago when the hoarding started. I was able to find 5 of the 11 items I was looking for.

To add insult to injury, we let a plumber in our house yesterday to fix a leak under our kitchen sink that I couldn't find the source of. Funny thing, the leak wasn't leaking when the plumber was here. He tighten everything down and left. Sure enough, when I returned from my shopping day in hell, there was a pool of water under the sink and obvious dripping. I think it is the Moen kitchen fixture that is the source of the leak. Turning off the cold water line stopped the leaking. At least we can use the hot water line in the kitchen until Monday.

All on my 61st birthday. Honestly, I generally don't think much about birthdays, but I suspect this one is easily in the top-5 all-time worst birthdays for me, and there is still 7+ hours left of it.

Hopefully all of us will be here next year to hear about a better one, in the meantime:

 

[athena53]

Are you sure your local grocery store has flour? It's been out of stock pretty much nationwide for several weeks now. If it's something you don't buy regularly, you might not be aware of the shortage, but it's frustrating for those of us who do bake bread. I think everyone who's suddenly stuck at home decided to unleash their inner Betty Crockers.

I know- I read this on a lot of sites and people are buying flour and yeast in mass quantities because it's the only way they can get it. I had no idea so many people were driven to bake bread, cookies, etc. I can and I love to, but I don't need the carbs or the calories.

 

[jim584672]

Walmart started making people wait outside before they let you in. They let a few in at a time. Social distancing being enforced.

 

[aja8888]

Tried to go to the HEB and Walmart stores within a 15 minute drive from our house at about 3pm our time. It's raining and unseasonably cold for the Cedar Park/Leander TX area this time of the year. Usually around the mid-70s, I doubt it was above 45 degrees when I drove by the stores and probably colder than that with the wind chill.

And there they were, all lined up outside in the rain and wind. Some with umbrellas, some not. Some with masks, some not. Looked like more couples than solo shoppers. After skipping both Walmart stores and both HEB stores in Cedar Park, I went to the HEB store in Leander. No waiting line outside, but the store looks worse from a stocking standpoint than it did 3-4 weeks ago when the hoarding started. I was able to find 5 of the 11 items I was looking for.

To add insult to injury, we let a plumber in our house yesterday to fix a leak under our kitchen sink that I couldn't find the source of. Funny thing, the leak wasn't leaking when the plumber was here. He tighten everything down and left. Sure enough, when I returned from my shopping day in hell, there was a pool of water under the sink and obvious dripping. I think it is the Moen kitchen fixture that is the source of the leak. Turning off the cold water line stopped the leaking. At least we can use the hot water line in the kitchen until Monday.

All on my 61st birthday. Honestly, I generally don't think much about birthdays, but I suspect this one is easily in the top-5 all-time worst birthdays for me, and there is still 7+ hours left of it.

Happy Birthday!

Does your Moen have a sprayer hose inside the main pipe (not a side one) that you pull out to use? Ours does and the hose went bad TWICE and leaked on occasion.

 

[statsman]

Does your Moen have a sprayer hose inside the main pipe (not a side one) that you pull out to use? Ours does and the hose went bad TWICE and leaked on occasion.

It does, but I don't think the pull-out hose is the problem. There's leaking when the water is turned off at the handle, and only cold water is leaking under the sink. I have shut off the cold water line under the sink, and I can run hot water through the faucet without it leaking.

Because of the size of the sink they installed under the granite countertop, reaching the fixture from the bottom is impossible for me, at least with the tools I have. So frustrating.

Note to the moderators: If these posts are off-topic for the thread, please delete them or more them to the appropriate location. I probably shouldn't have vented on this thread in the first place.

 

[Sunset]

...

....With the grocery pickup, I have to admit my impression has changed a lot. They have a great system, and the 2 orders I've done have been PERFECT.
Sure there were a few things not available, or substituted, but it was done intelligently.
I'm picking up my 3rd order from them this morning.

I picked up my Groceries, and got to experience more with Walmart.
There was a substitution for the chicken breasts (frozen boneless skinless) to some breaded chicken wings.
As soon as the associate brought the order to the car, I told her I didn't want the substitution. She obviously needed more training as she had to ask another associate how to remove an item.
Then she loaded the car with great care.
It was nice to see them all wearing masks now, as last night Chicago news had 2 Walmart workers die from Covid-19.

My emailed receipt still showed the refused chicken wings, so I waited hours.
Finally I phoned the Customer Care.
I explained the issue to Giovanni in Colombia (surprising to me) and he credited it back to my CC, and sent a message to my pickup Walmart, so hopefully they will train a bit more on that.

Overall, I'm amazed at how good it all goes, and my 4lbs of frozen fish were still well frozen by the time I got home.
I might order ice cream next time

 

[Amethyst]

Eww! You have to wonder. Maybe some employee thought you'd like them even better, because he/she prefers them!

I
There was a substitution for the chicken breasts (frozen boneless skinless) to some breaded chicken wings.

 

[Sunset]

Meat is one thing that is rare to find, along with TP when using the Walmart grocery pickup.
Last week my substituted of 10lbs frozen chicken breast to 3lbs was a great sub as it was the same, just smaller.

I still have dreams of getting 2 x 10lbs frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts at $1.87lb

 

[Just_Steve]

If I recall accurately, the option to substitute or not shows up along side each item as you begin the check out process.

Thanks I'll look on the next order.

 

[Tiger8693]

I live in the suburbs of the largest city in my time zone. Flour is unobtanium and has been so for weeks.

This is the problem. People are going completely insane and buying up everything like it is going to be nonexistent, thereby creating the problem out of nothing. I mean really, did companies quit making TP or something? We are our own worst enemy, along with those and the media that has created this panic.

 

[badatmath]

I have been to 4 stores in the last week and found no paper towels or toilet paper. . .

 

[brewer12345]

This is the problem. People are going completely insane and buying up everything like it is going to be nonexistent, thereby creating the problem out of nothing. I mean really, did companies quit making TP or something? We are our own worst enemy, along with those and the media that has created this panic.

I am sure it is more complicated than that. You have a supply chain that was set up to be efficient at a certain average volume. The you add a ton of constraints related to the virus and dump in a huge amount of extra demand. It simply cannot cope.

 

[audreyh1]

I know- I read this on a lot of sites and people are buying flour and yeast in mass quantities because it's the only way they can get it. I had no idea so many people were driven to bake bread, cookies, etc. I can and I love to, but I don't need the carbs or the calories.

My SIL has been doing a bunch of baking with her young sons. A good way to entertain kids stuck at home.

 

[geeky_grrl]

Vox had an article about the TP supply the other day: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/4/3/21206942/toilet-paper-coronavirus-shortage-supply-chain

It sounds like there are a number of factors such as just in time supply chains, people being home more and home toilet paper largely being a different product than what offices, schools, and restaurants supply. And I imagine that people who have run out of TP in the first wave of crazy buying might be apt to buy a little extra. With no backstock or slop in the supply chain a bunch of family buying a 12 pack instead of a 4 pack might well lead to shortages.

I imagine the flour shortage is probably a lot of people doing just a little bit extra baking. Around me I've heard you can get 25lb bags of flour but not 5lb bags which leads me to think its lot of extra buyers not a few hoarders.