Grocery Shopping

[easysurfer]

Well, I did end up getting some groceries via Instacart a short time ago. There just so happened to have a 2 hour time slot at the store that I like so I submitted my order. The shopper overall did a good job following my preferences and didn't take too long.

I give instacart a thumbs up if you can find a free time slot. Still not sure which I prefer more, instacart or my local store. Pros and cons to each.

 

[Sue J]

We tried our first Instacart order yesterday. We've been happy with Walmart pickup but I saw a "Featured Find" item at Aldi that I really wanted and they only do Instacart with delivery.

If you are familiar with Aldi the "Featured Finds" are limited stock, only available for a week and they go fast! I got the ad yesterday morning and saw an outdoor rocking chair that just about matches with our current patio table and chairs. There was also an ottoman and side table available. I knew I had to act fast to get all 3 of these.

DH and I have been doing so well with our isolation. We talked about one of us going into the store with mask and gloves but I thought I'd give Instacart a try. There is a service fee and a delivery fee and then the tip so this was an experiment in cost vs results. I figured if we are paying that much to get the furniture pieces we should get some groceries so I added a few staple items. I had read that increasing the tip helps in someone deciding to take your order so we upped it from the default 5% to 10% and then rounded it up.

Harold W. took our order. From there, there were lots of text messages and he told me that he was doing 2 orders at once, sorry about sending you the wrong picture, that was the other order. I told him my priority item was the chair and he messaged that he got all 3 furniture items! A few things were out of stock and he asked about a couple of substitutes. I'm glad I was home and unoccupied because this took a lot of back and forth messaging. We got a text that he was checking out and then another that he was on his way.

He showed up on time and we are lucky that Harold W. is the one that picked our order because he had a minivan. The chair was fully assembled and bulky and may not have fit in the trunk of a small car. Between the service fee, the delivery fee and the tip it was almost $15 extra but well worth it because I got my furniture before it was out of stock and it was DELIVERED!

One minor issue, that head of iceberg lettuce is so heavy because it's a cabbage! It's ok, I can use that.

 

[gwraigty]

One minor issue, that head of iceberg lettuce is so heavy because it's a cabbage! It's ok, I can use that.

DH ran out of salad mix a few days ago. He knows I want to have more time between shopping trips, so he's been using leftover cabbage instead for his salad greens. Today I bought more salad mix and some extra red and green cabbage. It keeps longer.

 

[ncbill]

I welcome the governor's actions. It is going to slow down the casual isle cruiser looking for something to do.

And will unfortunately result in the same lines outside the stores as seen on TV for Costco, etc. where people crowd together ignoring social distancing.

 

[Freedom56]

To avoid the crowds at the supermarket, use the Google traffic meter for your local supermarket. Google uses the location data from mobile phones to determine how much traffic there there is during the day and updates in real-time. So far it has been pretty accurate. This morning we went out and at 7:00 AM and the supermarket was virtually empty and stocked with toilet paper and other items that normally fly off the shelf. The Google traffic meter indicated below average foot traffic. While we were in the supermarket it started to get busy and I looked at the traffic meter on the phone and it was indicating a 5 minute wait to get in. When we finished and left the store, we saw a line to enter the store.

 

[becca]

Week one I went to Giant Food, week two I went to Costco, week three (today) I went to senior hour at Trader Joes. Of the three I felt the most comfortable and found the most stock at Costco. Giant wasn't crowded but were out of many items and very little meat. Costco was not crowded, it was very well stocked (lots of TP) and the check out was efficiently and safely organized. Had to wait in a line at Trader Joes with a bunch of cranky seniors. They only let 20 in at a time, but the store is small and I still felt I was coming too close to other shoppers. They were fairly well stocked but missing a few items I wanted. I think for the duration of this I am going to stick with Costco and try to go only every two weeks. I know fresh produce will not last two weeks, but the second week I will use frozen veggies/fruit instead of fresh produce.

 

[Hermit]

DD just used a shopping service (I don't know the name) where someone did the shopping for her and delivered the food to her. It worked pretty well, they facetimed her about replacements for certain brands and choices, and she just had them drop the food off in the back of her DH's pickup truck. She then took it over to our northern house (nobody is there now) and she cleaned and disinfected everything, and set everything that didn't need to be refrigerated aside for awhile. She's using our house and fridge for overflow. Her total bill (including tip) came to nearly $1000! But she says her family of 4 is set for at least a month, including bread and milk which will be frozen for later. We were facetiming with her while she worked on it, and it was a literal truckload of food.

It probably sounds excessive to most, but she's very scared of this virus. She has pretty bad asthma, and 2 daughters (14 and 3). She can't sleep at night worrying about dying and leaving them. Her husband does essential work (cell tower repair), so he's out most days. But he doesn't usually interact with people much. She makes him shower and wash his clothes as soon as he comes home. And of course telling her it's probably not as bad as she thinks doesn't help. She suffers from anxiety at the best of times, which this is not. So the shopper service is probably worth every cent to her. For now, anyway.

DD is pregnant and due in a couple of weeks. She has tried to do instacart at Costco in Denver area with no luck. She is still going out to stores, but not happy about it.

 

[pacergal]

Still trying not to go into stores, the only one I have ben in was a small local rite aid pharmacy.
I have been doing curb side pick up at Fred Meyer/Kroger. Have to get up at midnight to get times, they are all one week out. So I just put a couple items in the cart, get my time, then 2 days prior, finish shopping. So far, all OK for food stuff, and the substitutions. Absolutely no cleaning supplies or paper products available on line, you have to go into the store for that. I still have some, so when needed, I plan to try the senior hours and see, with a mask of course.

 

[fh2000]

I am 64 and I am high risk (was hospitalized for pneumonia and later lung surgery) so I have not gone out to stores for 3 weeks now.

I put online orders from Amazon.com (regular), Amazon.com (Whole Foods), Costco (regular), Costco (Sameday), Walmart (delivery). There are also few ethic online sites that we use though those are extremely hard to get any orders in.

Each order is often split into different shipments via different carriers (UPS, FedEx, USPS, and directly from vendors). Each day, this becomes my routine in the mornings to check which site has open slots for delivery. I am also checking on emails and site delivery status daily.

Seems like each day there is something arriving. Some days I may just receive one item. I have empty boxes out at my door step and I put the timestamp on the items arriving. When 3 days passed, I will then put them in storage ready for use.

 

[Just_Steve]

I just watched a brief interview featuring the CEO of Baldor. They primarily serve the commercial markets and they've started shipping direct to consumer. Their delivery area is quite limited, but maybe we have some forum members here who qualify to take advantage of their service.

https://www.baldorfood.com/baldorhomedeliverymap

Thanks, good to know.

 

[COcheesehead]

We were able to buy TP today. One six pack per shopper. First time in at least a month.

 

[Just_Steve]

To avoid the crowds at the supermarket, use the Google traffic meter for your local supermarket. Google uses the location data from mobile phones to determine how much traffic there there is during the day and updates in real-time. So far it has been pretty accurate. This morning we went out and at 7:00 AM and the supermarket was virtually empty and stocked with toilet paper and other items that normally fly off the shelf. The Google traffic meter indicated below average foot traffic. While we were in the supermarket it started to get busy and I looked at the traffic meter on the phone and it was indicating a 5 minute wait to get in. When we finished and left the store, we saw a line to enter the store.

Do you have a link as I can't find it using a search?

 

[COcheesehead]

The one way isles are also in place where we shop.

 

[gwraigty]

To avoid the crowds at the supermarket, use the Google traffic meter for your local supermarket. Google uses the location data from mobile phones to determine how much traffic there there is during the day and updates in real-time. So far it has been pretty accurate. This morning we went out and at 7:00 AM and the supermarket was virtually empty and stocked with toilet paper and other items that normally fly off the shelf. The Google traffic meter indicated below average foot traffic. While we were in the supermarket it started to get busy and I looked at the traffic meter on the phone and it was indicating a 5 minute wait to get in. When we finished and left the store, we saw a line to enter the store.

Do you have a link as I can't find it using a search?

Ditto. I have a Walmart Supercenter 1 mile from my house. I can see what hours they're normally busy by doing a simple Google search on my PC. If I hook to my WiFi on Google Maps on my phone, it doesn't even give me that info, much less tell me how long of a wait it might be to enter the store. It would be nice to know that before I decide if it's worth it to me to go.

 

[tmm99]

Curbside pickup today at a local supermarket. I placed my order about a week and a half ago and I could change my order (add new items, delete, etc) up until two days ago. The easiest grocery shopping experience. I saw about 20 people lined up in front of the store waiting to get in, while I just parked my car in the pickup spot, called their number and in 2 minutes, a guy came out and loaded my trunk with my ordered groceries. They didn't fill my cheese and egg order, but almost everything else was there. I am setting my orders up on their website (using two separate accounts) so I will get a grocery every single week using the curbside pickup option.

I also have another store (a family-owned, smaller shop that sells just meat and produce) to go to to buy bananas and meat. I placed an order today and I can go do the curbside pickup tomorrow. I don't have to wait for a week with this store, so it's very convenient.

 

[stepford]

What are you folks tipping your Instacart shoppers? We have an order coming from Kroger that uses Instacart for their deliveries and already has a (small) tip added to the bill. I'm guessing we're expected to add something to that for the shopper/driver, but have no idea what's expected.

 

[easysurfer]

What are you folks tipping your Instacart shoppers? We have an order coming from Kroger that uses Instacart for their deliveries and already has a (small) tip added to the bill. I'm guessing we're expected to add something to that for the shopper/driver, but have no idea what's expected.

I've only made one Instacart purchase which was yesterday. The app's default was showing 5% of the purchase, I gave 10%. My order only was for about $50. If I had bought more, I probably would have tipped a bit more.

For the sake of social distancing, I didn't meet the driver as I just asked the driver to leave the bag of groceries by the entrance for me to pick up.

 

[fh2000]

What are you folks tipping your Instacart shoppers? We have an order coming from Kroger that uses Instacart for their deliveries and already has a (small) tip added to the bill. I'm guessing we're expected to add something to that for the shopper/driver, but have no idea what's expected.

I ordered from Costco (sameday) and it was shopped/delivered by Instacart. They add 5% to the bill. After they delivered at my door, Costco sent me an email with a few options for tip. I think the original 5% was the default, and there are few more options to choose from. I think it is comparable to 5% value, 10% and 15% or something like that. I picked the one around 10% value.

 

[Moemg]

I use instacart and the shopper is almost always the driver .I tip 20% and sometimes more .

 

[Ready]

A box of frozen Panko breaded shrimp from Costco is $22 on Instacart and $18 in the store. Add in the service fee, delivery fee, and tip, and the price ends up being as much as 50% higher than going to Costco to pick it up. That's quite a premium to not have to go to the store once every couple of weeks.

 

[fh2000]

A box of frozen Panko breaded shrimp from Costco is $22 on Instacart and $18 in the store. Add in the service fee, delivery fee, and tip, and the price ends up being as much as 50% higher than going to Costco to pick it up. That's quite a premium to not have to go to the store once every couple of weeks.

I also order from Costco (regular) which has 2 day delivery schedule. If you purchase >$75, there is no delivery fee nor tips. I checked few items and I think it is cheaper than Costco (sameday) by Instacart, though choices are further limited. I can only order dry goods from this method: coffer, dry fruits, rice. No fresh fruits or vegetables.

 

[Ready]

I also order from Costco (regular) which has 2 day delivery schedule. If you purchase >$75, there is no delivery fee nor tips. I checked few items and I think it is cheaper than Costco (sameday) by Instacart, though choices are further limited. I can only order dry goods from this method: coffer, dry fruits, rice. No fresh fruits or vegetables.

Unfortunately their "2 Day Delivery" is now running 5-6 days and is sold out of virtually everything that is in demand right now. And you can't use it for any perishable goods so it doesn't serve any purpose for me. I still have to go to Costco for basic groceries so if I'm already there I might as well get the dry goods and non-perishable items too.

I think it would be cheaper to just hire a personal assistant for half a day and pay them a fair hourly rate to go shopping. With so many people out of work I would think there would be a lot of interest.

 

[stepford]

Thanks for the suggestions. As others have said, after I had my groceries delivered I was sent an email by Ralph's (Kroger) with tip options. I chose 10% on an order totaling a bit over $200. I hope that wasn't too cheap as the shopper/driver made a good effort - texting me several times during her shopping spree when items I'd requested were out of stock. She was in the store for the better part of an hour (something I would be very loath to do these days) so well worth it.

 

[24601NoMore]

Well, I tried order from my usual supplier and they sold me a couple sacks of red wheat, but they screwed up the order and sent a hundred pounds of flaked wheat. I got a refund, but they had no more berries to refill the order. I still have like 100 pounds of wheat berries to get through before I am out, but baking bread a couple times a week plus supplying my sister with the occasional bag means that my not cut it for the duration of this mess so I am thinking ahead to my resupply.

Whew..so glad that I ordered 400 lbs of wheat berries, 100 lbs of oat groats and even 50 lbs of spelt berries back in Feb before this all got crazy..should be enough to last us years.

 

[24601NoMore]

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.

I had the exact same thought..hesitant to put something containing virus into the freezer or fridge so that it doesn't - as you put it - become suspended and active when I take that item back out..

I've been sanitizing our groceries for a long time now - probably since early March. I started with Lysol and/or Clorox Wipes, but those are still impossible to find so am being prudent with what we have left and now use soap and water..give things a good rinse, dry, THEN still quarantine all boxes, cans, etc in the garage for a week. The only things that come in the house that day are things that "have" to - refrigerated or frozen only. All else stays in the garage.

Like others, I take off all clothes, put things into a bundle, and they go immediately in the wash after I'm done sanitizing. I then run upstairs in nothing but my skivvies and take a pretty thorough shower.

I have asthma and not the greatest immune system, so am not taking ANY chances with this thing..

I've seen numerous credible experts say that you CAN pickup the virus from a grocery store item via transference (touch the item..touch something else before you wash your hands). Not taking the chance...