Shopping and restocking updates

[pacergal]

On our last curbside pick up at Krogers, we got someone else's bag in with ours.
Emptied out a bag at home with cauliflower, bell peppers, carrots, spinach, and a big jug of Naked brand "green Juice". No charge and I can't take it back. "just keep it"

Some one is missing their salad
I am hoping their missing bag of stuff was replaced, or they got a refund.

 

[Just_Steve]

Yesterday went to Stew Lenards a family owned small chain in NY and CT they had every kind of meat I could ever want, wife went to Hannaford today and observed no obvious meat shortage. Time will tell.

 

[donheff]

I went to Costco this morning for the first time in three months. I waited until 8:30 to avoid the opening crush. The line looked long but it flowed right in. I was expecting one way aisles but the flow was the same chaos as always. Everyone was masked so no harm, no foul.

The entire entry aisle was packed with TP. Lots of beef. I picked up a large pack of pork chops which was a surprise. There was no chicken of any type and no frozen uncooked shrimp, both of which I intended to get. Lots of sipping bourbon which I was stocking up on for myself and a friend.

 

[REWahoo]

Lots of sipping bourbon which I was stocking up on for myself and a friend.

Hint: If that friend is a guy who looks a lot like a mirror image of you, maybe you bought too much.

 

[donheff]

hint: If that friend is a guy who looks a lot like a mirror image of you, maybe you bought too much.

 

[jollystomper]

This week's shopping adventures:

On Wednesday, DW and I visited the local butcher shop for the first time since the stay-at-home order hit. They have senior shopping at the beginning of the day, but do not have a large retail space and permitted a maximum of 5 customers at a time the store. To not hold up anyone else DW went in and I stayed safe far away outside . They did not have any shortages. They told DW they actually had a backlog of meat to process, and were getting calls from all over the place from those who had animals ready to slaughter. They were setting limits on items (but very high ones), not out of fear of running out, but to ensure everyone was best able to get what they desired. They have been in the community a long time and want to serve everyone.

Today I went to the Costco Old Folks Social Time and Shopping Hour (COFSTASH). Moving in back an hour meant a lot more people showing up. I arrived at 8:30 and counted over 100 already there. They did open early and I was inside well before 9. PT in stock, but the usual in-demand items (other than industrial TP) were out. A lot of the more expensive cuts of fresh beef but out of a lot of the cheaper cuts and pork. No shortage of processed meats, chicken, and fish, but package quantity limitations were in place. Observed a few shoppers being taken to task for being under 60.

Then onto Walmart, where they had dust masks in stock. I bought a couple of packs.(we will use them when out in areas where odds of viruses floating about are very, very low, thus preserving our N95 makes for serious use). They had fresh pork/beef/chicken, at probably 80% normal stocking levels. a little TP, lots of PT and flushable wipes. Anti-bacterial soap was more in stock than in previous weeks.

Finally, the local supermarket had very few fresh vegetables - perhaps due to my timing and they had not yet restocked. Baking items levels were better than a week before.

 

[donheff]

Excitement at Walmart lightened things up.

 

[CardsFan]

Excitement at Walmart lightened things up.

That was pretty neat! But "Momma don't let your sons grow up to be cowboys"

 

[Walt34]

Excitement at Walmart lightened things up.

Too cool! Ya can't make this stuff up.

 

[Calico]

Excitement at Walmart lightened things up.

That made my day! What a guy!

 

[Retch The Grate]

we will see if Whole Foods delivers, but I've just ordered 21lbs of steak (7lbs ny strip, 14lbs chateaubriand) for the new ice cream freezer. The had a slot for delivery tonight so end of the night is going to be vacuum packing the meat for the freezer. DW put in a big order at Cheetah tomorrow for shrimp and pork chops and whatnot also destined for the new freezer, we'll drive downtown to pick them up from their truck tomorrow afternoon.

 

[powerplay]

Excitement at Walmart lightened things up.

This actually happened a few years ago in 2016. It's one of my absolute favorite stories!!

 

[scrabbler1]

Excitement at Walmart lightened things up.

Even the 911 operator was baffled. And she has probably heard all kinds of unusual stories from callers.

 

[MBAustin]

Went to Costco today for the first time since things got crazy. It's raining so I figured it was less likely to be crowded. Parking lot less than ⅔ full so that was a good sign. They had a sign at the door listing what they were out of (PT, TP, hand sanitizer, etc.).

Store was not crowded but people were not watching their distance even though there were signs everywhere to remind them. Meat selection was less than usual, 3 packages total per customer, and they had a sign that prices were raised because wholesale prices went up. I got a some filets for DH's birthday dinner and a tri-tip which I can't get at our grocery store.

Produce was pretty well stocked. No napkins and no frozen berry mix, but otherwise got everything on my list. Checkouts uncrowded. New system to hold your receipt up to a plexiglas shield for the door worker to check it.

 

[stepford]

I find that I'm not really restocking for the apocalypse anymore, but just grocery shopping much as I did before SHTF (albeit now using delivery services rather than shopping in person). So, not trying to buy sacks of flour or rice or pallets full of canned goods, but instead just buying what DW and I want to eat for the next couple of weeks. If things get ugly(er) I may regret it, but that's how we're playing for now in the new normal.

 

[Chuckanut]

I visited my local Costco today. They had a descent selection of most things, though the meat section was obviously reduced in quantity. Still plenty of chicken and some beef cuts available. They had a large bottle of sanitizer available, the first I have seen in two months of looking. Needless to say I bought a bottle.

Everybody wore a mask as required. That made me feel good since we wear a mask to help others not ourselves. I know there is a loud minority complaining about it and all I can say is "Go someplace else and stay the $^&#!*! away from me. "

I no longer go into the local Kroger owned market. About 50% of the employees and customers don't wear a mask. IMHO, as an older person, the risk is not worth it. Especially when I can get 90% of what I [-]want[/-] need at Costco which seems to have better infection control policies. I will order some things from the Kroger store for car pickup, but far less than I would normally buy.

 

[travelover]

Did Instacart today for Costco. I was pretty happy with them in the past and this time the service was supposedly "free". The shopper accidentally left the Costco receipt in the box and I found they paid $165 and including a $15 tip, we paid $250. Wow, I had no idea there was such a markup. Back to Fred Meyer pickup for anything we don't have to buy at Costco.

 

[fh2000]

Did Instacart today for Costco. I was pretty happy with them in the past and this time the service was supposedly "free". The shopper accidentally left the Costco receipt in the box and I found they paid $165 and including a $15 tip, we paid $250. Wow, I had no idea there was such a markup. Back to Fred Meyer pickup for anything we don't have to buy at Costco.

I do not plan to step in any stores, anytime soon, so I only order for deliveries.

I did 4 times with Instacart from Costco. I noticed for each individual item, the price could be 20% to 25%, higher than purchasing at the store, plus tips. I noticed other store prices for deliveries also higher: Walmart, Amazon Whole foods, etc.

It is the price we pay to keep ourselves a little safer.

 

[Souschef]

I had a breakthrough with DW. For the past 2 months she was afraid to go out of the house. Last week she found a Spudnuts doughnut shop in a nearby town. She had not had one since she was a kid.
She actually went into the store and SPOKE to strangers.
I have been doing the grocery shopping at my local Von's, and found that the senior hours suck because they do not restock until about 8 AM. I have been going around 9 AM and have not had a problem.
We also got an e-mail this AM from a local restaurant with their lunch menu. On it they had a swordfish steak sandwich, and DW allowed as she would like that. I called and ordered and they met me at my car with the lunches. Another breakthrough for DW.

 

[travelover]

I do not plan to step in any stores, anytime soon, so I only order for deliveries.

I did 4 times with Instacart from Costco. I noticed for each individual item, the price could be 20% to 25%, higher than purchasing at the store, plus tips. I noticed other store prices for deliveries also higher: Walmart, Amazon Whole foods, etc.

It is the price we pay to keep ourselves a little safer.

In contrast, our local Fred Meyer has free pickup, no mark up and if making substitutions, charges the lower price of the requested and delivered item. I don't mind paying more for the convenience, but I would be happier if I realized I was paying nearly an extra hundred bucks transparently in advance, not due to an accidentally left receipt.

 

[ivinsfan]

In contrast, our local Fred Meyer has free pickup, no mark up and if making substitutions, charges the lower price of the requested and delivered item. I don't mind paying more for the convenience, but I would be happier if I realized I was paying nearly an extra hundred bucks transparently in advance, not due to an accidentally left receipt.

I just did some reading about this and apparently Costco charges one of the biggest markups on Instagram...Costco doesn't know if the person using instacart has a Costco membership so apparently they decide to charge everyone using the service through the nose.

Of course the person hurt the most is someone who does pay for a membersip but uses Instacart.

 

[tmm99]

Did Instacart today for Costco. I was pretty happy with them in the past and this time the service was supposedly "free". The shopper accidentally left the Costco receipt in the box and I found they paid $165 and including a $15 tip, we paid $250. Wow, I had no idea there was such a markup. Back to Fred Meyer pickup for anything we don't have to buy at Costco.

Wow, that's a huge markup. Hard to stomach it although I understand why some people are willing to pay extra for the convenience. I looked at instacart myself and decided that to continue to do the curbside instead as the curbside is as safe as instacart in my opinion.

 

[gwraigty]

I had a breakthrough with DW. For the past 2 months she was afraid to go out of the house. Last week she found a Spudnuts doughnut shop in a nearby town. She had not had one since she was a kid.
She actually went into the store and SPOKE to strangers.
I have been doing the grocery shopping at my local Von's, and found that the senior hours suck because they do not restock until about 8 AM. I have been going around 9 AM and have not had a problem.
We also got an e-mail this AM from a local restaurant with their lunch menu. On it they had a swordfish steak sandwich, and DW allowed as she would like that. I called and ordered and they met me at my car with the lunches. Another breakthrough for DW.

Congrats on the breakthroughs! I'm not familiar with Von's, but I've been skeptical of the claims of stores that they closed at night to do extra cleaning and restocking after hours. They're doing plenty of daytime restocking and shelf sanitizing, especially at Walmart. I wonder if anyone is there at night at all. I'm not curious enough to go there to find out. Maybe they'll decide they make enough money to not go back to being open 24 hours. Somehow people managed to grocery shop before that became a thing.

 

[MBAustin]

Today was the first day since early March at HEB that seemed almost normal - both doors open, parking lot not full, bulk dispensers (nuts, coffee beans, grains) stocked and available to use, shelves well stocked in all areas except for household cleaners and disinfectant wipes. Lots and lots of hand sanitizer! Limits on frozen veggies and fresh/frozen meats, but all were well stocked. And 100% of shoppers and staff were masked - yay!

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Did Instacart today for Costco. I was pretty happy with them in the past and this time the service was supposedly "free". The shopper accidentally left the Costco receipt in the box and I found they paid $165 and including a $15 tip, we paid $250. Wow, I had no idea there was such a markup. Back to Fred Meyer pickup for anything we don't have to buy at Costco.

Sam's Club has been working out for us the last couple of times we went. They don't have any tips or mark ups and their prices on most items are very competitive. Some have curbside pick up. Our local Sam's does not, but if I go right before closing, they are not busy and the pick up is pretty quick. Customers and employees have to wear masks in stores here, so it seems relatively safe.