Grocery Shopping

[24601NoMore]

My good friend is a transportation manager (trucking) for a Kroger subsidiary. I (gently) asked about his last few weeks. He only said it was chaos. They had called in outside drivers to handle the overflow (which is normal). One outside driver got lost in the system for a day & a half. He said even now they are only filling <60% of the store orders. Simply not in the warehouse. But he did say the flow is normalizing. Kroger is big on hitting your numbers. Creates a lot of stress for him. Now they aren't saying a thing about go over the budget

I placed a big (roughly $300) Kroger order a couple weeks ago - had over 100 items in my cart, as I'm trying to minimize the number of pickups or deliveries since time slots are so hard here to get..

The AM of my pickup, I got a text saying that OVER HALF of the items I ordered were not available.

Called the store and nicely asked (as I'm sure they are getting absolutely hammered). Store manager guy told me that they are "up to" filling ~60% of an average order - just a couple weeks ago, the number was closer to 40%.

I know everyone is going crazy shopping for various reasons, but 40-60% fulfillment is pretty hard to comprehend..

 

[KB]

I inventoried all my grains this morning, just to reassure myself that I have enough. I do, thankfully. And TP too.

I lived in the mountains on a dead end road in the 70s. Occasionally I was snowed in because the plow couldnt get through. I started stocking up back then and still do. Smaller quantities now since I live alone, but I still have plenty of food to last months..

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Many years ago, I was an order picker for Winn-Dixie. Basically, worked in a HUGE warehouse where we went around and built pallets for the store orders. The rules were simple...minimum 8 hour shift, but could be up to 14 hours (with allowable "breaks" of course, but never mind the quota system that had about 40% of employees terminated in their first 30 days!) depending on how much had to be picked. It was the hardest job I have ever had in my life. I can't imagine how miserable that job would be these days.

 

[timo2]

We put in for our first instacart order for this Friday. It's a test order so not that complicated.

Instacart in the news: People are luring Instacart shoppers with big tips -- and then changing them to zero https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/09/tech/instacart-shoppers-tip-baiting/index.html

Customers accuse Instacart shoppers of stealing their groceries https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...shoppers-stealing-their-groceries/2971586001/

 

[easysurfer]

We put in for our first instacart order for this Friday. It's a test order so not that complicated.

Instacart in the news: People are luring Instacart shoppers with big tips -- and then changing them to zero https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/09/tech/instacart-shoppers-tip-baiting/index.html

Customers accuse Instacart shoppers of stealing their groceries https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...shoppers-stealing-their-groceries/2971586001/

I've read both articles this morning. Guess there are unscrupulus actors either way .

 

[Ready]

Interesting article on all the fresh produce being wasted because the grocery stores have no demand for it. All of these fresh vegetables normally go to restaurants or other institutions which are now closed, and demand for fresh produce is limited, presumably because people want to minimize the number of shopping trips and therefore prefer shelf stable products over fresh produce.

https://apple.news/A4I0a7LQOTm2J1zTnFFwbBg

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We used Safeway order online and curbside pick up today. They finally had slots open up this week in our area. They had most of what we ordered. It took 30 minutes for them to bring our order out due to a snafu on their part, but they had the order right and the clerks were cheery and wearing masks. I'd use them again. Overall we were pretty happy.

I have another grocery pickup at a regional supermarket for next week, also order online and curbside pickup. We've used them several times and, except for being out of some items, their service has been very good.

 

[FIREd]

I have been ordering my groceries online and picking them up at the store's drive-thru for over a month now and so far I've had good luck. The delay between order and pick-up is back to <24hours (it was 3-4 days when hoarding started). And nearly all the items I order are delivered (Only 2 items I ordered over the past month ended up not being available). Shortages seem to come and go in waves. At first it was rice and pasta. Then TP. Then meat. Then snacks. Now it's flour.

 

[iloveyoga]

I have my first Walmart cart filled and I get to pick it up Sunday. We have been shopping locally for a few weeks now at our Hy-Vee, but there is some stuff I really like to get from Walmart. This is my first on line shopping. Before all this, I enjoyed going to the store whenever I needed something extra.

 

[dd564]

Slightly off topic, but the Insta-cart shoppers can be extremely inefficient.

Think of when you go to the grocery store, you generally get the same brands, and know what aisles you need to go through etc. You even know this cheese is top row or bottom row.

Insta-cart buyers take a list with extremely specific items, brands, no-fat, low-fat, regular options, and they have to try and matchup up item by item.

When I go and they don't have my brand of full-fat sour cream, in a second I make the next choice to brand 2, brand 3, or low-fat version of my brand. For them, they need to text you to find out what you'd like to do.

Not to mention these shoppers are generally trying to fill out multiple orders as they go through the store.

If I have 10-15 items, I can be in and out in 15 minutes depending on checkout line where it has to be double or triple for them.

Just an observation. I know the reason people are opting for it right now is to stay away from people.

 

[TeeRuh]

instacart

From the article on instacart;


"In the very rare instance that a customer does not receive their order, they can contact Instacart Care to have their order fully refunded or rescheduled," Instacart said in a statement."


I have contacted them every day since last Saturday when they charged me for two bottles of wine that were not delivered. They quickly respond,


"Helping customers is our top priority. We received your feedback, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible."


Nada. If you call their phone number they say that they can no longer accept calls. I was 4,135 in line for a "chat". etc. etc. They are obviously getting hammered and i understand, but I won't be using them again.


YMMV,
t.r.

 

[Moemg]

Slightly off topic, but the Insta-cart shoppers can be extremely inefficient.

.

All the instacart orders I have had have been completed in less than half an hour . I do stay by the phone so I can answer any questions immediately .

 

[Accidental Retiree]

From the article on instacart;


"In the very rare instance that a customer does not receive their order, they can contact Instacart Care to have their order fully refunded or rescheduled," Instacart said in a statement."


I have contacted them every day since last Saturday when they charged me for two bottles of wine that were not delivered. They quickly respond,


"Helping customers is our top priority. We received your feedback, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible."


Nada. If you call their phone number they say that they can no longer accept calls. I was 4,135 in line for a "chat". etc. etc. They are obviously getting hammered and i understand, but I won't be using them again.


YMMV,
t.r.

I did not get a full refund on the item I ordered but did not receive. Instead, they put a credit back into the Costco Same-Day delivery system.

The credit doesn’t appear when I log in to InstaCart, only when I log in to Costco Grocery, so I cannot use it anywhere else.

I really don’t want to use Costco Same-Day again because of the jacked-up prices, the risk of another wrong order, and the tip-picking that is going on, so I guess I’m out the $$$.

In the grand scheme of things, though, I have decided it is not worth worrying about.

I just posted here so people can see how the “refund” works.
I also do not plan to use InstaCart again.

 

[gwraigty]

Interesting article on all the fresh produce being wasted because the grocery stores have no demand for it. All of these fresh vegetables normally go to restaurants or other institutions which are now closed, and demand for fresh produce is limited, presumably because people want to minimize the number of shopping trips and therefore prefer shelf stable products over fresh produce.

https://apple.news/A4I0a7LQOTm2J1zTnFFwbBg

Yesterday the green peppers weren't as fresh as I'd like, but I need them for recipes, so I bought 3 anyway. I've noticed that a lot of produce is aging beyond what I normally see. It's a shame.

 

[athena53]

Just back from Costco. I was a little wary because a friend on FB had posted a copy of a letter to the employees of the store I use (Independence, MO) noting 7 cases of COVID among employees. I thought they did a good job of giving as much info as they could while leaving out personally identifiable info: department, typical shift, last day at work. I realized, of course, that all the ones in "Member Services" were probably the people working the cash registers. I reminded myself that this place was not any more dangerous just because they provided data that other stores did not.

Long line to get in but I got in line at 9:55 and was out and done by 10:30. Still a bit peeved by the number of couples shopping- I'd say maybe 1/4 of the membership cards had 2 people. That increases waiting time by 25% and adds to the number of people the employees are exposed to.

Great selection of fresh vegetables, which was my main goal. Didn't look at the paper goods- I had enough. Good food bank stuff, too- canned Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup (2 weeks ago all they had was Cream of Mushroom) and chili, as well as canned tuna and chicken. There's a drive-through food bank event tomorrow- you drive up and pop they trunk. volunteers gather it and close the trunk, you're on your way.

Glad I'm done with Costco for 2 weeks, though.

 

[Momcpa]

Went to local super Walmart this morning. It's our usual grocery store. I had made my list ahead of time with everything put into categories (dairy, frozen, etc) so that I wouldn't have to back-track if I missed getting something that was farther down my list. Only a couple dozen shoppers, most with masks. About 50% of employees had masks. I wore a mask and gloves.

Ice cream, frozen veggies, and frozen hash browns were all gone. (got ice cream bars instead !!) Milk, eggs, bread all seemed well stocked. I saw someone with a big Charmin pack, so I went to paper goods and got one myself. We don't REALLY need it right now, but thought maybe the local Food Pantry would welcome getting it. There were still more packages of TP on the shelf.

In and out of the store quickly with no problems. Did the self check-out. It seemed pretty quiet in there which is something kinda different. Mostly I was after fresh fruit and veggies, which were well stocked and of course, my husband's Diet Pepsi. Don't know what would happen if that ran out !!!!!

 

[audreyh1]

For years when shopping I would have the shopping list on my phone. Either a memo app to create and save it, or DW would send me a text of items needed if I was out shopping. These days the less I touch my phone when out of the house, the better. So I have reverted to the ancient ways of keeping a paper shopping list, that I can discard when done.

Same here. I also use the camera to take photos when DW wants something very specific. My previous grocery run I brought a paper list, which immediately got wet in the produce section. For my grocery run this morning I used an old iPhone, and just set it aside after I got home.

My Apple Watch been a godsend in this scenario. 1) I can look at the list on my watch checking it off and 2) I use my watch for ApplePay. Purse stays closed. When I get in the car, I remove my gloves and clean my hands, and use an alcohol pad to wipe off my watch.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We haven’t shopped for 6 weeks so my husband is going to Winco today. Looked at Instacart and online with Walmart but our list is big and it was too frustrating and time consuming. Walmart won’t let you order tp for pickup. It said available in the store only.

 

[Charlotte]

I went to Aldis this morning (suburb of Charlotte NC) and was happy to see an employee wiping down carts outside. Also no 25 cent deposit for the cart, the carts were loose/free to get. Over half of the customers and most of the employees wore masks. Lots of gloves spotted too. The employee was keeping count of number going in/coming out, which was good, especially since Aldi has a smaller footprint store.

Most customers were very polite and patient to keep distance between us. However there were two different people in the store who I am pretty sure were Instacart people because of their constant phone behaviors (referencing it, texting, etc.) and those two were not wearing masks, were zipping around, not social distancing, leaving their cart in one spot while walking up down, up down, up down the aisle. It was sort of unsettling that they were pretty much doing everything that most would advise NOT to do, and with no regard to anyone else.

As has been the case for the last month, I was able to get about 90 percent of my grocery list, with limits on many items (1 dozen eggs, 2 gallons of milk, 2 loaves of bread, etc). No paper products or cleaning supplies, as usual.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Instacart doesn’t shop at Winco and I am glad.

 

[travelover]

........they charged me for two bottles of wine that were not delivered............ They are obviously getting hammered .............

Worse, they are getting hammered on your wine.

 

[Sunset]

I did not get a full refund on the item I ordered but did not receive. Instead, they put a credit back into the Costco Same-Day delivery system.

The credit doesn’t appear when I log in to InstaCart, only when I log in to Costco Grocery, so I cannot use it anywhere else.

I really don’t want to use Costco Same-Day again because of the jacked-up prices, the risk of another wrong order, and the tip-picking that is going on, so I guess I’m out the $$$.

In the grand scheme of things, though, I have decided it is not worth worrying about.

I just posted here so people can see how the “refund” works.
I also do not plan to use InstaCart again.

Can you dispute some of the charge via your credit card ?

 

[swakyaby]

It seems apparent that there's a certain amount of grocery theft occurring by delivery people who mark an order as "delivered" but it never shows up.

 

[jazz4cash]

I have placed three orders at Aldi using their delivery service via Instacart. Each order in the $30-50 range. Each time I started the order the delivery forecast was 1-2 days out. The fee was only 2.99 plus suggested tip of 5%. There is also an optional expedite fee which was 3.99 in two cases and 7.99 on the 3rd order. The pricing through Instacart is slightly higher than in the store, but the service is very reasonable IMO. The 3rd order was for my oldest brother who lives alone in lieu of me delivering groceries to him on the other side of town. He is reluctant to stay and home and likely to just dine on hot dogs from the dollar store since Golden Corral is take out only.

In every case the order was taken up within one hour and delivered within 2 hours. I raised the tip from 5% to 20% but in one case instead of putting in $10 I missed the decimal and only tipped $1. I have inquired but no response from Instacart on fixing the tip error. That is a flaw in their system IMO since you wont know how tip-worthy the service is until the delivery is complete. Two of the three order had minor selection errors and I don't know what the remedy is. I'm just mixing in the fat-free milk they selected in with my 2%.

 

[Amethyst]

I did our once-a-month box store run by myself because husband is considerably older; it was a challenge. I'm not a small woman, but I had quite a time piloting two carts (one for in-store shopping, which was overflowing; the other full of non-perishables for pickup) out through the store and into the parking lot, and loading the car all by myself. It was hot out, and I was getting worried about the milk and fish.

Absolutely nobody offered to help, even a man standing by his car two cars from mine. I guess they didn't want to get close.

[

Just back from Costco. Still a bit peeved by the number of couples shopping-.