I just did an online order/pickup from Walmart yesterday also.
I think it probably has to do with the shopper you get. Every time I’ve used it, I have been more than pleased. I’ve even had them pick out produce and it was great. No dented cans.
You can check a box and won’t get substitutes. All of the things I’ve received are a fine substitute. Yesterday they didn’t have caffeine free Diet Coke and they thankfully did not substitute anything for that. Because there is no substitute!
I haven’t been in a store since March. Although I would really like to pick out my own produce, it just doesn’t seem to be worth the risk to me. Considering the circumstances, our HEB has been phenomenal. There was one order where several things were left off and we had to return but only a couple of unacceptable substitutions over these many months. If I catch a bad substitution, I can have them not put it in the car. They send a text message with all subs listed before pick-up. Their ordering system lets you specify whether you will accept a substitution and even write a note for each item. Their service is free and am very grateful for it. HEB has really stepped up to the plate this way. They also deliver my prescriptions to the house for free.
I’ve also used Target. They have also been good and very, very quick for curbside, but their selection is limited.
I also use Amazon Fresh which delivers to your doorstep (free unless you tip, which I do). One time our frozen food wasn’t very frozen when we got it, but other than that it is very quick and convenient. We haven’t gotten a lot of produce from them but what we have gotten has been very good.
I am so grateful to all of the businesses that have allowed us to stay safe by offering curbside - HEB, Target, Office Depot, Sonic, Spec’s Liquor, our local nursery, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Poke-Joe’s Barbecue, County Line, etc.
I pick up my groceries and have tried several stores.
OP’s experience at Walmart is unusual, as I find they are better than most, especially with having the exact items I ordered. If my Walmart doesn’t have an item, they rarely substitute. That can be frustrating. I don’t care for their meat and fish, so order from Kroger or go into Costco once a month during senior hour.
Kroger has given me some expired products and they don’t seem to have everything on their web site. They are good at issuing refunds and are probably sick of my calls.
I’ve tried Instacart at 3 stores. Either I get poor shoppers or the stores have poor inventory. It wasn’t worth paying a premium and tipping.
No one is perfect, but I’m thankful for the people that saving me from going into stores. I do miss picking my own items or seeing what is new.
The comic strip Rex Morgan has been showing how all the characters are dealing with Covid, which has been interesting. One guy has been doing personal grocery shopping and I got a kick out of him trying to figure out what jicama was. He never did find it, even after asking, and still has no idea what it is. But he did fill and deliver the rest of the order!
I think what helps produce accuracy with the Target order and pick up system is that the orders are put together by their own staff, as opposed to an outsider. Their own employees who stock the shelves know the merchandise more thoroughly than an Instacart person.
Our local Fry’s (Kroger) is still doing same-day curbside pickup at no add’l charge, so that is what DH continues doing. It’s been a great experience ever since DH learned how to check “no substitutes” for items we’d rather not have than substituted, but that rarely happens. We haven’t experienced dented cans or sub-par produce, but DH did have to learn how to order produce correctly. For example, instead of 2 lbs of broccoli crowns, he somehow ordered two florets of broccoli, just enough to put in one side salad. Sure enough, florets actually were a selection type and he had mis-ordered because the picture of the florets (no stems) looked almost exactly like the picture of crowns and he didn’t read carefully.
The worst problem I have is HIM making subsitutions for items I’ve put on our electronic grocery list, like peanut butter for almond butter because he wants peanut butter and doesn’t understand I put almond butter on the list for a recipe/reason.
Now that we’ve straightened most of this out, I doubt either of us will ever enter a grocery store again as this is just too convenient.
I’ve done Instacart orders from Costco and Safeway, Whole Foods delivery through Amazon Prime, and frequent curbside pick-up at QFC (a Kroger store.) Instacart was excellent, as they communicated any issues while in-store and let me approve or decline alternatives. Costco produce is consistently reliable. I didn’t order produce from Safeway. Instacart prices are higher than in-store, though, and I wouldn’t use the service without tipping the shoppers. So it’s pricey.
QFC is pretty good. They text any out-of-stocks about a half hour before the pick-up time slot so you can approve or decline substitutions, but you can’t make a different suggestion. It’s either yes or no. Recently they were out of English cucumbers and didn’t give me the option to get a regular cucumber.
Produce quality is the biggest issue, even from Whole Foods. The QFC site allows you to give instructions but they’re often ignored. Every now and then I get fed up and call the 800-number or do online chat to complain. They always credit me, though I bet if I complained every time the produce is less than ideal, that would change.
I checked a box online to complain to Amazon about three different produce problems from a single Whole Foods order and they credited me immediately without any discussion.
Another issue is size. I’ve received a ginger root larger than my hand, “heads” of broccoli ranging from about 2 to 6 inches in diameter, lemons the size of a walnut (once) and the size of an orange.
For me, the occasional inconvenience and errors are worth it.
I have done almost exclusively grocery pickup and delivery since covid started. For the best of getting exactly what I want it would be Whole Foods. Their online inventory system must be fantastic because I’ve never gotten a single substitution. Instacart is good if you are on the app while they’re shopping to approve/deny/request a different sub. Just once I had an issue where a shopper didn’t request a substitution at all, but they gave us cauliflower instead of hydrangeas (birthday gift)- I guess they didn’t know what a hydrangea was and just guessed based on the pic. It took a whole week to get a refund. Walmart can be a mess- they’re often out of what I order and they often give me no sub at all. They also have occasionally given us a gluten version of a gluten free food, which is completely unacceptable- we’ve been refunded and given the food away though.
WHEN we get back to socializing and mingling, this would be a good topic to bring up and create conversation - “what was your worst grocery store order experience”?
I’m sort of surprised that several of you mention not being in a grocery store since Feb/March. I can do without a lot of stores/shopping - and I have with hardly a store stop besides Lowe’s once for supplies I couldn’t select online and Laz Y Boy furniture to replace a chair my husband had to have. Otherwise largely food stops only.
We’ve been doing Walmart to-go delivery to house since April. We’ve had excellent luck with it. I admit we are probably not as particular about our item as more talented cooks, but substitutions and mistakes have been rare (but there were some items, like paper towels, that were no longer available when we processed the order).
I think we pay $13/month(?) for the delivery service (and we always tip - it’s a nice way to help out deliverers with no other work option). Had we known Covid would last this long and we’d be so satisfied, we would have done the $99/year option.
Note that we did not shop at Walmart before this, so it took some time to refine our ordering method - normally I planned meals by whatever entree items looked good and/or were on sale.
I’m curious what % (and perhaps by month the last 6 months) of income/shopping for a typical store with a service has been online shopping/delivery/pick up.
Walmart sent me a generic “fill out a survey” this morning that I happily completed. I’m glad I saved what I had written but couldn’t put on their “finished with shopping” survey.
I gave them 5 out of 10 and when asked if I’d recommend them to someone else I honestly said I’d give them my pros and cons (similar to what I wrote here) and let them decide for themselves.
Next time we need something I’m pretty sure I’m going to try Kroger though. I’ll see if my luck of the draw there is better, worse, or similar. I’m not sure when that will happen. It depends upon whether we go home for a time period before returning. That’s still up in the air based upon H’s need for work at home (vs here) and FIL’s needs for care. His knee is improving (from a fall) fortunately.
I’m lucky. Pre-pandemic I was a long time regular customer at a fancy food co-op. It took them about a month to get a functioning curbside pickup, but now it works great. They were already planning to go online in the next few years in an effort to increase efficiency, so this service is here to stay. Like Choatiemom, I won’t be entering a grocery again. It’s easier for me and the preferred shopping method for the store.
I’m also lucky that a good friend kept us supplied with produce from her garden all season. If that hadn’t happened , there were local farms that immediately went online to offer delivery.
It seems to me a whole lot of folks are using CSAs for the first time. Local farms are increasingly important.
We do online grocery shopping at both Walmart and Kroger, with pretty good results. My main complaint has been not finding out that something is unavailable until right before pick up time.
I uncheck the box for substitutions for the entire order on Walmart’s site, then check the box for the few items for which I won’t mind substitutes. I order store brand large eggs and often get XL or jumbo eggs instead, at the original price. If we really need something then I order one each of multiple brands and sizes. Sometimes I’ll get one carton (more often in the early weeks) and sometimes I’ll get five.
Since March, the only fresh produce I’ve bought has been lemons, oranges and onions. All other fruits and vegetables have been frozen or canned.
Frozen foods from both stores have been surprising. For example, Walmart carries peeled and deveined Gulf shrimp in multiple sizes at good prices. I ran across lumpia (a Filipino pork spring roll) on Kroger’s site.
The few times I’ve had problems with dented cans or a mistake in order filling, I’ve contacted the store and received an immediate refund with an apology. I’ve ordered nonperishables online for shipping from Walmart and Target, but found that resulted in too many dented cans plus items such as crackers were crushed by cans in the same box. Now I’m more careful about what items I order together.
This week we went into a Publix, for the first time in months, to get our flu shots. Of fewer than 20 customers in the store, half a dozen (all looked >65) were wearing their masks below their noses or on their chins. One employee had her mask below her nose as well. The woman ahead of us kept her mask down. We stood about 15’ away and then politely asked to get our shots on the opposite end of the pharmacy instead of moving into the small space where she’d sat for 15 minutes. The pharmacist quickly agreed. That experience reinforced our intention to shop online and do no-contact pickup for everything possible. I hope my Sudafed lasts because I have to go inside to sign a book for that.
I haven’t been in a grocery store since March. I have shopped at several farmer’s markets for produce–all of them are open air markets. I shopped at these markets in season all the time. I get routine deliveries from Whole Foods (through Amazon Prime). I also shop online at a local supermarket chain in my area–I can have the food delivered or I can do curbside pickup. I’ve had very few problems with my orders. Once someone substituted peanuts for canned tomatoes, but overall, I’ve been satisfied. I’d prefer to shop in the store, but I have to admit that shopping almost completely online has made me plan more (since I don’t run out to get one item and end up with 10).
I also do curbside pickup at the liquor store and use the drive-up window at CVS. I normally don’t go to Walmart, but I have found there are cleaning/household items, e.g., Viva paper towels, Charmin toilet paper, and Method cleaning products, that I can get overnight from Walmart.com. These items weren’t readily available at the Walmart closest to me. Since I’m 20 miles from the closest Walmart, it’s easier for me to just do the overnight delivery.
