I have friends who have done grocery pickup for a long time. It was available in larger areas before it was available here but I never thought I would do it and for sure, never thought I would love it.
I used to really enjoy grocery shopping . . it’s been a while, but with Vince retired and going with me . . no! It’s torture. He picks up everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) and looks at it. He will say “What’s this?” I never understand how he picks it up, looks at it then asks me “What’s this?” He can read! Then he will say “Do you want to try one?” I’ve tried to get him to understand that if it’s something we’re not familiar with, go home and look it up and see if you can find a recipe you’d like to use it in and then we can get it next trip. And, for goodness sakes . . if you are going to buy it, just get one and not a dozen in case we don’t like it. His argument, especially at Aldi, is that if we love it, they may not have it when we get back.
Sometimes shopping with Vince reminds me of shopping with Chad when he was 4 and wanted everything in the store and I said “NO” a million times each trip. I really do feel bad saying NO so much to the things Vince wants to buy but we are so out of room and now, most anything we buy . . there’s a good chance we’re going to have to move it. We need to be using what we have here.
Vince doesn’t like the online ordering/pickup because he “likes to pick out his own stuff”. He tells everyone that I’m afraid to go to the store because of the virus so he does all the grocery shopping. Not exactly true. I’m happy to make an online order about every two or three weeks, pick it up and be done. He wants to walk through Aldi every two or three days so I say “Go! I’m not going!”
I find it so much easier to start the list – add things as I think of them, and then before I hit the “place order” button, I go back and look at it each item on the list and make sure I still want it.
We needed snacks for the road trip so I placed an order last night. I had been working on it for a few days. Addie and I were going to drive to Walmart today and pick it up curbside but Vince insisted on picking it up himself first thing this morning “when things weren’t so crowded”. Huh? But . . ok. It was so nice to go out when he drove up, bring in 5 or 6 bags instead of 20 bags, have a place for everything, put it away quickly and be done.
I needed sour cream, cheddar cheese, and two logs of goat cheese for the house. Otherwise, it was pretty much all food for the road trip. We’ll take sandwiches because we won’t eat out. Addie said she likes the “brown meat” (roast beef) – anything but turkey she said! She also eats Swiss cheese and black olives on her sandwiches. No “sauce” as she says – no mayo or mustard. She likes Doritos, Cheez-Its, mozzarella sticks, salami slices, trail mix and GoGo SqueeZ applesauce so I got all that, along with a couple of individual Hostess cupcakes and a couple of different types of juice packs. We’ll bring bottled water that we keep here, along with some freeze dried snacks. She loves the apples, strawberries and peaches.
It was so much easier choosing those things online rather than taking her to the store and letting her pick what she wanted. She did look at the order and help me choose what we purchased.
I’m about 99% sure that even when it’s more safe to go out shopping, I’m going to continue doing online orders and curbside pickup.
Bett Herndon says
I love curbside grocery pick up. I tried it when the local Walmart offered it several years ago. Then I went back to shopping in store, then tried pick up. Pick up is the winner. I love that I can start my list days before the actual pick up day. Check the pantry, add or subtract as needed. The bottom line, I don’t have to take the time to shop and I don’t impulse buy, therefore I spend less.
Judy in MO says
Me too! I always hated going to Walmart. If you needed 3 things, they were sure to be on opposite sides of the store. I do enjoy going to Aldis, so don’t mind that trip. I can get in and out of there in 30 minutes, tops.
Linda in NE says
My daughter is a part-time HyVee shopper for the online orders. Lots of people use the service, especially working mom’s who can put in their order and quick pick it up on their way home. And that was even before the coronavirus made it almost essential.
Val says
We have pick up here but our wifi is so slow that I can drive the 20 miles in and buy my stuff faster. In Canada we have ketchup flavoured Doritos. I like Ranch ones myself. Thanks for writing Judy.
montanaclarks says
Our nearest grocery store is 22 miles away. It’s a nasty, poorly stocked, icky store and I rarely shop there unless I just have to. Billings, MT is 100 miles one way–we go there for doctors, haircuts for me and to grocery shop. Our Billings days are busy and Walmart grocery pickup saves me at least an hour. I love it and won’t go back to shopping in a store.
Susan Nixon says
I don’t think you’re alone. I think a lot of people who either didn’t want the bother of trying online ordering, or who didn’t want to learn a new way of doing things, have been forced to, discover they like it, and won’t switch back. There are still going to be plenty of people in grocery stores, but maybe not as many in a lot of other stores. I think we’re in a transition, and anyone who doesn’t get going with online business in some way is going to be out of business in a few years.
Nelle Coursey says
I have not tried it yet but may have to in the future!!
Donna M says
I have not been in a store since March 3rd and order online weekly. Kroger does not charge a fee right now. Have tried Walmart, too. Love it! Would only go back in a store to chose my fresh produce and order the rest for pickup. Or, go to the farmer’s market now.
Karen Sutton says
I had to laugh at Vince’s frequent trips to Aldi’s. We’re (Bob) is painting the house – inside all rooms. It’s kept him busy and me sane for the past several weeks. However, his painting necessitates almost daily trips to the hardware store – sometimes more than one/day. He loves those disposable paint trays – why he wouldn’t just get a big supply at one time instead of 2-3 at a time is beyond me.
April Reeves says
I just can’t get into the online grocery shopping. I use a computer all day for work so I don’t want to use one in my spare time. I like to just walk around and see what is on sale, get some ideas of what I want to eat. But I’ve heard it was the store I picked to online shop from and others have better online shopping experiences. I’d have been on that website for hours finding everything. It was so frustrating.
Judy Laquidara says
My guess would be that Walmart shouldn’t be the best as far as choosing products or customer service but I’ve been 100% satisfied with them. The produce has been great, no dented cans, far out dates on dairy products. I use the WM app on my phone and it couldn’t be easier.