Buying Food is a Pain

[CalGalTraveler]

@Panina Like you, I find it's time consuming to secure delivery and curbside. as we are trying to avoid in-store. I was up at midnight last week and pounced on delivery slots on instacart at 3 stores. (Just like timeshare reservations!)

I like how one can add to items to a reserved Instacart order. Our last delivery was yesterday so I was able to add last minute items. I am trying to keep some rolling orders in the system.

I find Safeway frustrating because we waited a week and only received 1/3 of our curbside order. I have another Safeway curbside for later this week so we'll see if that improved. I don't like how I cannot add or edit the Safeway order. Safeway hard to get slots.

For hard to get items such as flour, bleach, paper towels and TP (limit 1 package of 8) we go to our local brewpub which now sells curbside groceries (and growlers for my DH). Check around your area because I find this has same day pickup, they always fill the order, and you are supporting a local biz.

 

[TravelTime]

A story in Washington Post about grocery shopping services. I think it is behind a paywall so I will post some interesting parts.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/15/grocery-delivery-coronavirus/

But the system is cracking under the weight of surging demand, and an incommensurate supply of workers and groceries. Shoppers throughout the country are reporting weeks-long waits on platforms like Instacart, Shipt, Peapod and Amazon’s Prime Now, fueling ongoing frustrations and questions about how, or when, the outlook might improve. Delivery workers say they are under growing pressure, too, with many going on strike in recent weeks to protest the lack of protective gear and demand higher pay.

Instacart, which hires independent contractors to deliver groceries from such national chains as Safeway, Kroger, Giant and Costco, says orders have quadrupled from a year ago, while Shipt, which is owned by Target, is reporting “record-breaking” demand. Both companies have hired tens of thousands of new shoppers in recent weeks and say they expect those numbers to grow. Amazon, meanwhile, says it is experiencing such “unprecedented” demand that it is wait-listing new customers for its Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market delivery services.

Grocery delivery workers say such changes have doubled the time it takes to fulfill each order. Even the shortest shopping lists, they say, can easily take more than an hour to complete after factoring in extra time to wait in line and search for replacements for sold-out items.

Carrico (a shopper) is delivering as many as seven orders a day and stopped taking new clients after business surged. She is starting to make other adjustments, too, such as asking customers to tip at least 20 percent and limiting orders to four stores where she feels safe: Fred Meyer, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and a local grocer, New Seasons Market.

 

[Monykalyn]

I had stocked up on our "paper" supplies back in February before it was a thing-just my usual once every few months buy of toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies etc and I am still good with those. I get meat delivered. We buy milk from a local dairy, and have to turn in our glass bottles so that is coordinated with the store they deliver to. Couple weeks ago was the stock up on frozen and canned/pantry staples. When we need milk/fresh stuff I send husband to limit how many of us get out. He has to go pick up chocolate from schools tomorrow that have had their fundraisers cut short, so I will send him with a grocery list as well. I have been out to shop/work 4 times since March 13th, when things here really started shutting down. I do expect we will both go as soon as garden store opens saturday to get my plants/seedlings/seeds for the garden though. I can't even find a delivery or curbside pick up time for the stores here.
Dog food/chicken feed and supplies I have auto ship from Chewy. The only thing that was a challenge to find was hydrogen peroxide a couple days ago-middle kid did something to her toe and ended up with an infection-Dr put her on antibiotics and wanted her to clean it with peroxide and soak in epsom salts. She said they went to 4 stores before finding a bottle.

 

[pedro47]

I wish you all lived near me (San Diego), I'd get groceries for you. I go to the grocery store or Costco every other day or so although, I have an "underlying condition."

Lots of isopropol sprayed on my cart, over my hands and everything (everytime) I touch. If you sanitize everything you touch, or someone else touched, you "can't" catch a virus, but I understand the concerns of those that have conditions making them more susceptible.

Sounds liked your local Costco store are fully stock., That is very nice.
I have not seen isopropyl spray or masks in weeks.

 

[davidvel]

Sounds liked your local Costco store are fully stock., That is very nice.
I have not seen isopropyl spray or masks in weeks.

No, Costco still short on TP and limits on eggs. I did score yesterday getting one of the last 3 bottles of 70% isopropol (and a mini travel spray bottle) at our local Albertson's (aka Safeway/Vons.)

 

[Luanne]

Dh continues to do the shopping. He has cut back to every two weeks instead of every week. He said the stores are doing a better job of distancing people, although there are always those who decide they need to crowd in next to you while looking at produce and such.

By doing the shopping himself he is able to get what we need (a friend told me of an experience someone she knows had where items that she didn't get from her cart were found in the store) and if the store is truly out he can substitute. There are certain items he cannot find in the stores, but eggs seems to be plentiful. Today he went and bought hand sanitizer from a local beer distillery

 

[bbodb1]

Having watched store personnel fulfill customer's online orders, I will NEVER make let someone else choose my groceries for me. Not only does this mean one less person touching my purchases, it also means no dented cans, the best choices of produce and meats.

Not to mention, I do enjoy going to the store.

 

[Luanne]

Having watched store personnel fulfill customer's online orders, I will NEVER make let someone else choose my groceries for me. Not only does this mean one less person touching my purchases, it also means no dented cans, the best choices of produce and meats.

Not to mention, I do enjoy going to the store.

I think you and my dh are soulmates.

 

[Quilter]

I wish you all lived near me (San Diego), I'd get groceries for you. I go to the grocery store or Costco every other day or so although, I have an "underlying condition."

Lots of isopropol sprayed on my cart, over my hands and everything (everytime) I touch. If you sanitize everything you touch, or someone else touched, you "can't" catch a virus, but I understand the concerns of those that have conditions making them more susceptible.

My underlying condition is OCD. This pandemic is putting it to use.

If I don't find yeast soon I may just send you a PM to send me some

 

[Cornell]

@bbodb1 Awe! My daughter is an online order filler for one of the grocery stores where we live. If you saw her in action she might change your mind!

 

[bbodb1]

@bbodb1 Awe! My daughter is an online order filler for one of the grocery stores where we live. If you saw her in action she might change your mind!

Hello @Cornell - hope all is well with you and your daughter! I am sure she does an excellent job and I do not want to throw all order fulfillment folks under the bus here. The two images that have really stayed with me were multiple stores in my area with personnel fulfilling orders and NOT using gloves (at least), gloves and masks would be better.

I also witnessed a.store where personnel were being trained in groups of 3 or 4 but the group was all working from the same cart (no social distancing or even any attempt at it). I am afraid the fear / respect we should have regarding COVID 19 is giving way to an ambivalent attitude in stores as people are growing weary of dealing with the extra steps this response demands. I hope this does not come back to haunt us...

At any rate, I know there are many good people who are trying to do their best in these uncertain times. Please tell your daughter 'thanks' from me for making the effort to do her job as safe as possible. Her efforts will help people who need to stay out of the store to be safer and healthier!

 

[VacationForever]

We have good luck with Butcherbox and the delivery came today. I washed everything with soap and water and put them away. With fresh produce our luck has not been too good. We used one company and they delivered twice and decided to use another one. That one was supposed to deliver by Saturday and now they said it will only be shipped on Saturday as they are running behind. We know FedEx does not work on Sunday so now I have my produce sitting out there for an extra day. Geez. I will take my delivery but that will be the first and last one. The good news is that now I think I finally found a great online site for produce and I have put my order in. It is a very large operation, 4 generations and are definitely are not fly by night and they make wine too. They only service those on the West Coast and we are close enough that they cover our area.

At some point we will use SHIPT when we are desperate enough for tomatoes and a couple of other items. Until then, we are happy to use FedEx, OnTrac and UPS to deliver our food.

I have started looking at growing hydroponics tomatoes and if I can do that, then I don't worry about not getting fresh tomatoes.

 

[Cornell]

@bbodb1 I was just teasing! My 17 year old is really struggling w/this whole isolation thing so she decided to get this grocery store job. (her "e-learning" is a complete joke and needs some purpose in her life since school isn't filling that role right now).

The store where she works has a whole hierarchy to follow for substitutions. It's pretty complicated and lots of substitutions happening given how many out-of-stocks there are right now.

I actually use Shipt occasionally. What I like about Shipt is that the shopper texts you as they arrive at the store. Then, as they shop, if they have questions for you or find something isn't available, they text you their concerns, suggestions as they shop. It's a great level of communication and my orders have always been great.

I understand, 100% your concerns though w/online shopping.

 

[Panina]

Finally I got 3 dozen eggs, my mozzarella cheese and a six pack of paper towels from Aldi’s today. All items that were shorted in my last three orders from other markets.

 

[davidvel]

My underlying condition is OCD. This pandemic is putting it to use.

If I don't find yeast soon I may just send you a PM to send me some

Ha, ha, shipping charges might make it expensive!

My wife went to Costco and spend the obligatory $300+, so they have some stuff. Actually, we're celebrating this weekend and she got Filet mignon, so we'll actually save over going to our normal teppan dinner. (And our own fried rice, hibachi chicken and ginger sauce is almost as good.)

 

[heathpack]

We signed up yesterday for the annual Instacart Membership. Suddenly I’m seeing a lot more available delivery windows- like I can get an order the next day rather than waiting 5 days.

My first two orders (one to Sprouts and the other to Aldi) were pretty successful- most items were available. I have a second Aldi delivery coming tomorrow and Costco on Sunday.

I ordered a box last week from a local organic farm. They were not yet ready for prime time & the process was cumbersome. I probably won’t do it again.

We get some pantry items from nearby restaurants, places that are within a mile so it’s easy to pop by to get that missing item- the nice thing about the restaurants is you know what they have.

One of our local farmers market posted on FB that they’ll shop for immunosuppressed folks, people with preexisting condition, and essential personnel who can’t shop for themselves. Just call in the morning and give your shopping list, pay by phone when your shopping is done, drive by and they’ll put your stuff in the trunk of you car for you. I messaged them to see if I qualify, so I’m going to try that tomorrow morning as see how it goes.

I also have a friend who caters school lunches. He’s trying to stay semi afloat by offering meals and some pantry items to his schools’ families. He’ll order giant amounts of things for me when he puts in his weekly orders- I’ve been getting milk, butter, flour, yeast etc from him. So that helps, he drops it at my door.

And I have a friend who shops every Fri for his elderly parents. He always texts me to see if I want anything, which he drops off on the way to his parents house. A few days later, I go by his house with some kind of baked good- a loaf of bread, chocolate cupcakes, a large chunk of carrot cake- with the money to repay him (which is always a guess, he won’t tell me) tucked inside the package I leave for him.

So I’m on top of this grocery sourcing at this point.

PS in our town, some of the high school kids self organized into a shopping service for the elderly and disabled. They get the persons list, assign a shopper, shop and deliver the groceries. All for free. Word of mouth, and social media advertising. It was cool to see the local news story about it. Good kids.

 

[WinniWoman]

I order non food items on Amazon mainly and they are taking 1 - 2 or 3 weeks or even more for Prime deliveries.

 

[AnnaS]

Having watched store personnel fulfill customer's online orders, I will NEVER make let someone else choose my groceries for me. Not only does this mean one less person touching my purchases, it also means no dented cans, the best choices of produce and meats.

Not to mention, I do enjoy going to the store.

My husband feels the same way. One of my sons orders on-line all the time and has no complaints. I worked in the supermarket - I saw - some do a better job than others. Have not tried it yet. I doubt I will unless we have absolutely no choice.

 

[Panina]

I am so excited. I was on a wait list for local organic produce from Fresh Farms Carolinas and they now have a slot for delivery. It is similar to a CSA by supporting local agriculture, but instead of working with just one farm they work with a network of farms. I am going to get a veggie box and eggs. They have fruit boxes or combo boxes in a variety of sizes and you can order weekly or every other week and pause if you go on vacation. Now I hope I won’t be disappointed. I will know on Wednesday.

 

[Ironwood]

Having watched store personnel fulfill customer's online orders, I will NEVER make let someone else choose my groceries for me. Not only does this mean one less person touching my purchases, it also means no dented cans, the best choices of produce and meats.

Not to mention, I do enjoy going to the store.

I watched customers orders being filled at my local grocery store a couple of days ago at the orange juice cold storage section and they weren't checking best before dates at all.....and I prefer to pick out my own fresh produce. I don't like soft squishy grapes!

 

[geekette]

I watched customers orders being filled at my local grocery store a couple of days ago at the orange juice cold storage section and they weren't checking best before dates at all.....and I prefer to pick out my own fresh produce. I don't like soft squishy grapes!

Yes, I want to select my own stuff. I want to check the day-old bakery rack. I want to assess what the grapes look like, partake in in-store specials. I am frugal, my shopping cart will reflect the best deals I could make that day.

If all I needed was milk, eggs and bread, sure, have someone else do it. But, I cannot justify paying someone to do something that I can do on my own. I don't have spare money for that. Overpaying for groceries is not in my budget. Delivery will be a method for those with the spare money to justify it.

 

[Monykalyn]

(And our own fried rice, hibachi chicken and ginger sauce is almost as good.)

MMM!!! and surprisingly easy to make....I think that may be dinner tomorrow night!

 

[WVBaker]

Having watched store personnel fulfill customer's online orders, I will NEVER make let someone else choose my groceries for me. Not only does this mean one less person touching my purchases, it also means no dented cans, the best choices of produce and meats.

Not to mention, I do enjoy going to the store.

As has been said so eloquently elsewhere....

There are many chores that parents have their children participate in while they’re growing up, but usually mom and dad retain exclusive control over grocery shopping. Thus, when a young man leaves home, he finds himself blinking under the fluorescent lights of the local supermarket, thousands of products stretched out before him. That first outing he may feel a little giddy as he wheels his very own shopping cart around the store, but that thrill quickly turns to dismay when he finds mid-week that even though he dropped some major coin at the register, he now has nothing to eat.

Grocery shopping is an art that mustn't be taken lightly.

 

[geekette]

As has been said so eloquently elsewhere....

There are many chores that parents have their children participate in while they’re growing up, but usually mom and dad retain exclusive control over grocery shopping. Thus, when a young man leaves home, he finds himself blinking under the fluorescent lights of the local supermarket, thousands of products stretched out before him. That first outing he may feel a little giddy as he wheels his very own shopping cart around the store, but that thrill quickly turns to dismay when he finds mid-week that even though he dropped some major coin at the register, he now has nothing to eat.

Grocery shopping is an art that mustn't be taken lightly.

Not sure on that. My parents were only too happy to have us do it, as soon as we were old enough to responsibly walk there and back, and then larger trips once we could drive. My brother was the one to trek out on foot after the blizzard of 78 had passed, yet back then, there weren't many snowplows, and they weren't coming for us any time soon. The wind stole $10, he said, tho I imagine he found someone at the liquor store to help him out in spending that bill. It wasn't a big deal to buy for the underage back then.

Back in college, tho, I definitely saw the deer-in-headlights look on a lot of faces. To me, it's simply another skill everyone needs to have, so don't put it off. It's not helpful to be thrust into the unknown when older. Parents that do everything for their kids are not doing them favors. Everyone should understand that there is a business to living, there will always be work.

 

[Icc5]

My daughter and her husband both worked for Instacart when they lived with us in Cupertino. I see Instacart just hired another 300,000 employees. I know for us my wife does the shopping and has 3 other nearby friends that help each other out. They talk and if one is going shopping they will ask the others if they need certain items.
We have always had a good supply of TP and paper towels here because our house is where we always have family get togethers as we have a large dining room and in summer time we have an extra room we had built that is used for crafts,shooting pool, and goes to the outside BBQ'S. It has 2 large round tables in it.
My wife has found she goes mainly to our local Safeway and an indoor produce stand next to Trader Joe's. She likes TJ's except now a line goes from 2 directions so she avoids it. It sort of blocks the entrance to the produce stand so not many go into it which is better for her. She did hit Costco in the very start of this virus and did her usual TP,paper towels, etc. so still stocked there. She also does Grocers Outlet (never crowded) and Smart & Final which is also never crowed. We do hear the same complaints about the shopping services but also heard out daughter n son n law several years ago saying how often they had to substitute or something was out and they would be blamed by the customer. In fact that is why they both left that job.
Bart