I don't see doing that because I'm just 1 minute away from where I shop, and it's usually not crowded when I shop.

I could see using the service if I shopped a big, crowded store, as I have little patience for "obliviates," i.e., oblivious idiots.

We have 3 boys, 4 and under. My wife does it once in a while and it's super helpful. She did it at Fred Meyer the other day and there's designated spots to park and then they come out.

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
I'd never do it.

I honestly think grocery stores can/will take advantage of people who are too lazy to get out of their cars.

Milk/meat/eggs about ready to expire. Crappy fruit, vegetables, etc...

By the time you get home and unpacked, what are you going to do? The same thing applies to drive through fast food places. What did Joe Pesci say in Lethal Weapon 2? "They always fuck you at the drive through".

We've only received the best of everything perishable that we ordered. Amazon refunded the whole box of pears when we got one bad one. Fred Meyer gave a more expensive but similar item when they were out of stock of what we ordered. They asked if it was ok and if not they'd just refund the item. As long as the customer service is good I'm all for making life a little bit easier on my wife.

If you really want to be careful about your fruits and vegetables, better grow it yourself. And butcher your own meat.
But for prepackaged food - grains, soap, paper goods and the like sure, we use the service.

More to Bendable's point though. The worker brings out the groceries, make them go a little farther, instead of taking up prime parking spaces. Seams that would make sense. But no, Fred Meyer takes up spots right next to the handicap spots (prime real estate)for this service! Although I always park as far away as possible, less chance of a accident or door dings.

The wife has said her last few trips to Kroger, even here in the relative sticks, has found more employees running around crowding the aisles gathering orders than actual shoppers getting their own stuff.

That's weird.

I have a friend that works at Wal-Mart as a shopper. She tells us her and the other shoppers are extra careful and picky when selecting fresh produce and meats etc. Items with expiration dates like milk, yogurt and such are always selected with the furthest out date. Of course your particular criteria for what is a good piece of meat might differ from the shoppers, but I think they do try to make a good selection and I guess you have the option to reject an item when you pick the order up.

Since Amazon is getting into this game with all of their horse power, I think this process will gain more acceptance but I don't see it replacing the walk around store with a warehouse with pick-up lines like outdoor check out stations. Who knows though. A lot of money is being spent promoting this process and paradigms do shift.

quote:

sorry to use up parking spaces.

by jst1tym

you have no reason to be sorry for anything,
this wasn't about customers ,
it's about the decision makers at corporate ,not using their heads.

bendable, thank you. I would otherwise have not known about this option to me that will work just perfectly, and I can keep my independence a little longer, that means a lot to me. A real blessing in disguise

This is a new thing? My mom shopped this way back in the 50's. A classmate of mine would deliver on his bike. No credit card needed: they just paid monthly.

Bendable,

If a car waits for 5 minutes for their order to be delivered to the vehicle, then each one of those spaces saves 6 parking spots for regular customers who each might take 30 minutes to do their shopping.

but
what is the difference if they wait 5 minutes for their groceries on the north side of the building , where no one else wants to park
or
on the west side of the building , where people have been parking for ten years?

there are 20 available spaces on the north side already , that no one uses

and 1/20th the traffic

^^^ Maybe they want to publicize and encourage the service. Do you not think they considered the options and chose the one they thought likely best served their business?

actually no , I don't think they did.

and I don't think that they asked either the people at the sam's or their customers.

My wife uses it twice a month. Once for us, once for her dad. She picks it after work. It adds 15 minutes to her day vs 2 hours of shopping each time.

And its also set up on the east side of the building and doesnt take away any parking spaces.

We love it.

I've been utilizing Walmart's online order and pickup service since last April, when it was first offered.There were hiccups at first, but everything seemed to have smoothed out. I have not had any problems, with close to out of date items, or poor quality fruit/vegetable selections. At pickup they even offer me a look at the fresh fruit they've selected....

I think it will become norm just like internet and smartphones.
Stores will improve their processes, people will slowly adopt.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
How many times a month do you order your groceries on line and then go park, call them and wait for them to bring your groceries out to your car?

Is this a thing now?

Both Wal Mart and Sam's are taking out 12-15 pretty good parking spaces and then reserving them for On line order customers.

So Screw you ! walk in customers !

Sure sure , they have two or three other sides to the building that they could very well utilize for the same thing but That ! would take some thought

you already have three or four cars parked in the fire lanes, and you think this will help?

maybe I am the dinosaur , maybe you don't walk in people any more.

If you park anywhere near the front of a wal-mart you are asking to have your car messed up. I happily park as far away as possible.

I have ordered everything but fresh stuff from online sources. It for sure saves me time, and I place a pretty high premium on my time.

I'm not ready to test this out yet. Maybe someday.

We are picky about meat, fruit, veggies, and such. Things like getting a dz cookies at the bakery depends on what types of cookies they have baked today, I might know I want steaks but I won't know what cut of steaks I want until I am looking at what cuts look good.

Ease of exit/load/return for the staff? From what you've described that's it.