Letting Others Shop For Your Food

[TheQuietOne]

I'm somewhat fussy about my produce and my wife is very fussy. I can't see it working. We're all required to wear masks and compliance is just about perfect except for a few wearing them under their noses. We feel pretty safe shopping for ourselves even with both of us being 60+ and me having high blood pressure.

[Mr. Bones]

Michael_in_TX nope, amigo,; 'canned maters' is well within my patois.

[Michael_in_TX]

(Someone please tell me I was not the only one who had no idea what a 'canned mater' is.)

I like the multiple brand strategy. If you know you are going to use it and -- with your example -- Del Monte the same as Hunts, get both.

[Willy]

I did Instacart twice, early in the pandemic. Not satisfied. At that time, curbside pickup was overwhelmed--no time slots for the entire seven day calendar. I prefer curbside to delivery so as to avoid the $10 delivery charge and the tip, but didn't have a choice. So, the first time, I allowed substitutions and got: a box of frozen breaded popcorn shrimp instead of the raw, shell-on shrimp I ordered. Seriously? Also got thinly cut chuck roast in place of filet mignons. Kids--what canya do?! The next time, I didn't allow substitutions. Alas, this means that if you select a can of, say Del Monte diced maters, they won't even sub Hunts.

My solution: Don't allow substitutions, but DO order multiple brands of the same product (assuming brand doesn't matter to you), especially if you really need something. Hey, canned maters are shelf stable and I will use 'em. F'rinstance, order both Del Monte and Hunt's canned maters, maybe add Red Gold as well. Next, I shop in person first thing in the AM at opening for things I don't trust the store shopper to buy--mainly produce and meats. Also, when shopping myself, I'm always on the look out for things that are "rare" and thus not available for pickup--stuff like KA bread flour and Clorox disinfecting wipes.

FWIW, I have tried to tip the store employee that brings the order to my car, but the tip has always been refused per store policy. My store is a Kroger affiliate-Fry's.

I look at curbside as a plus for me and the store employees. Aside from the business they get, I don't get exposed to them and they don't get exposed to me. Win-win.

My best wishes to you all in these weird times!

[Steve R.]

Steve B my wife is good at picking out produce, but she knows to just let me buy the meat, other than chicken and ground meat. But even with those, I tend to have a better eye for a good deal.

[JoeSousa]

I have done probably 95% of the grocery shopping for our family for years. I enjoy going to the store. If I just need standard packaged goods like cereal, canned goods, milk, etc. I have no problem doing curbside pickup and letting someone else pull it from the shelf from time to time. Some produce like vegetables I would be OK with letting someone else pick. I might even be OK with them getting some chicken breasts, pork chops, ground beef, or other stuff like that but steaks? I will always pick those myself. And I want to be in control of my own fruit as well.

[Dadof3Illinois]

Nah....I want to do my own shopping so I put on my mask and head out. Figure I have as much of a chance catching this crap at work in the office as I do in the store. Heck i can distance myself from people in the store better than at work.
Plus I really think people need to get out and stop staying shut-in inside their homes....we as humans still need to socialize.

[Steve B]

Same here. In fact I won’t even let my wife pick out produce and HELL NO for choosing meats. 😁 But I am serious.

[Michael_in_TX]

I like your "hybrid" approach idea!

[jdsmith]

We have been using Kroger pickup service since mid-March. The staff bringing my orders to my car has been older high school and college age folks, and as Michael_in_TX pointed out a lot of the issue may be that they haven't learned the subtleties of shopping for groceries yet. I sure hadn't at that age! It took me until my mid to late twenties before I shifted from shopping based on cost to looking at quality, nutritional value, etc.

Our approach has been to place a pickup order for most of our items that are straightforward for any employee to select. Just before our pickup time we go in the store, choose our produce and fresh meat ourselves inside the store, then checkout and drive around the back to the pickup area and receive the rest of the order. This seems like a reasonable balance between minimizing the unnecessary social interaction of a long shopping trip with still obtaining the quality of food items that we prefer.

[ofelles]

I have not had a positive experience with the online grocery shopping experience. Like some others here I am very particular about the ingredients in my meals. I am kind of limited in my shopping choices here, no Wholefoods and Amazon does not deliver. Don't do Walmart either. Safeway is where I go, closest to me.
I will not buy anything that is their store brand because I have found it to be of poor quality. When I asked the man behind the meat counter who do I know what grade of meat I was getting, his reply was " I would have to go look at the box it came in and we don't always keep the box". I don't buy their meat either, except for and occasional chicken. The produce seems to be the first ones they pick up no matter what it looks like. When ordering online you specify the size and brand you want, then check or similar size in another brand or no substitutes. If I check substitutes, I get their brand. If I check no substitutes I often get nothing.
I gave up on the service and just buck up and go to the store.

[Michael_in_TX]

While annoying, I can't get mad about them messing up the produce, especially for the new shoppers. I remember back when I got my first job at a grocery store in high school in the early 1990s. I thought an apple was an apple..you have like red and green and that was it. What do you mean there are like 15 billion varieties?!

[Jfrosty27]

Like others here, I insist on doing all the grocery shopping for my household. Period. My wife realized long ago that I was far too particular about it and willingly gave it up to me. Therefore I cannot ever see us using one of the services now being offered.

[HawkerXP]

Oh boy. +2
Mrs. H used to turn her nose up on any inner muscular fat. I have since showed her the light.

[smokin fool]

Hit the nail on the head for me