Grocery Shopping Online, "First Time"

(Late and only 5 photos. email had not sent the pictures I took. Grrr😠 )

this photo copied from online

Grocery shopping is right up there in the top five of things I dread doing. I will make all kinds of excuses to myself as to why I can’t do it. A day turns into a week. A week turns into weeks.  

During this time, I’m eating fast food.  I have three places I’m a regular. Being a creature of habit, I get the same thing every time.  Not surprisingly, the full-time employees pretty much know what I want and will ask, “You want the Kid’s Chicken Finger meal?”  The answer is always,” Yes.” I get the Kid’s Meal so that I won’t feel as guilty for eating fast food.

I’ve been told the proper way to food shop is to;

•  have a list of menus for the week. 
• Make a list of the items you’ll need for the menus.  
• Stick to the list when you shop. 

I don't want to do any of the above three. It's okay. You can call me lazy. I know my strengths.

I had a menu sheet from a previous time I wanted to eat nutritiously 🤩.  I decided to use it to try online grocery shopping.  I chose ALDI.

First, I had to register at Instacart. I'm assuming it is the software agent used by grocers for online purchases.  I went to ALDI's website and discovered that they also deliver. (even better) As an extra incentive they will give you $10 off your first three purchases of $35 or more. (I'm beginning to like this) AND, delivery will take place within one hour. ⭐⭐On a previous site I'd seen delivery within 2 hours. Still, that's great.

The page was categorized by departments such as Produce, Meats, Canned Goods, etc. I typed in my items and the amount I wanted. 

I apologize for my poor pictures. 

The ones I took haven't downloaded to my e-mail yet.

I pressed ENTER and immediately I was taken to my $ sum along with any other fees.

Order Totals

Items Subtotal		$58.07
Delivery Fee		$3.99
Sales Tax		$5.80
Tip		$10.00
Service Fee		$2.90
Credit/Discount Applied		$-10.00
Total		$70.76
Savings from ALDI		$4.71

ending in 4355

   Charges

Original Charge

$

70.76

Shortly afterward I got a text  stating that the shopping had begun. As the shopper shopped, she'd send me a text if an item wasn't in stock and would send pictures of a possible substitute. I'd let her know yay or nay. On only one item did I ask her to omit it from the list. She made great choices.

Within an hour and 10 minutes I got a text stating that my delivery was on the way. Turns out she was actually at the door. After omissions and substitutions my bill ended up at $59.??  A new list and total lets you see what was substituted, price, amount and etc.  You can also add on to the list while the shopper is still in the store. I chose to pay by credit card in case a discrepancy came up. Debit is cash and hard to retrieve.The service fee is what the delivery person is paid. I  put in a tip.

The delivery person was prompt, polite and all about business. I did ask if we could take a pic together since this was my first time.  She consented and then was out of the door. Afterward I received a picture of her from ALDI along with her first name. Reminded me of Uber's set up. There may have been a picture before she began shopping but the cell wasn't behaving properly until I texted her back during the shopping to let her know I wasn't getting the pics.

I was pleased with the service and will use it again. I also plan to explore other online grocery store programs

Well isn't that grand? 2 minutes after I'm about to close this post, the pictures I sent to my email have arrived. 😠Not adding them.I'm done.

That's it***

Next week: Winn-Dixie Sleepover