spinynorman99 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I've placed 16 orders with Imperfect Foods (nee Imperfect Produce) since April and only once in those 16 times has an order arrived without at least one problem.

Are you sure "Imperfect" doesn't extend to the whole shopping experience? I'd read the fine print just to make sure.

I actually did lol at that one!

=R=

On Monday I used the Jewel "Drive and Go" for the first time.

I have used their delivery a couple of times since the pandemic started. It was fine.

I used "Drive and Go" this round because the delivery basically requires a day and I wanted some of the items the same day. I ordered late morning and the earliest pick up wasn't until a few hours later, 3 pm was my slot. Still you are supposed to wait for an email saying your food is available and you have until 8 pm to get it. I got the confirmation email to pick up at 2:40 pm. Ironically, the Jewel at the end of my block doesn't offer this service, just delivery. So I had to drive a couple of miles to get it. I pulled into the parking lot and followed the signs. Once in a numbered "Drive and Go" parking space you dial a number on the sign where you are parked and tell them you are ready to pick up and give them your name.

It was really quite painless. I tipped the young person who loaded the bags into my cargo area, alas they seemed surprised and grateful. I hope it was just the amount that threw them off (it was $5 and there were not many bags nor were they heavy or cumbersome) not the fact that no one is tipping them. The online face is a bit overwhelming for me but other than that I really liked this experience and would use it again. I don't know if they offered this pre-pandemic but I hope they keep it. Super useful for anyone with mobility issues or even parents with young kids.

Provocative and insightful piece by Jacob Silverman at New Republic . . .

Instacart Is a Parasite and a Sham

at newrepublic.com, Jacob Silverman wrote: The pandemic has devastated wide swaths of the U.S. economy, causing more than 22 million job losses and about 25 percent of small businesses to close, many of them for good. But some companies have thrived amid this catastrophe—indeed, thrived because of it. Instacart, the grocery delivery service, is booming, with sales up 500 percent year-over-year and the company cruising to a $17.7 billion valuation. Their workforce—of mostly low-paid contract workers—has swelled to 500,000 people while the company has taken in $500 million in investment since March.

And yet, somehow, Instacart is also losing unimaginable sums of money. According to The Wall Street Journal, in eight years of business, Instacart has had one month of profitability, in April 2020. That’s after raising $2.4 billion in total investment capital. And now, to add to their problems, supermarkets reportedly are tiring of Instacart’s high fees (usually more than 10 percent per order). “We don’t think we make money from an Instacart order,” Mark Skogen, CEO of Skogen’s Foodliner Inc., told the Journal.

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I get emails all the time from Instacart offering me $20 off my first order. I don't understand how they can be losing money when they are crazy busy right now? I have heard of too many bad experiences with Instacart where they mess up the order for me to sign up with them. I would rather go to the store myself, and get most of the things I am looking for.

I went to Jewel yesterday because I was out of bread and milk, and it was busier than I would have liked, and they were out of two of the things I was going to get. I was able to mostly social distance though.

I live in a 55+ retirement community is Southern Arizona. When the pandemic broke out, each of the four supermarkets in the area took a different approach. Walmart decided to expand its order online and pick-up curbside. The Kroger affiliate also did the curbside and they offered delivery for $10 with a $35 minimum. Sprouts and Safeway used the Instacart model with no pick up available; in recent months, Sprouts has offered curbside pickup.

At first, my neighbors all signed up for Instacart with Safeway. They became really upset when they were charged Safeway's very high prices PLUS a markup on every product PLUS an Instacart fee. For example, a loaf of Oroweat bread delivered was $5.49 at a time when the same product was on sale at Kroger for $2.49. Most of the neighbors switched to Kroger after a couple of weeks, They liked that the employee not only delivered the groceries but would carry it n to the kitchen.

As for us, my friend has been buying our groceries at Kroger and Walmart for us and eight other households. Every few months, I have been slipping her $100 to cover the cost of gas and the her internet.

Walmart has done the best job during the pandemic. There have been too many shortages at the Kroger store. However, they make great substitutions. Lately, every time I order a quart of half & half, I get a half gallon. l will order the Kroger store brand and get a national brand in a larger quantity.

Hi- Nobody has posted about Top Box Foods in ages here. I took a look at their website, and it looks like they are delivering twice a month. Has anybody ordered from them recently? When I looked at their website, it did not mention where in Cook county they are delivering now. I know they used to deliver to most of Chicago and Oak Park and Evanston up to Dempster and a few other suburbs bordering Chicago. It looks like they have a local produce box you can order for $19.