It was a dark and stormy night. Well, dark and snowy, at least.
I created an online order for groceries from Aldi to be delivered by an Instacart shopper on Thursday at 7 p.m.
We had one car at the mechanic that day, so my wife had to wait for me to pick her up.
We both had worked later that day — Thursday is The Packer’s press day — so the seemingly safe scheduled delivery time of 7 p.m. was in jeopardy.
While I was driving home during what would be Kansas City’s first measurable snowfall this year, I received notice by text that Sheryl, our Instacart personal shopper, was at the store, presumably thrilled to fill our order. I worried that she would beat us home.
It was the first time we had ordered groceries online, click-creating our shopping list of items on the Instacart website to have them magically delivered to our doorstep.
Sheryl texted me. “Hi Tom, this is Sheryl your Instacart shopper. I am at your home and have rang the bell. Are you home?”
It was Sheryl who went to Aldi that snowy night for us, picking up milk, bread, apples, oranges, potatoes, eggs and other staples. She put the food in paper sacks from Aldi and brought the order to our house.
Was it worth it? Instacart prices for Aldi items seemed a touch higher than in-store prices, though I couldn’t swear to it. For a $43 order, the delivery charge was $5.99, plus a prescribed $2.11 tip and $2.11 service charge.
How was the produce, you might ask? Well, I have to say it was pretty good.
The new crop galas were tasty, the oranges tasted like navel oranges should and the 10-pound bag of russets contained sound potatoes even if some of them were strikingly oddly shaped.
Sheryl, you were worth every cent of that $5.99 delivery charge, $2.11 tip and $2.11 service fee — and then some.
Other readers at the LinkedIn Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group gave their input on the question, “Who has tried ordering groceries online? What has been your experience?”
Here are a couple of their reactions:
MM: I use click and collect pretty regularly. The experience is often good. Accuracy is high, perishable quality is acceptable and the price is low. My only complaint is many advertised items or sometimes even regular staples are not available on the website. However, a quick note in the substitution field normally solves that problem. I used Instacart once. Certainly high on convenience but too many substitutions and very pricey. Overall, not worth the premium over click and collect, in my opinion.
AN: I use online grocery often. I still enjoy the in-store experience, but the convenience is great — picking up groceries on the way home from the airport after a business trip is something I have come to rely on!
Even without the dark and snowy night, the convenience of a personal shopper is a luxury that this Aldi shopper might indulge again.
Tom Karst is The Packer’s editor. E-mail him at tkarst@farmjournal.com.
