My New Favorite Thing
My first experience with Shipt, a grocery delivery service that just partnered with Reasors, was wonderful.
I hate driving. Therefore, I hate running errands. And running errands with Joss is rarely relaxing, no matter how much I enjoy his company. For example, grocery shopping: First, there were the trips to the grocery store with a giant car seat taking up 90% of the cart; then, for a brief, beautiful time, he was amused by sitting at the front of the cart; but soon the novelty wore off and he realized how much more fun it would be to run around the store, squishing avocados and biting bananas. I’m sure most, if not all, parents can relate. I know I’ve seen at least one desperate Facebook post asking, “Parents, what are your tricks for grocery shopping with kids?!?”
Okay, it’s not all torment and can even be fun, but when you are constantly running out of eggs and milk, it seems like there is never a time when you DON’T need to go grocery shopping, and that is just annoying. Plus, we live in a second-floor apartment, and bags of canned soup are heavy. So when Reasor’s announced that they were partnering with Shipt, a grocery delivery service, and that, for a limited time, they were offering a $49.90/year special, I jumped on the chance to make in-person grocery shopping a thing of the past.*
To use Shipt, you just have to sign up online; enter your address, and they’ll find the store nearest you. All ordering is done through your online account. (There’s also an app, but I haven’t downloaded that yet.)
The service started Sept. 21, and Sunday, Sept. 24, I needed (you guessed it) milk and eggs. You have to spend at least $35 to get your groceries delivered for free, so part of me worries that I may end up spending more than I would otherwise–but this part is quickly quelled by the rational voice that says, “But this way you won’t accidentally find yourself in the snack aisle buying the latest flavor of Oreos or Lay’s.” Or whatever other random foods catch my eye. Bottom line: I think it will all balance out.
So on Sunday, I signed on to Shipt for the first time and started shopping! It’s pretty easy: There’s a search bar, so all you have to do is type in the product you’re looking for. If you can’t find it, you can make a “special request,” describing the item and adding that to your cart. There were a couple times I made a special request, then realized that I just hadn’t seen the item earlier. Another time, I didn’t realize I was shopping in the “Yogurt Deals” section and was confused as to why there were “No Results Found” for “raisins.” I’m sure it will get easier each time.
When I was ready to check out, it asked when I would like the order delivered and listed several options in hour-long increments, both for same-day and next-day delivery. It’s very flexible. Then I pushed “Submit Order” and turned around to play with Joss!
When it was time for the Shipt shopper to collect my groceries, she notified me by text, asking me to let her know if I needed to modify my order in any way. As she shopped, she texted me if an item I requested was currently out-of-stock and even offered suggestions for what I might like instead.
When she arrived at my apartment, she brought up the eggs and ice cream first, which was very thoughtful! I offered to help, but she brought up everything by herself. I’m ashamed to admit I had forgotten about tipping until about five minutes before she arrived–I think there must be a place to input a Tip amount online, but I missed it this time–so had to scrounge around for some change, but it turned out okay. I’ll just be more prepared next time!
This was a very small order and didn’t contain any produce, so I’m interested to see how smoothly the service works with larger, produce-containing orders. But after yesterday’s experience, I can tentatively say that ordering online and having your groceries delivered to your home is as good as it sounds (if not better!).
*Neither TulsaKids nor I got paid for this review–I’m just really excited that I can now have Blue Bell delivered to my front door and can only imagine how much I would have appreciated this service when Joss was a newborn.
