Better Than Sliced Bread- Part B

By Joni Johnson

It’s been a month since the Instacart- Better Than Sliced Bread Part A. I have become a convert. This article will present you with all the information I have been able to learn from other residents, the internet, numerous telephone calls to various local markets and my own personal experiences so that you can make the best choice for yourself.

Until I talked to Joanne Hafner about Instacart, I was a fairly content shopper. While I didn’t like shopping and was sort of annoyed that I had to do it, I was fairly comfortable going to the stores with a mask, I liked to make my own decisions, it was a moment out of the house and I luckily did have my own car. And it was something I had done all of my life. But when she suggested the theme for the article, a whole new world opened up. All of a sudden, I didn’t HAVE to go shopping. There were other options.

This is what I learned:

Some stores do not deliver nor do they do have pick-up. These stores include Coop, Trader Joes and Market of Choice. With these stores, you must shop yourself

However, with stores like Fred Meyers, Albertsons, Safeway, Target and Costco, there are two ways NOT to shop inside a store. You can order on-line and then pick it up or you can have it delivered. If you choose to order on-line and pick it up yourself, it costs you nothing. If you want it delivered, you can order through the store or order via Instacart. And in both cases there is a charge.

Walmart does not use Instacart but has it’s own stand alone service for both pick-up and delivery. If you want to use Safeway as a delivery option you must use Instacart. Otherwise, they will ask that you have your food delivered from Albertsons. Albertsons does work with Instacart. However, if you want to shop with them exclusively, they have their own delivery program and the cost depends on the amount of time between the order and the delivery.

To give you an example of how each experience works, Here are your options for Fred Meyers:

You can actually have the Manor order for you.
They do it and the groceries are delivered on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You have to fill out a list being very specific about what you want- item, brand- size- Then you can drop off your list at the front desk of the Manor, call them or email the list to emarsh@retirement.org. Your order needs to be at least $35 not to incur a charge. The Front Desk staff sends it in to Fred Meyers on-line and then picks it up on the following M, W or F. This costs you nothing as long as your order is over $35 but it is not same day delivery. RVM is actually doing the pick up and delivery. If you live in a cottage, it is delivered by transportation to your front door. If you live in the Plaza, Terrace or Manor, it is delivered to the front desk and you then can come and pick it up.

You can order it yourself on-line for a pick up at Fred-Meyers.
I did this myself. I ordered later in the evening via computer and set it up for the next day pick-up. There was a problem with one of the items that wasn’t available, so they asked me if I wanted to substitute what they had for what I had ordered. I said ok. I had a cell phone and used the Fred Meyers App for the actual shopping and delivery experience. My arrival was set for 11-12 the next day. When I left the house, I told them on the app that I was on my way. I arrived at 11:23 and told them I had arrived and at which dock I was waiting. My groceries arrived at ll:24. I had ordered asparagus and leeks and both were in excellent shape. I got my receipt and it looked just like the one I would get if I had actually gone through the store showing where I had saved money because of my Fred Meyers card.

3. You can order it on-line for delivery and you can choose your time.
Most people here order directly from Freddies and they pay the $9.95 delivery fee. I think it depends when you send in your order. One benefit of ordering later and having them deliver the next day is that you have the time between your submitting your order and shortly before your delivery time to add to or modify your order. I’ve heard from a variety of people about speed of delivery and some said they got their orders within two hours and some said longer, so I think it has to do with when you submit your order, and luck. Usually, they get texts from their shoppers if there is an item that is unavailable

Using Instacart.com is another option.
Instacart works with a large number of stores. If you’ve paid the $99/year fee, the delivery is free plus a small service charge depending on the cost of the order. Or without that Express Program, you pay a delivery fee plus a service charge per order which comes out to be about $9. In any of the delivery options, you fill out a shopping list and decide on a tip. You have to spend $35 at a particular store. They offer you time windows that are available for your delivery, and then drop off the items items at your door, ring your bell and off they go.

Here are my personal experiences, my choice and why I chose it.

All of my experiences were with Fred Meyers. I had their card and I knew the store.

Order on-line and pick-up at the store

First, I tried the pick-up option. It worked beautifully. I waited a minute between arrival and my packages appearing at my car. It helps if you have the Fred Meyers app because you can easily text them when you are leaving, when you are arriving and where you have parked. It seemed to me, that while they did allow for substitutions, I didn’t have any options to text with the shopper while they were shopping so the substitutions were decided ahead of time. The benefit was that I was able to get all of the discounts to which my card entitled me and I had a paper copy from the Fred Meyer’s register.

Order on-line through Fred Meyers and then have them deliver to my cottage

I ordered on-line late in the afternoon using the computer, had them deliver the next day because it gave me time to add items as they came to me. While they use Instacart as their shopper, I was still buying through Fred Meyers and so the prices were Fred Meyers prices including the discounts that I would get on my card. The delivery cost was $9.95 and of course a chance to add a tip.

Order on-line using Instacart.com

I ordered using Instacart.com but chose Fred Meyers. My experience was similar to the experience through Fred Meyers except that the prices on certain items were higher since I didn’t have the special discounts from Freddie’s card. The shopping experience was great because I had a chance to talk to the shopper via text using the Instacart app. Over the 4 times I have used Instacart, I have had 3 fantastic shoppers who sent me pictures of substitutions when they couldn’t find the product, and one terrible shopper who made decisions without letting me know. At the end of each experience, you have a chance to rate the shopper, give feed back and change the tip. I did.

Pros and cons-

If I were very organized, knew exactly what I wanted, wanted to save money or did not need immediate gratification, (especially if I didn’t have a car) I would choose the Manor as my option and how wonderful they are for offering it.

If I were out and about and wanted to pick up groceries on my way home from somewhere, a nice way is pick-up. It saves you money.

However, if I wanted to enjoy the extra time at home for something else and didn’t mind the cost- then delivery would be the option. I decided that over time, I would be saving money as well as having more options if I chose Instacart.com. I could see myself buying from Costco and Albertsons and Safeway and the Vitamin Shoppe. After the 10^thvisit, my cost per shopping experience is the service charge and the extra costs of the items not on sale. But I think that would balance out and the fact that I could shop at more stores would make up for it.

I really want to thank everyone for their help and information in allowing me to make my decision and I hope my information helps you decide what works for you.

Here is a link to a table that easily compares all of the options: Table for Instacart Information