Grocery Delivery
- See Also: Produce Delivery
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Buying grocery online
Dec 2002
I recently ordered from safeway.com for the first time and the experience wasn't that great (more below), so I'd like to know if this was an exception or if other people had similar experiences. Also, how about experiences with other online-groceries like albertsons.com? What happened:Essentially I got a different flavor/scent for a number of things that I ordered without that being marked as substitution plus for some things where I ordered one I got two (without being billed for the surplus items). To me it looks like the person selecting the stuff in the store does not pay any attention at all. Overall I got more than I paid for, but if this is what usually happens, I'm not likely to use it again. You can return things that you did not order but this would mean you really have to check every single item while the driver is waiting and if there are that many mistakes you end up not getting half the things you ordered. an annoyed online-shopper
I have been using Albertson's online ordering for about 6 months. I place an order about every 2 weeks (we visit the Bowl for all our fresh stuff, just use online ordering for Cokes, TP, diapers, etc.) I was a weekly Webvan customer -- still torn up about that -- Albertson's is not as good as Webvan. I looked at both Safeway and Albertson's and started using the latter because when I looked, they had a wider selection and more of the products I wanted. For example, when I checked 6 months ago, the only kind of milk I could get from Safeway was Lucerne, whereas Albertsons had several brands to choose from. I have been OK with Albertson's, so I never have gone back to try Safeway. Maybe it is better than it was when I looked before. At any rate...
Re substitions: Albertson's lets you choose whether you want them to substitute a similar brand. I always pick ''no'' for substitutions and so far they have not done that. I wouldn't like it either.
Re out-of-stock items: Typically of 20 items I order, 1 or 2 will be out of stock. That is acceptable for me.
Re items I didn't order: Albertson's sometimes throws in ''bonus'' items that I really don't want. For instance, during July they had a special 4th of July thing where they give you BBQ items if you spend more than some hard-to-determine amnount of money. a pack of cheapo cookies, a pound of ground beef, store brand bbq sauce, buns, etc. However my babysitter was very pleased to have the items. And you can opt out.
Re: mixed-up items: I can only remember 1 or 2 times when I got the wrong thing. For example, once I got AA batteries instead of AAA. This has not been a very big problem.
They have only come later than they said one time, and that time they phoned me. (out of about 20 orders - that's pretty good!) The delivery guy - usually the same one every time, is friendly enough, fast and efficient.
All in all, I would say it is very convenient and I will continue to use Albertson's. It ain't the Berkeley Bowl, and it ain't Webvan either, but it sure beats lugging packs of diapers, softdrinks, laundry detergent, etc. out of the car and up the steps. Ginger
I still miss Webvan! That aside, I've tried Albertsons.com about half a dozen times and use planetorganics.com weekly for produce/organic products. Albertsons is no webvan, but sounds better than Safeway.com from the tales I've heard (and experienced so far). The delivery fee of $9.95 seems to be made up for in the bargains/sale items. I have had missed items a few times (annoying when it's the milk!), but would recommend Albertsons. Planet organics is really awesome for produce and some smaller items. JV
I have had the same problem with safeway.com. They don't seem to select the groceries with the same care that I would. I give them feedback to try to improve the service. In terms of getting the exact item, I have found it is useful to shop using the ''favorites'' section of the website. These include items that I have purchased in the past, and are recorded thru the use of the club card. I decided not to get produce from them and have a box of produce delivered each week from one of the organic services. I only have safeway deliver periodically, to see how they are improving. busy mom
Safeway.com is NOT Webvan! Safeway.com sent me products I never ordered, substituted entirely different, lower-end products for the ones I ordered (generic ''pancake syrup'' instead of high- grade maple syrup), and obviously never looked at any of the notes written in the section carefully provided on the order form (I received 2 pounds bulk carrots, not 2 bags of little baby carrots as requested). Waiting time on the phone to talk to customer service: 8 minutes. Waiting time to get a response to my e-mail: 8 days. Response from Safeway.com: impersonal form letter telling me to read the fine print, which apparently says my one-time delivery fee of $10 is worth more to Safeway.com than my long-term satisfaction. Getting only 80% of the order right still meant I had to go back to the store for the remaining 20% --- how frustrating! Debra (Thanksgiving for 14)
Your experience sounds pretty typical. I used Safeway.com for a month or so when my baby was new born and I had similar experiences to what you described every time. They made a lot of substitutions, gave me several things I didn't order or pay for and if I wanted to return things I had to fill out paper work while the driver was there. I have to add that I thought it was worth it at the time because I was recovering from a c-section but you really don't have that much control over your shopping. Danielle
I really like Good Eggs. There is no delivery fee if you spend at least $60 and you don't tip the driver. There is a $3.99 good jobs fee added to every order. Price of food is similar to El Cerrito Natural Grocery in my experience--not cheap but reasonable for what you get, and selection is similar too--most produce is organic, you're not going to find everything that's at Safeway, but it works for me. They're a local company who pay their employees well, use local farms and suppliers and have been very responsive and helpful when I've had a problem. I also often get their meal kits and have my kids make dinner!
Amazon Prime Now from Wholefoods and Instacart from multiple grocery chains. Sure there are others, but in the Bay area these are the big ones I know of.
Admittedly, I just relocated from Chicago two months ago and am woefully ignorant to most of what Berkeley has to offer thus far. However, there were a variety of services to use there, all of which tend to cost more because you have a delivery fee. These range from monthly to a per-delivery fee, but all seem to be in the $5-10 range for one trip.
InstaCart is an app where someone who's like an Uber driver will go to a store and get what's on your list. They deliver from a variety of stores, such as Costco, PetSmart, Whole Foods, Safeway, and CVS.
Peapod is a grocery delivery web site that would come during particular windows of time on certain days of the week. That sounds like your Safeway experience. I'm honestly not sure if it's around here and I haven't seen a truck since I moved.
We also used a system that delivered "ugly" produce at a discount that couldn't be sold in stores. It's kind of like a CSA but you get an abnormally large carrot or tiny potatoes. Prices are based on frequency of delivery and weight. Another one I've heard of recently is called Hungry Harvest.
If you have Amazon Prime, you can get the first 30 days of a "pantry box" delivered free. It's either $7.99 for a box, no matter how much is in it, or like $5-6 per month for "free" two-day delivery. They own Whole Foods now, so you have more options, but not for fresh food. I believe they now have an "Amazon Fresh" food delivery option.
Lastly, Target has a same-day delivery service called "Shipt."
I hope some of this information is helpful!
If you are an Amazon Prime member you can get free delivery from Whole Foods within 2 hours. There is also Instacart and Target and Amazon for same day delivery. Plus many more.
The Instakart app is great - has Berkekey Bowl, Whole Foods, Costco among others.
I have used Instacart several times with excellent results. There are a variety of stores to choose from. Some stores have a surcharge and some do not. The first delivery is free and it is $5.99 after that.
We use GoodEggs regularly for this. They do not deliver from other grocery chains; instead, they have their own warehouses. When looking at items that are the same brand, prices are the same. However, they tend to have higher end brands. Their produce cannot be beaten. Plus they have excellent customer service, a fair minimum wage, and all drivers are employees, not contractors.
If you have Amazon Prime, you can get free delivery of groceries from Whole Foods, just go to "Prime Now" within Amazon. There are also groceries available from Amazon directly that are delivered via Prime Now. Otherwise I use Instacart regularly. They deliver from many different stores, but at some you pay slightly higher than in-store prices, and some you don't. I just use it for Target since those prices are identical to the in-store prices. And Target is great for basic groceries and of course paper products, etc (much cheaper than Safeway). I was also unimpressed w/ Safeway delivery, used it once and never again. Instacart is not perfect, I'll occasionally get less-than-great produce or a missed item, but their customer service is excellent and i'm instantly refunded, no questions asked.
I signed up for Instacart over a year ago and it's been a game-changer for my family. I was tired of running out of milk, bread, eggs, etc. They deliver from Whole Foods, Berkeley Bowl, BevMo, Sprouts, Costco, Safeway, Smart and Final, CVS, Petco, Sur La Table, Village Market. Sometimes the prices are higher than in store, but it varies depending on where you order from. They offer same-day delivery, and you pick a one-hour window of time you want. If you buy the Express membership ($99/year) you have unlimited free delivery, as long as you order $35 or more per delivery. Unless you order alcohol, you do not have to be home when they deliver. You can instruct them to leave the bags at your front door, and also specify what products you want in case something you order is not available. Every once in a while they make mistakes and they credit my account right away. I still enjoy picking out my produce from the farmer's market, but now rely on Instacart to get all the basic stuff. Try it! Saves me a huge amount of time.
Instacart. It is a $150/year. It does your local stores with no mark up in cost. In my zip code it includes: safeway, whole foods, berkeley bowl, sprouts, bevmo, cosco, smart and final. Love it.
Hi, I’ve been using GoodEggs grocery service for a couple of years now and have been very happy with it. I like that I can get most of the weekly staples, meal kits, and especially that they get a lot of their products from local and organic suppliers. You can order anytime and depending on what time you place your order, will have your groceries that day or the next. There are no commitment or membership requirements.
If you order please consider entering a code to help support Albany High School as they are offering 5% of each order placed back to the school for the months of October and November. If you’re a new customer you’ll also receive $15 off your first order placed. The website link is http://schools.goodeggs.com/ and the code to enter is ALBANYCOUGARS.
Enjoy!