I got the Instacart delivery I mentioned above. There were a lot of subs, mostly reasonable (they do check with you, as @uni also mentioned, but it’s not always clear from a package name how good a sub it actually is unless it’s grossly off – I had to reject subbing jarred jalapenos for jarred pepperoncini for example).
There were no fresh herbs available – no cilantro, basil, chives, mint, etc. The gathering continues…
My long-awaited order arrived sans quite a few items, most of them expendable. I wouldn’t have been surprised had they been out of pork chops, but instead, it was the chicken thighs that were unavailable. The website had listed a number of things as being out of stock all along (2 wks), but when my order was confirmed at midnight the night before, everything I ordered was on it. So it’s puzzling that by noon, they were out of two kinds of yeast, cabbage, turnovers, chicken, and a few other things. I strategized that I should grab another slot for two weeks from now, in hopes those will be available. I am stocked enough that I could do without shopping for at least three weeks but I can always cancel the day before. Massachusetts ’ shutdown was just extended another two weeks, till 5/18, but I feel sure it will last longer. The famous July 4 Esplanade concert is in limbo, although weks ago, the Boston Pops’ conductor announced cancellation of the summer season.
Shalimar Food and Spices in Central Square is a place I normally don’t have much interaction with – but they have apparently started delivering within some small radius. The menu they offer on the left of their website is non-alphabetical and oddly arranged, Between “Mirch Masala Frozen Meals (10 oz)” and “Yogurt” there’s the interesting category “God series”. I leave it to the godly among you to check it out.
On a more spiritual note, I have fresh curry leaves, green chillies, methi, okra, and bitter melon on order from them. Be still my beating soul.
The Wednesday I spake of was three days ago, and the BPM delivery arrived as scheduled – minus any of the fresh herbs or greens I’d wanted. No mustard greens, no basil. But, between Stillman’s and Sienna, I got lots of apples.
On an impulse, I checked availability right away and found that (a) Mercato had a BPM slot for today, and (b) Stillman’s had ramps. You’d have to be a stronger woman than I to resist. I placed another order with, in addition to the ramps, a desperate bid for basil (thai and microgreen), mushrooms from Sienna, etc. No basil in the delivery today, but YESSSS-RAMPS! , and all my mushrooms.
Having gotten a Peapod delivery on 4/29, I was pretty much set, but still wanted chicken, cabbage, and lettuce. So this morning I thought, what the heck, try Whole Foods via Amazon again and was gobsmacke that they had available slots. I picked 4-6 pm. Got various texts and emails about the substitutions I’d okayed in advance. I nodded off after 5:30, with my tablet beside me, the email noise set to the loudest. I woke on my own at 6:30. No email had arrived, but according to my Amazon account, the order was delivered precisely at 6:00. And there it was at my door, on a 70°+ day, all warm and wilty. Considering the temperature, I suppose it’s a good thing that rather than the 3# of conventional chicken thighs ordered, they delivered 1.4# of Bell&Evans. And small clamshells of lettuce rather than the full heads I ordered. But you’d think that substitutions would approximate the amounts ordered. Of course, they managed to charge as much for the lesser weights as my original estimated total. I should have taken a screenshot of the original order because THAT is now not retrievable and I’m not sure I’m remembering all the things they omitted entirely. This was WF delivery’s third and final chance with me, and they failed.
Yes, AmaWhoFo has this peculiar practice of simply sending an email upon delivery, not texting or calling or ringing the buzzer, even if you ask them to. Can’t blame the deliverers because they’re harried and probably simply press whatever button they’ve been told to press on their device. But, we can blame the company for not having better better software.
The question of the original vs final order is problematic for WF and for Instacart. When you place an order both do send an email conformation, but instead of explicitly listing there what you’ve ordered and the prices, they link to an order page that changes when the order is being filled as items are replaced or dropped. So, as @greygarious says, unless you go to the trouble of keeping the original order yourself, you can’t make a real comparison.
Mercato sends the original order explicitly in an email, so with that service you can compare. Ditto toast, the service that places such as Forge use.
I am a bit surprised to read that - WF always sends text during the shopping, when they delivered (and rings the bell) etc and not just emails. In addition I can see in my Amazon/WF account what was the original order and what was a replacement with amounts and prices. Same with Instacart where I can see what was the original order and any replacement with prices etc.
Yes, you do see what was replaced with what, but NOT what price was quoted originally, just what they charged you at the end. I meant price comparisons. See, for example, this
And, I’ve had delivery from WF around 4 times when such deliveries were easier, and they’ve always simply dropped off and sent an email. Perhaps there’s some setting I’m missing which will make them text on dropoff, as they do when they shop.
Are you ordering via Prime Now or Amazon Fresh?
If you have the Prime Now app installed in your mind phone, enable notifications. You will get notified as soon as your food is delivered with a notification on your lock screen and sound alert if you desire.
Also via the app you can pull up any order and see the exact detail of the cost of a replacement item vs the original order.
I am using a tablet. Prior to this, they emailed as soon as the order was delivered.
Thanks, @uni. That’s useful to know. In my case I order off my computer, since I keep records on it, too, of what I’m cooking with what I’m buying, etc. I don’t use my phone much, except to make calls (and text and take pics). I should try delivery apps.
I tend to put my orders together on the computer as well. If you download and log into the app with the same account, you will see and receive notifications for the orders placed via computer, as well as being able to drill into receipt information after the fact. You do not need to use the app to place the order in order to be able to use the other functionality.
Thanks.
Insightful, @uni. You may have also run into other situations in which functionality is different across an app, desktop (PC) website, and mobile (phone, tablet) website?
When I’m not happy with the experience offered via one type of device, I’ll pop over to another and sometimes I’ll find a more useful experience there.
Different interfaces are by design in the digital world, of course. I frequently find that frustrating.
After some e-nudging, Shalimar delivered tonight everything green I’d ordered, plus some snacks (plantain chips and suchlike). It’s going to be bitter melon time in the fd household tomorrow.
Did some research this week and confirmed that Instacart IS marking up the item prices on their orders (up to 20% in some cases), whereas Whole Foods via Prime does not. Needless to say, I won’t be using Instacart once I am comfortable shopping in supermarkets myself.
Gambling on next week’s Misfits Market box having the produce I need, I cancelled next Wednesday’s Peapod delivery, because I won’t actually need the $60 minimum worth of items, and I didn’t think it was cricket to wait until the previous day. Out of curiosity, a few minutes later I checked their time slots, and mine was already gone, even though it was after midnight when I cancelled. It appears that they have different delivery hours on different days of the week.
I have a sizeable Instacart delivery from Market Basket scheduled for Friday afternoon between 4-6p.m. (Waltham, I’m guessing, since there’s a store about three miles away from me.) It includes several things for our son and daughter-in-law as well, so it will be a good sample of what is available that day, anyway. I’ll definitely report back about supplies, substitutions, notifications, etc. This will be a good test to see if I want to take my chances again, or spring for the $200+ yearly Mercato fees.
Some quotes from the article:
"Instacart was the worst offender when it came to hiding extra costs in certain transactions. "
“On a recent visit to Costco, I picked up a large pack of dental floss for $12.99. In the Instacart app, the same package from Costco was $15.89, or a 22.3 percent markup. Many Costco items inside the Instacart app were inflated by at least 20 percent, including olive oil and a carton of eggs.”
Since I use Instacart a lot in NYC I was generally aware of the markups, but not the extent of them. (The prices on restaurant delivery services such as Seamless, Caviar, etc., also often have markups. The Craigie roast chicken which is now $45 at Craigie is still $55 on Caviar.)
I put in an Instacart order on April 24 that was scheduled for today, and have just now received a message that said “your Instacart employee was unable to complete your order”. Have I mentioned lately that I really, really, really hate online ordering? (I know. I have.)
Slighly later edit: they apparently at least found someone else to pick up the order, so I think I’m at least going to get some stuff…
