This is the fourth article in a series of articles I have been writing about living life without a car. Last month I introduced you to the online, on-demand shopping and home delivery service Shipt. This month I am going to share my experience using it.
As you might recall, when I took my car to the shop I was completely out of groceries. “No problem,” I thought. I’ll just use Shipt. After my experience at my sister’s, I had already downloaded the app on to my iPhone from the App Store and signed up for the service. Where I live there are two stores Shipt does business with: Meijer and Target. I chose Meijer because the Meijer closest to me has more variety than the closest Target store.
I found that using the app was pretty easy. Essentially, all I had to do to select an item to buy was to tap its picture. After selecting all the items I wanted, I selected my desired delivery time, which completed my purchase. Shortly thereafter, I received an email confirming my order and soon after that, was notified who my shopper was that included her picture. About a half hour before my scheduled delivery time, I received a text message from my shopper that she was about to start shopping.
While my shopper shopped, she periodically sent me text messages when an item on my list was not available and would suggest substitutes. For example, if the store did not have the specific brand of mild salsa I requested she would suggest a different brand of mild salsa or the same brand but medium rather than mild. I could then text back with my decision, which could be to remove salsa from my list rather than accept a substitute. After my shopper finished shopping, she sent me a text that she was in the checkout line and would soon be on her way to my house.
When she arrived with the groceries, everything was in order. There were no missing items, the eggs weren’t broken, the cold items were still cold and the frozen items were still frozen. Overall, it was a very positive experience. From a convenience standpoint, it was a home run. My primary complaint is that for my liking there were a few too many items from my list that weren’t available for which I had to select a substitute. That was a bit frustrating. However, given that I was without a car, it was sure nice not to have to go without groceries even if I had to buy a few different items than originally intended.
Next month, I will write in more detail on how the app works so if you decide to try it, you will have a better understanding of how it works.
