Sue C.
Yelp
This regards Costco's 2 hour delivery service provided by InstaCart. After reading Britt's review about InstaCart I was sold to give them a try and I'm grateful that she took time to write her review - it's changing my shopping habits! Yay, Yelp!
So I'm in love - and this love ain't cheap - but still, I'm in love.
Last Sunday, we ordered 9 Costco items from their site while sipping morning coffee in our pajamas. Within 2 hours we had frozen food, cold food, cooked food and dry goods delivered to the house. We saved so much time that we watched a movie and played in the pool instead of driving to Costco, looking for a spot, fighting the crowds, waiting on line to check out, loading the car, negotiating the parking lot, driving home and unloading the car. I told you, it's love.
But it's not cheap. Costco adds a fee to each item we order - which they clearly state on their site. And it adds up. But I'd rather spend the money for someone else to have the Costco experience. Right now I'm at work and the rotisserie chicken, produce, beverages and more are being picked on my behalf. I don't have to go there after work or on the weekend when everyone else is there. It's a beautiful thing.
Once I shop - buying sale, coupon and regular priced items - the site asks me if I'll accept substitutes on specific items. I say no - but you could accept their suggested substitute. Once the order is completed the site tells me there's still time to add to the order until the shopper starts picking the items. Then, I get a text that my items are being picked. As items are scanned, the Costco site tells me if my items were available. There's a timeline to show me the order was received, in progress, complete, etc. I can enter a message for my shopper (which I do, telling the shopper to use our garage door for a quick, straight shot to our kitchen). The shopper immediately texts me back to acknowledge my message. OMG this is so cool!
Last week, we were a bit surprised at the upcharge to get home delivery. This week, we're only too willing to pay the price to forego the instore experience. Hey, we choose to pay with our cash instead of our time. And when I'm enjoying pooltime later, I won't regret it!