(03-21-2020, 01:55 PM)CompSci87 Wrote: I lost confidence that Safeway can deliver when my delivery never arrived, they didn't contact me or give a way to reschedule on their site (instead just showing it as a past order as if it had been delivered), and I got no response to the "where's my order?" request form on the site. They didn't charge my credit card, so at least there was awareness somewhere that they didn't fulfill the order.
My comments on various grocery delivery options that I've tried in the last few weeks.
For all of these delivery services below, choose a delivery time first, then shop.
Pay very close to the Allow Substitution or not. At Safeway, the shopper substituted dog food for cat food.
If you allow substitution, you don't know what you'll get (a 8oz Ketchup instead of 32oz, a different brand, a different flavor, etc.) If you don't allow substitution, well, the first time I didn't get the major items (meat, vegetables, etc.); the 2nd time, there were 13 items not delivered.
Customer nonService: I spent 40 minutes on hold to Safeway before I gave up and decided to eat (not literally) the $11 for the dog food. There seems to be no option for customer service. No complaints, no returns.
As high-risk, I want delivery only. Not pick-up, not senior shopping hours.
SAFEWAY DELIVERY
I had one delivery from Safeway before the county's order and one since. Both were supposed to be by Safeway (vs DoorDash) but Safeway used DoorDash to get them to me. The delivery is from the largest area store, not from your local store.
Note that delivery.safeway.com is a delivery option by a third party, and is different than from safeway.com.
Safeway's shopping allowed me to set the delivery window (which they kept on one and missed by an hour on the other) and was relatively straight forward. I could adjust my order up until 4 hours or so before delivery. Delivery choices were for up to about 4 or 5 days in the future, so there is limited choice and likely to be filled. (I've heard rumors of a large hiring push by Safeway)
Service charge but no tipping.
You can order items and try for a delivery time later. But I've found that confusing when I try to recall where I am on groceries scheduled to arrive.
AMAZON FRESH
This was frustrating to me. I sorta presumed they'd be able to deliver, but I went 3 weeks into the future (to the end of their options) and there were no appointments available. I tried again at 9PM and at Midnight to see if a new day would open with deliveries -- nope.
NOB HILL DELIVERY
We got a delivery for 10 days in the future. We made an order at a level as though we were getting it tomorrow. When I realized that was the wrong thing to do, we weren't able to change the order, at least without removing all the items and starting over.
INSTACART (Lucky, Trader Joe's, etc.)
A Winner!
On Friday, we were able to get a delivery scheduled that night from Lucky's.
When we did the online shopping, some items were unavailable (presumably out of stock), but you know that as you shop.
They have an app or a web page (your choice) so you are notified as the delivery person picks up each item. If he chooses a replacement, you see it immediately and can accept it or reject it. You can chat with the shopper if you want. Up until the checkout begins, you apparently can ask for something else, or different.
I'm not sure if it was the shopper or the store clerk, but the items were double bagged, and all the cold items were packed together.
Service charge plus Tipping.