There are lots of great things going on in grocery delivery. I get excited about tests of home delivery in San Francisco and New York. I am envious of Peapod services in Boston. Those of us who live in rural areas know that we are not likely to see drones in the sky any time soon. So I was thrilled when Hannaford announced that Hannaford To Go, a click and collect service, was opening at my local store.
Order
I tried it out Saturday amid a torrential downpour. From the comfort of my living room chair, I placed my order. The website was clunky but manageable. I ordered at 8:39 am. The earliest pick-up time offered was 1:00 pm. I chose 2:00 to 3:00 pm. Around 10 am I received a call regarding my deli order; apparently I had duplicated an item. A very nice woman called to confirm that I wanted the duplicate. I did not and they removed it.
Announce, Wait, & Deliver
I arrived at the To Go drive-through, unfortunately uncovered, at 2:19 pm and announced my arrival via the speaker box. A woman came out and informed me that there had been a substitution on one of my items. I declined the substitution and she went back in to update my order. Twelve minutes after arriving I saw a woman wheeling my order out of the store. Not bad considering the time I would have spent shopping, but it seemed like a long time. Imagine sitting for twelve minutes at McDonald’s drive-through window. The woman loaded lots of bags in my car. I signed and off I went, never getting out of the car.
Home
My order was loaded in lots of bags with handles. I usually bring my own reusable bags for shopping so this is something I need to consider. Each bag was labeled with my order number. There were more bags than I would had in a regular shopping trip. I think this was do to some department sortation in the picking process. My order was complete: I ordered produce, deli, meat, dairy, beer, and general merchandise. Everything showed up pretty much as if I had picked it myself.
Hannaford has some things to work out as they get up to speed but I am excited to have a new option!