Got our first grocery delivery, reeked of cigarette smoke

[ronandannette]

That's a shame. I've had mixed success with Door Dash but good luck with Instacart. When I had knee surgery and was stuck in bed for a month it was a godsend for making sure the family had groceries and other necessary items. I even got dog food from Costco delivered to my front door that way. There's no way I could have done so otherwise.
I have asthma and have found going to the grocery stressful these days. As a result, I have experimented with different ways of getting groceries other than going into the store. I've liked Instacart best. I've been able to place an order the night before and chosen first available. I like the format the website has for giving instructions and backup options. So far I've gotten almost everything I need (except toilet paper) pretty early the next day and the shoppers have followed my instructions to knock and leave the groceries on the front stoop so I can safely bring everything in. I'm sensitive to smoke and nothing has smelled off.

I’ve had instacart deliver numerous times in the past 2 months and haven’t had a single issue. I love the fact we stay in contact. Some are better than others, I was able to see that a shopper substituted organic srouted whole wheat for my gluten free bread (dd has celiac) and was able to tell him that wouldn’t work.

Success with Instacart completely depends on how good/efficient/available the quality of the service is locally. I don't know if it's because there are just so many people using it or because there's a lack of personnel, but it's less-than-useless here. Even now, when one would expect demand trends to have caused the number of providers to increase, it's still over a week for the "next available" delivery time from some stores. I've only tried it once and won't try it again. I took a delivery time that was 8 days out, that date was changed/delayed 3 times in the interim and the delivery finally showed up to my (closed) office in the mid-evening, despite my specific instructions and communication with the driver.

 

[mjkacmom]

Success with Instacart completely depends on how good/efficient/available the quality of the service is locally. I don't know if it's because there are just so many people using it or because there's a lack of personnel, but it's less-than-useless here. Even now, when one would expect demand trends to have caused the number of providers to increase, it's still over a week for the "next available" delivery time from some stores. I've only tried it once and won't try it again. I took a delivery time that was 8 days out, that date was changed/delayed 3 times in the interim and the delivery finally showed up to my (closed) office in the mid-evening, despite my specific instructions and communication with the driver.

I used to pick up my groceries every week after shopping online, but there are no slots to be had, even if I stay up to midnight when they open up another day. I can get an instacart slot within 3 days, about a dozen stores, and they’ve always been on time, even though the shoppers have to wait in lines outside of the stores. They usually ask me if I need anything else before checking out. I do tip 15% which is usually about $50 (start to finish can be close to 2 hours).

I have a credit card dispute open with shipt, I spent $99 to sign up for the service because I was desperate to get groceries to my IL’s (no instacart in their area, couldn’t get a grocery store slot), and have never been able to get a slot, and haven’t been able to contact them to cancel.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The shopper must have smoked continuously the four miles from the store to our house. The smell dissipated quickly but really turned me off to the idea of grocery delivery.

Not necessarily. If the car belongs to a long-time smoker, the smell is imbedded and can transfer to items placed in the car, even briefly.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Not necessarily. If the car belongs to a long-time smoker, the smell is imbedded and can transfer to items placed in the car, even briefly.

This is totally true. When I was in school I helped a teacher with a project after school and she gave me a ride home when we were done. She was a smoker - ashtrays full. She did not smoke with me in the car at all, and we rode with the windows open, but my mother said that I reeked of smoke and made me shower when I got home.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yeah, my brother had to drive my car after one of tge times I broke my leg, and complained that h had to put his suit coat in the trunk.

 

[ronandannette]

I used to pick up my groceries every week after shopping online, but there are no slots to be had, even if I stay up to midnight when they open up another day. I can get an instacart slot within 3 days, about a dozen stores, and they’ve always been on time, even though the shoppers have to wait in lines outside of the stores. They usually ask me if I need anything else before checking out. I do tip 15% which is usually about $50 (start to finish can be close to 2 hours).

I have a credit card dispute open with shipt, I spent $99 to sign up for the service because I was desperate to get groceries to my IL’s (no instacart in their area, couldn’t get a grocery store slot), and have never been able to get a slot, and haven’t been able to contact them to cancel.

We've taken to just doing our shopping in-store, adhering to all applicable restrictions. It's just too much hassle to use either pick-up or delivery.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

That would really bother me. We’ve done curbside pick up more than delivery (and ironically haven’t done it in months) so the groceries stay inside the store until you arrive to get them.

 

[TLSnell1981]

We almost exclusively use delivery or curbside service. We've had no problem whatsoever.