Superstore West Kelowna Online Shopping

[W105]

so Superstore in West Kelowna now offers online shopping...

you can order 4 hrs in advance (like at 6am if you want), pull into one of the designated parking stalls and they will come to your vehicle with a debt machine and put them in your trunk...

pros--

saves large amounts of time if you're a large order grocery shopper

costs $3-$5 service charge

no line ups and no bagging your own groceries

cons--

will it take jobs ??

you might not see what's on sale in store (clearance areas)

they can sub a different food item if the item requested is not available

will you always get the freshest produce/meats ?? (who is shopping for you ?? a 17 yr old kid who knows little about quality etc ??)

will you spend more money than normal because of it's convenience ??

personally haven't tried it yet, but they sure are promoting big time in the store and online

[neilsimon]

I don't know much about this one, but I know that more and more people are moving to buying non-perishable groceries from Amazon, since the prices are often lower and they deliver to your door. A site by a local family using Amazon for such:
http://goalicego.com/

[GordonH]

I will using that service as much as I use self checkers, which works out to be exactly 0%.
Something to be said about choosing a cut of meat or vegetables & fruit, I suspect those filling the orders won't be very particular.
But if your shopping needs is mostly processed foods then this service is right up your alley.

[ckirkey]

I use the service quite a bit. Don't think its taking away jobs, if anything creating more as they now need "shoppers". Deals and discounts are captured in their online order system. Only caution is to pay attention to their sales cycles (like if you order on Thursday, and new deals start friday) The system remembers your frequently purchased items so it gets easier each time to order. I find i spend less money on groceries with this system- No surprises, no impulse buys, just getting whats on my list and in budget.
The selection of produce has been hit and miss, but i've never loved superstore produce anyways. Typically I get my veggies at a farm market and get staples and dairy through superstore orders. You can however put notes on each item you order like "do not substitute", "Ripe bananas", etc.

[jimmy4321]

-Be handy for those with mobility issues
-Handy for someone stuck with a dog and can't leave it in the vehicle for obvious reasons.
-For travellers who got pets and young kids they cant bring in or leave in car.

I won't use it.

[my5cents]

Does anyone know what they do when you order something that is out of stock ? SuperStore in Penticton is the WORST for not having a sale item in stock. As you walk through the aisles you'll know when you've reached an area that (used) to contain a sale item, a large empty shelf.

[JayByrd]

My wife just tried this service for the first time at the Kelowna store. We don't have a huge grocery order each week, but we find grocery shopping very time consuming, given the physical size of Superstore. The lack of choice is a definite downside; there are situations where if the store is out of X, we'll buy Y instead, but we can't do that with online ordering.

I doubt we'll use this every week, but as an occasional time saver it sounds great.

[JBX]

I mean its cool and all, but I would never use it for meats or produce.

[Fancy]

I don't mind the produce (can be better than some stores) and the meat - same. Have to know where you're getting the product and govern your choices accordingly. I like picking out my own stuff - maybe that's an option for those looking for work and are picky????

[Osoyoos_Familyof4]

I use this service a lot in Penticton Superstore. I love it! I have used it every week for a year, so I have lots of experience with it.

I think it actually saves jobs as now they have to hire "pickers" to pick the items from the shelf. It still gets bagged by someone and checked out manually by someone as the total is an estimated total on your online order, and once everything is weighed etc. it can vary a bit.

The downsides are this:

Sometimes they claim to "not have somethIng" when I know they do, it's just the picker doesn't know where it is in the store. Now if you are a really basic eater, this likely won't be your issue, but if you use a lot of specialty products regularly you will know where in the isljes to find it, but the person picking the order might not, especially if the picker doesn't even know what the product is. So, if you eat a lot of exotic stuff this can be problematic.

I have sometimes had more produce picked than I wanted because it can be difficult to gage by guesstimating amounts needed without laying eyes on it. I also have in the comments section asked for specifics (like small bananas) that they don't recognize or ignore.

Sometimes the "loss leaders" for whatever reason are not online available at the price they are advertising in the flyer. This isn't consistently happening, but it has happened to me several times.

It can be very easy to not edit your order as well as you should have ensuring your quantity amounts make sense. I have inadvertently changed something but not refreshed and doubled ordered some things or cancelled other things I wanted, but it's always been my error, and not theirs.

The great things about it:

When you have children, this totally saves you money! Without question when you shop with children who beg you for the treats etc. You will stay on track and order more what you need and not give into your children's begging for stuff, or even your own impulse buys.

When you pick it up you just pull into the stall, they will bring it out and even use your own boxes or bags you bring in your car and load it. It takes them sometimes a few minutes to put your order on their trolley etc, but it's never been more than 5-10 minutes.

If they can't find something you ordered but they found something else similar they will ask you right then if you want it, or wish to pass on it and it's taken off your total or added in.

When it's dark, and your tired and you've worked all day, it's just bloody nice to not have to do this chore. When the weather sucks I never have to leave my car! Because I have had some health issues there have been times my husband would have had to do the shopping but with this, I can do it myself very easily even when I'm not well. Once I was literally in a hospital gown on my way home from being in the hospital and I picked up an order, PLUS MY PRESCRIPTION which had been faxed to their pharmacy.

Try it folks, it's a game changer if you have a large family and kids, or mobility issues etc. I completely love this service.

[Fancy]

The option for a personal shopper has been around for a long time - I don't mind the big grocery stores finding the niche.

[jasond_71]

We have 4 kids with newborn twins. We use it and like it.
They will substitute something if they dont have it and give you update via email.
Yes produce can be hit or miss, especially berries. But it is often hard in the store to find strawberries that are good.

They gave us a credit when i said berries were bad. Amazon would definitely steal jobs but not this one. They are basically substituting a cashier for a picker.

[Bubalouie]

Why on earth would you buy berries, etc. when fruit is in season here right now, blows me away that people do that, in Costco the other day and person behind us buying strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, seriously???? go to the farmers market or one of the many stand in town and buy fresh...........SS fruits and veggies are not grade A, they buy the cheapest there is and their meat, don't get me started.

[Fancy]

Some people are strapped for time or have mobility issues and I'd rather not make separate stops for different items if one purchase does the trick.

[JayByrd]

As I said above, my wife used this service for the first time yesterday.

For those who don't know, you pick up your order by parking in a designated stall (there are four of them), then phoning in to the store to let them know you're there. When my wife arrived, all four stalls were full, and it took about 20 minutes to get one. Then another waiting period while her order was brought out. It turned out not to be the huge time saver she was hoping.

Overall, what we got was satisfactory. How much time you'll actually save still depends somewhat on luck. We'll probably use this service again at some point but we won't be regulars.