I was thoroughly impressed and charmed by the efficiency (and total lack of contact) in picking up my 'To Go' groceries, a new offering at our Hannaford's, but there are a few things I would do differently next time ...
Checking the 'No Substitutions' box turned out to be way too sweeping, and exclusionary. It precluded substituting smaller or larger packages of a selected product when the size I'd checked wasn't available. My order of an 8lb bag of oranges, which could easily have been replaced with 2x 4lb bags, wasn't able to be filled. There were no quart sized cartons of the brand of light cream I buy, so there was NO light cream at all in my order. Zero. Zilch. Now, there are very few things I can't live without, but light cream for my coffee is one of them. No way was that acceptable or recommended (for the sanity and well-being of others). I had shot myself in the foot with my sweeping request.
Turns out, I had to go into the store to have my 2nd Shingles vaccine anyway, so I took the opportunity to load up on multiple pint sized cartons of my chosen brand of light cream, for the benefit of all! I also found some oranges in a smaller bag, as well as the Country Italian loaf and sweet onions that were 'not available.'
When I got home and began unpacking, I discovered I'd made a few ordering errors - some produce is ordered by the pound (broccoli), others by piece (tomatoes). Instead of ordering 2lbs of tomatoes, I ordered 2 tomatoes. There was also a 3lb bag of sweet onions, despite them being marked as 'unavailable' at the time of checkout . I found I had clicked on orzo pasta, instead of ziti (not a biggie), as well as choosing two 32oz bars of cheddar, instead of one - I had been hovering between 'extra sharp' and plain old 'sharp' but obviously inadvertently checked each, since my order list was evidence of this. Oh well, one will go into the freezer for a while. (And, as my kids will joke ... at least I didn't mistakenly buy a freezer, like Marge in The Simpsons).
I've realized that substitutions for fresh produce wouldn't affect my necessary soy-avoidance (unless they gave me soybeans in place of snowpeas, for instance. This is said jokingly, since I believe they do check each substitution with the customer before it's finally added to the cart). And different sized items in the same product name would also suit me perfectly.
Well, this old dog has certainly learned a few new tricks through this experience. Let's hope I remember them for next time!
I definitely still say, way to go, To Go! Highly Recommended.
I stepped outside to clear away some of the slush and ice from my porch, and noticed how intriguing a pattern the sanding truck had made on the road on its last pass. I HAD to grab my camera, and before I knew it, I'd taken eight photos of our roadway! Here are just 3:
