Sunday, August 15, 2010

Safeway Grocery Delivery (And A Contest!)

One of the drawbacks to the carfree lifestyle in Phoenix in summer is the idea of grocery shopping. Yes, I live across from a Fry's, but when it's 108 you don't feel like walking over there to find something to eat, particularly something nutritious that might require cooking. One may then wind up eating Hungry Man dinners, not that I know anything about that, cough.

So when I was contacted with an offer to go ahead and try Safeway's Grocery Delivery, I jumped at it because I am very busy these days.

I had looked at it before, but I do eat a lot of fruits and veg (or at least try to) and not so much on processed foods* and was a little weirded out by letting others pick them out. I am a big impulse shopper, and not a list maker when it comes to groceries, which I know is bad.

So I set out with the Safeway circular and an issue of Cooking Light to pick out some groceries. I deliberately got some things that I'd have a hard time with walking home with (kitty litter and 2 kinds of soda) along with the sort of things I'd usually get--the London broil that's on sale, ingredients for cornbread (notably corn that's on sale), pineapple stone fruit chutney, and bulgar salad. I got a little freaked when choosing tomatoes--I went for the hothouse on sale but secretly wondered if they'd be pink or in poor condition, which if I were in store would mean I'd just go for the equally priced Romas.

Safeway lets you pick from 2 hour and 4 hour delivery windows--the 4 hour windows are cheaper, but you're stuck at home waiting as they don't call to let you know they are on their way. I needed my groceries today, so I planned to clean house from 11am-3pm and wait. I barely got a chance to do so, because my delivery showed up at 11:05.

First off everything that arrived that was perishable arrived cold. The nectarines and peach were hard, which is actually good--I prefer to let my fruit ripen in house, plus pineapple chutney is a later in the week project. And they look nice, as do the cucumbers and tomatoes. The London broil also looks good. I swear, the ginger root looks like it was just harvested and sent from Asia last night on a plane. I was also able to get orange juice with lots of pulp but not laced with calcium--I prefer it, but sometimes it's hard to find in the store.

I tried to tip Robert, but he wasn't allowed to accept my fiver. And he carried up a 20lb box of litter plus 2 12 packs of soda!

Yes, I was pleased--and I can see a lot of uses for this even if you can drive. Throwing a party after work? You can put in an order and have it all delivered, or just the soda, cutting some time off your prep. You can also get groceries for someone with a new baby, or who is sick or had surgery. Or if you're going away for a weekend but know when you'll be home, you can get groceries delivered so you're not scrambling at the end of your holiday to hit the grocery store.

The only things I'd suggest are maybe double bagging the meat--my London broils were drippy--and letting people have the extra discounts from the coupons in the circular. For instance, the sale price for kitty litter as a Safeway member was $6.99, but there was an extra coupon in the Safeway circular that gave you an extra $1 off. There were a lot of plastic bags, which I need, but I know that gives others conniptions. The other thing to note is that although the online order form gives you a cost, it can be a little more or less due to the weight of meat and tax. My quoted charge was $51, but actual total was $54 and change.

If you want to give this a try, click here to start and use the promo code "atomic" for free delivery and $7 off your order. Offer expires 10/31.

I also received a $100 Safeway gift card for a contest. Leave a comment with something from your grocery list, and I'll use the random number generator to pick a winner . Comments are open between now and next Friday, 8/20, at 5pm.

FTC disclaimer: A representative of Safeway contacted me and offered me the 2 Safeway gift cards ($100 each; 1 for me for a reimbursement for my order and 1 for the contest) and the promo code if I'd write about my experience.

*Yes, except for tv dinners. When I eat crap, I eat absolute crap.

3 comments:

tracyh said...

I like free groceries.

helen said...

I've used Safeway delivery, too. Our car was in the shop for extended repairs. Like you, I was worried about the produce, but it was alright. I was a little frustrated that one item I needed for a recipe was out of stock, and so I got everything else, but not that one thing. ARGH. Otherwise, a great experience. Our delivery guy was charming, and carried everything into the kitchen for me. :)

Craig Can't Dance said...

Bacon is on my list. For what you ask... EVERYTHING!