Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

We have been ordering Peapod for 3 yrs now. It started out great, but we have been having so many issues with them.
I'm going to list :
-Late delivery (sometimes no call to let us know)
-Expired or close to expired food (mostly meat) or sometimes the date is fine but smells horrible, old.
-Not so fresh fruits & vegetables (we have had rotten potatoes, welted greens, moldy/rotting tomatoes , terribly bruised fruit )
-Containers that are open and spilled in a bag like strawberries, tomatoes ...
- item was out of stock
-item was replaced by another brand
When there is an issue I call them and they refund, no questions asked, but the problem is I still have to go to a store and get that item(s) .
I can go on and on. Now you might ask why do we still order from them, well, one reason, because it's so convenient and with 2 kids and our crazy schedules it makes things "easy" but I'm starting to ask myself if it really is easy.
I mean how do you ship a product that is rotten, or expid, or expiring the next day , or smells, or how do you run out of apples or tomatoes ?

We did try Fresh direct once, but it was way too $$$ .
Wondering if we should try another company .
Do you ever have these issues with your grocer? If not which one do you use?

Message edited 8/30/2013 4:33:02 PM.

Re: Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

I've been noticing more problems with Peapod lately than in the past, and I am also starting to wonder if Fresh Direct is the better option.

They haven't delivered me anything that has gone bad (yet anyway...), but today, I had the whole fiasco. It's also been taking them forever to unload the truck the last couple of times...almost as though they cannot find the bags anywhere. Their bagging is also getting strange...I had a slightly leaky bottle of shampoo in the same bag as avocados. A few of my bags were soaking wet. I'm not sure what's up with them lately....maybe they are taking on more than they can handle.

Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

I've done shoprite from home and picked it up in store. It was great and since I checked no substitutions the person called me several times to see if I wanted an alternative or not. The produce was all good. The only issue I did have was meat with a sell by date the next day. I wasn't happy but I sometimes forget to check myself so it's understandable.

Re: Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

ShopRite from home has been awesome, but you have to pick up the order- you pull up outside and they load it in your car for you. Not sure how pea pod works, but I like that a trained ShopRite store employee shops in the store for you...don't know if pea pod is on store level or warehouse. ShopRite also calls me before sending any substitutions and to tell me if something is out of stock.

ETA-I leave notes on my produce order like "green/unripe bananas only" or "no nicks or soft spots on cucumbers" and so far they've listened.

Message edited 8/30/2013 5:06:58 PM.

Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

I have never had good luck with any meat or produce products from Peapod. I do not order from them anymore with those items. I mainly use peopod for everything else but fresh. Water, soda, snacks, cereals, paper products, etc is basically what I order from them. I prefer to pick out my own meats and produce anyway. I have never had any issue with delivery or substitutions though. I think it really varies from store to store.

Re: Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

I had similar issues with Peapod (can't tell you how many times I've had cracked eggs delivered to me!) and now do FreshDirect pretty regularly.

Even though FreshDirect is more money, IMO it's still worth it. I spend less with them than I would dragging my two kids to the store and buying more than what's on my list.

Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

I had all those issues with both Peapod and Waldbaum's. I tried FreshDirect 2 weeks ago and it was amazing! Nothing was substituted, all produce was so fresh, meat looked perfect. It was more expensive, but definitely worth it for not having the hassle of going back to the store!!

Re: Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

That stinks....I would never order a peapod delivery for the reasons listed. I want to see every item I get and pay for, and make sure it's the best quality possible.

Plus someone I know swears a giant water bug/cockroach came in their delivery order .

Message edited 8/30/2013 9:41:05 PM.

Re: Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

I order Fresh Direct weekly. They are truly amazing!

Re: Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

To be honest, I would forgo the convenience of Peapod and just make the time to go grocery shopping, because what is it really benefitting you if the groceries are inedible?

Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

We use Fresh Direct. They send out a coupon for free delivery almost every Monday or Tuesday. It is expensive, but we have very few issues.

Re: Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

We were using Peapod for awhile and then I just got tired of the quality of the meat and produce we were receiving.

They have great customer service, the few times I didn't receive an item or it was spoiled they refunded no questions asked.

For the last 2 months we've been ordering from Fresh Direct and wow what a difference in quality AND price!

I pay about $30 more than what I was paying for Peapod with FD and with lesser items. I don't buy as much fruit with FD because it adds up fast but whatever I do buy is delicious. I also only buy 1-2 packages of meat for the week. We had porterhouse steaks this week and they were so good and worth the price.

I actually don't mind having to buy lesser items because it forces us to use whatever we have in the house versus letting things go to waste. I order every Sunday for Monday delivery.

I also like their selection for heat and eat meals. I get home after 6 on most nights and getting dinner ready before putting DS to bed is tricky. The meals as all made fresh and meant to be eating within a few days. DH requests the Shepard pie every week

Message edited 8/31/2013 9:43:44 AM.

Re: Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

-Expired or close to expired food (mostly meat) or sometimes the date is fine but smells horrible, old.


THIS!!!!!!!


Even when I did store pick-up one time... I order, they bag it, I drive there and pick it up... and they tell you when to pick it up/when it will be ready... and they only gave us 24 hours to use the meat (it was for later in the week- i cant use 3 packages of meat in 1 day and i didnt want to freeze) and it already looked/smelled bad anyway. Gross. I didn't ever do it again.

I'll do peapod for aisle type foods. No way do I want to do meat or produce anymore...

Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

Peapod was giving me gross meat and horrible fruits and veggies. I've had a much better experience with ShopRite from home. I'm really funny about berries and I can look at them before I pay. Much more
Convenient for me.

Re: Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

It's funny you posted this because we just started using Peapod and I opened a salad bag that smelled rotted. They also didn't have some of the items.

Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

I use to use Fresh Direct fairly frequently, because of the convenience. But I realized that the selection was more limited, and for more expensive, for items that never lasted as long. When I would go to Fairway (which is the best grocery store remotely near me in Brooklyn), I could get 2 weeks out of a lot of produce, while I was barely getting a week (if that) from FD stuff. There were plenty of times where 2 days later I would go to use stuff and find it slimy or moldy. They give you a credit for it (though always to be applied to your next order, not back on your card), but that doesn't change that you have to go through the inconvenience of contacting them and the hassle of not being able to use half of what you were expecting to use.

Plus they never actually give you the amount you ask for - always too much or too little.

I gave up on them two times ago, when so much of my produce was bad that I had to make a separate trip to the store. I made them put it on my card instead of into my account.

I had to order from them last week because our car was broken so I had no way to get to the store, and some of the stuff was good, but some was iffy. And one of the yogurts was punctured on the top, which I guess could happen except that the other yogurts were packaged in cardboard containers and this one was in a plastic bag - which means that someone saw that it was punctured, and gave it to me (and charged me for it) anyway. I complained, and they gave me an extra $5 credit on top of the yogurt price but only back on my account.

I will use the credits I have for FD for shelf items and heavy stuff like soda, so I don't have to shlep it, but I really think I am done beyond that.

Re: Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

I lived by peapod for the last three years. I won't use them anymore unless I'm desperately busy. 65% of my weekly groceries are fresh produce and meat, so there's no way I can use them with the quality of their fresh foods. It sucks bc I have to schlep to two different stores each week to find what I want, but I'd rather have good, fresh food.

Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

We used peapod for a few months when dd was first born and it was very convenient. But we stopped using them because it started to be that with every delivery at least one or more item we ordered didn't come because they were out of it or they tried to replace it with something else we didn't want. It was annoying because I would order all the ingredients to make a certain meal and if one ingredient was out of stock then it pretty much made it a waste to even get the rest of the ingredients since I would have to go to the store to get that last ingredient to actually make the meal.

There were also times they didn't bring certain items but charged me anyway and then I had to waste time calling to get it refunded.

Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

I've been ordering for a while and don't usually have any issues, but strangely last time they brought me the wrong milk, and they actually gave me more bananas and limes than I paid for lol

I've never had an issue with the meats...

Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

I used Pea Pod for months. But had to stop because, more often than not, things that I needed were out of stock, so I had to go to the store anyway. It sucks though because we spend so much more going to the actual store.

Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

To me, FD is like Fairway. Great quality, but not cheap. But I live in a walk up and the concept of delivering groceries is embraced thoroughly in my home! But for us, our closest grocery store is Waldbaums...and it's not one of the nice ones. So for Waldbaums prices and Fairway quality, I'll take FD. As another poster said, I'm not getting as much, but it's GOOD food.

I'll do peapod when I have a coupon code for a free delivery (rare) and I'll stock up on sale items that don't go bad.

Another post /vent about grocery delivery (sort of spinoff) wondering if I'm alone in this

I recently got into a discussion with DH's aunt over why I go food shopping after the kids are in bed and dinner is over.... 10pm, lol
She couldn't understand why I didn't do peapod. I explained to her all of the reasons you gave here. I honestly thought I was the only one, but it seems like the same problems across the board. I got spoiled yogurt from them, too.
I love shopping when no one is in the supermarket and the cashiers don't even pay attention to the coupons they scan.... Lol