A Walmart Grocery Pickup Review
Walmart has not paid me to write this. All thoughts and opinions are mine... But seriously, Walmart, feel free to pay me for writing this Walmart Grocery Pickup review. Ahem.
A Walmart Grocery Pickup Review
I first heard about the Walmart Grocery Pickup this year via the internets. I quickly went online to see if the service was offered in my area... and it was not. Through Walmart's website I signed up to get notifications once the service was available in my area.
This month, Walmart Grocery Pickup emailed me and let me know that it was available in Tallahassee. Woohoo! They even gave me a $10 off $50 coupon. Even better, right?
Here is my Walmart Grocery Pickup review, which includes a play-by-play of my experience using the service for the first time. It was not what I expected!
Login
The first thing you need to do is login or create an account. While doing this you'll also verify that this service is offered in your area.
Add Groceries to Cart
The next thing you need to do is add groceries to your cart. It's pretty simple.
Go nuts.
Checkout
After you've added all the food and other miscellaneous to your cart (I bought a hose and hairclips) click on "Check out".
Choose your pickup location and pickup time.
Review and Choose Substitutions
Here's where next time I would do things differently...
See those green checks to the right of each item (in the photo below)? What that means is that if they are out of that particular item they will choose a substitution for me.
Three things were substituted in my order - cherry tomatoes, chicken broth and hairclips.
The morning of my pickup day I got a call from a Walmart associate apologizing that they were out of a particular item and asking if xyz was ok instead.
- For my cherry tomatoes, instead of the organic I ordered they gave me conventional, but yellow, cherry tomatoes.
- For the chicken broth, instead of the organic Pacific Natural Foods brand, they gave me 2 Sams Choice organic bone broths (for the price of one).
- The haircips actually looked the same to me, so I'm not sure what went on there.
*If they do substitute something they will always have you pay the least expensive price.
If I were to do it again, I think I would just not have them do substitutions. I think that will keep things simpler.
Pickup Day
Pickup day was exciting for me! I tried to get my kids excited about it too. My seven year old thought I was being weird.
Me: Son, aren't you excited about going to Walmart and the workers doing the grocery shopping for us??
Kid: Sure.
Thanks, kid.
That afternoon I got a call reminding me about pickup instructions and to let me know my groceries would be ready to be picked up at the scheduled time. They wanted me to call them about 15 minutes before I arrived.
I chose my pickup time to be 3 - 4 pm. I chose that because I have to pickup my son at 3 pm and I knew that right after that I could easily swing by Walmart. Normally, I wouldn't go grocery shopping right after pickup but I thought I could manage having someone do it for me. 😉
Here we are in the pickup line. My daughter was excited! She didn't know why though!
So after I got my son I called Walmart and told them I was on my way. They were super overly-polite on the phone. If my northern relatives heard them, they would be suspicious. They were SO polite and SO gracious.
While I was driving to Walmart I was wondering exactly how easy it would be to figure out where to go. I pulled into the parking lot and what do I see? Orange signs telling me which way to go. Easy! I like easy.
I followed the signs to the side of the building. I parked in one of the parking spots.
After I parked I called the number (the same number I called to let them know I was on my way) and let them know I was here and where I was parked. Not that anybody else was in this parking lot with me. But, I thought I'd just try to be helpful.
And then I waited about 3 minutes. And I found myself getting impatient. And then I thought how ridiculous I was being because someone was about to bring my groceries out to my car for me. 'Merica.
And then this blue vested angel showed up at my window bearing gifts. He brought a cold water and random food samples I would never normally eat or buy.
My son thought the samples were amazing. By giving him snacks they won him over. However, I bet when we come next time and there are no gift-snacks, he'll feel disappointed. LOL!
(Side note: In my bag of samples there was this seemingly random can of chickpeas. I laughed when I saw it. A can of beans? How weird! Turns out it is for this hummus mix that you put in a blender or food processor. Ooohhhh.)
After I explained my weird behavior (taking his picture) to this blue vested angel (that I'm a blogger and will be blogging about my experience) he disappeared into Walmart and reappeared only to give me more gifts.
Flowers? What is this Walmart-blue-vested magic spell I've been put under?
Meanwhile, my daughter fell asleep and missed this whole experience. If I was actually going grocery shopping I would have had to wake her up. And we all know how well grocery shopping works after you wake up a three year old from too short of a nap. (Thank you Walmart Grocery Pickup for preventing a public meltdown! Woohoo!)
While he was waiting, my son read some of his book he's reading for school. Yay!
The baby, on the other hand, whined the whole time. She was probably the least happy about the curbside service. (See? I'm not the only one feeling impatient while someone else grocery shops for me AND loads it in my vehicle. LOL!)
This is the lady that shopped and loaded my groceries (see below). I forgot to get a picture of her face. She's probably grateful.
And whoa... did you see Richard's tattoos? He's so cool. We're best friends now. Except he wouldn't tell me his last name. He said his name was "just Rich".
*FYI you are not allowed to help Walmart employees load the groceries in your vehicle. (I've totally done this though and nobody stopped me.)
*FYI you are not allowed to tip Walmart employees for loading the groceries in your vehicle.
Rich said that they hand picked everything to make sure it was the best. He also said that if I wanted my bananas to be more or less green next time to just let them know. They were perfectly yellow. Not brown or green.
After they loaded everything up, they gave me a receipt on regular paper, were overly thankful and polite (I'm not complaining... it was really sweet!) and I headed on home.
At Home
Once I got home, I brought everything inside and checked things out.
(But first, I ran to the bathroom and peed. And while I was there I thought to myself that if I actually went grocery shopping I would have had to drag all three kids to the bathroom with me. And that by using the Walmart Grocery Pickup service I avoided the whole "Walmart bathroom" experience. I'm so grateful.)
Some bags had stickers on them that said "substitution" or "fragile". The bread was labeled fragile and the items substituted were labeled too.
Here's most everything I bought, except for the hose and hairclips. The butternut squash isn't from Walmart... just ignore that. Hiding in the pile is a thing of spring mix, fresh dill and mushrooms. I paid $48 after my $10 coupon. What a deal!
Here's my order summary, but not necessarily what I got (because of substitutions).
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Walmart Grocery Pickup Review
I LOVED the Walmart Grocery Pickup service. LOVED it. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
It was so simple, saved me at least an hour of time, allowed me to avoid public restrooms with my three kids AND my three year old got to take a nap which she desperately needed (but refused to do at home).
I will absolutely use this service again. I even will buy my meat there (Costco! Get on board with this pickup thing, ok?) because they have grass-fed beef and free range chicken.
Walmart Grocery Pickup has forever changed my life. Hallelujah and amen.
(Side Note: I think this curbside pickup service would be PERFECT for going on vacation. "Grocery shop" online while driving to the destination, schedule a pickup time and bam, vacation grocery shopping is done. More time at the pool and less time at Walmart. Perfect.)
UPDATE 5/2018
I've used this service a bajillion times since I wrote this post. I'm still generally pleased with this service. Here are some thoughts...
- The "search" function on walmart.grocery.com needs some help. For example, if I type in "organic" not everything they sell that's organic pops up. Walmart, you're missing out here.
- Product photos are small which makes it difficult to decide to buy a product or not. Walmart, you could do so much better!
- I've used this service when out of town on vacation. Other stores have more products than mine. Ignorance is bliss, I guess.
- A few times I've rejected an item at pickup, but was charged for it on my final bill. I called customer service at (800) 924-9206 and they resolved the issue quickly. Wait times were negligible. One time, for my inconvenience, they even gave me a $15 coupon for a future order!
- Sometimes even if I choose "no substitutions" I am given a substituted item anyways. Sometimes I'm ok with it, sometimes I'm not. I'm happy with that because sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised with that they give me.
- I love that they give me the lower price if an item is substituted. Sometimes I come out majorly winning in these scenarios. 😉
Leave a Comment
Have you used this service? Leave a comment with your own Walmart Grocery Pickup review and let us know how it went for you!
I can't wait to try it. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I placed an order on Monday 11 am. pickup 6-7pm. Nothing went right, no contact, Emailed twice, oh yes that mean 24-48 hour response, called the CS person was LESS than helpful. Spent all of her time in passive agressive mode explain HOW it works and did not have a CLUE as to why I was having problems. I hate passive aggressive and called her on it. The CS finally called the store, they could not answer the question as to when the order would be ready. Calling grocery support is a blood JOKE on you, as they are on some other planet other than reality. Today I get a email from CS and they are offering me a 10 dollar coupon but only on the grocery. Unless I (you) plan DAYS/WEEKS in advance this is not a service that works in NW Tucson.
Side notes you do not get the opportunity for the system NOT to remember your credit information.
You are not paranoid when they ARE out to get you. I predict time will bite them in the ass and all of the credit information has been stolen. My experience lead me to think that this is a centralized system. I recommend to AVOID . Your experience may be different.
Awesome!!! So good to hear good news! I love your idea about doing curbside on a vacation.
Do you know if you can use coupons with this service?
Hey Liz! Good question. In exchange for convenience and this free service you cannot use coupons, WIC or EBT, or online coupons like Ibotta. I think some people will save money, however, by not purchasing things they didn't intend to. Impulse purchases will be at a low.
I absolutely love this service! I have four young children and shopping for groceries is a pain. With this service I get to take my time, stay within my budget and I also tend to make healthier choices. I do hope it continues to be a free service.
I save money that way and also it makes bulk shopping sooo convenient. 36 rolls of TP? no problem. That value sized 50 lb bag of dog food? sure, I got room. 4 gallons of milk so I don't have to run to the dollar store mid-week and wind up buying a candy bar, soda and a cute little useless something or other? why not?
No. You cannot use coupons, snap cards, or the Walmart Savings Catcher (I did not get a receipt and it is not eligible for online purchases). If you buy alcohol, the person picking up the order has to be at least 21 years old.
In Illinois, we can use the savings catcher. We get a receipt emailed and just have to manually type in the code. Takes a couple more minutes but still works the same.
Your pickup order is eligible for savings catcher. I just copied and pasted the barcode receipt number/id into the savings catcher app and I received my savings. My store did not issue a paper receipt just an online one.
If you go to your account after you pick up your purchase and look up the order the receipt number will be at the top of the order. You can copy the order number and paste it to savings catcher!
Fred Meyer has a new service called Clicklist. Online grocery + shopping with curbside pickup. You get the same prices as in the store, CAN use coupons (paper and digital) and get rewards points for rebates and fuel.
There is no minimum or maximum. The service is $4.95 but the first 3 times the fee is waved.
What a deal!
I have used this service numerous times. there is about a one in five failure rate, meaning there will be at least one, if not more mistakes one out of five shops.
Most common errors:
1) wrong merchandise pulled, even if you specify no substitutions
2) poor quality produce
3) some packers will toss the bags, you produce like bananas and apples will be bruised
4) DO NOT EVER leave without getting the refund or credit for the wrong merchandise. I left the store at the directions of the attendant, that a credit would be issued, and never saw the credit.
5) they ask you to call 20 minutes ahead of time, but it does not good, you wait the same amount of time as when you drive up and let them know you are there
6) I used to tip them, but the whiney kid who brought the groceries out complained to my wife that I yelled at him (which I did not). Apparently when you tell him there is a mistake, that is considered "yelling" at him. It is unprofessional, but then he is probably making minimum wage and does not give a hoot. I met the on line order grocery Manager and he seemed like he cared, but that was in the beginning,
It is convenient, but expect failure.
Just a helpful hint - Walmart associates are not allowed to accept tips and can in fact be terminated if they keep the money.
So far I haven't had this problem but at I'm prepared for it. It is still Wal-Mart and you're still getting Wal-Mart prices so...
Have you purchased any cold things, like cheese, butter, milk, or any frozen food? I'm wondering how long before your pick up time they pull your items? I don't want my milk packed in the morning if I'm not going to pick it up until 4 PM.
As far as I understand it the items are in crates in a giant walk in cooler until you arrive. Perfectly cold.
My ice cream wad melted and meat was kuke warm
They keep everything in a refrigerator until you get to the store
Cold stuff such as dairy and meat are kept in a cooler and frozen is kept in a freezer to maintain its temperatures I love this service
Walmart has a specific area in pickup with refrigerators and freezers to keep your order cold. The pickers start in the early morning and stage these items for quick delivery.
Horrible! 46 minutes to pick up groceries from time I pulled in and pulled out! 5 items out of stock and 8 items needed returned. It takes less time to shop yourself!
Are the prices the she as if you actually went into the store?
Yes.
Hmmmmm, I don't know about that. The large can of Bush Beans was $8 online and $6 in the store.
I used the Wal-mart pick up this past weekend. When I arrived and called the number to tell them I was there, no one answered the phone. I called again, still no answer. After a while, someone finally came out of the store and asked my name. They looked in the system and told me I wasn't there. Luckily I had printed my confirmation email and they sheepishly told me they hadn't shopped for my items yet. An hour later, I'm still waiting. They certainly didn't mind ME helping load the groceries in the car when they finally brought them out. And when I get home, several items were wrong. I ordered 2 pounds of bananas; I got 2 bananas. Same with onions; 2 pounds, 1 onion. A substitution was made for cat food - to something my cats won't eat. Not a good experience.
Wow! That's awful. I would be calling corporate if I were you. At minimum the manager of the store. That is NOT the experience they want you to have. I went last week again without a hitch. Great experience!!
How does one call Walmart corporate?
I would love to know!
When I find customer service under "help" the only choices are chat online or speak with a customer service rep.
Neither of those places did more than to read policy to me.
Good luck finding Walmart corporate. It may help to know that: Walmart Grocery is a separate division or company, different from Walmart.com. You can call Walmart Grocery and insist on speaking with a supervisor - today I spoke with a supervisor named "Mary" who was immensely helpful in explaining and sorting out my issues. with yesterday's online order and pick up. Although they were very nice and professional, none of the six front-line customer service reps had a clue about how to help with my issues.
I wish I had read this review BEFORE placing my first & last grocery order at Walmart on the Loop in Longview, Tx.
Long story short:
I ordered $231 in groceries
Picked up
Got home & discovered half of the order was still at store
I call. They are closing & I'm told to return (50mi round trip) @ my convenience
I go back expecting to be wowed by Walmart's customer service response so that I would want to do business with them again.
No way.
I got an "I'm sorry" from the grocery manager and a lousy $15 gift card for my trouble.
Lesson learned
Amazon is way ahead of Walmart in this game.
Amen. Amazon rocks!
Enjoyed reading this! Also sppreciate all the screen prints you included. Thank you
No problem!
I use the service in NC and Love it also! I just have a question regarding the refer a friend. I referred a friend and she used the link I provided but I didn't get a credit of $10 any where that I could find. How does it work when you actually get the money for referring a friend, where does it appear?
Thanks!
I get an email every time I refer someone. Maybe call corporate?
I use this service often! I have a toddler and am also 30 weeks pregnant so going for a huge grocery haul is exhausting. I love it! So convenient. I have had one issue with missing items but i just called the customer service number and they issued a refund without any problems!
I had an issue too. They substituted an item, but what they substituted I didn't want. No problem, they took it off my order. Except they didn't! I got home and saw that he forgot to take it off. I called the 800 number and it was an incredibly fast and easy experience to pay me back for the bread.
I went today for the first time ...overall great experience -- I helped the guy load the groceries -- he got a phone call from someone picking up after me that couldn't find the parking spot.. 3 items were substituted --everything I read says they will substitute something comparable, even if it costs more...The order swapped fresh for frozen strawberries...didn't really want them --but can do smoothies--they swapped store brand toilet wipes for name brand -- making me owe them money --SO then they shorted me a lb of hamburger...I ordered 2 & got 1 -- so to me that's how they made up the difference that I would have owed them in the total..... Coupons can't be used -- (Kroger's groc. pickup does accept coupons) But I surely will use this service again.... Great experience....
Has anyone noticed that the meat prices are excessively high on pick up service?
I've used our local Walmart pick-up service twice now. Each time has been a super convenient and painless process. The associates are very nice. We don't have to call. We have a kiosk that you pull up to and put in your name or order # and it alerts them that you are there and tell you which line to pull into.
I am picky about certain items so I make sure to uncheck the substitutions section for those. I found our produce acceptable and the meat does seem a little higher priced while shopping online, but I think that's because there's less variety than in the store. We don't get a paper receipt (which I would rather have) but a digital receipt sent to my email after the pickup is completed. And though you can't use coupons, Walmart has their Savings Catcher program that automatically price-matches all of your local retailers and gives you a rebate on the difference of any lower prices caught. We've used that program for about two years and cash out once a year with around $75-$100 on a gift card. Overall, the time saved and convenience has made this a definite keeper for our family. 🙂