great idea, poor execution
Written: Jun 18 '05
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If you want to purchase rotting produce and out-of-date perishables, this is your place!
Like surprises? Peapod will entertain you by their wacky product substitutions such as giving you mint ice cream when you ordered chocolate.
Enjoy waiting on hold? Like being refused a refund even though a credit will do you no good because you will NEVER use this service again? Then I highly recommend calling Peapod's customer service.
I have used Peapod twice. The first time I used it was when I lived in an apartment in Germantown, MD.
I was impressed with the online interface used for ordering. There are many different ways to find products, including browsing "aisles" (such as meat, dairy, produce, etc.), searching by keyword, looking at the specials page, and reusing items from previous orders. I quickly found what I was looking for.
The delivery process, too, is straightforward. Available time periods and days are listed on a calendar, and you choose the one you want. The delivery fee varies based on the amount you order. It can be as low as $5, and you get a further discount if you choose an unpopular delivery time (such as early Saturday morning). You give any coupons you have to the driver to apply towards your order.
So far, so good. I was impressed with Peapod at first.
When delivery day rolled around, however, my opinion sank quite a bit. They failed to deliver one of the bottles of water I ordered, their produce was not especially fresh, they were out of several common items (turkey lunch meat is the one I remember now) and they inexplicably substituted mint ice cream for the chocolate ice cream I had ordered. I was disappointed and never used the service again at that location.
When I moved to Frederick, MD, I thought I would give Peapod another try. I am very busy these days and could really use a grocery delivery service. I figured that Peapod might have improved in the last few years and/or would be better in this new geographical area.
I ordered carefully, making sure to mark that I would allow no product substitutions.
When delivery day arrived, I just could not believe what I was seeing (and smelling!) as I unpacked the bags. Although I had received all the items I ordered this time, about half the produce was in some stage of decomposition (for example a "red" onion that was literally *black* it was so rotten). Some of the packaged items were either out of date or a day or two away from it. And a package of salmon had been placed near the top of a bag with produce in it, and was leaking stinky fishy juice all over the contents of the bag.
I was horrified and called customer service right away. These days it seems as though large companies see no reason to answer your call in under a half hour, and Peapod is no exception. When I finally got through to a human being, the Peapod rep was polite enough, but would not give me a refund. She was insistent that I could only receive a credit toward future orders. I do not ever intend to use their service again, so a credit does me no good. I feel ripped off.
Online ordering and home delivery of groceries is a wonderful idea. It's too bad Peapod's execution is so poor, and they're the only service in my neighborhood.
A grocery delivery service doesn't save you time if you have to spend time after the fact trying to get your order fixed, going out and purchasing the items that were not in stock or re-purchasing rotten items, or trying to get a refund.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? grocery delivery
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Epinions.com ID:
elijahblue
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Reviews written: 13
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