My parents have been calling in their grocery order....then the store stopped taking call in orders and according to my Mom "They were nasty about it." ( I will complain to Corporate Headquarters for her.)
Let me ask you...what are the elderly without computers supposed to do? Starve or go inside the stores? How is that helping??? How do you look for the helpers when there are none to be found????
Luckily my Mom does have an I Pad. She had difficulty finding the website for the store. I finally emailed her a link to the store. She was having difficulty creating an account...she couldn't get the emails to match or the password. The program locked her out several times. I finally created a account for my Dad. When she finally got signed in and we got her shopping she got a popup that cancelled everything...she was ready to give up. So she read me her grocery list and I ordered everything for her. She is supposed to pick up her groceries today...as they do not deliver on Sunday. She really needs to do delivery.. and they deliver free in town bringing everything to the door.
I tried to get the app for Walmart set up on Moms phone but she cannot recall her apple id. My baby brother may know what it is as he does all her phone stuff.
Uffda...frustrating for sure. Trying to help her over the phone was difficult.
Far Guy and I ordered from Wally World this week...there were no mistakes and pickup was slick as snot on a doorknob.
Too bad we are not like birds and just visit people who buy and put out food for us.
Far Side
Going through the same thing with my mom who is 93 and lives alone, In Florida. After many problems, she now texts me her grocery list and I order and deal with the Shipt shopper person, substitutions, etc, all from South Carolina. It’s a royal pain but the best we’ve come up with. On the other hand, we ourselves had our first Walmart order in 7 months that was complete! Soldier on, and pray for those wonderful people who are trying to make a vaccine.
ReplyDeleteA frustrating experience, but thankfully, you were able to get her groceries ordered. We all need to help each other as much as we can. Family, friends, and people we don't know, too.
ReplyDeleteAs for the birds, yes I do feed them! And I donate to food banks that distribute food to the needy.
Have a blessed day!
That's awful that they quit the call in ordering!! Yes, not everyone has internet in the first place--and odds are that it is more likely the ones who don't are seniors. Everyone needs to eat--yes! I'm glad you are going to complain to the powers that be.
ReplyDeleteThey are trying times. JB goes shopping at 8 a.m., and it is pretty quiet.
ReplyDeleteI thought I knew enough about using the computer to get by. Then Tom died. I am glad my daughter lives close and she is proficient with computers. Even when a person knows how to use them, they can be a pain. Remember the old days when we went into a store and all the employees knew us?
ReplyDeleteWhen the pandemic first hit, people would come to my brother's house and drop off casseroles and meals. It was then that my brother discovered that folks considered he and his wife elderly!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if your baby brother can handle that aspect for her? Annoying for them to change the phone in orders! How awful!
When I first moved to our area, there was a small grocery store that took phone orders and delivered to the door step.
It should come back in these times.
You brought up an excellent problem facing the much older generation that still lives in an apartment or home.
I used to shop for my MIL or take her. I wonder how I would have handled it in this day and age?
So many elderly people can't figure out phone and computer stuff. They should definitely allow call in orders for delivery. Shame on companies who don't!
ReplyDeleteWe are fortunate to have a small family owned grocery store in our town. We have even had out of state family members share stories on our town's facebook page about calling in orders from out of state for elderly, homebound family members and the owner delivers these himself. But, they are much higher priced than the bigger stores. This has been going on in our state since March. Across the country since then. It just seems like by now we should have more systems in place to handle this.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about all of your struggles to get people fed! We still go to our local Safeway to shop. It is easy and safe. I forget about how hard it can be for others. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteThat is frustrating - I've had to help my pretty tech-savvy mom over the phone and it's not easy when you can't see what they are seeing.
ReplyDeleteI think it's despicable that they are not accepting phone orders - they can't have that many of them that it's such a hardship.
I have to think that many businesses assume everyone has a computer and the necessary skills to set up accounts, or have family who can do it for them. There are individuals out there who have no family or access, especially in rural communities. Hope all goes well with your mom's grocery order.
ReplyDeleteI laughed at your last comment. I filled the feeder this morning and I don't think I'd gotten 5 steps out of the backyard before the birds were flocking to it. Yes, it would nice to have someone else do the meal planning, cooking and cleaning!
Take care, stay well.
There's nothing like computer technical issues. OMGGGGGG!!!!! Walmart delivers too so maybe you could just create an acct for your parents on your computer, plug-in their charge card info, make the order as you're talking with your mom on the phone, and ta-da.... Walmart will deliver it to your mom. How horrible and rude of that store to stop taking phone orders, especially from the elderly! I mean, the virus is ramping up again, for cryin' out loud. All the more reason to TAKE phone orders. We love Wally's World and I began ordering curbside pick-up of groceries long before the virus came into being. I hope you can get things set-up for your parents to be able to use them too. ~Andrea xoxo
ReplyDeleteThe Walmart in town has no delivery service...they just got curbside pickup last month :(
DeleteWalmart pickup has worked great for me. Sometimes they are out of things I want, but I put it back on my list and order it the next time - that usually works. In the last seven months, I’ve only had one missing item, and they quickly credited my account. I’m pleased with their service.
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem as your Mom when I try to set things up in a different account. I still shop in store.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine found a delivery from Appleby's on her front porch, left there by a delivery person who didn't knock. She called them and they said to just keep it, they would send another order to the correct person. So she and her hubby enjoyed a free dinner! :-)
ReplyDeleteHow awful for your Mom! You would think that with the pandemic they could make exceptions for older people. How frustrating for her and you. I would definitely talk to Corporate Headquarters. It could sure give them a lot of bad advertising if this treatment of the elderly came out by one of those "investigative journalist" on local news!
ReplyDeleteI only had two subsititutions in my Walmart order this week so I was very happy. Neither were important items so generic was fine.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that your Mom is dealing with this. I would think that the elderly would be among the first to be taken care of. Dennis' mom doesn't have anything except a phone that she can barely make calls on. I've told her to prepare a list and call me, I'll order it at her local Walmart and have it delivered. This virus is such a joy robber.
Blessings,
Betsy
I'm thankful that we can do our own shopping because the ordering by computer sounds like a nightmare to me. I keep hearing people complain that they can't get a "slot" which is Greek to me and I'm sure I wouldn't find a slot either. My computer probably doesn't have one.
ReplyDeleteGranny Marigold, I believe a slot refers to the time you can pick up groceries they only schedule so many during an hour:)
DeleteIt makes me NUTS that all these businesses ASSUME that everyone is connected via computer. Come on this pandemic's most vulnerable populations are indeed those that likely are not "connected" (sometimes I wish I was less so) Good luck my friend!
ReplyDeleteGoodness, It sounds like even the stores are experiencing "Covid Fatigue". At least Wall-Mart has had "personal shoppers" for a while now... even before the pandemic. If she can get that app to work out, she should be golden.
ReplyDeleteShopping online is good but I would prefer to shop in store not something I have done in months
ReplyDeleteThe only things passwords do for me is lock me out of my own account. I do order on line form Dillons (started locally and bought out by Krogers.) So far so good. Very few substitutions.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I'm so sorry to hear about the problems your folks are having getting their groceries. Seems like everything is made for young people and computer-savvy people now. So glad you were able to help. I know how frustrating these kinds of things can be. I wonder why the store stopped taking call-in orders....that seems strange. Hope things get better in your corner of the world!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear so many elderly folk are having issues with ordering something as basic as food. Shame on businesses that do not cater to these vulnerable people.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right!!! They do not accomodate the elderly like they do in foreign countries where they are idolized for their wisdom and very much respected! I can remember thinking of the elderly when they stopped full service gas stations! I thought that was terrible! I still do! Why they should have to get out of their car in the bitter cold and fill their tank and check their own oil....is despicable! I thought that way before I became "elderly". Now that I remember trying to shove a full grocery cart through a snow covered grocery s tore parking lot and standing out in a blizzard filling my tank.....maybe it isn't so bad down here. LOL! Thank goodness your Mom and Dad have wonderful children!
ReplyDeleteSorry about the issues your parents had with getting an order arranged. I think it's very wrong they're stopping you from being able to call in orders. Not everyone has someone who can help them like you helped your Mom, and they should think about that.
ReplyDeleteOne of the more bizarre side effects of Covid is that shops don’t answer the phone any more. And some, like our post office, have reduced hours so more people waiting in vain on the pavement to get in (only 3 people at a time).
ReplyDeleteI absolutely understand the problem of setting up passwords and remembering your Apple ID. I know you aren’t supposed to, but I keep a little book of passwords all carefully written down. And still I often get told my password is wrong and have to reset it. It’s infuriating. Your poor Mum. I hope she got her order done in the end.
Good luck with your new career as IT assistant.