Have you tried Hannaford grocery delivery service yet? Here’s how it went for me

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Brian from Shipt dropping my bags on the porch. Photo/Carol Robidoux

MANCHESTER, NH – I was excited when my neighborhood Hannaford at the East Side Plaza started renovating last fall for what I thought was going to be Hannaford To Go. After testing out the service, which was first available at the Goffstown Hannaford six years ago, I was looking forward to having the service at “my own” supermarket, making it most convenient for me to swing by and get my order, all bagged and ready.

The waiting was over – or so I thought. Then, I found out the service at the East Side Plaza was going to be “delivery only.”

My heart sunk a little, as I didn’t anticipate wanting or needing someone to bring groceries to my house for me. And even though I could pick up a to-go order at Goffstown, or the John Devine Drive Hannaford off South Willow, neither of them are convenient to me.

And it’s all about convenience, right?

However, all that changed over the weekend after finding out earlier in the week my hubby had a couple of broken ribs from an unfortunate fall. I could easily have gone to Hannaford on my own, but I had plenty of things to catch up on, and I wasn’t in a big hurry for any of the items. So I sat down at my computer and began compiling my list. Because I am a Hannaford Rewards member, “big brother” keeps track of everything I have purchased. While some might find this to be creepy, I appreciated the ease with which I was able to refer to my “regular” purchases and add them to my list. It was a time saver.

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My usual purchases are saved in my rewards account on hannaford.com, which made it easy for me to compile a shopping list for someone else to fill.

I logged in at about 10:30 a.m. and the first (and only) remaining delivery window was 7-7:30 p.m. I went for it. We anticipated a weekend of football game viewing on TV, so I shopped accordingly, fixins for chili and chicken wings for Buffaloing, among other items, like coffee beans, lunch meat, pumpernickel bread and cat food – this last item was going to be a test, as it’s hard for me to find just the right flavor of Fancy Feast for Bella and Luna. Could a surrogate shopper wade through the 2,722 varieties of Fancy Feast to discern the difference between Grilled Shrimp and Salmon Feast in Gravy, and Grilled Whitefish and Salmon in Gravy?

Only time would tell.

At 7:01 p.m. I got a text message: “Hi Carol, this is your Shipt shopper, Brian. I just picked up your order from Hannaford. I’m on my way, see you soon! My eta is 7:20.”

“Cool,” I replied.

Eleven minutes later Brian’s truck pulled up out front and he was on my porch, dropping my five bags of groceries and an 8-pack of paper towels. I asked if I could take his photo and he was happy to oblige.

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Bella and Luna helping me check out our Hannaford Delivery order. Photo/Carol Robidoux

Two minutes later Bella, Luna, and I were unpacking, excited to see that everything was right, down to the five cans of Fancy Feast shrimp and salmon.

There were a couple of substitutions, which I’d gotten a heads-up on before the delivery – there were no Nature’s Choice family pack chicken wings left; my 24-ounce sour cream was reduced to 16 ounces; and there were no garlic-flavored Triscuits available.

My total of $61.22 was adjusted accordingly, and the $10 delivery fee was waived, as it was my first time.

I can see myself using this service more often. Not only is it a bit of a relief not to have to go to a grocery store in this time of COVID-19, but the time it takes me to create a list and submit it is far less than the time it takes me to make my way through the grocery store.

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I spied Brian from Shipt through my front window. He arrived promptly, 11 minutes after notifying me he was on his way. Photo/Carol Robidoux

Full disclosure. I kind of love going shopping, in that I normally go in the evening and have gotten to know the new night manager, Bill, who’s friendly and helpful. I also like to see what’s new, and do some occasional impulse buying in the personal care product aisles.

But that said, it all reminds me a little of what Andrew Yang said while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. He talked about the changing service economy, and how automated check-outs and other technological upgrades at retailers would displace today’s cashiers. But with the changing technology comes new jobs, like the one that Brian from Shipt has, being my personal shopper and delivery guy.

Change is here, and it’s inevitably moving full-steam ahead.

I would recommend you try grocery delivery. Here are the pros:

  • The $10 delivery fee is waived for your first order
  • It’s a real time saver
  • You can schedule the delivery for a time that’s convenient
  • You’re boosting the local service job economy, and you can tip your delivery person at the time you place your order

Caveats

  • Delivery windows seem scarce, so plan ahead. If you aren’t having a toilet paper emergency, schedule your delivery at least 24 hours in advance.
  • You might not get everything on your list, based on availability. You can approve substitutions in advance.
  • Once your first free delivery is over, you have to decide if paying $10 plus a tip is worth the convenience and time-saving

If you’re not quite ready for home delivery, consider Hannaford’s To Go service. You can read my experience here.

We solicited feedback from others in our daily morning newsletter (sign up here if you’re not in the loop) and heard back from Keith Spiro, who had this to say about the groceries on the go service:


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Parking Slot 3 at Hannaford, where Keith Spiro is a regular. Photo/Keith Spiro
“Our first use of Hannaford to go was April 6th 2020. I’ve attached two photos.
Our visit was to the Mast Road Goffstown location figuring it would be less crowded. We’ve been using Hannaford to go ever since. It’s a delight to not have to spend all that time shopping in the aisles and with COVID-19 It’s nice not to have to worry about being in a building at all. We have found the staff to be extremely flexible and helpful. You drive up and are directed to one of six designated parking spots. Most often we end up in slot number 3. (Picture attached). And our first visit we got a nice free gift with a little first-timer sticker. That’s how you build customer loyalty!”
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Building customer loyalty, one sticker at a time. Photo/Keith Spiro

About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!