Tuesday, July 19, 2022

ANOTHER Thing I Like Better About Amazon Than Meatspace Stores

When I order something from Amazon, it arrives within a few days on my front porch.

When I order something from Walmart for pickup, it's always a freakin' Greek tragicomedy.

I've learned to never, ever, ever order something from Walmart that I need to pick up ASAP. Even if they're running hot, it's quicker to just go to to the store and find it on the shelf.

As for "ship to store" orders, one time I ordered a bicycle that would arrive in four days and that they would assemble for me there. So it arrived, and they told me it was ready, and I went to pick it up, and it wasn't ready. I think it was four more days before they got the thing assembled. Which would have been nice to know in advance.

So I usually just don't do that. Best Buy, yes (they generally have your stuff in an hour and it's easy to pick up). Walmart, no.

But on Saturday, I saw a really good deal on something I wanted -- five bucks for a fairly "camp chair" (with a built-in cup older, even!) at a time when old-fashioned "lawn chairs" go for $60 -- and ordered it, not in any hurry to pick it up. The "your order is ready" arrived fast, and they hold stuff for up to four days, so last evening Tamara stopped by to pick it up on her way home from work.

Except that apparently COVID-19 panic is back, and she couldn't just walk up to the pickup counter and get it. No, someone had to "check in" for "curbside" pickup. Neither of us run the Walmart app on our phones. We use my email and her phone for pickup orders.

So anyway, I was trying to download the app to let them know that "I" was there -- which might not have worked because they appear to be big on geolocation -- when she found a phone number she could call instead.

At least 20 minutes of her life wasted picking up a $5 item.

That's dumb. If Amazon had had the same item at the same price, I'd definitely have just ordered it. And got it in the same period of time, since I was in no hurry, without anyone having to go to a physical store and dick around with a phone.

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