Tag: shopping

Posted in Life

A pre-dawn delivery

Posted on by William Douthwaite

It’s dark. Really dark. The big dog and I were out for a super-early morning walk. About half-a-mile in, a car zips by with it’s flashers on and stops in front of a house. The driver hops out, leaves a package by the front door, and zips away into the night.

It’s an Amazon delivery. Rather than the familiar Amazon van, it was a guy with a package delivery side-hustle.

It’s only been a week since I learned that some shipments arrive in the early morning hours. A delivery notification arrived in my email at about 6 am. What? Orders usually arrive in the late afternoon. This was at the front door before sunrise.

We don’t live in a big enough city to have same-day delivery, but this is close. An afternoon order of a book, pair of shorts, dog toy, art supplies, journal, cosmetics, snack food, or tool may arrive before you wake up the next morning.

Isn’t that amazing? And it’s all because they know what I’m going to purchase before I do. They have so much data on me, they know me better than I know myself. My zip code, my purchase history, my search history, and my demographic announce what I’m most likely to buy. Those items are shipped to the closest warehouse. As soon as I click “purchase,” the item is already on it’s way to boxing, sealing, and distribution.

Is this a good thing? I like it. I don’t have to go anywhere. Everything I buy is brought to my house. Thank you very much!

But I’m spoiled. I expect everything in a day. Two at the most. A week? You’ve got to be kidding.

I go to the store. You don’t have what I need? Really? What kind of store are you? You don’t have my size? My color? Come on. And why is the checkout line moving so slowly? Where’s my food? Did they lose my order? I was never this impatient before. I’m beyond impatient now. I’m irritated.

I want to blame AI. It knows me. It knows when and where I’ll send my money. But really, it’s my fault. I’m in control here. I can control my purchases, attitude, consumption, appetite, spending, and browsing.

At least I think I can. Some things I need to buy. Some things are gifts. Somethings are things I want to buy.

It’s a whole new world. A pre-dawn, rapid-delivery, instant-gratification world. Sign me up!

Posted in Life

Gridlock at the grocery store

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Tara Clark on Unsplash

Stopping at the grocery store for just a few items took a lot longer than I planned. The Saturday afternoon gridlock of aisle wanderers lengthened my shopping experience.

First thing on my list is a few containers of frosting from the baking aisle. A man with a cart filled with bags of pretzels (?) paused to look up and down, back and forth at all the boxed cake mixes. I doubt he was there to buy any. He was mesmerized by pictures of picture of delicious cake. I waited a few moments, and when I realized he wasn’t leaving any time soon, I reached up and grabbed what I needed and scooted off to the next aisle.

Or at least I tried. At the end of that aisle was a couple bickering about whether they needed anything in that part of the store. They were stalled out, so I looped around to the other end to get what I needed. They might still be there, deciding if they need air freshener or not.

I thought I could make a quick swing through the meat section for a steak. Nope. A couple of offensive lineman sized female shoppers blocked off my approach from every angle. They certainly had no 40-yard speed to boast about. I decided to return after an attempt at the dairy section.

I had trouble getting near the dairy items, too. Three women were strolling side-by-side past the eggs, lamenting the inflated prices, oblivious to others in the store. There was no way to get by them. I patiently followed until one of them noticed me with a start and said with a note of annoyance, “O, excuse me!” and let me get some butter. I just smiled. At least on the outside.

I am always thankful to leave the grocery store in one piece mentally. It’s not easy, is it. The shopping may be a pleasure, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Posted in dogs

Is that the biggest size you have?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I was getting ready to ship my dogs out to some pet sitters for our trip to Hawaii. Twelve days away meant sending a lot of food with them.

So loaded up my Walmart cart with small, medium, and large bags of dry chicken and rice kibble, An eight pound bag would be plenty for the Westie. He only eats one third of a cup twice a day. I needed a fifteen pound bag for a few days at home and the first few days away for the Great Dane. Then I needed to drop off a forty pound bag at her second home away from home for the final week of our trip. She consumes a lot more food: eight cups a day.

I pushed my sixty-plus pound cart to a long but quickly moving self check out lane. Finally, a register opened up and I reached for a scanning gun to check out. But there was no gun at the end of the wire.

Great. Now I have to wrestle all the bags onto the scanner. Alright, this is why I work out. Let’s do this. The eight pound bag is easy. Fifteen pounds? I only needed one hand. The forty pound bag was tough. The bag is big, floppy, and constantly shape-changing. I was so happy when I heard the beep as I wrestled it onto the scanner.

Like I said, this is why I work out. So I can have a giant dog and toss around giant bags of food.

Posted in Food, shopping

I can’t believe someone returned those

Posted on by William Douthwaite
What’s wrong with this picture?

If you’re going to Walmart, would you take these back for me?”

I know, no one ever wants to hear those words. However, bundling your errands into one trip to Walmart is better than multiple trips. And the return had already been initiated online, so it should be a quick scan and go.

Scan and go, yes. Quick, no. Five people stood in line ahead of me at the Service counter. I used the time to see what I could notice. I hadn’t yet decided what to write about today. But Walmart never fails to give me an idea. Today was no different.

The Walmart service counter is surrounded by piles of returned items. Boxes of diapers, an aquarium pump, a charcoal grill, colorful plastic eggs, a potted plant, and a package of underwear filled metal shelves on both sides of me. And one thing that really caught my eye: a package of double stuf Oreos.

I know. I did a double take, pulled out my phone, and got the photo. I couldn’t believe it, either. Oreos? Really? Who’s going to return Oreos? That’s just not right.

Okay, I know it’s one item from what looks like a whole cart of healthy food choices including soda, chips, Skittles, and ranch dressing. Maybe someone forgot their debit card and left this all behind. Maybe they got a call and had to leave the store before they could pay for their groceries, and left them in an aisle. Maybe someone made a snarky comment about their New Years resolution to eat healthier. “Fine. I’ll return them!”

Or, maybe someone at home wasn’t happy. “Why did you get double stuffed Oreos? You know I only like the regular ones! You’re so selfish. You only think about yourself. I’m not paying for them. Take them back!” Apparently someone did.

Do you think this bag made it back to the shelf? Or does the night crew share them when it’s break time?

Posted in shopping

From the other side of the planet to me

Posted on by William Douthwaite

It didn’t take much to shape my Instagram algorithm. I think I clicked on one t-shirt promotion, and all of a sudden, such ads filled my feed. I was in the market for a few shirts, so I did the discount code dance. Every ad I went to offered me 15% off my first purchase. So I did a whole lot of first purchases and tried out a whole lot of t-shirts.

Most of my orders came in three to four days. I liked all my purchases. But then I thought, “Didn’t I order another one?” I went back through my emails and checked my order confirmations. Yep, one more yet to come.

It’s been two weeks. Where is that last shirt? I found the tracking order for my t-shirt, and discovered that the shipment originated in China. I know, most of my clothes are made in China, Vietnam or Indonesia. No surprise there.

I was fascinated to read about my t-shirt’s travels, which started in Shatian, China. From there, it went to O’Hare airport in Chicago, then to Homer Glen, Illinois. The bagged t-shirt went to Atlanta, Orlando, and then finally to my town, Palm Coast. It took two weeks for the shirt to get from them to me.

I find this very interesting. I paid less than $25 for the shirt. Did it cost less than that to ship it to me? Did they lose money on the deal? Will they make money if I order more shirts from them?

I do not understand the economics of this at all. Someone is making a shirt for me at a bargain price in a sweatshop somewhere on the other side of the earth, so they can feed their family and I can save a few bucks. Some middle-men are making money making the sale and shipping it to me. I feel bad for taking advantage of them. I guess I could feel better for giving them a job. But I feel nothing when I pull on a shirt made on the other side of the planet.

We live in a strange world, don’t we?

Posted in shopping

Double carts: my good deed for the day

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I know not all Walmarts are created equal. Some are newer, brighter, and equipped with row after row of self-checkout lanes. Mine is older, dingier, and showing it’s age.

I learned the hard way to take a cart in with me from the parking lot. More often than not, that’s where they all are. Few if any make their way back into the store.

I’ve started wheeling two carts in with me. As I walk through the automatically-opening doors, I always encounter someone standing there, wondering what to do, since there aren’t any shopping carts. I know, the easy answer is, “Go back out and get one.” But for some reason, they don’t. They stand there with a puzzled look on their face. They look for an employee to go and bring in some carts. (Good luck with that.) Or, they are there when I’m walking in. With an extra cart in front of me, I offer, “Would you like a cart?”

I’m a hero. At least for five seconds. Then they are on their way. The other day, when I brought in an extra cart, a woman commented, “You’ve got a job if you want it!”

No one should be surprised. If you have to select all your own groceries, scan them, bag them, and pay at self-service stations, of course you should have to wheel in your own shopping cart. If you don’t want to do all of that, pick out your groceries online, let someone else wander the aisles to select them for you and bring them out to your car a few hours later.

As kids, we loved pushing the cart, picking out groceries, unloading the cart, and bagging the food. Who didn’t sneak something extra into the cart when mom wasn’t looking? Adulting means you either do everything yourself or let someone else do it all for you.

Anyway, that’s now my good deed for the day. I do not relish a trip to Walmart. But it helps us stick to our budget. And it makes me feel a little less selfish in a self-centered world.

Posted in shopping

“What did you buy?”

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Oxana Melis on Unsplash

I’m certain this never happens to anyone else. We pull into the driveway and see a package or two (or three) at the front door. It might be a box or a bag or just a product with an address sticker. One of us will say to the other, “What did you buy?” The other will respond, “Nothing. It must be yours.”

Upon opening them one of us will say, “Oh, that’s right. I ordered that two (or three or four) days ago.” Sometimes it’s a subscription order we get on a regular basis. And even rarer, it’ll be a gift.

There’s something disturbing about this. I like to think I engage in some level of mindfulness, but my shopping habits and memory betray me in this area.

In my defense, some of this is due to buying things separately. Because I buy individual items as I need or want them, each arrives by itself. While I try to visit as few stores as possible when shopping in person, I don’t care how many separate purchases I make online. And sometimes, when I do buy two or three items in one order, they may arrive in separate packages, having originated in different warehouses.

I’m sure someone has studied this. Sellers know I shop this way. That’s why they suggest things I might like to buy alongside my other purchases. If it’s something that I never set out to buy in the first place, it doesn’t occupy the same place in my memory as those things on my shopping list. In fact, I’ll bet I forget such purchases within an hour.

What’s the cure for this? I don’t know. Always make a list? Cross off the stuff I don’t need. Only buy what’s left. Keep the list, to remind me what I purchased.

Posted in Food

One ranch to rule them all

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Ranch dressing was on my shopping list last week. My wife and I don’t eat a whole lot of it, but the grandchildren sure do. They don’t eat a lot of salad, but they love to put it on other things. Like pizza. I find this puzzling, but one grandson first sprinkles parmesan cheese on his slice, followed by red peppers, and then a healthy squirt of ranch dressing. A granddaughter loves to eat rice smothered in ranch dressing. Some dip a burger or grilled cheese into a puddle of ranch on their plate. Not to mention pretzels and chips. Before you know it, we need to buy more.

I never noticed it before, but Walmart and other stores have shelves and shelves filled with all makes and models of ranch dressing. I had my choice of the original Hidden Valley Farms, Ken’s, Kraft, Great Value generic, Marie’s, Newman’s Own, and a bunch more. I could choose lite, vegan, fat free, organic, or plant powered. Bonus flavors include cheesy, jalapeno, parmesan, pickle, and garlic. Next, what size do I want? They have them all from tiny dipping cups to squeeze bottles to restaurant sized jugs. I can take home a packet of spices and mix it up myself. Or sprinkle ranch seasoning on anything and everything.

I remember when ranch dressing became popular in the seventies. In 1992 it surpassed Italian as the most popular salad dressing in America. Now it occupies about half of the salad dressing section of the grocery store.

I’ll reach for it once in a while, but I’m not a huge fan of creamy dressings. I most often choose a balsamic vinegar or mix up my own Good Seasons Italian copycat recipe.

Posted in Life, shopping

What’s in your shopping cart?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

So I very carefully snapped this picture of a shopping cart just a few spots behind me at a self-checkout lane in Walmart. The contents caught my eye then and still intrigue me now.

  • At least 8 cans of spray disinfectant
  • A large double stack of red solo cups
  • A tall pile of plain white hand-towels
  • A couple of trash cans
  • A huge container of cheese balls

I thought it was an interesting collection of things to purchase. I’m not here to judge; I’ve filled carts with just as many attention-getting items. More on that in a minute.

My first thought: this person teaches preschoolers. Perhaps a Sunday School class. Maybe just a bunch of kids at home.

This shopper could be turning over a short-term rental. Or cleaning up a house before the movers arrive with the furniture.

When a youth group was selling food at an outdoor church festival, I went out the day before to purchase supplies. I overloaded a cart with giant packages of hotdogs and hamburgers, bags of buns, cases of soda, and assortments of chips. As I pulled up to check out, I felt a little self-conscious. “No,” I wanted to explain, “I don’t eat like this all this time!”

Every time I come across this picture I chuckle at the cheese balls. I’ve seen them on display. I’ve always wondered who buys them. One youth brought a similar container on a summer mission trip. Barely lasted two days. I guess it’s not as big as it looks.

What’s in your shopping cart?