Thoughts on using curbside pickup at Walmart

I have used this service a good bit over the last year or so.

Pros:
Allows you to comparison ship more easily. You can see all the options and often unit prices displayed right on the screen.

Saves hiking all over the store. Especially if you are injured. Hiking a mile to the health and beauty aisle just to buy some mouthwash or something used to get deferred when walking the store if I had a sore leg or something. And the service is free.

If they are out of something, they often substitute an upgraded brand or a larger size for the same price.
Example: ordered a TV dinner once. They were out of it and substituted a "party size" frozen dinner of the same stuff. LIke chicken fettucine with broccoli. About 6 times the content, same price.

If you are pressed for time in your schedule, it saves time. Especially with the cell phone app. It tells you when the stuff is ready for pickup, and if you turn on the app and give it permission, it lets them know exactly when you arrive. They often bring out your order and load it for you within just a couple minutes. You don't have to bag your own stuff, or deal with any of the various malfunctions of the checkout register.

No standing in line to check out.

One time they handed out a goody bag with the order to try and sell their home delivery service. Had some snack size samples of a few things and a little silicon spatula that I have no idea what I did with it.


Cons:
You might get milk or bread that is ready to expire, or they might break your eggs. Or they might pick the wrong size peppers or tomatoes or something like that. Ordered 2 tomatoes once and envisioned something the size of a tomato. Got tiny things the size of grapes.

Got a spray bottle of bleach cleaner once and the damn bottle was leaking.

Calling them back to request a refund on defective (or missing) merchandise is a royal pain. Spent a half hour on the phone once as they simply omitted a couple things and still charged me for them. Difficult to prove they didn't give you something. And you can't check your order at the curb. They tell you to stay in your car to avoid the virus.

On the whole though, especially if you are not ordering eggs, the service has been a positive for me.

It also keeps track of the items you order frequently and gives a reminder screen at checkout in case you forgot something like butter or something. You can also just repeat the order its algorithm thinks you might want to order and the ordering process can literally be a couple clicks and done. Then just go pick up the order at the time you selected.

The other major grocer near me offers the same service. But when I go there, I am selecting meats etc that I want to inspect myself while shopping.

Just passing the info along in case someone might benefit from it for reasons of schedule or mobility, etc.