Store charging a fee to prepare a pick up in store order

[Tiny]

I just ordered for pickup via the Menards website:   a outdoor Air Conditioner cover and an outdoor faucet cover from Menards.  

There's now a $1.40 charge per item for pick up in store orders.     (or maybe it's always been that way.... I've mostly only picked up ordered stuff from Lowes and Home Depot (I hate that store). 

I'm not sure how I feel about this after so many months of order online/pickup in the store for free.    

Is anyone else still using the "order and pick up in store" options from your local stores?    


And just a little extra: 
In this case, I do want them to pull the items for me.  I don't want to wander the store looking for them (or trying to find someone to ask where they are, and then NOT finding the size I want and having to find someone (again) and then possibly being told they don't have any (cause the person helping me can't find it).   Mind you - the online ordering sez there are more than 50 of each of the items I want at the store I will pick them up from.      

The ability to NOT have wander a ginormous store looking for what I want was a big draw for me to use the service.   I don't really care if it takes 24 or more hours to pull the things I want... what I want to the convenience of NOT having to wander/find help in the store.     I "ninja shop" so I rarely come out of a store with stuff that is NOT on my shopping list.   As a "ninja shopper" I also plan my trips to stores - so I don't mind not having the thing ready for pickup minutes after I've put in an order.   I can work around when it's ready for pickup. 

I guess as things "open up" some of the nice convenience things I enjoyed during the pandemic will now come with a cost.  

[nidena]

From a business standpoint, that's a great idea.  They're saving the customer's time but also capturing a fee for the time taken on their end.  It'd be even better if they passed that fee on to the associate but I doubt that would happen.  In my brain, I can see the associates being like Ubers for store products which might result in skirmishes between associates (much like working on commission).

I did notice a couple weeks ago, when I almost succumbed to ordering Domino's, that they've increased their delivery fee from $2-something to $4-something.  Again, I'm sure that increase isn't going to the driver/associate.

[TheOtherMe]

Menard's has been doing that for several years at least.  However, when I got to the store, the item wasn't ready even though I had an email that said it was.  I ended up going elsewhere and getting a refund from Menard's.

A regional grocery store is charging $9.95 for grocery pick up with the minimum being $100.  Being single, I would never qualify for that and have to pay the fee.

The grocery store where I go has a minimum order of $30 and free pick up.

I don't live where anyone delivers--except our small town grocery store will deliver if you are sick or elderly.  I'm not yet to a point where I need that.  

I may have to pay a fee in Toronto for deliveries because I'm not driving around to do pick up.  

[dannylion]

There is a fee for grocery pick-up at the stores I use, but it's for the whole purchase, not per item, and there is a requirement that pick-up orders total a minimum amount.  

It probably makes sense for stores to charge a fee of some sort for selecting and preparing items for customers to pick up since it means that the staff doing the selecting and preparing are not doing whatever other duties they might otherwise be doing.  If there is increased demand for the service, the store would probably need to hire more staff, which increases its expenses.  In any event, the company is going to recoup the costs associated with the service one way or another, either by charging a fee for use of the service or raising prices in general.  

[bean29]

Yeah, 

A while back I ordered a space heater from them.  They sent me a notice that they cancelled the order b/c they did not have it in stock.  Only, they did not refund me the fee they were charging me for the online order.  It was like $3.00, I figured it was not worth my time to fight for it, but I was pissed about it.

I usually think having the stuff sent is the better deal, I order bones for my dogs from Walmart all the time.  Sometimes the store I say I will pick them up at decides they don't have them in stock- their solution is to cancel the order rather than convert it to a mail order.  If I have a few days I try to have it delivered to the house.  I think the minimum order is $35.00.

I did pick up something at Menards in spring.  I ordered sprinklers with timers.  When I went to pick them up, and had to drive through the yard (or walk all the way through the store).  When they handed them to me, they had pulled the wrong ones-they did not have a timer on them.  I was very glad I had looked at them before I left the store.  

I have done online pick up from Lowes/Home Depot and Menards.  I usually do it for Sale stuff.  Otherwise I go in there enough with DH that I pretty much know where everything is.

[Opti]

Interesting. I did do a pickup at Petsmart or Petco for guinea pig food. Do not remember if there was a fee involved or not. I did buy it online because only online had a cheaper price.

[bean29]

I have noticed the online prices are usually cheaper for pet products.  If you are in the store, they usually will match the online price.

I think Petco gives you a coupon for a % off your next purchase with an online order.  I don't think they charge any fee.  

I used to order online and pick up Rabbit Supplies (Timothy Hay and Bedding and other rabbit food) from Farm & Fleet for the same reason Tiny did not want to go in Menards.  Pet stuff is in back of the store.  At Farm & Fleet you pull up on the side of the building, ring a door bell and they bring your order out to the car.  DD says they are way cheaper than Petco and PetSmart.

I think the problem at Menards is the store is so big and if the employees are not familiar with all the products, they don't even know where to look for stuff.  I am married to a serial do-it-yourselfer, so I kind of know where everything is.  

[wvugurl26]

I haven't seen a fee for pickup at stores. No Menards here. I have done Walmart but the ship to store for free variety. Some products offer that and you don't need a $35 minimum.

I do Target a lot more because they don't have a minimum. It isn't a super target so there's only so much I can get though.

For groceries, I'd rather pick my own stuff. I want to check dates and ingredient labels.

I did have to pay 50 cents for a food carryout order I placed online for last Saturday. That was annoying.

[Tiny]

I do online order instore pick up from Petsmart - and there's never been a "fee".

I have noticed that they no longer seem to stock cases of canned cat food - so I can't buy 24 or 48 cans at a time. The online site usually has 18 or fewer cans per store.

The price of kitty litter has skyrocketed as well... with no sales what so ever.     The 35 pound box of tidy cats clumping litter has jumped to 18.99 - I haven't seen a sale in quite a while - just price increases.   

I can however order the cases(in whatever quantity I want) to be delivered to my home for a shipping fee. The delivery usually comes within 3 days (when I order on a Saturday night - it's delivered tuesday or Wednesday.

[Lizard Queen]

For somethingike that at Menards, totally worth it. I think it took me a couple years to figure out where those things are in the store-back of store between the doors and the appliances. It's one of those things that could possibly be squeezed into one of many different departments, and the darn store is so big, good luck finding it! But yeah, store pickups there aren't that great either. Best store pickup experience I've had was at Walmart, right after they set up a special area right up front for online pickups. I barely even had to go into the store, and they were quick.

[Deleted]

I was already doing online ordering and having them bring it to my car at Target and Kroger, before the pandemic. Kroger charged $4.95 for the service, but when I got off work, the last thing I wanted to do was walk some more through a grocery store, so it was worth $5 to me. AND I tipped whoever brought my groceries out. Still worth it to me. Target did not charge a fee, but they allowed their employees to accept tips. I tipped them too.

After the pandemic started, Kroger stopped charging a fee.

I’ve never done the order online and pickup in store anywhere though. I can see how that could be useful so one doesn’t have to walk all over the store to get what they want to buy. But I prefer to not have to get out of my car and walk at all. I’m usually tired and my feet hurt. Just bring it to my car, please and thank you.

[kadee79]

The only thing available in our little town is pick up at Walmart.  We don't do it.  We prefer to choose our own items rather than someone who could care less.  And we generally have to go in for scripts anyway.

[stillmovingforward]

I order everything either picked up or delivered. I work hard and have a non-functional immune system. I'll pay those small amounts just to not have to walk through the stores.
Interestingly, none of the stores I do business with charge for pick-up. I do pay for any instacart orders.

[raeoflyte]

I haven't seen charges yet where we shop (grocery store used to charge $5 but stopped months ago).

I've been dialing back pick up orders to cut down on our plastic waste, but I really miss it.

[Deleted]

I've often wondered about how much they lose because in-store pickup means no impulse purchases. I prefer to choose my own groceries but am starting to appreciate in-store pickup at places like Best Buy, Micro Center, Home Depot and Lowes. Still, it means that I don't find things I can't live without while wandering the aisles.

Grocery stores are really good at that- the end caps have the high-margin items and so do the checkout areas with all the candy and snacks. They can make up a little by making suggestions when you put your on-line order together but I don't know if that makes up for it.

Not sure what I'd do if the places I use started charging for in-store pickup.

[wvugurl26]

The stuff I've ordered via Walmart/Lowe's was not available in my local store. It was available online to be shipped to the store for free.

[daisylu]

Grocery store pickup started with a $3.99 fee here, but is now free. I use it for canned/boxed goods, water, and lunch supplies. I go in to gather my own produce & meats. I know I saved more than $3.99 by not wandering around the store, so it was worth it to me. Plus a lot of my pickup items are heavy, so I only have to handle them once.

I don't think I would balk at a small fee for 1 or 2 items if it meant it did not have to walk through a huge store to find them. 

I have also come to realize that my time is worth money.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

We still aren't doing pick-up orders. We typically do home delivery. 
I usually manage the cart so there are no fees. 
We don't live in a place that has fresh/perishable grocery deliver, so that's a difference maker. 

[susana1954]

I haven't done in-store pickup in quite awhile, but Walmart used to ship to the store and let you pick up at a special desk.  I had to do it a lot to get Abby's grain-free treats, which were often out of stock.  There wasn't a service charge for the order, but the prices were higher than they were in the store.  And when I would order them, there would be a push to "re-order" things I had bought on previous in-store shopping trips, which were also priced higher than just shopping in the store.

I do online ordering for instore pickup whenI can to pick up Rakuten savings.  But it would be useless to pay a service charge to do that.

[thyme4change]

Last year I was in Target and thought for a minutes I was the only actual shopper. Everyone else was employees picking orders. The grocery store always has an average of 2 employees picking. I believe they pick multiple orders at once, but don't know for sure. It seems the labor to pick an order is more than the combined time of a cashier and bagger - and they have been trying to get rid of those for years with self check out. I can see how Covid pushed pick-up (and many other things) into people's lives, and will probably stick around. Stores have to adjust pricing to compensate or charge a fee.

[Cookies Galore]

I'll sometimes do order pick-up if there is an online sale (hello, Target), but I don't mind wandering around certain stores (hello, Target). For Lowe's and Home Depot, I will look online at the inventory for a specific store and look up the aisle and bay number so I can just grab and go. We have multiple Home Depots and Lowe's around here and every store layout is different, so I need to look up aisles or else I'll be there forever.

I know my thing is that I've been working from home for so long, that going out and running errands on my lunch hour is my time to get out of the house and drive. Especially nice when it's a sunny day and XPN (local listener-supported station) is having a great music day.

[NoNamePerson]

Sept 16, 2021 8:45:39 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

I'll sometimes do order pick-up if there is an online sale (hello, Target), but I don't mind wandering around certain stores (hello, Target). For Lowe's and Home Depot, I will look online at the inventory for a specific store and look up the aisle and bay number so I can just grab and go. We have multiple Home Depots and Lowe's around here and every store layout is different, so I need to look up aisles or else I'll be there forever.

I know my thing is that I've been working from home for so long, that going out and running errands on my lunch hour is my time to get out of the house and drive. Especially nice when it's a sunny day and XPN (local listener-supported station) is having a great music day.

Our Two Targets here are so clean and shiney  you need sunglasses when shopping! I do the same when headed to HD or Lowe’s, We have multiple stored too. I’ve also learned to plead the “little ole lady lost” at HD and they are all over the place for me! Not so much at Lowe’s. I have to get out and about so mostly do in store shopping. 

[Deleted]

Sept 16, 2021 7:23:08 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I've often wondered about how much they lose because in-store pickup means no impulse purchases. I prefer to choose my own groceries but am starting to appreciate in-store pickup at places like Best Buy, Micro Center, Home Depot and Lowes. Still, it means that I don't find things I can't live without while wandering the aisles.

Grocery stores are really good at that- the end caps have the high-margin items and so do the checkout areas with all the candy and snacks. They can make up a little by making suggestions when you put your on-line order together but I don't know if that makes up for it.

Not sure what I'd do if the places I use started charging for in-store pickup.

Ordering online for drive up pickup has definitely limited my impulse purchasing. I can go in a grocery store or Target for TWO specific things that cost $10 total and somehow leave with 15 items that cost $150 total. Half the time when I do that, I also manage to forget to get one of the things I went in for in the first place.

[NoNamePerson]

Sept 16, 2021 14:12:53 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Sept 16, 2021 7:23:08 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I've often wondered about how much they lose because in-store pickup means no impulse purchases. I prefer to choose my own groceries but am starting to appreciate in-store pickup at places like Best Buy, Micro Center, Home Depot and Lowes. Still, it means that I don't find things I can't live without while wandering the aisles.

Grocery stores are really good at that- the end caps have the high-margin items and so do the checkout areas with all the candy and snacks. They can make up a little by making suggestions when you put your on-line order together but I don't know if that makes up for it.

Not sure what I'd do if the places I use started charging for in-store pickup.

Ordering online for drive up pickup has definitely limited my impulse purchasing. I can go in a grocery store or Target for TWO specific things that cost $10 total and somehow leave with 15 items that cost $150 total. Half the time when I do that, I also manage to forget to get one of the things I went in for in the first place.

 I can relate. I jokingly say a dozen eggs cost me $75.00. The only way I avoid that phenom is by not getting a cart. Can't carry much in hands. But I also feel downright naked sometimes  if not pushing cart. 

[Lizard Queen]

Sept 16, 2021 14:12:53 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Sept 16, 2021 7:23:08 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I've often wondered about how much they lose because in-store pickup means no impulse purchases. I prefer to choose my own groceries but am starting to appreciate in-store pickup at places like Best Buy, Micro Center, Home Depot and Lowes. Still, it means that I don't find things I can't live without while wandering the aisles.

Grocery stores are really good at that- the end caps have the high-margin items and so do the checkout areas with all the candy and snacks. They can make up a little by making suggestions when you put your on-line order together but I don't know if that makes up for it.

Not sure what I'd do if the places I use started charging for in-store pickup.

Ordering online for drive up pickup has definitely limited my impulse purchasing. I can go in a grocery store or Target for TWO specific things that cost $10 total and somehow leave with 15 items that cost $150 total. Half the time when I do that, I also manage to forget to get one of the things I went in for in the first place.

I've done that exact same thing. In fact, I did that the last time I went to the grocery store for something for dinner.