Walmart Wants to Substitute Products on Pickup Orders

JustDave

JustDave

Well-known Member
To be honest they do have an option where you can tell them not to substitute, but in the last year they have moved that option on their website 4 times, always making it a little harder to find. At one time they had a simple on/off substitution button for the entire order. Today all substitution options were gone, until later when they sent me a notice thanking me for the order, where I had to click on "Do Not Substitute" on each item. One time, they took it upon themselves to substitute a kiwi for a baking potato. So you might understand why I don't want substitutions.
 

JustDave said:
At one time they had a simple on/off substitution button for the entire order. Today all substitution options were gone, until later when they sent me a notice thanking me for the order, where I had to click on "Do Not Substitute" on each item. One time, they took it upon themselves to substitute a kiwi for a baking potato. So you might understand why I don't want substitutions.
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Before you finalize the order, Dave, there's a link in the left column that says where you can choose substitutions. Unfortunately, you'll have to mark every item one at a time as "do not substitute." I don't like it either, but at least I can tell them which items to not mess with. Another thing I don't like is that if you choose the sub you want and they don't have *that* either, they'll substitute something else and that always doesn't end in an acceptable way. @JustDave
 

CallMeKate said:
It was MUCH better back before they offered subs at the same cost... now it's no longer like that. But I've found that all those little annoyances are still worth the tradeoff for the convenience.
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I agree that the convenience of curbside pickup is still worth it. They're just making it a little more complicated, and in a way that works toward their own convenience.
 
JustDave said:
I agree that the convenience of curbside pickup is still worth it. They're just making it a little more complicated, and in a way that works toward their own convenience.
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They are, yes. The only "bad" substitution I had recently was that I ordered a $3 container of strawberries. I marked that sub was okay thinking they'd just give one of the $5 containers which would have been fine. But they gave me a big $9 container of mixed fruit... nope, not gonna happen. When I got home I got on there and marked "start a return" told them it was not an acceptable sub, and they refunded it and said no need to return it.
 
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Some of the Substitutes from our supermarkets just make you shake your head at what the picker is thinking... No milk?.. ok let's substitute a bottle of dish washing liquid... No sausages ok, let's substitute a pack of minced beef... no Bananas..? ok substitute a bag of oranges.. :oops::oops:

On the odd occasion I buy groceries online..I always tick ''no substitutes''..
 
I use walmart all the time now for delivery. Occasionally there is a mistake or a substitution that won't work for me and they simply refund.

I had been using, I think it is instacart with a local grocer, and while the interaction with the shopper is much better, walmart prices are a lot less, and that is currently important.
 
Lawrence00 said:
I had been using, I think it is instacart with a local grocer, and while the interaction with the shopper is much better, walmart prices are a lot less, and that is currently important.
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Walmart around here is dramatically less, except for Aldis, but Aldis has a more limited inventory, doesn't offer curbside, and some items are not cheaper than Walmart. If they had a bigger inventory, I shop exclusively at Aldis.
 
JustDave said:
Walmart around here is dramatically less, except for Aldis, but Aldis has a more limited inventory, doesn't offer curbside, and some items are not cheaper than Walmart. If they had a bigger inventory, I shop exclusively at Aldis.
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The Aldi in my area all offer curbside pickup for the last few years. I though all of them did it now. Maybe they'll start in yours next.

As far as others doing my shopping, I've watched the clerks that do & have seen the veggie/fruits in the basket first followed by the other items on top. No thanks.
 
Lilac said:
The Aldi in my area all offer curbside pickup for the last few years. I though all of them did it now. Maybe they'll start in yours next.

As far as others doing my shopping, I've watched the clerks that do & have seen the veggie/fruits in the basket first followed by the other items on top. No thanks.
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Aldi's here don't offer Kerbside pickup or deliveries.. and as has been said their Inventory is very limited, and now in the last year their prices have risen dramatically to match the Big 4 Supermarket Chains
 
JustDave said:
Walmart around here is dramatically less, except for Aldis, but Aldis has a more limited inventory, doesn't offer curbside, and some items are not cheaper than Walmart. If they had a bigger inventory, I shop exclusively at Aldis.
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My Aldi (both in the area, actually) has curbside, but I've not used it... and haven't been in the store for years.
 
I used to have to get curbside pickup, because I couldn't walk far. Teens are the go-fers when filling the orders. They aren't seasoned shoppers, so they miss a lot of things- you get a "not available". But I knew if I could get into the store, there would be a whole shelf of them. So, either had to check "substitutes" for whatever came into their teen brains, or get nothing. Plus I want to be the one to check out my tomatoes and lettuce, etc. Thankfully, they have those electric carts.
 
hollydolly said:
Aldi's here don't offer Kerbside pickup or deliveries.. and as has been said their Inventory is very limited, and now in the last year their prices have risen dramatically to match the Big 4 Supermarket Chains
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The two major chains near me are Krogers & Meijers whose prices are still too much, even if on sale. Walmart is still competitive with Aldi's prices. They are my go to for things. We have a Trader Joe's which is way south of me, but when I'm in the area I can find things that Krogers or Meijers carry at much cheaper prices & I've found to be a better product.
 
Speaking of teens filling the orders, our store now gives the option of using their bags or bringing your own. The person who puts the groceries in the car will put them directly into your bags if that is what you choose. I always keep my reusable cloth bags in the back of the car. The last time I requested they use my bags about halfway home I started hearing something rolling around back there and figured one of the bags must have fallen over.

When I got home I found that not only was something rolling around back there, everything was! She had nicely stacked all of my individual groceries on top of my reusable bags. Nothing was bagged! The avocados and anything else that would roll were doing so. It looked like a tossed salad back there! šŸ˜„
 
I use Walmart curbside pickup once or twice a month for certain non-perishable foods and other items. Always click "no substitutions" on the order. My first order was during the pandemic and I was surprised at how easy it was.

Orders are nearly always available within a couple of hours and I have four days to pick it up, so I just swing while running errands. They carry some items I can't get for those prices, if at all. I decline bags because I keep laundry baskets in my car for wrangling groceries and other purchases.

I hate, hate, hate shopping inside Walmart.

The noise, overly bright lights, aisles narrowed by overflowing displays, shoppers zig-zagging from hither to yon rather than following a typical pattern of up one aisle and down the next, terrible checkout process, and generally chaotic atmosphere clicks my ADHD into overdrive and stresses me out.
 
We don't buy food from Walmart at all. We do go in person to Loblaw's or Metro, on Tuesday morning around 10 am. No crowds, not a problem. The flyer comes in to my email box on Tuesday so we scan it and add things that are on sale, to the shopping list before we get in the car.

We buy a lot of the Loblaw's no name yellow label products. By reading the label we can see that many of those no name products are made by national companies like Campbell's soup, Hunt's, High Liner seafoods, McCains potato products, Janes chicken or Maple Ridge Farms . Because the national producer doesn't have to spend advertising money on the no name products, and the packaging is generic in appearance, the retail prices are lower compared to the national brand, despite the fact that the product is the same.

I want to be able to select the fruit and vegetables myself, and decide how big the package of shrimp is going to be. I do have a hard and fast rule..I won't buy any food that was grown in China, or processed there. With the number of year round hydroponic green house growers within 100 miles of Toronto, we get superior produce year round. Air freight shipments from Mexico and central America mean we can eat fresh melons and strawberries in February.

I will shop at Walmart for clothes. With winter coming on, I am looking for a couple of pairs of corduroy slacks, and at least 2 sweaters . JimB.
 
Walmart Neighborhood Market is the closest grocery store to us, and that is where i order my groceries because I have the Walmart+ account.
Here, they do not do substitutions anymore, and that is frustrating also.
If I order a loaf of whole wheat bread, and they are out of the brand I order, they could easily substitute any other brand of whole wheat bread; but NO, they just do not bring me the loaf of bread at all.

So, in order to get around not having some item that I really want, I have to order two different brands of the same thing; so I always order 2 loaves of different kinds of whole wheat bread. That way, at least one loaf arrives.
Many of the items that are not in stock are things that you would expect the store to have, like bananas, or a head of cauliflower. Or a loaf of WW bread.

And some things that you would know were on the shelves, they want to ship to me, like a jar of green olives. If I order 4 cans of sardines, they will deliver that, but if I order the 4-pack of sardines, they have to ship it to me.
Sometimes, this means that they just send it delivery from another nearby Walmart and it arrives the same or next day, and sometimes it is 3 day shipping by FedEX from some other state.
None of it makes much sense to me.
 
I use Walmart and have the Walmart Plus plan in case I need delivery. I got it when I had a hip replacement and could not drive or walk very far. It is very handy, if the weather is bad or I don't feel well I can have delivery. It has been well worth the cost, I think it was $89 for the year. Of course, when I have delivery I always tip the driver.

I don't use Walmart for meats, those come from Albertsons. I buy when meat is on sale. I get family packs then break them down to one or two servings for the freezer. Roasts are also cut down to a small size or cut for stew meat. The meat freezer stays full and I only go about once a month depending on the sale.
 
Luck me! I'm 77 and never did a pickup order in my life and I don't intend to start! I hate shopping but if I need something I will get it myself. Don't need that silly curbside pickup with the empty parking spaces.
 
Packerjohn said:
Luck me! I'm 77 and never did a pickup order in my life and I don't intend to start! I hate shopping but if I need something I will get it myself. Don't need that silly curbside pickup with the empty parking spaces.
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People use"silly" curbside pickup for dozens of reasons. Some to avoid being tempted by impulse items, others for the quick convenience, some are wrangling small children, have mobility issues, are ill and don't want to spread their germs, etc., etc.

The day may come when the option of ordering groceries for quick pickup will be a blessing to you.
 

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