Full disclosure: I was not compensated in any way for this review. All opinions are my own and this post is only to share my experience.

Sometimes you just don’t want to adult. Grocery shopping can be a pain in the ass when you have kids and really, even the kidless just don’t want to adult sometimes. So of course, brilliant market researchers took notice and low and behold, “Click & Collect” grocery shopping was born.

If you’ve been living under a rock, Click & Collect shopping consists of you shopping for your groceries at home via the Internet, driving to the store, parking your car, calling a number, and having a store associate load everything into your vehicle for you. Really, it’s a wonderful idea for those with mobility issues or if you have young children who are terrors while in stores. I’m a big fan of going into a store an physically buying my groceries myself, especially my produce, but I was feeling extra lazy after Christmas and since my go-to grocery store recently launched their Click & Collect program I decided to give it a try. Have a little faith, you know?

I was actually quite pleased with the experience. The website was easy to navigate and it was easy to find everything I wanted. I was even able to edit my order after I realized that I forgot to include a couple items in my cart. I especially liked the “Special notes” section for the items – I was able to ask for the greenest bananas possible and mention what kind of substitute I’d like if the item I wanted wasn’t available.

When it came to my biggest apprehension – the produce –  I was pretty satisfied with the quality. My bananas were as green as can be and the red and green peppers I wanted were in great shape. There was a bit of a misunderstanding on the mushrooms I asked for; while most produce you purchased by the “each” (6 bananas, 4 apples, etc.), mushrooms were by the kilogram. I never weigh my produce, I just go by looks and quantity, so I guessed on the weight and made a note that I just wanted 6 mushrooms. My personal shopper either didn’t see my note or disregarded it, because I received a huge bag of mushrooms. Not a huge deal because I used most of them over time, but still something to mention. I’m also super picky when it comes to selecting which apples to buy, and while I got the variety I wanted (Galas) they weren’t up to my standards in freshness. (Which is tricky enough in the winter, but really, they were still edible.)

Checking out was fairly easy – I selected what time I wanted to pick up my order the next day (same day pick up is available if you place your order before a certain time), and then I entered my payment information. I got the option to use my club card points on certain items if I wished (I didn’t), and I even got $10 off my order for being a first-time online customer. Yay!

When I went to get my groceries the next day I rolled right into a reserved parking spot and called the number I was given to have my groceries brought out to me. I think I only waited about 10 minutes from calling in to having my groceries loaded into the truck? Not too bad considering Norah was having a shitfit in the backseat because she LOOOOOVES going into the store and was getting mad that I wasn’t getting her out of her carseat.

I suppose what it all boils down to is the question of whether or not I’d use the Click & Collect program again, and the answer is “Probably not.” Don’t get me wrong, I loved the convenience of it and not having to drag the kids through the store, but I also enjoy the socialization aspect of grocery shopping. Being a past employee, I know a lot of the staff still and enjoy catching up with them, plus I do run into other people I know, so I say “Probably not” with that in mind. However, if I was deathly ill and needed to still be an adult and make sure the kids are eating flour and uncooked pasta, then I’d absolutely take advantage. (Hell, they even deliver right to your house for a small fee!)

Sure, adulting ain’t easy sometimes, but perhaps this is one of those adulting moments that I don’t mind doing.

Have you used a Click & Collect grocery service? How was your experience? (No need to name businesses if you don’t wish to! I’ll happily tell you who I used via email.)