Reno Moms Blog Building a Community of Moms in the Biggest Little City
So there I was, knee deep in planning Thanksgiving dinner for my kids (who, to be honest will only eat bread and maybe one green bean if threatened with life and limb) when I felt this sense of dread fall over me: Thanksgiving is only one day of the year. This painstaking meal I was planning (with a heavy assist by Costco)? It was only good for one meal that day because leftovers? My kids won’t do leftovers.
Looking at my bare refrigerator, a fleeting thought of “maybe I can feed them a few string cheeses and baby carrots over the next two days and call it good” did cross my mind before I snapped out of it. With acceptance, I realized I needed to go to the grocery store. On the day before Thanksgiving.
Now I know what you’re thinking: Why can’t you wait until Friday? So here’s the thing. We are the type of family who goes through everything in the house before I grocery shop, and unfortunately, due to my total lack of foresight, had not realized that the only food in the fridge were ingredients for the one Thanksgiving meal. (Those Costco containers sure are big…)
But then the skies parted and a beam of light shone down. I remembered something.
The fine folks over at Save Mart in Truckee had offered up a deal to a Reno Moms Blog contributor, and I was chosen to review their new ClickCart program, which allows you to order online and pick up your groceries without ever stepping inside the store. Yes, you read correctly — they do ALL the work for you. All you have to do is shop online. I have lots of practice in that department, so felt this would be right up my alley.
This was the first time I’d ordered groceries online, and I had to get in the right mindset. I went through our embarrassingly empty pantry, fridge and freezer and wrote out a list like I typically do when going to the grocery store, and settled in with a lukewarm cup of coffee (because, kids) to place my order at Save Mart ClickCart.
At first, I listed all products, which was a little overwhelming, but then realized that you can filter the list or search for specific things. The website was super easy to use, although I will tell you that you need to specify how many pounds of produce you need or bananas you’d like in a bunch because if you don’t, you’ll get one. As in one single banana. Take note. In all, placing my order took about 10 minutes. So, so easy. Then I chose the date and time I wanted to pick up (the day before Thanksgiving between 1:30-2 p.m. — I’m sorry, Save Mart…) and submitted my order. They give you the option of paying directly online, or paying when you pick up, which I thought was nice.
Wednesday morning, I got a call from my personal shopper (ooh la la), who had a couple questions about my order. She wanted to make sure I was okay with her substituting a different brand cheese pizza for the one I specified, a different brand for the colby jack cheese sticks I’d ordered, and to let me know they were out of Yukon gold potatoes. After I confirmed I was good with that, she told me my order would be ready to go at the time I’d specified. Again, so, so easy.
I drove over to Truckee (as of right now, the closest Save Mart to Reno offering this service), pulled in to the reserved ClickCart customer parking spot and called the number on the sign in front of me.
A friendly team member answered right away and told me she’d be right out with my groceries. As I watched weary-eyed to-be customers enter the store, side-eyeing my car parked in the reserved ClickCart parking space, I thought to myself: This is a shining moment. A minute later, Brenda came out full of smiles with my hodgepodge of groceries. All I had to do was pop the trunk. She loaded everything, too! I can get used to this.
As I drove away, I vowed to make this a regular occurrence. Some women treat themselves to the spa, some go on adult-only vacations, and some take the day off of work but still put their kids in daycare. While I might also do all of the above, there’s one other luxury I’m adding to my “me” list — shopping at Save Mart and using their ClickCart program. Check it out and let us know what you think!
