Today at work, my wife texted me to let me know that we needed diapers. I remembered this, of course, but she asked if I could get some on the way home. I thought about making a Target run but remembered that Walgreens offered its new Web Pickup. “Great!” I thought, “I won’t even need to get out of my car!”
I placed the order on their web site, and it was just about as ordinary as you can imagine. I got a confirmation that my stuff was ready for pickup shortly thereafter.
Then came time to get the order. I wondered how they’d do this: GPS? An app? Sadly, the answer was decidedly low-tech: when I arrived at the store, I needed to call a toll-free number. I needed to enter the store’s code, noted on the Web Pickup parking sign. Then I needed to hold while I was… uh, connected to the store. And of course, no one answered right away so I was on hold for a solid five minutes.
The first person who answered was in the photo department. Odd. She transferred me to someone else, who just answered the phone, “Hi.” This fellow ended up being the person who brought me my diapers, and he was pleasant enough.
But the whole experience wasn’t what I hoped for. I didn’t save any real time with it. I can see it being useful for the disabled or parents with kids in the car (easier than bringing them in), but other than that, I was disappointed.
Nice try, though.
Posted in Consumer Commentary