Shoppers click their way to convenience
Fred Meyer employee Chris Morton scans Tara Caldwell’s card as she reads her ClickList grocery receipt Wednesday morning. Caldwell has two jobs and works from home, and saves money and time by shopping online through ClickList. LOREN BENOIT/Press
LOREN BENOIT/Press Fred Meyer employee Manny Tavison pulls a cart full of groceries for a ClickList customer to pickup Wednesday afternoon. The store charges $4.95 per order to pick, pack and bring the groceries out to the car, with no charge for the first three orders.
LOREN BENOIT/Press Fred Meyer employee Ashlee Thompson keeps track of ClickList grocery lists as they come in Wednesday afternoon. More than 40 orders on average are placed each day through ClickList.
LOREN BENOIT/PressFred Meyer employee Manny Tavison places a diaper bag into a ClickList container Wednesday afternoon. Tavison and other ClickList workers go around the store gathering grocery items for pickup by customers who might not have time to shop in the store.
LOREN BENOIT/PressFred Meyer employee Manny Tavison scans a can of soup before placing it into a ClickList container.
LOREN BENOIT/PressFred Meyer employee Manny Tavison places a can of soup into a ClickList container Wednesday afternoon. Tavison and other ClickList workers have to juggle multiple orders as they go up and down grocery aisles.
LOREN BENOIT/PressFred Meyer employee Chris Morton inputs Andy Ost's Clicklist grocery pickup order on his iPad Wednesday morning. Ost and his wife have eight kids and shopping through ClickList has given his wife more time to plan meals and spend time with their kids.
LOREN BENOIT/PressFred Meyer employee Manny Tavison helps Andy Ost with his ClickList groceries Wednesday morning. Customers first go online and select items and then pick a one hour window to pickup their groceries at reserved ClickList parking spaces.
LOREN BENOIT/PressFred Meyer employee Manny Tavison places ClickList groceries inside Andy Ost's truck Wednesday afternoon. ClickList is a program in which a customer can order grocery items online and then drive to Fred Meyer to have them delivered.
COEUR d’ALENE — Grocery shopping has never been high on Ericka Schindelbeck's wish list.
At eight months pregnant and with another little one at her side, venturing into the store becomes an exhausting expedition.
Wouldn't it be nice if someone else could do the shopping?
Through ClickList, Fred Meyer employees do just that.
"I saw them starting it up in the parking lot, and being pregnant with a toddler I definitely inquired on when they were going to start,” Schindelbeck said while picking up an order. “I was probably one of their first few customers.”
ClickList is a service that integrates digital convenience with good old-fashioned human interaction. Customers can go to the website, www.fredmeyer.com/clicklist, and sign in using an email, password and Fred Meyer rewards alternate ID or card number.
Peruse the inventory, search for items and build orders without stepping foot into the store. Once orders are received, Fred Meyer ClickList staff members head to the floor to "pick" items and organize them in numbered crates.
“When they’re picking, like produce, they pick the best quality,” said lead assistant Dan Gwynne. “They shop like shoppers. They don’t just race through.”
Orders with items requiring cold temperatures are placed in large coolers and freezers in the ClickList office, and everything is labeled to ensure customers get what they ordered. If an item is out of stock or the requested size isn’t available, staffers will find appropriate substitutions and price match if the substitution is more expensive than the original item.
“A lot of people are actually really cool with the substitutions we give them," said Fred Meyer associate Chris Morton. "We do feel kind of bummed for them if something’s out of stock, but we try to make it the best that we can for them."
ClickList operates from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The first three times are free, then there’s a $4.95 service fee per order.
Customers submit the time they plan to get their orders, such as 4-5 p.m., and park in the designated ClickList parking spots when they're ready to get their groceries. They call the number on the parking signs and Fred Meyer staff deliver the groceries right to their vehicles. They'll even put them in the car so customers don't have to get out, but those without cellphones will have to go to the customer service desk to let ClickList staff know they're there.
Only debit or credit cards can be used to pay for the orders, although paper coupons are accepted. Accounts remember orders so returning customers have the added convenience of having their preferred inventory at their fingertips.
“I’ve been in this business for 27 years and you have to continue to look out for what the customers are looking for," Gwynne said. "Having this service is one more key to how our customers are shopping. We’re also right now working on home delivery. We haven’t ironed it out quite yet, but in the immediate future it sounds as if there will be a good opportunity for customers to have groceries delivered to them."
Some Fred Meyer stores introduced the ClickList service last summer. The Coeur d'Alene location began offering it in late October, when only about five or so orders would be submitted a day. Now, the store receives up to 50 ClickList orders a day, and employees will be out picking items at 4 or 5 a.m. for the early birds.
“It’s a very convenient thing for people who are senior citizens, people who can’t really get around, if they’ve had surgery or just can’t move around, a mom with six kids who’d be running all over the store,” Morton said. “It’s really good for them. And when we go to their carside, they’re like, ‘We think this is awesome. I don’t have to bring my kids in; we don’t have to go in and shop.'
"It’s a great time saver, as well," he continued. "If you don’t have time during the day to go grocery shop and you’re off work, you’re tired, just do an order and pick it up when you get off work and it’s one less thing off your shoulders.”
Fred Meyer employees are not allowed to accept tips, but those who use ClickList can fill out the customer satisfaction surveys and mention their favorite ClickList heroes by name.
"I recommend ClickList to anyone who has a disability or is a parent,” Morton said. “Use ClickList. We do our best to help you guys out. It’s a great customer experience and a great satisfaction for us all."