Trying Walmart's Pickup Service

For years I have wished there was such a thing as a drive through window at store that sold milk and bread. When I am sick or have a sick kid, the last thing I want to do is go to the store. Unfortunately, it is also usually the first thing I need to do. Walmart has decided to test out a program that answers this need. In theory you go online, pick out what you need, schedule a pickup time, and pay. I got a lovely coupon code for my first try, so I wanted to test it while everyone was healthy. Here is how it went.
I logged on to the site, which was pretty quick since I already have a Walmart account.
Selecting what I needed was fairly easy. I had a list to go from and know the name of the brands of I wanted. The search tool worked well. What I was looking for was usually within the first few search results. However, if you just put in a search like "cheese" you will probably end up with 35 pages to scroll through.
I was happy to see that everything I needed was available. I purchased can goods, yogurt, cereal, and even a couple of pillows.
There is a minimum order of $30, but who goes into Walmart and spends less than $30 anyway.
When it came time to schedule the pick up I noticed that the earliest time was the 4 to 6 window, which is too late for me, but perfect if someone wanted their husband to pick it up on the way home from work. I selected the 9 to 11 morning time slot for the next day.
At check out I thankfully noticed a box that said "substitutions". If you don't want them randomly substituting in a different product in the event that the one you purchased is not available, you have to uncheck that box.
My biggest concerns were that I would get yogurt that expired tomorrow or that the system didn't know they were out of half my order.
This morning I got a call 15 minuted before my pick up time to remind me. They asked me to call ten minutes before I planned on being there.
I had to stop at the bank on the way, so I called as I left there. It probably didn't take me ten full minutes, so I was a bit early.
There was a handy diagram in my confirmation email showing me wear to park, as well as a few small signs in the parking lot. The parking spaces themselves were clearly marked with orange lines
I pulled up and someone came straight out asking if I was another customer. I told her that I was not her, I was early, and gave her the correct name. I waited maybe five minutes for her to return. She pulled a flat cart with baskets that had my sacks in it, and went to my trunk and loaded them in. I signed a digital thing saying I got them, and that was it.
I looked at everything when I got home. It was all there, in good shape, and in good date.
I was 100% satisfied.
I hope it continues to be like this. I can foresee this going the way of fast food with wrong orders and bad service, but for now I am giving it two thumbs up and am really excited to cut down on the amount of time I spend in the store.
This would also be great if you had a friend with a new baby or an illness. They could order what they need, pay, and you could deliver for them.
Right now it is still in the testing phase so not everyone has it. My hometown does not, but all the ones local to me now do.
If you'd like to give it a test run, us my referral code for $10 off your first purchase.
refer.walmart.com

Let me know how it goes for you.