How Albertsons Helped Me Conquer My Current Grocery Store Fears

Hi. I'm Michelle. I'm new to the world of being a germaphobe. 

It's amazing how quickly things can change in a little over a month. Honestly, it's hard to believe that in at the beginning of March, I was telling my co-workers "If the Emerald City Comic Con is on, I'm still going." At the time Seattle, where the con was set to take place, was the hotbed of coronavirus in the United States. The con was postponed until August and I briefly toyed with the idea of making the trip anyway since I'd requested the days off and had non-refundable airfare. Ultimately, I decided to just stay in Boise because there was nothing that I really wanted to see or do in Seattle that didn't involve decking myself out in full Cosplay. It wasn't worth the potential of having to miss spending time with our listeners.

But...I'll be honest. The con was supposed to fall on the weekend that Boise bars celebrated St. Patty's Day. One of my best friends who does social media for a major professional sports organization had been grounded from his job and just wanted to go out and celebrate the holiday in his hometown since he doesn't get to spend a lot of time here anymore. So we went out in Downtown Boise and I didn't think twice about it.

Flash forward to late April? I'm now terrified to walk into a grocery store and be around the largest group of people I've seen in weeks. There's a lot of factors that played into that fear and I'm so lucky that my husband honored those fears instead of making fun of me. He's done all of our grocery shopping for the past month. Unfortunately, his dad who was 89 years old, contracted coronavirus inside the nursing home he lived at and passed away the very same day that my mom got released from the hospital after her battle with COVID-19. He left this afternoon for a three week cross country road trip to take care of the final arrangements for his dad and to spread his ashes in places that meant the most to his family.

...so now, I have to fend for myself. I'm scared to go to the grocery store. I don't want to be around people. Seeing masks on my neighbors (even though I totally understand the science behind why everyone's wearing one) scares the living crap out of me. My anxiety is in overdrive.

Luckily, Albertsons recently rolled out Drive Up and Go service at every one of their locations, including the one across the street from my apartment. What better time to give it a try than the present?

When I went to order my groceries last night, I was SHOCKED and pleasantly surprised that there were pre-scheduled times for every hour during their "Drive Up and Go" hours the vey next day. After I confirmed my time, I started filling my cart uwiht items from their website. Upon completing my order, they let me know there was a possibility that some items in my order might be out of stock and asked what I'd like to do if they were: pick the same brand in a different size or pick a similar item. I opted to pick the same brand.

On the day I was scheduled for my pick-up, I got a text from Albertsons that my order was ready two hours ahead of time! That was AWESOME to hear after friends from across the country told me that picking-up groceries in their towns had been delayed by hours. When I arrived, I called the number on the sign in the "Drive Up and Go" spot I parked in and reached Anna. She asked me to confirm my last name and said it'd only be a couple of minutes before she'd be out with my order. (I had ordered some refrigerated items. I'm so glad they weren't just sitting out!) Masked up, she came out to my car, loaded my groceries into my car and I was off!

I came home home, unloaded my groceries and checked over my receipt. The finely shredded cheese I requested was out of stock, so they gave me the same cheese in a thicker cut. Perfect! I'm making quesadillas, so that will work just fine!

The only thing that I wasn't able to get with drive up and go? Some high quality crab meat that I wanted to make crab cakes with. Even aside from the pandemic, this crab meat is frequently out of stock and there's really no substitute for it, so I get it. They didn't charge me for it and I'll look up a cheaper/lower quality product next time I order groceries...through Albertsons "Drive Up and Go!" I'm a believer. This is how I'll shop until hubby gets home.

This isn't some sort of paid endorsement. No one asked me to try this. My husband accused me of being boujee because I was doing my shopping in our living room before he left. I am legitimately impressed and grateful that Albertsons "Drive Up and Go" arrived just in time to help people like me who are struggling with this new normal navigate their way through it.  If you haven't given it a try at the store nearest to your home and you're as uneasy as I am about being in a grocery store, I encourage you to check it out. They're a local company who really cares about the Treasure Valley!