1. Customer Service

Get to know your customers!

Make contact with your customers prior to completing the order, especially on their first few orders they place. The contact field will always show how many orders a customer has placed. It will be in green for first time users to make sure it stands out.

Call the customer and introduce yourself. Review substitution options if you notice they did not select any on the order.  Teaching them to use the tools provided on the site will ensure clear communication and consistency for future orders.

If no rewards/loyalty/club card is noted on the order, take a moment to explain the use of the card and be sure to get their card number or enroll them. Ensure that you have taken steps to attach the card number to the customer for future orders.

When you call, confirm the pickup or delivery time. For pick up, remind them of the pick up instructions and location. This is included in their confirmation email, but why not mention it to be sure?

Know your customers’ likes and dislikes. Ask about an item like bananas (how many, if any green?) or deli (thin or regular sliced cheese?) and note on the account.

Take time to create customer confidence and trust and reassure them that shopping online will be an extension of the experience you provide in store.

2. Receiving The Order

Check to see if any new orders have come in on a regular basis.

Stores have the option of receiving an email or an SMS message alerting them of an order. Develop a routine to make sure you are consistently looking for new orders.

3. Pulling The Order

Your store should have an established walk path for each location to guide you through the order in the most efficient way.  In most stores, you will do dry goods, then perishable and frozen last.

Best practices for picking orders:

• Perishable products should be fresh.
  
• Check expiration dates for each and every item.
  
• Whenever possible, ask department managers for assistance in picking the product.
  
• Verify that the product UPC and price is correct.
  
• Use the handheld device to scan the product as it is added to the cart to ensure accuracy.
  
• If an item is out-of-stock, check the substitution request. If necessary or if you are unsure, contact the customer, AFTER the entire order is pulled so you can address all out-of-stock items.

4. Bagging / Storage

Bag items professionally. Perishable items should be together, produce together, eggs and bread should be bagged separately.

Write the customer's name on the bags or use bag tags so there is no confusion between orders and ensure there is system in place to confirm the total number of bags per order.

Store the order together in a secure location.

Store cold items together in refrigerator or freezer.

Other ideas for delighting customers:

• Include the customers original order with detailed description of any substitutions that were made.
  
• Include a thank you note signed by the Personal Shopper with contact information that the customer can use if they have questions about their order.
  
• Include any promotions or coupons that they can use on a future order.
  

Make sure the order is ready by the time that the customer specified.

If you are running behind, notify the customer early so they don’t come to the store expecting to pick up their order.

All email communications should include instructions for pick up. If they are instructed to call when they arrive, make sure you have easy access to the phone they will be calling and that it is well charged throughout your shift.

Greet customer when they arrive to pick up their order.  

Load the bags neatly into the customer’s car for them.

Follow up with the customer to ensure they are satisfied with their order.

If payment information appears on the order receipt, shred the paperwork.

6. Delivery

Make sure the order is delivered by the time that the customer specified.

If you are running behind, notify the customer early so they don’t wait at their delivery location.

Ask the customers if there are any specific delivery instructions (i.e. – use back door, wait in vestibule, etc.).

Transport cold items in a cooler with ice packs so that they stay cold.

When arriving at the customer’s home, ask whether they’d like their groceries to be brought inside.

Follow up with the customer to ensure they are satisfied with their order.

A Note on Testing

Testing orders is encouraged to help your team develop a process for fulfilling orders. 

When your website is fully integrated with your payment provider, you will be able to place test orders and walk through how to true up payments and close orders. We recommend leaving Pay In Person on until you go live. For more information about testing other payment types, please contact your project manager.