Ordering Provisions

After an 11-hour flight, hours of waiting at the airport (first for the plane and later for our luggage which always seems to be the last to come off the plane) and two taxi rides, I'm not in the mood to go to the grocery store.

If it were right around the corner and easy, I might do it. The closest store is about a 10 minute walk each way. Grubby, sticky and jet lagged, it's not my top priority to grocery shop.

But, we have to eat and we will want coffee in the morning. Morning on the first day back is usually around 4 AM.

I've found a system that seems to work. it will only fail if our flight is dramatically delayed. Order groceries on line for delivery after our arrival. All the big stores offer on-line ordering. If you order enough, they will deliver it at no charge for the delivery. I also like this service when I need a lot of heavy stuff.

Now I am faced with which store to order from. In the past I've used Franprix. Their delivery service is called "coursengo", roughly translated to mean "run your errands and go". The service itself has been excellent. They arrive on time and the things I order are correct. The problem has been that they don't have a good selection of the things I want and several items that they've delivered have been a little bit past their prime.

I am a consumer advocate. I do not like to get cheated, so when the items delivered are not fresh, I feel compelled to call and get credit. Being France, the phone line is not manned most of the time and they won't call you back. I have to be persistent. I ususally have to call at least three times and also email a few times. One of my simple pleasures is that they have to speak to me in French; they have to figure out what I'm saying, what I need and then repeat whatever they're trying to say to me, slowly, about five times. In the end, it's worth it, they have always credited me properly for everything that is rotten.

Once I got a bag of potatoes and every one was soft. In the same order, I got yellow broccoli. Once they broke a bottle of vinegar and it got all over everything and the whole order smelled. I got credit for the vinegar, not exactly compensation for having to leave the windows open for days during the winter.

I am considering trying a new store for my order this time, perhaps Monoprix. It will take longer to order since I don't have a list set up. The first order or two, you have to set up routine items on a list. After the lists are set up, all you have to do is empty the list into your "panier", edit it and you're done in about five minutes. To set this up the first time takes about an hour. Maybe it's worth it, I think Monoprix will have a better selection since they're a bigger store. They also have more volume so perhaps their products will be fresher. I've never seen yellow broccoli at Monoprix.

So, this will be another French adventure.