Once the company was up and running, we were invited to a dinner in the Amazon.com warehouse, to get an inside look at how the company was operating. That night, Jeff Bezos told the gathered group that he was actually planning on selling much more than just books on this website. In fact he named the company after the largest river in the world, because he expected to offer an Amazon sized list of products to his customers.
“What about groceries?” I asked, with self-serving enthusiasm, having recently become aware of some on-line home grocery delivery companies that were popping up across the country at that time {I remember feeling a little foolish as soon as I said it, thinking, oh, that would never work}. Jeff kindly did not act like it was a foolish question at all, he just sort of indicated “why not?” I adore that kind of confidence and conviction!
You can only imagine how curious and excited I was when, many years later, my daughter pointed out a truck that looked like this driving around town one day. We zipped home, got on-line and found
amazonfresh.com. They had just started service in Bellevue and I immediately signed up to be informed as soon as service became available in my neighborhood.
For a couple of years now, I have been ordering all my groceries and so much more from Amazonfresh. This is one of the greatest conveniences I know, I LOVE all of the time I save by not having to go to the grocery store!! Aside from the basics, they offer Spanish saffron, San Pelligrino water, Odwalla juices, Starbucks coffee, etc., etc.. I still venture out to find certain specialty items from farmer’s markets, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, but most of the basics just show up at my back door!
And guess what? It’s not just groceries, I have also ordered hangers, storage containers, gifts, knives, movies, CD’s, tongs, serving dishes and flats of pansies! Usually, when I order in the morning, I can get a delivery later that afternoon, otherwise it comes the following morning {I like this because I can keep adding to my order throughout the day and night}. I love booking orders for the day {or morning after} I return from vacation, I’m able to fully stock the refrigerator without leaving the house.
Even though I feel so passionate about this service, I have been reluctant to write about it because I know many splendid readers are not in the service area for Amazon Fresh right now. But recently, it has come to my attention, that some readers who could be using this service are not.
So I am just wondering, *what*are*you*waiting for*????
You are currently missing out on one of the greatest conveniences I know. Also, I’m guessing that if more people use it, the delivery areas will continue to expand…making many more time-starved people very happy.
Maybe you’re just wondering how it all works?
Understandable.
Please read on and I’ll try to demystify the process for you…
If you already have an Amazon.com username and password, you can use them to place your order. Otherwise, you’ll need to set up an account. When you place your order, a nice guy {or girl} like this brings it to your doorstep.
The products are packed in plastic crates, covered with a giant plastic bag if there is a chance of rain.
Unless you are buying beer or wine, they don’t disturb you, they just leave the stacks of crates at your door.
Each crate is sealed, so you can be assured that no one has tampered with your order.
Inside the crates, refrigerated or frozen items are packed in insulated bags, with frozen ice packs or dry ice, as needed.
After you unpack your groceries, you can nest the crates neatly inside each other, and put the insulated bags in the top crate and leave them on the doorstep. They will be picked up on your next delivery.
They have recently expanded the number of zip codes to which they deliver to the north and south of Seattle. There are minimum amounts required for free delivery. Click on Amazonfresh for more details and to see if they can deliver groceries to you tomorrow!
Now, all I want to know is, what will you do with all of that extra time??
P.S. Here is one more “cool” feature…if you order frozen items, they include a little packet of dry ice. If you cut the top of the packet, you can drop it into a bowl of water and put it on the breakfast table and a wonderful white fog begin spilling out of the bowl immediately.
Everyone loves watching that heavy, creepy fog circulating around the mango tango.
In case you are wondering, I do not accept any sort of financial benefits from any companies I promote on this blog. I only write about things that I think are splendid and that I think you will appreciate. Full disclosure: we do still own stock in Amazon.com, though not as much as we’d like to!
What an amazing story!! So inspiring! Thanks for sharing that with us!
xo E + J