Is there any other phenomenon out there that can totally ruin a weekend like a simple trip to the grocery store? Maybe, but we can't think of one.
As far as we're concerned, grocery shopping is pretty much the worst thing ever. It's stressful, it's crowded, it's expensive, and it eats (no pun intended) so much of our ever precious free time. It's also something we can't complain too much about as a society because, well, everybody needs to eat.
But complaining is exactly what we're doing today, so feel free to join us in thinking about the abject misery and unhappiness that grocery shopping introduces into our lives. Here are a few things, in no particular order, that we hate the most about the whole experience.
What is it about grocery store parking lots that makes them feel like a post-apocalyptic Thunderdome? No matter which store we're going to, and no matter what time we're going, every second from the time we pull into the lot to the time we leave is filled with terror and confusion. Every driver seems to simultaneously be backing out of a spot and rushing to get into a spot at the same time, all while stone-faced pedestrians are popping up and disappearing with overloaded shopping carts like magical groundhogs.
It only gets worse when the store tries to take a hand in keeping things under control. For example, Pittsburgh natives might be familiar with the Large Eagle grocery store in Glenshaw. A relatively new location, they tried to get in front of the chaos by putting up stop signs. Instead of making the parking lot a well-regulated safe zone, they instead ended up with 1,351 stop signs, all pointing in different directions and only adding to the maelstrom. Confused and frustrated drivers are slamming on the gas, and then the brakes, every few feet, unsure of what they're supposed to be doing.
No, there is no controlling grocery store parking lots. There is only the overwhelming chaos and a brief sense of relief when you manage to escape with yourself, and your vehicle, intact.
Okay, so the average grocery store aisle can maybe handle 5 people at once. Each shopper has a cart, and that cart is placed somewhere in the aisle while the shopper searches the shelves, usually in the way of another shopper. During prime shopping hours on the weekends, which is the only time when a lot of us are able to do our shopping, we can expect at least 7-10 people in each aisle.
This means stress. We're stressed, everybody else is stressed, the employees are stressed...heck, even the shopping carts are stressed. You can hear it in the screaming of the rusted wheels.
If we're lucky, we get out of there with everything on our lists. If we're unlucky, or we go in unprepared for the bedlam, we leave with a bunch of weird cookies and baking supplies that we don't even realize we bought until we get home and start putting everything away.
If you're like us, you've experimented with shopping later in the evening to avoid the rushes. This can work! But it can also backfire spectacularly.
We had this experience a few weeks ago. It was a Sunday, and we just wanted to pick up some bananas and cereal. Thinking we were very clever, we didn't go to the store until around 7 pm. And you know what? It worked. There was barely anybody there. The parking lot was in an aftermath state, scattered shopping carts that people were too lazy to return to the nearby shopping cart zones, diapers and empty orange juice bottles plastered to the asphalt, crumpled up receipts blowing past like tumbleweeds. It was great.
But then we actually went into the store and witnessed the desolation of the produce section. The bananas had their own 30 ft. long shelving area, and the entire thing was completely bare save for a single banana that had somehow been left behind. It was just laying there, sad in its brown spotted loneliness.
The cereal aisle wasn't much better. All of the Cocoa Krispies were gone, even the generic kind. That was a harsh lesson that we only had to learn once. Though it's tempting, don't wait until after the rush to do your shopping.
All of these things are why we created Caboodle Groceries. We believe that nobody should have to suffer the panic and discord that goes along with shopping for food. After all, we need groceries. Why shouldn't we be able to get them as easily and conveniently as possible?
Caboodle is a grocery delivery service that brings your stuff right to your door on a weekly basis. There's no hassle, no parking lot madness, no pressure to navigate the shopping masses. There's just peace of mind and a nicely curated bundle of groceries that you selected in 6 easy minutes using the Caboodle App. That's it.
Right now, Caboodle is only available in our hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. If you're somebody who lives in the Pittsburgh area and you're just plain sick and tired of grocery shopping, feel free to download our app and find out just how easy shopping can be.
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