The Online Curb Economy

Since this whole lockdown started, we have been trying to support small restaurants and businesses.  That means telephoning them, or online ordering.  Telephoning can be cumbersome.  Online ordering is a snap, but what we have found is most businesses were not set up for online ordering with curbside pickup.

For restaurants, Tock is the best.  There is no question.  I have been recommending it to restaurants from Las Vegas to Phoenix to Chicago whenever I pick up food.

We ordered some stuff from ABT, a local appliance store here in Chicago and it was painless. ABT has been about customer service since the inception of the store so it didn’t surprise me when they made the transition to the lockdown economy easily.

We also ordered from Floor and Decor.  We are doing a cabin rehab in Minnesota, and the stores up there didn’t have the selection or same stuff that we had here in Chicago.  Hey, a lot of people are thinking of moving out of big cities myself included but cities do have an advantage when you need to find stuff.

The one disappointing website has been Home Depot.  We ordered a lot of stuff from them.  Before we ordered we physically went to a store and asked their Pro Desk if they could help us.  We wanted to order in Chicago to pick up in Duluth.  They flatly told us, “No”.  When we called the Duluth store, they told us to order online.  Some of the stuff we were were ordering was pretty specific where you really needed to order correctly or the project would get screwed up.  We actually needed to talk to someone and ask questions.  I called the central Home Depot number and never got connected to anyone.  On hold for hours.

There isn’t a Lowe’s near me up north and I find Menards super gimmicky.

We finally figured it out and one large item we wanted, a floating dock, was back-ordered anyway.  Might have to give Menards a try because I need the dock.  We are heading up with the truck and a trailer today.

I do not think a lot of businesses are prepared to be online/curb pickup only.  Some things that you buy you really do physically want to get an eyeball on before you purchase them.  That means a physical store.  Amazon can work for a lot of stuff, but not everything.