Hannaford Now Available for Same-Day Delivery On Instacart
Hannaford Supermarkets and Instacart have announced a partnership that will offer same-day delivery from nearly all Hannaford store locations, becoming the fifth grocery delivery option in Maine alongside Shaw’s, BJ’s, Target, and Sam’s Club. The partnership will complement Hannaford’s existing curbside and delivery service “Hannaford To Go.”
Instacart, an online delivery service headquartered in San Francisco, is one of the largest grocery delivery services in the U.S. offering delivery from over 30,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many have turned to delivery services to safely get their groceries and household needs.
“We’re proud to partner with Hannaford and make it easier for their customers to get the groceries and goods they need delivered from the store to their door in as fast as an hour,” says Andrew Nodes, vice president of retail at Instacart. “Grocery delivery has quickly become an essential part of people’s day to day lives, and we’re committed to ensuring our retail partners have an online solution that supports the needs of their customers who have trusted them for generations.”
Hannaford customers can now choose between Hannaford To Go curbside pick-up and delivery services offered at Hannaford.com or same-day delivery service with Instacart by going to www.instacart.com or opening the Instacart app on their mobile device to begin shopping.
Operators Drive Elevated Customer Experiences Through Digital and Touchless
Digital ordering capabilities have become table stakes for the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to restaurantbusinessonline.com.
With thousands of dining rooms shuttered or constrained to a fraction of their capacities, many operators have battled to remain viable by offering their menus for off-premise consumption, and they are often relying on digital ordering platforms to do so.
“In the current scenario, digital and touchless have become much more important,” says Samya Ghosh, VP of digital services at Tavant, during a recent webinar that Tavant sponsored called Elevating the Digital Experience Through Digital and Touchless.
The expansion of curbside pickup, takeout and delivery capabilities has been “the salvation of the industry on the full-service side,” added Peter Romeo, editor at large at Restaurant Business and moderator of the panel.
For operators that had not yet embraced digital ordering capabilities before the pandemic, the road ahead will be challenging, but manageable, with some carefully planned investments and a thoughtful, incremental approach, the webinar panelists said. Read more at restaurantbusinessonline.com
How to Use Tech to Revamp the Customer Service Experience
Technology has touched upon every single facet of a business, according to Srushti Shah, a digital marketer and content writer at Acquire. She says that customer service — which is a make-or-break function for any business — seems to be the biggest benefactor.
“Today, there are several at your disposal that can be used in the right manner to reinvent your customer service experience,” Shah writes. “Right from customer acquisition to providing continued service, these tech tools enable businesses to delight their customers in numerous ways.
Shah does a quick take on some of the popular tech that can reinvent the customer service game of your business, including chatbots that rose to prominence in customer service in 2016. While some call chatbots as ‘the new apps”, there are a set of users who feel that these are “overhyped” applications.
“Love it or hate it, but you cannot ignore chatbots anymore,” she writes. “At least 67% of consumers worldwide have used a chatbot for customer support in 2019 (Invespcro). We are not far from the future when almost every single digital interaction could be handled without the need of a human agent.
Chipotle Accused of Shortchanging Customers in Lawsuit
What allegedly happened to two customers inside some Pittsburgh-area Chipotle restaurants -- one in Hampton, another in Wexford -- has them unhappy and headed to court.
"Chipotle has been for some time, we understand, shortchanging its customers," says Frank Salpietro, the plaintiffs' attorney, in a Pittsburgh's Action News 4 interview.
The attorney is seeking to turn the case into a class action lawsuit.
"Chipotle has misappropriated or, to put it colloquially, stolen the money from the customer. They should have given that money to the customer, instead they're lining their own pockets," Salpietro claimed.
Pittsburgh's Action News 4 sought comment from Chipotle corporate headquarters.
"If a restaurant is low on change as a result of the nationwide coin shortage, our policy is to only accept exact change or other non-cash forms of payment," says Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs and food safety officer, Chipotle, in a written statement provided by the company. "Restaurants that are impacted have signage posted on the door as well as inside, and employees have been instructed to alert guests prior to ordering. We encourage customers to contact us immediately with any concerns so we can investigate and respond quickly to make things right."