You could also count shoe stores and high-end jewelry and watch stores in that the clerk has to go in the back to fetch the non-display model.
Graybar[1], for instance: There's a counter with bar stools, and behind that counter are people who know their inventory very well.
I just walk in and tell them what I want. They write it all down on paper faster than I can say the words and then disappear into the back to fetch it while I help myself to a free ice cream sandwich from the freezer over on the right that one of the local trade unions provides.
[1]: Graybar is a US-based electrical supply place. The companies I work for have accounts there, but as far as I know anyone can walk in and buy stuff. They also have some datacom stuff. If I'm in the middle of Nowhere, Ohio and need, say, a single-mode patch cord today, then there's probably a Graybar less than an hour away that has one in stock. Otherwise, they'll have one for me tomorrow before 7:00AM.
...with the caveat that McMaster's facilities are staffed by people, not robots.
Log into website, fill the cart, pick a time window, and push the button to order it. Someone starts working on it nearly instantly. The order is picked and waiting in a few minutes.
It's fast as fuck. Except...
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If someone at Kroger ever reads this, then:
That time window aspect is the part of the system falls down hard for me.
Before I order, I have to pick a window in the future when I want to pick it up/get it delivered.
"I'm ready when you are; ASAP" isn't an option. Nor is "I'm already in the parking lot, you bunch of dweebs -- just bring my stuff out. Please?"
So if it's 6:05 when I order and the next window starts at 8:00, and they're fast as fuck (as they are) and have it done in less than 15 minutes, then: I'm waiting around for more than an hour and a half for nothing.
Because until the apparently-completely-arbitrary window is reached: It won't let me check in to pick up. It won't schedule a driver. My groceries are just sitting there (ideally stored at the right temperature but I can't know this) at the store while some wallclock mechanism that was designed by an asshole runs out.
This makes the whole thing feel clunky, stupid, and insulting.
It results a system that I use only when I absolutely do not want to be inside of a grocery store, like when I'm sick as hell in January and every body part hurts. Any other time, it's way faster for me to go in the store and shop it myself.
It should be convenient. It is instead almost always a burden instead of a benefit.
If picking up a pizza from Domino's worked like this, then they'd have gone completely out of business decades ago.
1. Prices on the app are frequently higher than prices in the store. 2. Not all options available in the store are available in the app. 3. Don't assume they'll always have it ready on time. Or, at least, don't plan your day around it.
They force you to pick a window because stores have limited staffing, and only so many orders can be fulfilled at once. "Hire more people," you say? Hah!
We don't do delivery, so I can't comment on that aspect of the service.