First, let me say that I will always be faithful to my Gelson's. And even when we get an Amazon Fresh near us, I won't be doing my major shopping at Amazon Fresh. However, I did find the experience interesting, and the products offered, especially the fresh items, were similar in quality to many large chain stores, like Ralph's and Von's. I would shop there again.
The glitchiest part of the experience was actually getting the app to work. There are so many Amazon applications, that you have to find the exact right one - but once you do that -- and there were several personnel there to help you do just that -- it was actually dead easy.
It's also a real plus that you can return Amazon items there with no fuss, and no packaging. And I did like the section where you could buy all the latest and most popular kitchen items and cook books. For a quick shop, Amazon Fresh is a great option.
For me, a big down side was the 20 item limit. I often shop for the week and so I have many more items than 20. I wouldn't be able, nor would I want to use the Dash Cart for that. You do have to carry out your own groceries at Amazon Fresh, and you can't take the Dash Cart with you -- so you either have to transfer the groceries to another cart that can leave the store, or you have to carry them to the car in hand.
Plus, you can absolutely shop at Amazon Fresh with OUT using the Dash Cart. There were checker lines there like at any grocery store. But what's the fun of that? We wanted to be shoppers of the future!
However...when I was at Gelson's this morning to pick up a few items for the day's meals...every single store employee from the manager to the check out person, greeted me warmly, like they knew me ( which I'm pretty sure they do). The produce was gorgeous, so fresh, and being tended by produce people that pick the best melon or avocado for you. And there's always mulitple butchers that cater to your every whim, and tell you how to cook the piece of meat that you purchase. Plus a deli counter with salads freshly made, and not sitting out all day exposed to passing shoppers. I could go on...
Don't get me wrong. I really liked Amazon Fresh. But...my heart will always belong to Gelson's.
Thank you for this look at an Amazon Fresh store. I wondered what they were like.