Simon Says Goodbye

Working back in the heady days of Web 1.0, Simon Delivers was one of the more exciting ‘evolutionary business shifts’ going on. Ordering groceries? Online? Never having to go the grocery store again!? It seemed too good to be true and, of course, we quickly signed up.

Well, the reality wasn’t quite as exciting as it seemed it would be. Yes, it was convenient. Playing with the dry ice in the sink was always fun. And those green tubs were always convenient for camping trips. But it wasn’t necessarily the cheapest option, and, at least back in the day, we found their produce lacking and we were still making trips weekly to get milk anyways.

That said, it was still a really amazing idea and was great to see it out there.

And they continued on even as the dot-com crash came into view. Other online grocers started dropping around the country, but Twin Citians seemed committed to keeping Simon around.

We haven’t used Simon in years, but every time I see a truck go by I think “hmm, we really need to try that again.” Alas, now it’s too late. Gas prices have finally done Simon in. The end of an era?

An interesting aside, about a year ago, Byerleys and Lunds started offering online shopping for groceries. We often shop there, and actually enjoy going ot the actual store. That always seemed to be one of the selling points of Byerleys compared to the big boxes…carpeted floors, big aisles, actual people there to bag your groceries. They replaced their drive-up pickup window where they’d load the groceries for you and it’s now the ‘online ordering pickup’ window. Alas, at least at our local Byerleys, I have yet to see anyone actually use it. Anyone shop for groceries online via Byerleys?