Business is booming at the Fountain City Food City, 4805 N. Broadway. The store has added both staff and customers from the former Food City store in Northgate Center. And on Aug. 26, the store also added GoCart curbside pick-up service.
“Our GoCart program is literally changing grocery shopping as we know it,” said company president and CEO Steven Smith, in a press release. “GoCart combines the added convenience of drive-thru service with the personalization of online shopping. It’s truly the best of both worlds.”
Cynthia Hartzog is the Fountain City site coordinator, assisted by two professional shoppers. She says the program is simple: Customers select their purchases online, and the order is filled by a professional shopper and loaded into their vehicle when they arrive at the store. Customers can pay online or at the time of pick-up. “All types of payment are accepted,” said Hartzog. Food City charges a service fee of $4.99, regardless of the order size.
GoCart is also available in Powell and West Knoxville Food City stores: 7350 Clinton Highway, 5941 Kingston Pike and 284 Morrell Road. Other stores will be added.
It’s easy to start, said Hartzog. Just visit www.foodcity.com for details or to view a short “get started” GoCart tutorial video.
Customers can take advantage of weekly specials, use digital coupons, and make notes such as the trim size for fresh meats. The service is available seven days a week except for a few holidays.
The Quick Cart feature allows shoppers to view previously purchased products, which can be added by item, category or an entire list in a single click. Customers also have the option to add digital coupons to their cart. They can select a pick-up time that fits their schedule, ranging from as little as three hours after the order is placed to several days in advance.
“We’ll get to know the likes and dislikes of our customers,” said Hartzog. “If a selected item is out of stock, we will text or call them with options. But we will never substitute an item or leave something empty without communicating.”