by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
It’s one of everybody’s most dreaded chores: grocery shopping. But for Jacksonville residents, grocery shopping just got a little easier.
Grocery Girls owners Marla Ball and Colleen Dugan opened their grocery delivery business last December after two months of planning. Ball and Dugan grew up together in Vero Beach, and after college, they moved to Jacksonville to begin their careers. After working a few months at local boutiques, they began thinking about opening their own business, but were unsure of what kind.
“Everyone hates going to the grocery store,” said Ball. “We did a lot of research and found that there are grocery delivery services in other cities.”
Cities like Los Angeles, New York City and even some small towns have these types of services.
Dressed in light blue pants and white T-shirts with their logo on them and carrying a large canvas bag for the groceries, Grocery Girls simply take their customers’ lists, go shopping and deliver their groceries to their homes.
“We wanted to be creative with our business and put our thumb print on something and give it a personal touch,” said Dugan.
The girls are working out of their home on Atlantic Boulevard and travel to all areas of Jacksonville to serve their customers. Dugan said they already have a wide range of customers.
“The service caters to anyone,” she said. “Right now we have moms with small children and young professionals ... which we were very surprised about.”
Ball added that they are also trying to reach out to the elderly and those who have trouble getting around.
The girls were surprised at how many of their customers live Downtown.
“After talking to people who live Downtown, we found they don’t have a convenient place to go shopping because of parking,” said Ball.
When asked why they like grocery shopping, the girls said it gives them an opportunity to be creative.
“It is fun shopping for other people and we are driven to make sure they are getting exactly what they want,” said Dugan. “Sometimes it is kind of like a scavenger hunt, trying to search for the correct item.”
Ball added that they don’t enjoy shopping for themselves too much, but the business also gives them an opportunity to see what is out there and try other types of food.
“Sometimes, if we see a new product that can replace an old product that a customer used to get, we buy it and let them know this is the new product,” said Dugan. “We strive on customer service.”
During the Christmas season, the girls added candy canes as a special touch for their customers when they came to drop off the food.
The process to become a Grocery Girls client is short and simple. Registration is done through their Web site, www.grocerygirls.biz. First-time customers create a profile and their first grocery list, and after the initial registration, the site will save the list to be viewed again and customers can simply add or delete items when needed. Dugan said customers can fax or e-mail their list to Grocery Girls if they do not want to use the online order form.
Orders should be placed 48 hours in advance to avoid a $10 rush fee. After Dugan and Ball finish shopping for a customer, the groceries will be delivered to the person’s home, and if they wish, Grocery Girls will also put away the groceries.
“That is just an added luxury and up to the customer if they want us to put away their groceries,” said Ball. “It helps alleviate stress on people when they know their grocery shopping will be done and their groceries are put away when they get home from work.”
There is a $50 minimum order total and a service fee of $20 plus 10 percent of the total grocery bill. They accept cash, check, Visa or Mastercard at the time of delivery. Dugan said they will also make additional stops for a $15 fee.
“The guidelines are there to make the business run smoothly,” said Ball.
Right now the girls are only covering Duval County, but they hope the business grows in the future. The girls deliver Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
“Our number one priority right now is customer satisfaction,” said Dugan. “Everything has to be perfect before we grow.
“We don’t want to grow too fast,” added Ball.