Peapod.com, Homeruns.com, Homegrocer.com

I used to love ordering groceries online. I used Homegrocer in California, then Homeruns here in Boston, until it went out of business, then Peapod.

But I hit a few snags and I've curbed my enthusiasm. For one thing, I tended to have user interface problems with the ordering software. Once I ordered 11 packages of hotdogs and 1 banana. Now you would think the software would have some intelligence and figure out that if I were having a cookout that required 11 packages of hotdogs, I'd probably order more than 1 banana for dessert.

It was pilot error — I'd meant to type 1 package of hotdogs, not 11 — and I thought I was ordering 1 bunch of bananas, not 1 banana. I called to try to change it, because I actually figured it out ahead of their delivery day (11 packages of hotdogs costs a lot), but they said it was too late. When they delivered the hotdogs, the delivery guy atypically was very surly. To add insult to injury, about 5 packages of the hot dogs were already expired — past their freshness or "eat by" dates -- and not by a few days, but by a few months. They must have had to really dig to find all those packages of hotdogs. They took them back, but it wasn't easy getting a refund. Anyway, I don't order groceries online anymore.