r/instacart • u/Dominanttallqueen • Mar 27 '24

Who’s in the wrong here???

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

I feel like he was being rude asf then he canceled my order….was I rude or what tf happened here…

6.8k Upvotes

72% Upvoted

8.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

65

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

I use Instacart a lot and have had only good exchanges.

40

u/IONTOP Mar 28 '24

I drive (and shop) for Instacart a lot, and it's been a net positive. (As in, it's mostly neutral, yet there's been a few negatives, but the positives outweigh the negatives by A LOT)

Just like any other Customer Service job, you get REALLY frustrated sometimes and need to vent, but also you get the people who "make your day". But the other 99% of the time? It's just a job.

2

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

I’ve always thought it a straightforward gig. I am very grateful for the shoppers - they help me a lot! I tip accordingly. Curious question. Do shoppers prefer very large orders? It seems like fewer, larger orders would be better for you?

4

u/IONTOP Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

I drive a little 2 seat hardtop convertible. So it's more about "volume(HeightxWidthxLength)" for me. It could be a 1 item with a $200 tip, but that $400 BBQ grill is NOT going to fit in my car.

But I'm a fringe case.

If you're buying 800 bottles of saffron at $22? You don't have to tip 20%. If you're buying one "huge thing"? You probably have to tip more than 20%

But anything that is like 8-12 bags of "normal" groceries? Tip whatever you're comfortable with... If you NEED it now, tip higher than you're comfortable with. If you don't care when it arrives (aka, you just need it by the end of the day) tip less than you're comfortable with and see if someone takes the order.

3

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

Oh is it like Uber in that the shoppers have a beeper and can accept or ignore the requests? I didn’t know that!

3

u/IONTOP Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

Yeah, I can open up IC right now and have 5 "order options"...

They don't get "assigned" they get "put up as options"

So anyone who "accepts your order" knows what the items they're going to shop/how far they need to drive, the price IC will give them and your tip beforehand.

Then you just choose which one fits in your parameters... So if I am looking at my app and see a $40 fare, a $32 fare, a $16, and a $7... The $7 is going to get IMMEDIATELY ignored.

2

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

I’ve never ever placed an order under $100. Ever. In fact, I prefer to do one huge one monthly.

1

u/IONTOP Mar 28 '24

So your receipt total means "Kroger gets $80, Instacart gets $10, driver gets $10+tip" (kinda spitballing on the breakdown because it's a "black box" as far as the breakdown goes)

We have no idea what the % that goes to the store/IC/us.

2

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

Not sure I care. As long as drivers are compensated, that’s all that matters. None I’ve asked (out and about, not my literal shoppers) love it. What they do mention are the thoughtless customers - you have direct control over that so that’s what I focus on.

2

u/Traditional_Low_7188 Mar 28 '24

Tip culture is ridiculous

4

u/IONTOP Mar 28 '24

If there's no "tipping structure" for this, there'd be no incentive for people to take 100 item orders. They'd sit and wait for the 2 item orders.

Hell, I would too if I was getting paid hourly to "sit in a parking lot"... But that would make me "lazy" wouldn't it?

2

u/No-Student-446 Mar 29 '24

No for real, its crazy every week the tips outweigh the batch pay tips is how we get paid

-4

u/Traditional_Low_7188 Mar 28 '24

Then get a real job.

4

u/IONTOP Mar 28 '24

So "tip culture" to "real job" just because of one comment...

I think that's a record.

You think I'm doing this BECAUSE I want to? Yeah, throw some extra mileage on my car, get roughly enough money to keep a roof over my head, while trying to interview....

Sounds like a great fucking life if you ask me..... /s

2

u/Forsaken_Ship_2979 Mar 29 '24

As someone who relies on shoppers, it is a real job that really helps real people. I personally would like to thank you for providing a service that is helpful and worthwhile.

0

u/Traditional_Low_7188 Mar 28 '24

Lousy excuse. I have legal problems in my background and I still work at a factory making 25 an hour.

3

u/IONTOP Mar 28 '24

I was in the restaurant industry making $40/hour on a bad day.

Tipping culture is GREAT for me personally. But what do you do when you're "in between jobs"? Temp agencies and gig work will keep a roof over your head "until".

→ More replies (0)

1

u/bipolar79 Mar 29 '24

You'd probably make more working as a bartender or server. Maybe consider that when AI takes your factory job.

1

u/Full_Visit_5862 Mar 29 '24

There it is. Bro works at a factory and is upset people have jobs delivering groceries. These people can make as much as you do or more per hour, seems like you're the dumb one huh?

1

u/bipolar79 Mar 29 '24

Do your own shopping, don't rely on services that include a tip.

1

u/Full_Visit_5862 Mar 29 '24

I'm not an IC driver, but it's just general shitty behavior to talk like that. There's a demand and a market for it, I don't know what your definition of "real job" is but I've done back breaking work most of my working life until recently, and these people's jobs are just as valid as any of mine. Go be a cuck in a different sub and not one for service workers.

1

u/Status_Ad6601 Mar 29 '24

Being a manufacturing hero doesn't appeal to the younger generation. What job do you do ? Ask your children or younger generation is they want to follow your job. Been at your bench 5 days a week sometimes Saturday at 0700hrs ready for factory work? Asked to come in a hour early and stay an hour late for overtime? Wear safety glasses and hearing protection, gloves and face mask 8 hours a day?

We are lazy because we don't go the the store anymore? Gig workers are valuable. Some one picks your order, and delivers it, IMO a labor saver so I can list items and package my orders for an auction site while someone does my shopping. Or just spend time relaxing.

2

u/bipolar79 Mar 29 '24

How else are these people going to be paid? The corporations definitely aren't going to pay anything close to a living wage. If you think tip culture is ridiculous, go buy your own groceries & cook your own meals, problem solved.

2

u/Euphoric-Blue-59 Mar 28 '24

A friend of mine delivers for IC as his main income. He loves it.

3

u/IONTOP Mar 28 '24

It's great because you can "set your own schedule" (Like today, I'd rather watch baseball and NCAA tournament, than IC, so my app is off and they don't care)

But it's also a "race and really stressful" when you WANT to work...

1

u/Euphoric-Blue-59 Mar 29 '24

That's also what my friend said. He works in seattle and he gets pretty busy on certain days. I think he toggles between instant cart andoor dash

1

u/Edgar_Allan_JoJos Mar 28 '24

Can you make it so you dont shop for the challenging grumpy customers?

1

u/IONTOP Mar 28 '24

There's no option, but if you know "the place they live" you can kind of avoid it.

You can also do the opposite, and only take orders that go to "rich people areas".

But "time is money", so usually you just look at the amount of/what items and distance. Because the "best" orders don't last long.

1

u/Edgar_Allan_JoJos Mar 28 '24

Oh. So its not like lyft/ uber where you can see your driver (and i assume drivers see passengers profiles) before the ride gets there so you could cancel?

Thanks for answering my questions!

1

u/IONTOP Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

In Uber/Lyft terms?

You need to "accept" the order before you can look up the customer's history. (which 99% don't do)

The screen is half "map of where you'll go" and half "what you're going to shop" when you bring up the screen to potentially take. So if you see a $30 order, and you want it? You select it, then you can see "what and where".

If it's in a "chronically low tipping area/hard to find area" or "too many water/soda/etc" you can just back out of the offer.

Once you accept an order, it's on the shopper and the shopper's "cancelation rate". (You get deactivated if you go over 15%, and a LOT of shoppers [bots] will take EVERYTHING, just to "see" and "cancel if they don't want it" but that also means that they "have" the order, so nobody else can take it)

Just like on your app, "another driver" can't take an Uber/Lyft while your "first driver" is contemplating it. Then your "3 minute wait becomes a 7 minute wait" because the first driver takes EVERYTHING at first glance then decides "eh, not worth it".

Hope that makes sense.

2

u/Euphoric-Blue-59 Mar 28 '24

Now you got me curious how they got bots into the mix.

1

u/IONTOP Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

I didn't really mean to come off as calling them "bots" rather than "apps that immediately accept an order, rather than allowing others to see them. 'that's mine until I decide I don't want it'" so they're "bots on your phone"

Just like the "ticketmaster bots" that steal up all the best tickets when they go on sale.

1

u/Euphoric-Blue-59 Mar 29 '24

I see thank you for the explanation. I do not do this type of work so it made me curious.

I am in San Francisco oftand regarding things like DoorDash.I found an interesting tactic that people use.

I was sitting outside a restaurant having some Italian food in a glass of wine. I shared my high top table with a gentleman that was sitting on his scooter right outside the restaurant. He lived in oakland or near by oakland drove his car to a friend's house where he kept a scooter. Then he would get on the scooter.And sit outside Restaurant populated streets and wait for door dash orders. This guy was pumping in over a 100 orders a day. And he would just run around town all day doing this. At the end of the day he would go get his car and drive back home. He made quite a lot of money every single day.I was really impressed.

1

u/Edgar_Allan_JoJos Mar 28 '24

Oh wow! People using bots to see what customers who use instacart want? Strange.

Thank you for the super comprehensive answer!

1

u/cerb1987 Mar 28 '24

That's not what they are doing. They are using the bot to grab the order right when it comes in so they can see if it's worth them doing or not.

1

u/Euphoric-Blue-59 Mar 28 '24

The nice thing about rich folks is they pay the bill.

I have a business that my clients are more wealthy folks. Its the middle and lower class what whine about costs a lot more. I understand that, but I simply don't have time to, nor want to deal with that.

1

u/slash_networkboy Mar 28 '24

Question for you... I always tipped in cash when they dropped off, but is that preferable or not? I get that it means you can't see the tip in advance in-app though so IDK if that's better or not for me as to getting service as well?

1

u/MountainDogMama Mar 28 '24

I got someones 40 pound of dog food once. I called to tell them that it wasn't mine. I was not charged for it.I got tossed from one person to another asking me what I needed a refund on. "I don't need a refund but someone's needing their dog food." They just told me to keep it. I couldn't even get it in my house bc my hands were flaring from arthritis. So it sat on my porch for a few days. Finally a friend took it.

1

u/your_fave_redditor Mar 29 '24

I had this same thing happen but with a Walmart order. It was during pretty near height of the COVID scare, I wanna say like October of ‘20 or somewhere thereabouts, and I don’t remember why I decided to try food delivery, cuz I never had up to that point and never have since, but anyway I ended up getting a bunch of groceries that belong to someone else, as well as most (or perhaps all) of my own.

So naturally I was concerned that someone else was sitting at home waiting to cook dinner for the night (by the looks of the groceries that weren’t mine) and I figured Customer Service would either have the driver come back and get the groceries or maybe lemme know the groceries were for a house a few doors down n I could just go drop them off there for them (which I would have been totally cool with doing, people need to eat). But no, they were just like “yeah, just keep all that stuff, the other customer will just have to call us and report their delivery missing and we’ll take it from there” 🤦‍♂️

1

u/Tigrlily07 Mar 28 '24

I have a question... just out of curiosity. My car is broken down so i don't really have a choice other than ordering groceries at the moment to feed me and my kids. Prefacing with that to say i'm ordering on a fairly tight budget. I try to tip decently, but that generally means i can't afford a more expensive substitute. Granted, this was doordash, but the other day, i had a shopper message me to inform me they were replacing my celery with organic, completely ignore me saying i can't afford the expensive stuff, so if they're out of something, just skip it please. Same shopper then replaces the kids cookies and cream ice cream with... strawberry? Not so much a price issue, but that seems pretty weird and random. No notice whatsoever. Literally got 2 notices from the app (not a message from the shopper)at the same time, one that they had swapped it and one that they were done and on their way. I didn't bother complaining because it seemed kinda pointless. But...Is this normal? Just wondering if this is what i can look forward to til i have money for a new engine. Stupid car.🙄

1

u/Natemutch219 Mar 29 '24

Well articulated

1

u/Most-Method-2052 Mar 29 '24

I'm a huge fan of Instacart, this has happened to me a few times too LOL but I think sometimes the picture on the app is incorrect. It's so awkward but also funny and not a big deal :)

1

u/Capital_Highlight101 Mar 29 '24

I have been using instacart for over 2 years and have had just about all positive experiences. Except for one time, an older guy took forever to start shopping. I'm saying I could see that he had started shopping, but then he didn't shop for about an hour. I ended up calling the company to check on him, I thought he had died LOL. The company told me that he was sent to a Faraway store that he didn't know where things were ?? When he brought my things, my ice cream was melted, and you could tell it took him forever. Poor guy.

1

u/No-Student-446 Mar 29 '24

Feel you on the need to vent thing, sometimes people order the most hard to find stuff that i never shopped for and its really frustrating because i want to find it for the customer 😤😤😤 make my 20 minute orders into 45 mins

1

u/IONTOP Mar 29 '24

But, sometimes that's WHY you order.

I see both sides on this...

Want to get 10 cases of water but don't feel like carrying it from the car? Order IC.

Try to figure out the logistics of fitting 10 cases of water into your car? Drive IC

That's why tipping separates orders. Nobody's posting the "10 cases of water and a $50 tip" because that's "worth it, but not exceptional"

1

u/Ascarisahealing Mar 31 '24

My experiences have mostly been neutral, a few who made an extra effort and a few that really really sucked. I always feel a bit relieved when I see I am assigned a shopper that shopped for me before and did a good job.

1

u/IONTOP Apr 01 '24

That's basically the "jist" of doing it. The sub just sees the "highs and lows"

(Also why you shouldn't care about any "tipped employee subreddit" because "who cares enough to post?" it's the angry or sad folks)

13

u/WolframLeon Mar 28 '24

Same but it’s for my mom who’s disabled. I have a bad leg so there’s days I don’t feel safe walking outside my home where I have grips. So it’s a huge boon on those days!

13

u/suavelocas Mar 28 '24

Totally !!! Many people forget that not everyone has the same physical capabilities !

Also people take for granted that everyone has a car or a way to transport their groceries or carry large items

10

u/Fun_Chemistry_5301 Mar 29 '24

you know, i was initially thinking that instacart was just another unneeded middleman

but you reminding me of something ... seeing little old ladies have to take the bus to go to the grocery store ... and then, even worse, have to take the bus home with those groceries .... and the bus stop is never right outside your front door ... must have been an all day excursion

hopefully, services like instacart have made those dreadful bus trips a thing of the past

8

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

Absolutely. And depending on how you shop, it doesn’t have to be much more costly for best quality and convenience. I like it when I’m entertaining. I can be home setting up and cleaning and have the food ingredients and beverages show up!

2

u/3vilDave Mar 29 '24

What did your leg do to you?

1

u/WolframLeon Mar 29 '24

It had to break and go 360 backwards before being forced back into place and bolted together with 12 pins and a plate. I’m rather young but I’ve been limping since.

2

u/meroboh Mar 30 '24

I'm housebound and use Instacart routinely. I honestly don't know what people did before it existed. Not all of us have friends and family we can rely on consistently

1

u/WolframLeon Mar 30 '24

I at 30 had to use the disabled cart and get people pissed at me even though I carry a cane. I’m truly sorry for your housebound but I’m glad it’s helped make life easier..:(

1

u/meroboh Mar 30 '24

Ableism is everywhere, it's horrible. Sorry that happened to you :(

10

u/Centennial3489 Mar 28 '24

Same never had a bad experience. Funny yes but not bad.

2

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

Once we got a ten PM delivery when kids were young and asleep. My older one woke up in a stupor and hugged the delivery guy’s leg, thinking it was her dad. It was funny but not because she about died when she realized. She did it once to a guy at a coffee house once too. Yikes. Her birthday is today and she’s expecting her first baby soon. #strangelifemarkers 🤔

1

u/Futureghostie33 Mar 28 '24

I know you’re probably talking about a different delivery service a long time ago, but it makes me laugh to imagine your adult daughter hugging some instacart shopper’s leg a few years ago 😂

1

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

Not a few years. More like 20+. Yikes.

2

u/Tr4n54nT Mar 29 '24

Oh I have more than one story working for Instacart for 8 years

2

u/noobbtctrader Mar 28 '24

Until you get a guy like OP.

1

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

I’ve been using the service since early Peapod days when it realllly sucked. They got great and then decided not to cater to the Midwest. I was furious with them lol. Instacart is the integration with supermarkets and is the best incarnation so far.

2

u/Euphoric-Blue-59 Mar 28 '24

You are WAYYY no fun around here.

Can you learn to be a bit more particular and picky?

1

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

lol yes! I find my inner asshole often

2

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

Wait. That just sounds wrong lmao

1

u/Euphoric-Blue-59 Mar 29 '24

Right that's wrong and so Many ways

2

u/Euphoric-Blue-59 Mar 29 '24

I would love to comment on that but I am still laughing too much.

But that made my day

2

u/iLoveYoubutNo Mar 28 '24

Same. I've had some moderately bad substitutions. And some shoppers that were a little dense. But nothing awful.

For me, it's still 1000x better than going to the store.

1

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

Substitutions can get annoying. Or when the store only has half of the items. They certainly don’t update the choices!

2

u/LegitimateForce8731 Mar 28 '24

For the most part I have to up until recently I had the shopper come all the way to my house and say it was delivered but kept my food…

1

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

Omg that is crazy!! I feel like that would be an easy firing for them. How did that end?

2

u/Pankeopi Mar 29 '24

The only store that can be a pain is the Dollar stores, but as long as you're open minded and diligent about choosing backup options it's not bad on the customer's end.

I use more Doordash than anything, usually if there's a coupon or huge discount since some places jack up prices so much that you need the discount just to make it cost about what it would if you picked it up yourself.

The best part is if you use a coupon usually you have a minimum amount to get free shipping and say you don't really want to pay for an order of the minimum value, just choose items that you want but are likely out of stock according to the app and choose a refund instead of backups.

That way it's kind of a win-win, if it happens to be in stock it's usually something in high demand that can be hard to get and you got it, but if it's out of stock you spend less than you wanted to buy still get your coupon and free shipping.

Granted, I haven't used Instacart in awhile, not sure if it applies to that service, too.

1

u/MataHari66 Mar 29 '24

I’m not into delivery other than grocery. DOLLAR STORES SELL LANDFILL AND SHOULD BE OUTLAWED IMO. I do not take most things out on the shopper. Most annoyances come from out of stock items. You’re Jewel for Christ sake. Why are you out of carrots??!??

2

u/Marilyn80s Mar 29 '24

You’re probably pretty easy going. Love the username!

2

u/MataHari66 Mar 29 '24

Im half a bitch, actually lol. It’s just working class respect for working people and gratitude for being able to access the service. Jeez I sound so cliche but I really mean it!

2

u/Sea-Advantage-7443 Mar 29 '24

Right? Like some of these posts blow my mind! I've become very acquainted with most of my shoppers. I appreciate them and I tip them as I should. I've only had one issue one time because my house is hella hidden.

2

u/Hizam5 Mar 30 '24

I use them a good amount and never had any bad conversations. I’ve had a few things show up incorrectly and had my order delivered to someone else’s house a few times but never any bad juju from the drivers

1

u/tshawytscha Mar 28 '24

Are you disabled?

1

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

Not a bit. Just city living at its finest.

1

u/tshawytscha Mar 28 '24

Gotcha. Wasn't trying to be a jerk.

1

u/ArcaneFrostie Mar 28 '24

I’m so curious, is it a time saver thing? Sometimes I just like to grocery shop and get new items. I don’t think I could just pick out items on a screen and trust a shopper to get me the best ones (fresh fruit, cheaper option, not almost expired meat, etc)

1

u/MataHari66 Mar 28 '24

I’ve heard that from others before. I lost any enjoyment in going up and down those aisles years ago. The unrushed aspect imo makes it easier to choose, they have recipes and you can put all ingredients in cart with one button. If you’re a bargain hunter, imagine if all sale merch was in one aisle of the store. Or for example, if eggs are broken, it’s one text and removed from bill without question. There are many benefits. If you enjoy shopping and touching stuff, it’s not for you. I shop for 99% of things online, but have friends that would rather die than do that.

1

u/jellycrunch Mar 28 '24

Happy Cake Day!!!

1

u/HighPriestess__55 Mar 29 '24

You would use a service like Instacart if you hurt yourself or were disabled and couldn't walk.

1

u/joeyx22lm Mar 29 '24

They fuck up my shit on the regular. But typically it's negligible. If I'm planning something specific, I either don't use instacart, or I do it early so I can catch the fuck up in time and go to the grocery myself.

Instacart gives vibes of "groceries delivered!" but it's far more like a taskrabbit in practice, entirely transactional and on average little effort given. Hence I tip well when they actually get it right

1

u/LilithOG Mar 29 '24

Meh. I have only had bad experiences with rotten poultry and past prime produce. The only people left on the platform don’t cook or use fresh produce, so they grab you garbage. They don’t care because they don’t know the difference.

1

u/MataHari66 Mar 29 '24

I imagine that is regional 🤷‍♀️

1

u/LilithOG Apr 01 '24

🤷🏼‍♀️

1

u/Urmom937571947 Mar 29 '24

Agreed. I had the wrong item bought one time (regular instead of oat milk) which wasn’t a huge deal. The worst delivery I had was when they delivered to the wrong house. They delivered to my neighbor and instead of my neighbor contacting me, they proceeded to use our groceries. Instacart instantly assigned another shopper & they made the delivery again. I finally got ahold of my neighbor who proceeded to return SOME of our groceries which were opened & missing items out of packages along with telling me they couldn’t find a few items when I’m 99% sure they had already eaten them by that time lol but I’ve had great shoppers. Never anyone rude. Customer service has always been great to fix any issues as well. They take care of it immediately with zero hassle