Instacart is an American company that operates a pick-up and delivery service in the United States and Canada, which runs via a website and mobile app.
The idea is simple: a person selects products from participating retailers, and an independent contractor, also known as a shopper, picks up the items and delivers them.
However, the reality is much more chaotic. As the subreddit r/InstacartShoppers shows, the interactions on the platform can get quite funny, weird, infuriating, and even creepy.
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That’s A New One
Tips Pay The Bills But This
The range of stores someone can purchase from (and, in turn, the orders themselves) depends on where they live. Typically, Instacart provides access to a range of retailers, including:
- grocery stores;
- pharmacies;
- big box stores;
- pet supply chains;
- office supply retailers.
Had A Delivery That Was Just 4 20lb Cat Food Bags This Morning, And Upon Arrival
So I Had A First Today. Take The First Load To The Customer’s Door And Come Back For Another And There’s A Damn Goat In My Trunk Investigating Things
The Only Type Of Customer I Like Meeting Me At The Door
Instacart offers free deliveries for new members, but afterward, delivery fees start from $3.99 for same-day orders over the value of $35. Otherwise, they will vary according to these factors:
- the time of day;
- a person’s location;
- the size of the order.
However, it's also important to highlight that the delivery fees do not include tips for the shoppers.
Found Kittens While Shopping
When You Pull Up To A Big A**ed Apartment Complex And Worry About Having To Hunt For The Address, But Then You Realize That Ricky Is A God Damn Hero. 5 Stars Ricky... Would Deliver Again
I worked in customer sevice for over 15 years. The customers who put a little bit of thought into how to make your job easier are the best people.
I Thought The Candies Are For Kids For A While
How many deliveries does that person get that necessitates all that? Do they bring it in at night and when it’s rainy? Do they leave it there until it’s gone/past it’s use by date all all faded and gross? Did they do it for one week, take a picture to show off then eat it all themselves? I have so many questions!
This Order Was 25 Boxes Of Breakfast Bars And 6 Cases Of Water. Didn’t Even Mind Carrying The 6 Cases Of Water!!! I Knew It Was For The March In Dc. Makes Me Proud To See. I Bought Some Fruit Snacks For Them To Give Out For The Kids. #blacklivesmatters
Grocery delivery can be a convenient and potentially safer option for many individuals, including:
- People with certain health conditions: Certain health issues may make in-store shopping difficult or stressful for some. Those who find shopping difficult due to mobility problems, chronic fatigue, or other similar reasons may benefit from a home delivery service.
- People following a meal plan: Instacart makes it easier to stick to a specific shopping list, and this may be helpful for those who are trying to improve the quality of their diet.
- People who want to avoid impulse buys.
- Busy people: Instacart may be helpful for those who work long hours or have caring responsibilities and wish to save time.
Rough Day
Best Delivery Pic Ever!
Kelly Likes Her Job A Lil Too Much
What A $1 Tippers House Looks Like
That's why they've got the house - frugal - or cheapskates, or miserly, or stingy....
There are currently more than 600,000 existing shoppers delivering the things people need.
But the amount of money they earn varies and depends a lot on their role type. In the United States, for example, there are options to become a full-service shopper or an in-store shopper.
Customer Left An Envelope With My Name On It
Be Kind To Your Shoppers!
Met These Characters On A Delivery Today
Well Damn Kimmy
What is this ?? Death threats about a order? Karens upgrading their game?
Full-service shoppers:
- Can shop for and deliver groceries (car needed);
- Are independent 1099 contractors (they handle taxes);
- Are able to work when they want;
- Can earn tips on top of pay;
- Option is available wherever Instacart operates.
Marie’s Reaction To Me Having To Evacuate The Kroger In The Middle Of Her Batch
I Don’t Even Know How To Respond To This Smh
Best Day Ever!!
Instacart Support Is So Good
So 2-3 minutes in Instacart time equals 14 minutes in regular time.
In-store shoppers:
- Shop on an assigned shift;
- Do in-store shopping only (no delivery, so a car isn't required);
- Are part-time employees of Instacart (the company handles taxes);
- Work shifts up to 29 hours per week;
- Option is available in many areas (but not all) to help meet increased demand.
Instacart Sent Me To The Wrong Address. Customer Care Can’t Figure Out Where This Customer Lives Or Phone Number So They Cancelled The Order. So Here I Am With $600 Worth Of Crab And Lobster
Wrong Item My A**
How Am I Gonna Fit This Into A Toyota Camry?
A Delivery I Did A While Ago
For full-service shoppers, Instacart is like Uber for food. While in-store shoppers earn a fixed, hourly wage, these folks earn by the order with varying amounts.
The Instacart app shows an estimate of potential earnings for every order and guarantees shoppers will earn at least $5 for each delivery-only run and $7 to $10 for each full-service (shop, load, and deliver) batch.
I've Always Thought About Doing This
Well There Goes My Tip
Costco- $1,050 Order. Life Changing Tip
Took this thinking it might be percentage based tip. Nah, customer tipped flat 25.
1hr 46 minutes in store. 10 mins loading… which I had to Tetris in my camry. 10mins unloading into cust garage.
Biggest order I’ve done so far. I’ve done orders from the same store, paid 3x more and took less time. Needless to say I was disappointed after all the hard work
43 bucks for 2hrs of work and you still crying…come on that’s a good hourly wage in many communities.
The Customer Had This Sign In Front Of Her House. She Tipped $2
If I have a pro-choice sign outside my house, will you expect me to do your abortion for you? No? So why on Earth are you expecting the person with the raise the minimum wage sign to pay your wage? The whole point of raising the minimum wage is to A: Help people earn a living and B: Get rid of the bloody tip culture.
Earning potential is usually higher when customer demand spikes, so working on Sundays and during popular events, like the Super Bowl, can mean more money, but, as you can see from the pictures, more interaction with customers can increase your headache as well.
And The Trophy For Most Entitled Customer Goes To
Easy, pay the amount of orders they would have working in that hour
Note: this post originally had 102 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
To reiterate for the idiots: shoppers are NOT employees! They are independent contractors who get offered a base rate (usually $8-10) to shop and deliver groceries to the customer's door. The bigwigs at Instacart get all those fees, not the person shopping. And to those saying "get a real job" maybe they can't. Maybe they can't afford childcare and work hours opposite their spouse/partner? Maybe they're retired and their fixed income isn't enough to survive? If you want to use the app to get personal shopping services (which saves you time and fuel in your own vehicle) then TIP YOUR SHOPPER! Otherwise go get your own damn groceries!
Weird. Half of these just don;t seem in any way entitled or strange. The tipping thing rears its head again, but even taking that into account I cannot work out the point of many of these posts.
Now I'm upset for the drivers. So many terrible cheap sub-humans out there who cheat these hard workers.
Cheat? They paid the asking price. If that’s not enough for the work needed, no one should have accepted. As for tipping, that’s optional.
Load More Replies... To reiterate for the idiots: shoppers are NOT employees! They are independent contractors who get offered a base rate (usually $8-10) to shop and deliver groceries to the customer's door. The bigwigs at Instacart get all those fees, not the person shopping. And to those saying "get a real job" maybe they can't. Maybe they can't afford childcare and work hours opposite their spouse/partner? Maybe they're retired and their fixed income isn't enough to survive? If you want to use the app to get personal shopping services (which saves you time and fuel in your own vehicle) then TIP YOUR SHOPPER! Otherwise go get your own damn groceries!
Weird. Half of these just don;t seem in any way entitled or strange. The tipping thing rears its head again, but even taking that into account I cannot work out the point of many of these posts.
Now I'm upset for the drivers. So many terrible cheap sub-humans out there who cheat these hard workers.
Cheat? They paid the asking price. If that’s not enough for the work needed, no one should have accepted. As for tipping, that’s optional.
Load More Replies...