Women Are Tired And Disappointed With Male Instacart Shoppers’ Incompetence, Share 35 Examples
Modern delivery services are a sort of marvel, allowing tens of thousands to get items from the comfort of their own homes. But this comes with the wildcard element of not being able to see what you get before it arrives on your doorstep.
TikToker Lowmariam shared her frustration with a male Instacart shopper who made some pretty questionable substitutions. Soon, other netizens were all sharing their own tales of weird decisions, obvious mistakes, and unhinged shoppers. So get comfortable, perhaps order some snacks, and be sure to upvote your favorite stories.
More info: TikTok
@lowmariam dont make me angry
♬ original sound - Mariam
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No grocery store has ever run out of vanilla ice cream.
First and foremost, if you are a little confused by the terminology here, an Instacart shopper is simply a delivery person who is sent a list (made by the client) and picks up the items from a store. Obviously, what’s in stock will differ from what might be shown online, so the “shoppers” are often left to make judgment calls on replacements.
So while the idea of a “personal shopper” might sound luxurious, the reality, as shown in the TikTok clip above, is that you might end up getting what is more akin to a mystery box than your grocery list. And for some reason, male Instacart shoppers are notorious for making truly bizarre calls when some item isn’t available.
Extreme opposites. The bread won't rise. It'll sink.
Not having static cling in your special places can only be a plus.
If some of these examples don’t seem too horrible, just imagine how badly it might go if we introduce alcohol to the mix. In 27 states, as well as Washington D.C. and parts of Canada, Instacart users can order alcohol through the service. Given the leeway that the shoppers seem to have, one can see a simple, game night order of a few beers turning into a bottle of Tequila.
Of course, Instacart isn’t exactly known for treating its workers particularly well, so perhaps they don’t really have any incentive to try too hard. In 2017, Instacart shoppers protested, alleging that on some days, their effective wage would be around $1 an hour. One doesn’t exactly have to be an economist to understand that this is not even on the same continent as a livable wage.
Well, at least you'll be comfy while you wonder if you're dying.
I don't think the extra fibre will solve the lactose problem at all
The company has also withheld tips, which it blamed on a software bug, and charged customers unexpected and unexplained service fees. So if you were paid below minimum wage and a company stole your tip, would you truly really take your time to find the perfect replacement for a kiwi, or would you grab another sour fruit and move on with your life?
I don't think I want to know the logic behind substituting tampons for tomatoes. Alliteration?
While many of us really started using delivery services during COVID-19 lockdowns, Instacart was already going strong (as far as corporate profits were concerned) well before that. Covid did push the company to hire around 300,000 more workers, as people, naturally, needed groceries, and often didn’t want to go out to get them.
I'd give him those veggie burgers, quite forcefully.
They showed me Scotch brite scrub as an alternative to sanitary pads
Well, obviously. A little taco meat, cheese, lettuce. Best granola bar you'll ever eat.
These days, Instacart does allow users to “book” grocery lists up to five days in advance, which, in theory, should help avoid cases where the shopper is making last-minute substitutions that throw an entire recipe out of whack. For example, cooking a risotto without the right kind of rice is a fool's errand.
Personal shoppers of the past would often be employed by the store itself, which would most likely help when it comes to knowing what items are missing or not available. In fact, some boutique stores or more expensive locations won’t even charge you for a personal shopper, as you are already spending money at their establishment.
He must have flunked counting in kindergarten and never recovered.
It seems that the best solution would be to use these services to bulk up on general items, perhaps to save oneself the hassle of carrying bag after bag up a flight of stairs, for example. But as many of the examples show, more often than not, certain recipes need very specific ingredients that can’t just be substituted.
Sure, I think my lamp will love listening to music while it's off work because it's not plugged in.
If he thinks chow mein noodles and pork and beans are in any way similar, he's not going to get the halal connection.
While one can use ground chicken for a hamburger, it will most definitely not be the sort of dinner the Instacart user intended when deciding on what to eat. A very competent chef can make a solid meal out of almost anything, but let’s face it, most of us don’t want to be acting out a personal episode of Masterchef after a long day of work, we have a plan that we want to stick to.
However, this still doesn’t answer the question of why male Instacart shoppers in particular seem to create so much chaos. But, the plethora of examples not just from this video, but all over the internet show that getting a male Instacart shopper is the equivalent of thrifting or a garage sale, you never exactly know what you are going to get (or not get.)
This one's the most bizarre so far, at least to me.
I think the potatoes were staring, and made him nervous.
I once ordered dog food and they asked me if Frosties were a suitable replacement 🤪
Note: this post originally had 53 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
Wow, wow, wow, what a terribly sexist shitpost! Imagine if their roles here were reversed, everyone would be up the walls. This damn "All Men Are Trash" mindset some people and websites have has started to get me tremendously on my ovaries.
These articles make me want to scream out loud. I worked retail in a grocery store for two and a half years during the thick of the pandemic - and let me tell you, it was *always* the female Instacart shoppers who would ask us employees where something was - they NEVER looked for it themselves (you know, the thing they’re getting paid for.) They would then ask us to lead them to the item even after we said which aisle it was on. So - at least in my area and in my limited experience, the majority of lazy, clueless Instacart shoppers were female and NOT male/NB.
Load More Replies...YAY! Another "men are s**t" post!! It's been fully ten minutes since the last one, I was starting to miss them. For the record, this is not about being male, it's about being clueless. I have three daughters and frequently buy period products. If the usual product wasn't available, I'm intelligent enough to make a sensible substitution.
So, imagine this had the genders reversed. There would rightly be uproar about gender stereotyping.
If women were this bad at following directions then we'd deserve to get shamed for it.
Load More Replies...Never heard of instacart, where I live you place your grocery order direct with the store, a member of staff does the shop for you scanning each item before it’s placed in the cart, usually it’s fine but the scanner the staff use shows stock levels of each item so if something is out of stock it shows the staff member possible substitutions based on key words, so if you order a strawberry face mask as example you could end up with a strawberry yoghurt, you have to remember the staff member in store putting the orders together isn’t just working on your order they could be doing 20 at the same time and because of time constraints mistakes happen, if you don’t like or are unhappy with the service there’s an easy answer, go to the store yourself
Grocery stores here do that now but pre-covid, none did. Instacart is pretty much Doordash for groceries. I used it frequently during a period of particularly bad health and thankfully I always got excellent delivery people. They helped me feed myself healthy meals when it was most important and when I was last capable of getting them for myself. I sometimes still use it during bad mental health streaks - it's pricy, but again I feed myself better, and I am way, way better at not impulse shopping when grocery shopping online. Regarding errors, occasional mistakes are understandable, but flagrant or continual errors should be addressed. That's a part of job training in any job.
Load More Replies...r/Pointlesslygendered. I'd say an excuse can be made for about 2 of these. Otherwise, the gender focus is unnecessary.
You're right. I think seeing the terrible substitutions is funny, but there doesn't need to be any gender involved. Could easily have been "Instacart Shoppers Who Weren't the Brightest Bulb in the Box" and it would have been fine.
Load More Replies...Since we're embracing sexist tropes, can we do a post about how we should never trust a female mechanic or engineer? Are we going to do some racist and homophobic stereotypes as well?
I've no idea whether I had a male or female member of staff doing the picking, but I placed an order a few years ago that included a bottle of Baileys Irish Cream (I was planning on making Baileys cheesecake for Christmas). Instead, I got a four-pack of Carlsberg Special Brew (strong beer, 9%). It was Christmas, Baileys is popular at Christmas and they'd probably sold out, but Special Brew?? I suppose its alcohol, but it wasn't exactly a close match (we kept it, I tried using it in beef and ale casserole, and all I can say is "Don't")
First of all, wow sexist!!! Secondly, the app notifies the customer when the shopper starts shopping as well as notifies the customer every time there is a substitution, which is then approved by the customer......so if you got sour cream instead of ice cream you either approved it or you completely disrespected your shopper's time by not responding at all....so your fault as a terrible customer just like this sexism happened today because of a terrible author.
That's what they're supposed to do. I've had shoppers skip that part..don't remember their gender because my first thought wasn't "Oh it must be a guy" but rather "What a lazy asshat!"
Load More Replies...This entire listicle is why i had my grandmother turn off "allow substitutions" for when she orders from walmart. Would much rather get nothing at all and have me go out and get the missing items than have her get things that she didnt order. Has happened a few times where we got everything ordered but also got extra stuff, like one time got a 12 pack of orange soda. Wasnt charged for it 🤷♂️
I (M) once was asked to get a hair brush with that soft thing. Asked in the store because they didn't had the exact shape she gave me as an example, send her pic if that thing is okay. She was quiet happy.... FYI i'm single and accept applications.
We don't have instacart here so l'm slightly confused...is it normal procedure to substitute one item for a SIMILAR one if they've run out of it? Or were the guys being creative? Because that'd change the story completely. If you allow substitutions you can't really complain.
Why does their system not keep them from being able to buy them? When I did Postmates, their system didn't ALLOW u to purchase anything not on the app. Unless u had something that was about the same price, there was no way around it.
I just wonder if some of these were during the crazy pandemic era of new personal shoppers trying to figure things out on the fly. Many times I got someone else's orders or items mixed in with my items. Received partial orders. Odd substitutions for stuff not available. Ya, some dudes do take on the "I don't give a c**p, this will have to do." Mentality but gals do that too. Its not just a male thing. Plus, gals are less likely to properly communicate what they want in details. Women prefer the "you understand" method of just saying basic item because they dont want to be demanding Or they think they don't care until after they receive the wrong item.
You expect someone who probably doesn't even do the groceries for themselves to help you? why are you ordering groceries anyway, i wouldn't even trust the people who actually work there to choose my food, let alone some person who delivers food through a 3rd party app, like what? forget the fact that this all about how "men are bad" the fact that you TRUST anyone else to do your groceries is just beyond lazy (except for those who actually need the help/support).
I don't like grocery shopping in person because people like you are there.
Load More Replies...We've hd to use a delivery system since Hubby's cancer/chemo, and it's evently split. INcompetence is not restricted to a gender.
What? I don't understand what men has to do with this at all, it is completely left out? Is the implication men are worse at packing grocery bags, what? Huuuhhh???
I think it's supposed to mean only women know where things are in the grocery store because apparently that's a woman thing? Granted I'm the one that does the shopping and cooking in my relationship but it's 2023 and I see just as many men at the store as women so i don't know why they think men vs women would be any better at grocery shopping...especially since it's not like those apps have people going to one store all the time where you know where everything is.
Load More Replies...I'm confused about how instacart works. I assumed it's like choose the exact item you want from a website, like ordering on Amazon. This sounds like handing someone a written shopping list.
Not only sexists, but with horrible grammar... The punctuation is inexistent, how people can write/read like this? Why this trash is promoted?
I don't even believe that this is sexist, I just think it's stupid because this is pointlessly gendered.
Disclaimer. No idea who shopped my tesco delivery order during lockdown. The delivery driver was male, but could have been a female shopper for all I know. But I ordered 50g of chorizo to do one dish. Cost about 50 cent. They brought 500g of it at a cost of over 5 quid
Ever looked at suggested substitutions on Amazon? Or even just what comes up on Google if you look for something very specific?
I never order groceries and after reading this, never will. Unless they completely shut down all stores and force me.
Guys, before you complain about sexism, that is exactly what this posting is about. Weaponized incompetence meets "I don't gaf" attitude that is unfortunately not uncommon when men do "typically female" jobs. Please also remember that "these are all men here doing it" doesn't logically lead to "all men do this".
Wow, wow, wow, what a terribly sexist shitpost! Imagine if their roles here were reversed, everyone would be up the walls. This damn "All Men Are Trash" mindset some people and websites have has started to get me tremendously on my ovaries.
These articles make me want to scream out loud. I worked retail in a grocery store for two and a half years during the thick of the pandemic - and let me tell you, it was *always* the female Instacart shoppers who would ask us employees where something was - they NEVER looked for it themselves (you know, the thing they’re getting paid for.) They would then ask us to lead them to the item even after we said which aisle it was on. So - at least in my area and in my limited experience, the majority of lazy, clueless Instacart shoppers were female and NOT male/NB.
Load More Replies...YAY! Another "men are s**t" post!! It's been fully ten minutes since the last one, I was starting to miss them. For the record, this is not about being male, it's about being clueless. I have three daughters and frequently buy period products. If the usual product wasn't available, I'm intelligent enough to make a sensible substitution.
So, imagine this had the genders reversed. There would rightly be uproar about gender stereotyping.
If women were this bad at following directions then we'd deserve to get shamed for it.
Load More Replies...Never heard of instacart, where I live you place your grocery order direct with the store, a member of staff does the shop for you scanning each item before it’s placed in the cart, usually it’s fine but the scanner the staff use shows stock levels of each item so if something is out of stock it shows the staff member possible substitutions based on key words, so if you order a strawberry face mask as example you could end up with a strawberry yoghurt, you have to remember the staff member in store putting the orders together isn’t just working on your order they could be doing 20 at the same time and because of time constraints mistakes happen, if you don’t like or are unhappy with the service there’s an easy answer, go to the store yourself
Grocery stores here do that now but pre-covid, none did. Instacart is pretty much Doordash for groceries. I used it frequently during a period of particularly bad health and thankfully I always got excellent delivery people. They helped me feed myself healthy meals when it was most important and when I was last capable of getting them for myself. I sometimes still use it during bad mental health streaks - it's pricy, but again I feed myself better, and I am way, way better at not impulse shopping when grocery shopping online. Regarding errors, occasional mistakes are understandable, but flagrant or continual errors should be addressed. That's a part of job training in any job.
Load More Replies...r/Pointlesslygendered. I'd say an excuse can be made for about 2 of these. Otherwise, the gender focus is unnecessary.
You're right. I think seeing the terrible substitutions is funny, but there doesn't need to be any gender involved. Could easily have been "Instacart Shoppers Who Weren't the Brightest Bulb in the Box" and it would have been fine.
Load More Replies...Since we're embracing sexist tropes, can we do a post about how we should never trust a female mechanic or engineer? Are we going to do some racist and homophobic stereotypes as well?
I've no idea whether I had a male or female member of staff doing the picking, but I placed an order a few years ago that included a bottle of Baileys Irish Cream (I was planning on making Baileys cheesecake for Christmas). Instead, I got a four-pack of Carlsberg Special Brew (strong beer, 9%). It was Christmas, Baileys is popular at Christmas and they'd probably sold out, but Special Brew?? I suppose its alcohol, but it wasn't exactly a close match (we kept it, I tried using it in beef and ale casserole, and all I can say is "Don't")
First of all, wow sexist!!! Secondly, the app notifies the customer when the shopper starts shopping as well as notifies the customer every time there is a substitution, which is then approved by the customer......so if you got sour cream instead of ice cream you either approved it or you completely disrespected your shopper's time by not responding at all....so your fault as a terrible customer just like this sexism happened today because of a terrible author.
That's what they're supposed to do. I've had shoppers skip that part..don't remember their gender because my first thought wasn't "Oh it must be a guy" but rather "What a lazy asshat!"
Load More Replies...This entire listicle is why i had my grandmother turn off "allow substitutions" for when she orders from walmart. Would much rather get nothing at all and have me go out and get the missing items than have her get things that she didnt order. Has happened a few times where we got everything ordered but also got extra stuff, like one time got a 12 pack of orange soda. Wasnt charged for it 🤷♂️
I (M) once was asked to get a hair brush with that soft thing. Asked in the store because they didn't had the exact shape she gave me as an example, send her pic if that thing is okay. She was quiet happy.... FYI i'm single and accept applications.
We don't have instacart here so l'm slightly confused...is it normal procedure to substitute one item for a SIMILAR one if they've run out of it? Or were the guys being creative? Because that'd change the story completely. If you allow substitutions you can't really complain.
Why does their system not keep them from being able to buy them? When I did Postmates, their system didn't ALLOW u to purchase anything not on the app. Unless u had something that was about the same price, there was no way around it.
I just wonder if some of these were during the crazy pandemic era of new personal shoppers trying to figure things out on the fly. Many times I got someone else's orders or items mixed in with my items. Received partial orders. Odd substitutions for stuff not available. Ya, some dudes do take on the "I don't give a c**p, this will have to do." Mentality but gals do that too. Its not just a male thing. Plus, gals are less likely to properly communicate what they want in details. Women prefer the "you understand" method of just saying basic item because they dont want to be demanding Or they think they don't care until after they receive the wrong item.
You expect someone who probably doesn't even do the groceries for themselves to help you? why are you ordering groceries anyway, i wouldn't even trust the people who actually work there to choose my food, let alone some person who delivers food through a 3rd party app, like what? forget the fact that this all about how "men are bad" the fact that you TRUST anyone else to do your groceries is just beyond lazy (except for those who actually need the help/support).
I don't like grocery shopping in person because people like you are there.
Load More Replies...We've hd to use a delivery system since Hubby's cancer/chemo, and it's evently split. INcompetence is not restricted to a gender.
What? I don't understand what men has to do with this at all, it is completely left out? Is the implication men are worse at packing grocery bags, what? Huuuhhh???
I think it's supposed to mean only women know where things are in the grocery store because apparently that's a woman thing? Granted I'm the one that does the shopping and cooking in my relationship but it's 2023 and I see just as many men at the store as women so i don't know why they think men vs women would be any better at grocery shopping...especially since it's not like those apps have people going to one store all the time where you know where everything is.
Load More Replies...I'm confused about how instacart works. I assumed it's like choose the exact item you want from a website, like ordering on Amazon. This sounds like handing someone a written shopping list.
Not only sexists, but with horrible grammar... The punctuation is inexistent, how people can write/read like this? Why this trash is promoted?
I don't even believe that this is sexist, I just think it's stupid because this is pointlessly gendered.
Disclaimer. No idea who shopped my tesco delivery order during lockdown. The delivery driver was male, but could have been a female shopper for all I know. But I ordered 50g of chorizo to do one dish. Cost about 50 cent. They brought 500g of it at a cost of over 5 quid
Ever looked at suggested substitutions on Amazon? Or even just what comes up on Google if you look for something very specific?
I never order groceries and after reading this, never will. Unless they completely shut down all stores and force me.
Guys, before you complain about sexism, that is exactly what this posting is about. Weaponized incompetence meets "I don't gaf" attitude that is unfortunately not uncommon when men do "typically female" jobs. Please also remember that "these are all men here doing it" doesn't logically lead to "all men do this".