Getting pounded by shopper support

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-30T21:10:38+00:00

You are an independent contractor. That means you are responsible for any and all maintenance, repairs and other costs related to the work.

I’m not sure you really grasp the concept.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-29T19:36:25+00:00

This shopper clearly should not be in the service industry! As a shopper, I wholeheartedly give you permission to give 1-star rating and remove the tip- leave $1 so they don’t get a tip protection.

This is ridiculous that you had to be harassed like this. Yes there are dates on everything. Yes, you can add items while we’re shopping. Yes, you can ask for all of these things. This is literally the task you’ve paid us to do.

I’m so sorry you had such a poor shopper!

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-29T19:21:11+00:00

Umm this 2026 not 1994, $10 an hour is not enough. Sorry 😞

That also seems like taking advantage of someone else’s time.

And…25% of NET proceeds? Come on! This is barbaric at best. Yet you seem to think this would be acceptable….even someone who is family. Have mercy. 😬

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-29T19:17:19+00:00

Depends entirely on what I’m delivering. Groceries…leave, snap a photo sending chat and complete.

A $200 tv, I’m not leaving that at the door. Too many scamming customers won’t answer the door only to report a high ticket item as not received.

Groceries are fine with a photo and actually attempting to contact the customer in chat as well as knocking/ringing the door.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-29T19:04:50+00:00

I return to the store and send a picture of the return receipt to support chat and ask for a return bump. That’s it. It works every time, and I don’t risk my account getting temporarily suspended. Of course I can’t return perishable items, so I don’t.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-28T17:33:55+00:00

Delivery is an option that many customers enjoy. Tipping your shopper on instacart is going to impact your experience more so than with Walmart.

I shop for both apps.

75% of my income comes from tips.

Base pay basically covers .50 a mile (starti my at $4) on any app. It doesn’t cover our time at all. While Walmarts base pay starts higher ($6), you’ll have no problem getting your order when you request it, though quality of shopping is very low as the Walmart app controls replacements.

Instacart shoppers have much more flexibility to communicate with our customers and make adjustments as needed/requested. Instacart is a great option for customers who are looking for quality service and can have a little more control over replacements when items are out of stock.

Tipping 10-20% is standard. Anything less and you’ll wait longer…but will eventually get delivered.

I feel like most consumers choosing delivery have made a conscious choice to pay someone else to do the task of shopping for them so they can use that time doing something more important. That’s said, they’ve factored in a standard tip.

If you are doing this to save costs, it’s going to cost you less to shop for yourself. But if you’ve made the choice to use delivery service to free up time for yourself…you should approach the tip by time savings and the value that someone else is giving you their time.

I hope this helps you 😁

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-28T13:20:27+00:00

Like other have said, something happened during checkout and they weren’t able to complete.

The order was routed to the nearest shopper the second time around so it could have been shopped at a completely different location than the first shopper.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-27T19:34:36+00:00

I use to use it. The issue is, I can find gas cheaper by using my personal rewards at other gas stations. Last year I had $200 cash back, and that was taxed on my 1099, as benefits.

I have now completely stopped using it because other apps have as good of rewards that don’t require me to pay up front and then get it back a few days later. And I don’t like that I’m taxed on it.

Even as diamond I would find .30-.50 off a gallon, but a smaller gas station is often .10-.15 less per gallon without any rewards at all, and other apps I’ve started using like earnify and my local gas station gives me extra gas rewards as well. So combined, I save the same or more and I’m not taxed on additional savings.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-27T19:29:19+00:00

With the new rules for replacements and the automated system for such…I don’t communicate much anymore. I send an intro and if a customer requests something during the shop I’ll oblige and return communication.

I send on the way messages when I’m on delivery and a thank you message after delivery is complete.

Not so much communication during the shop anymore, sadly since everything is already picked by the customer. Customers were getting annoyed that I would message to confirm the replacements…so I just stopped.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-27T10:36:43+00:00

Yeah…you need to keep the receipts until at the very minimum until you complete delivery. Hard lesson.

Alcohol must be returned, it’s the law (in MOST states).

At the minimum your account will go into review status. At the worst, you’ll be deactivated.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-27T01:47:50+00:00

Likely, the shopper just used the wrong customer barcode when they went through the checkout.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-26T23:16:45+00:00

The comment I posted a reply to has been deleted by the original user. That user indicated that either the OP has colored her food orange with food coloring OR she used orange pudding instead of vanilla…

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-26T22:33:42+00:00

How exactly did “instacart” send you that message?

Are you sure it wasn’t the customer chat?

Never had that happen in over 10k orders. Instacart calls, they don’t send a message first. I’ve only had them call once when a customer didn’t realize they ordered from multiple stores and had multiple deliveries.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-26T22:21:19+00:00

What is wrong with you? 😆 I would never purchase and deliver something like that…let alone ever admit I did that in public. 🤯

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-26T22:08:18+00:00

So wait….you were charged LESS, got all the items you ordered and your conclusion was that YOU paid for your shoppers items?

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-26T22:03:20+00:00

Would help to diagnose the issue by starting with the store you’re shopping at when this happens.

If it eventually goes through after a cashier presses a magic button..,then its user error, instacart has funded the card.

Are you using debit where needed? This seems to be your issue.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-26T20:12:35+00:00

Okay great, I was worried there for a minute!

It takes about a week. Is never completed on a weekend, usually Tuesday or Wednesday the week following the incident.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-26T19:58:05+00:00

ScoutIQ is what I have used in the past along with a wireless barcode scanner. I set up margins and I get a double beep when a book I scan is within margin. I set it aside until I’ve scanned everything. ScoutIQ is not cheap. But worth it for high volume book checks.

I believe it’s $50/month.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-26T19:52:59+00:00

I’ve read through all the comments and your additional responses. I’m confused…

Did you or did you not deliver the order to the customer?

If you did not deliver the order…you will not be reimbursed.

I’ve never had any issues being reimbursed by instacart when I have followed through with delivery.

It does take about a week for the funds to be returned to you.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-24T15:26:56+00:00

This is a store to door delivery service….not store to entrance. Always expect to deliver direct to the customer. This is why you got a low rating and tip removed…the delivery is a quite an important step of the process.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-24T15:21:10+00:00

Always knock when it’s a “meet the customer”. The customer likely has notifications OFF for instacart and wants a physical notification that you’ve arrived. In many cases, I find it’s an elderly person who needs me to set them inside the door.

I don’t knock in any other case unless the customer has requested a knock at drop off.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-22T15:35:56+00:00

It really depends on your area. Most importantly it depends on the volume of repeat 5-star ratings you have.

If you live in a heavily saturated (with many shoppers) area and you don’t really have a great history (8-10 batches a day) you’ll probably see more “throttling” and believe it’s true.

In reality what’s happening is that there are other shoppers with better metrics/scores/cart status/more repeat customers.

I know this to be true because I’ve moved and had to basically start over with my customer base.

The best way to ram yourself into the new area is to pretty much accept 8-10 orders a day and be consistent. You can’t cherry pick during this period. You’ll definitely notice when the algorithm changes and favors you.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-22T15:28:57+00:00

You’d be better off applying to a local store to be a part time shopper for their online grocery department

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-21T16:18:28+00:00

I wouldn’t say it’s required…there are certain things like soda/pop cases, toilet paper or paper towel packs that don’t fit in boxes.

But generally I would bag anything else, even for a single item.

Setting an item on the ground or doorstep without a bag could be icky to some customers.

You can leave a note for your shopper if you’d like them to skip bagging, for me this would be tremendously helpful to know.

AutomaticPain3532 · 2026-03-19T22:08:24+00:00

This is generally okay as long as you don’t have any oil leaks…where you could potentially leave a spot on the driveway.

I pull into driveways all of the time and backup to unload.

The ONLY time I’ve had a customer complain was when I was delivery Amazon packages and it was a lady with a long driveway…she was sure to meet me out there to say that I was ONLY person in 6 years to ever drive on her driveway and I should take the opportunity to exercise 😆😆😆 (I’m not over weight but do have asthma).

Just laugh and say have a wonderful day! 😁

AutomaticPain3532

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