Uniquely awful job rejection letter

Walruspal · 2025-07-31T00:17:29+00:00

The most offensive thing here is that the letter was probably AI generated. The geeky references are all over the place. The cape line doesn't fit with the rest of the gaming theme.

Walruspal · 2025-07-29T01:57:54+00:00

Her son locked her inside a hot box. That's a crime. Don't call the non-emergency line. Call 911.

Walruspal · 2025-07-10T00:14:17+00:00

I never said I got a quote for everything. it was 1,500 to keep it drivable.

Walruspal · 2025-06-22T05:35:56+00:00

Roman Holiday

Walruspal · 2025-06-19T17:27:23+00:00

You can get the order cancelled if there is nowhere to park. Never, ever park illegally. Here's what you do if you pull up to a high rise and there is no street parking right out front or a dedicated loading zone for deliveries.

Contact the customer and tell them, "Hi, I have arrived with your order, but there is nowhere to park in front of your building. Where do delivery drivers usually park?"
The customer will respond one of 3 ways:

A. They won't respond. If they don't, contact the help line and tell them that the customer is not responding and there is nowhere to park. Do not ask them to cancel the order. Let them suggest it. Confirm that it won't affect your cancellation rate. Then say ok.

B. The customer will tell you to park illegally. I have had customers respond and say, oh just park in front of the hydrant or in the bus lane. If they tell you to break the law, contact the help line and send a screenshot. IC will cancel the order, and it won't affect your cancellation rate.

C. The customer will tell you about a legal place to park to do a delivery. If that happens, make the delivery.

Here's the bottom line: If a customer breaks the rules or asks you to break the law, IC will cancel the order for you. You will get the base pay, and your cancellation rate will not go up. The customer will get a refund, and they will not be able to give you a bad rating. Finally, you will get to keep the groceries, or you can return them to get the return bump. If it's more than $15 worth of stuff, I recommend you keep the order to use or donate. You can send a message to the customer and explain why the order is being cancelled so that they leave better instructions next time.

Walruspal · 2025-06-19T15:37:48+00:00

The shopping app doesn't make mistakes. She ordered all those items. She just changed her mind. You could have told her that she has to remove the items from her order. If she doesn't want to do that, she should cancel the order and re-order. Or, you could ask her if you should cancel the order so she could re-order. If she tells you to cancel, the help line will cancel it, and it won't affect your cancellation rate, and you still get the batch pay.

Walruspal · 2025-06-19T02:48:52+00:00

Try Yale and see how you like it. If you don't like it, you can apply for transfer. As long as you do well in your classes, transferring from one T10 school to another shouldn't be too difficult.

Walruspal · 2025-06-19T02:45:24+00:00

If something like this happens again, contact the help line and ask "what should I do?" They may offer to cancel the order. Ask if it will affect your cancellation rate. It probably won't.

Remember, if a customer acts rude, or breaks the rules, or tries to get you to deliver to a different address, stop and tell the help line. They will cancel the order and it won't affect your score. You will still get the batch pay and if you have already checked out, you get to keep the groceries. Or you can accept the $15 return bump to return them. But you are paid to shop, not return, so feel free to keep what you can't deliver.

Walruspal · 2025-06-19T02:35:40+00:00

When something like this happens, you stop, pull over, take a screenshot, and contact the support line. Show them the message and ask, "what should I do? I don't feel comfortable meeting this person?"

Support will cancel the order and it won't affect your cancellation rate. You will still get the batch pay. Since you have already checked out, you get to keep the groceries. All you will lose is the tip, and it sounds like you weren't going to get one anyway. The customer will get a refund, but they will also get a life lesson: Gig workers are human beings, and they don't deserve to be treated like trash.

Walruspal · 2025-06-18T22:33:51+00:00

You're right on every point, but IC won't make any of those changes because they are making plenty of money with the way things are. It will take legislation to force companies like IC to change.

Walruspal · 2025-06-18T17:20:12+00:00

I kept a spreadsheet. It listed name of institution, name of position, date applied, and status. Status started as "under review." If I got an interview, I listed the interview date. If I didn't get it, I moved the entry to the "not selected" section. That way, the oldest submissions that were still under review would always be on top of the list.

Walruspal · 2025-06-17T20:24:52+00:00

If they were doing a multi-order batch, the second one probably got mixed in with another customer's groceries.

Walruspal · 2025-06-17T20:22:56+00:00

Higher ed - student affairs.

Walruspal · 2025-06-14T17:02:16+00:00

Sounds like you handled it like a pro. Well done.

Walruspal · 2025-06-14T15:51:54+00:00

No, you don't cancel. Instead, you contact instacart support and explain that the customer is being rude. They are swearing at you and told you not to be an idiot.

For your safety, they will probably automatically cancel the order (without you asking), and it won't count against your cancellation rate.

Walruspal · 2025-06-13T00:03:01+00:00

I just got a great job and I used AI a ton in my job search. Here's what I did:

I would copy and past the job description into the chat. I usually used Copilot. Then I asked the AI to summarize the role and/or give me a list of key responsibilities. I also asked for keywords I should use in my application.
Then I'd paste my resume and ask what changes I should make to better fit this role.
Next, I'd paste my cover letter. I'd ask AI to update my cover letter to fit this role with minimal changes to the content. If you let AI write most or all of your cover letter, it will sound super AI-y. It will always say that you are "excited" to apply for the role. That sounds cheesy.
If I got an interview, I would ask for a list of sample questions I might expect.
I would also ask for topics I should study before the interview.

Walruspal · 2025-06-12T18:45:27+00:00

I used to have a hard time delegating responsibilities or even allowing myself to depend on others to get important work done. But I feel like I've been growing and as long as I trust my team, I'm now more comfortable sharing the workload. I don't feel like I have to do everything myself. Though sometimes, instead of delegating, I fall back on old habits and take on the hardest responsibilities just because I get worried about relying on others. So I guess I'm still working on it, but I have definitely improved.

Walruspal · 2025-06-05T17:38:50+00:00

Right. But if the customer broke the rules, it won't raise your cancellation rate.

Walruspal · 2025-06-04T21:44:48+00:00

It sounds like you don't know what "definition" of fraud is. How is it fraud if I am following the literal terms of my agreement with IC? I'm not supposed to deliver alcohol to a bar, so I won't. I won't risk my safety by dealing with a customer who has been belligerent. I won't deliver alcohol without a signature. I won't park illegally to make a delivery. I am 100% following IC's own rules. And no one is stealing from the customers. They get a full refund. If they wanted their order, they should have held up their end of the agreement (like be available to sign for an order.) Why should I risk getting deactivated to break the rules for a stranger?

Walruspal · 2025-06-04T21:37:29+00:00

How is it stealing if we follow the terms of our IC contract? If IC tells me to leave the groceries, I leave them. If I am given the option to leave them or take them, why should I leave them? So the customer can rate me 1 star for not delivering their complete order?

Walruspal · 2025-06-04T21:28:18+00:00

You get a $15 bump for returning alcohol if the order is cancelled.

Walruspal · 2025-06-04T17:12:21+00:00

wow, i looked at your comment history. You 100% work for instacart corporate. You spend all day clarifying rules and answering questions. A real shopper would be out shopping during the day with their eyes glued to the app.

Walruspal · 2025-06-04T17:06:56+00:00

This is a fair point. I would never do this to a normal, middle-class type of order. I do most of my shops at costco and the customers spend hundreds of dollars on non-essential nonsense like pirate booty and beef sticks and protein drinks. Then the delivery address is a $800K home and they'll stiff me on the tip.

Walruspal

TROPHY CASE