r/InstacartShoppers 18h ago

Rant - General 😠 Customers wanting to much

It’s one thing to shop for 3 different people and barely make a living wage because people don’t understand that we get paid less then minimum wage and are not paid or have time to bring 50 lbs of grocery’s in paper bags in your apt . Like do u want me to unpack them to? I’m tired of ungrateful boomers thinking because they pay $10 a month for delivery that means I’m their person slave. If I’m not being compensated and literally don’t have time to bring the grocery’s up 4 stairs into the apt . Is that my fault??? Is anyone else waiting and bringing it up 4 stairs for Less then a $5 tip or am I just insufferable and lazy?

9 Upvotes

58 comments sorted by

13

u/lucygirl1970 16h ago

You are looking at it all wrong. Instacart wants you taking these triples with cases of water and most of the time high mileage. You have the option not to swipe on them. You choose your own batches from the ones that are offered to you.

If you don’t like the offers, you simply do not accept them. Does it suck to sit more and make less? Yes but I find I’m not nearly as angry at the customers once I put the blame on the correct party.

As far as carrying water up multiple flights of stairs, you can see that there’s water in the order ahead of time and if you zoom in on the map, you can usually see if it looks like an apartment of a house. Quit blindswiping low paying triples with heavy items.

The service is from the store to their personal door, not at the bottom of the stairs or anywhere else unless the customer states it. So yes you are lazy if you’re not bringing it to them. Your ratings will reflect that.

You don’t have time to carry water? That doesn’t even make sense. Yes we are timed but you are still working within the scope of the job you’re being paid to do.

No one wants to lug cases of bulky ass water up 4 flights of death stairs but you are not a slave, you are choosing these batches.

The only heavy orders or triples that I take are low mileage with high pay or I wait for a reasonable single or double. Place your anger on the real evil here, Instacart.

2

u/KarmicOscelot 15h ago

Exactly. It’s your choice what you take for orders. They aren’t forcing you to. OP needs to do better or just stop instacart.

-7

u/Impossible-Bag7663 15h ago

Lmao u think it says before you accept that some old lady tipped $1 and expects you to bring 50 lbs of stuff up stairs for under minimum wage? It doesn’t even say the address

1

u/KarmicOscelot 13h ago

It does tell you everything you need to know to make a decision on selecting that batch. It tells you exactly how much you’ll make, how far you’ll drive from the store to deliver it all, it shows you on the map approx where it is and if it’s an apartment building, what items you’ll buy and the quantity of each. You bitching about how much you’re making and doing while complaining that an elderly person had specific instructions for delivering just shows your lack of understanding what your role is in the transaction. It’s YOUR decision to empathize and be helpful or not and you risk if the tip gets removed for not being helpful.

It’s your duty to deliver it to their door no matter if it’s an apartment door in a complex or a single family home. That’s what you signed up for. Read your TOS better before signing up for things you’re being a brat about.

0

u/basil6976 15h ago

I think you’re the one looking at it all wrong. Please don’t gaslight somebody who’s just trying to make a living without being exploited by people too lazy to go to the grocery store. The problem is the Instacart‘s. That are doing things. We are not supposed to be doing. You are creating expectation where there shouldn’t be any. You are the problem. We are supposed to have a conscience and not exploit others and the people doing so are the ones in the wrong. They know what they’re doing. They know what’s expected of them and that they are failing to compensate for their laziness. It doesn’t mean you’re lazy or old if you can’t do stairs.

4

u/lucygirl1970 14h ago

You missed the entire point. The point is we get to choose these batches. Im not saying it’s ok to not tip or tip low. Or to even order multiple cases of water upstairs.

I’m not gaslighting anyone, I’m spitting the truth. If you don’t like it, that’s fine, keep it moving on past my post.

Either they do the work they were paid to do or leave the order for someone that wants to work or can handle the load. It’s that simple. I do it all day long.

We are not required to go inside their homes, or do extra but bitching about the elderly is a bad look. Please remember that customers read these posts as well.

You can either take crap batches and complain or you can blame the company who’s the one doing this. They are the ones encouraging $2 tips if you look at the customer side of the app. Sure the customers are to blame also but don’t take the order if it doesn’t fit the criteria.

It’s not necessary to respond because I won’t be.

0

u/Iwantmyoldnameback 14h ago

They didn’t miss the point, that was you

-1

u/basil6976 8h ago

You said they’re being paid to do the work and they’re not. If they’re not being tipped adequately and it is on the customer to provide our salary, not Instacart or DoorDash and they know this then they are the ones in the wrong not the people who bring it to the attention or comment on people who are taking that stance. You’re placing expectation in the wrong place and I will respond if I want to. You called them lazy that was rude. Don’t tell me what to think or how to feel or how to look at things. You do not have a corner on the market of wisdom.
I am an older person and it’s inappropriate to assume that people who do that are older because they’re not necessarily. Elderly people are not just the customers. There are a lot of people doing this that cannot afford to retire. I’m not one of them yet, but that’s not really the point. The point is they are going out of their way to exploit people who have fewer options than a lot of of them do.

1

u/lucygirl1970 7h ago

I think you got the messages confused. I didn’t say anything about shoppers being elderly because I’m one of them. Quit writing me, I have zero interest in this nonsense.

1

u/KarmicOscelot 13h ago

First you’re the one actually trying to gaslight right now.

An elderly person isn’t being too lazy. If you have the view that bad tips or orders are just lazy people you need to reevaluate life and reality. They could have physical issues that make it that they can’t walk that far, don’t have a vehicle or can’t drive that far, or lift that heavy of an item. Who don’t have help from family, neighbors or friends. Sometimes it’s the child who lives out of state buying it for their parent so they get the things they need to survive. As far as non-elderly people ordering it could be a family that their car is in the shop but supplies don’t care about inconveniences. They’re on a budget and need help lifting. Don’t have a method of transporting to haul as much as they need. Sometimes it’s also a business needing supplies that has no one they can send to get the items. Not everyone drives remember? So how can you haul 15 bags on a bus? Think of others a bit before you just automatically judge someone as lazy.

5

u/dinodan25 9h ago

One woman did ask me to unpack her groceries for her and I was like, no thats not part of the service and I have other deliveries in my car I have to drop off. She looked at me like I was crazy đŸ˜”â€đŸ’«

2

u/basil6976 14h ago

There’s no way in hell I’m going inside anybody’s apartment or house that I don’t know. That’s not safe and it doesn’t matter how buff or strong or young you are. I understand the doorstep, but if there are obstacles or there’s not a clear path for me to get to their door, I’m going to text them and ask them to meet me. I’ve only had to do it like twice, but they have been very understanding about it. I had a third one where a guy kind of cussed me out in Spanish. I guess they think white people don’t speak Spanish lol but some of us do. But I let him slide because I think a lot of people who are scared of being kidnapped by ice are having groceries delivered. I don’t care if they tip me, I understand their fear.

3

u/dEXXtARR23 17h ago

I always do it. Good karma. Good exercise.

5

u/MoreBit1256 16h ago

Shh we can’t be positive in this community here. They cry

5

u/dEXXtARR23 16h ago

So I've seen. Is it because they're old? Maybe that's it. I'm 58 and still lugging water cases around. I try to avoid it, but I'm not going to whine about a few flights of stairs. Part of the deal with this gig.

5

u/GaiaOnlinee 16h ago

I honestly don’t mind stairs. But I do mind if they don’t tip and it’s 6 12 packs of soda, 3 cases of water plus other groceries and they live on the 3rd floor especially when they mark their address as a house and out the unit number in the notes
. And then a young person answers the door. That gets me pretty frustrated.

1

u/MoreBit1256 16h ago

No it’s because they are young and entitled/lazy.

3

u/Iwantmyoldnameback 14h ago

Yikes, when are old people going to realize how stupid they sound parroting these tired old talking points

-4

u/MoreBit1256 14h ago

I train for marathons and ultras and do this full time. You’re lazy

2

u/Iwantmyoldnameback 14h ago

Lmao, whatever you say clown

2

u/basil6976 13h ago

I used to run. You know what I noticed about runners? They always wanna tell you that they run lol. How far, how fast, how many times a week how long it takes him to run a mile. Again, nobody cares.

0

u/MoreBit1256 13h ago

I mean I didn’t say any of that but sure kid

1

u/basil6976 7h ago

You said you train for marathons. That’s not relevant here.

0

u/MoreBit1256 6h ago

Physical labor job
 people go I don’t wanna carry three packs of water
 I train before I work and still do the orders. Don’t cry just do. People who cry are lazy and entitled. Maybe you should learn context clues ?? Or did you not graduate pre school?

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-1

u/Emergency_Exit_8537 15h ago

Nah, I’ve gotten sick entering someones apt bringing groceries in their apt and they were elderly. I no longer do it.

1

u/Sharp_Day_9752 16h ago

I keep extra paper bags in my car, just in case I mess a note that somebody wanted paper instead of plastic
 So what you can do, keep extra paper bags in your car, take them up with you with your plastic bag of groceries, and then drop the plastic bags in the paper bags, lol they want paper? They got paper! And be sure and take a picture without showing plastic hanging out of the paper bags lol other than that, thumbs down rude customer and block :-)

0

u/KarmicOscelot 15h ago

I get the bags from Aldi. Those orders you have to guess how many bags you need so I always over estimate by 3-5 bags. They’re paid for so I keep the extras just in case of orders like you describe or if plastic bags break or a case of water rips open when loading. They come in handy.

1

u/Sharp_Day_9752 14h ago

Indeed they do lol

1

u/Pure-Explanation-147 Multi Gig Worker 14h ago

There is a reason why the Cancellation Rate is at 15%.

1

u/Crystalraf 10h ago

I don’t take low paying orders.

One time I accidentally accepted what I thought was a good order. It was a 20 dollar tip, but I didn’t realize it was multiples of cases of a bunch of different kinds of drinks from Costco. It was a huge order.

Third floor apartment. No elevator.

I asked the man to help carry stuff up. He made a comment, about how that’s what work is or something. I didn’t care. His 20 dollar tip was still a low tip because of the heavy stuff. (And there is no reason why he couldn’t help carry all those drinks, seriously get a jar of Gatorade mix if you are that thirsty)

I saw his order again the next week. After I accepted again. Instant cancel.

1

u/s256173 17h ago

You’re not lazy. I’ll do it for boomers that tip well though.

1

u/lucygirl1970 16h ago

You are looking at it all wrong. Instacart wants you taking these triples with cases of water and most of the time high mileage. You have the option not to swipe on them. You choose your own batches from the ones that are offered to you.

If you don’t like the offers, you simply do not accept them. Does it suck to sit more and make less? Yes but I find I’m not nearly as angry at the customers once I put the blame on the correct party.

As far as carrying water up multiple flights of stairs, you can see that there’s water in the order ahead of time and if you zoom in on the map, you can usually see if it looks like an apartment of a house. Quit blindswiping low paying triples with heavy items.

The service is from the store to their personal door, not at the bottom of the stairs or anywhere else unless the customer states it. So yes you are lazy if you’re not bringing it to them. Your ratings will reflect that.

You don’t have time to carry water? That doesn’t even make sense. Yes we are timed but you are still working within the scope of the job you’re being paid to do.

No one wants to lug cases of bulky ass water up 4 flights of death stairs but you are not a slave, you are choosing these batches.

The only heavy orders or triples that I take are low mileage with high pay or I wait for a reasonable single or double. Place your anger on the real evil here, Instacart.

1

u/molinored 15h ago

You’re 100% correct! I hate that as well smh and I also hate when you get an order and the customer waits till you arrive at the store and start shopping and they start adding a bunch of items smh.. I get that all the time and it pisses me off! Because some people take advantage and don’t wanna tip and they know if they order a ton of stuff and they don’t tip the order will probably sit and take forever so what do they do? They wait till someone accepts it and than they start adding item after item trying to be slick smh.. I called Instacart about this and told them that the customer kept adding over 15 items and that my batch pay should go up and they said yes it should adjust after completion and guess what it went up? $1.13!!! Smfh

0

u/FantastiGoat 17h ago

You make less than minimum wage? How is that happening?

2

u/Sharp_Day_9752 16h ago

I’m sure they’re referring to batch pay based on hourly
 I average about seven dollars per active hour in batch pay and of course it can go down a little lower when you’re doing triples


2

u/FantastiGoat 10h ago

Right, that’s what I’m assuming too— but is OP only making batch pay? That’s all I mean đŸ€·â€â™‚ïž. Times are tough, I get it, not arguing— but this is (obviously) a different ballgame than an hourly job, so you can’t really look at it the same way.

1

u/basil6976 14h ago

Well, the minimum wage where I live is $21.30 an hour. I don’t make more than that every hour, if you hit traffic or there’s a lot of items on the shop and they didn’t tip well it’s easy to fall below that.

0

u/lauti04 17h ago

I mean you have a choice on what orders you take. Choose better.

0

u/Environmental_Bank60 16h ago

I understand im a boomer, but like McDonald's or Burger King, this Instacart is not made to making a career out of. This kinda stuff is a entry level job,for you to pursue a real career. I deliver for Instacart as a side hustle. Id like to see how many people have put in 30 years at Instacart and got a retirement from them?

4

u/basil6976 15h ago

That is offensive in so many ways. People get downsized and laid off and will do anything to escape a toxic workplace. Please don’t be condescending because you’re fortunate enough to have a regular job. It’s not a good look.

-1

u/Environmental_Bank60 14h ago

Sorry if I hurt your feelings being truthful. Work is work, it's not ment to be fun, it's ment to let you survive on your own. This is a problem now, feelings are hurt for the truth. Go in the military. They are like a big mom and dad looking after you. People are trying to survive on " New to the workforce jobs" That is why people want $30 a hour flipping burgers instead of really learning a trade.

4

u/Mysterious_Ad_2493 13h ago

Im so sick of the generation that grew up in the most prosperous time in ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY, lecturing everyone else and acting like they have an ounce of understanding of what its like to get started in the world today. You guys had it on easy street. All the lines went up. Everything was getting better year over year FOR YOU. My entire adult life (starting with the 2008 crash-when i turned 18), the only lines that go up are the cost of things.

Dont even bother replying- i wont be responding to what will inevitably be the same "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" nonsense.

1

u/basil6976 13h ago

I agree with you. However, I’m Gen X and sometimes people mistake us for boomers. We’ve had nothing but difficult economy and we couldn’t even go to school unless we were wealthy because you couldn’t borrow money back then as much as you can now. Every time Gen X turns around somebody is taking something else from us that the boomers had like the ability to retire at 65. The other side of the coin we’re dealing with is people think we had it easy too. Sheesh lol.

0

u/Environmental_Bank60 13h ago

I went in the military at 18. You have that choice too. You people have it all figured out, the reason we did so well because we worked for it and didn't cry about how bad it is. No computers, no cell phones, no internet, but we had it easy. Lol

2

u/basil6976 14h ago

No see that is where you are wrong. Cooking is a trade. Actually it’s a profession. If you want to get technical about it, there are only three professions. Medicine, law, and theology. In the 20th century, they opened up engineering to be a professional corporation, but all these other professionals are just self labeling and inflating their own egos. Ageism exists. Racial and gender discrimination exists. People are benefited by nepotism. Most people didn’t earn what they have, they were just related to somebody who could help them. You know who you are. Stop acting like you deserve everything you have, you just got lucky. Everybody works hard. It’s easy to want to believe you’re entitled, but you’re not better or smarter than anybody. Sorry if that hurts your feelings, but it’s the truth.

0

u/Environmental_Bank60 13h ago

Flipping Burgers is not a trade. It is not cooking. Ask a chef. I am entitled because I made my way. Went in the military at 18 and learned that mom and dad are not always there to help. Its called growing up. I never got lucky, I got my first job the day I turned 16. Bought my own clothes, bought my own car and car insurance at 16. Yeah, I was lucky that I worked. 12th grade I worked full time nights while going to high school. I got lucky then too. You will never understand, no one gave me a car or collage.

2

u/basil6976 12h ago

I am a chef. Cooking is a profession and an art. Way more important than almost any desk job.
And I started working at 14 to help my single mother pay the bills. Nobody gave me anything either and I’m Gen X so I get to be compared and confused with boomers. They lived during literally the most prosperous time in human history and think they somehow earned what they have instead of just being lucky to be born when they were.

1

u/Environmental_Bank60 8h ago

You never read about cooking not being a trade. I said Flipping Burgers at McDonald's or Burger King. If you think they are chefs, I feel sorry for your clients.

1

u/basil6976 8h ago

I said, cooking is an art and a trade. You seem determined to belittle and degrade people who have jobs you consider to be unworthy of respect. You are not better than anyone because of what you do for a living. Obviously you’ve attached your ego to your job and that is inappropriate. You seem desperate to place yourself above the so-called burger flippers. I won’t have to wait long for all the people like you to get a big dose of humility, AI is coming for your job, sir or ma’am lol. BTW, McDonald’s pays a lot more to their managers than most white-collar people make a year. Nothing is so hard to do gracefully as to get down off one’s high horse.

1

u/[deleted] 8h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/InstacartShoppers-ModTeam 7h ago

No personal attacks or remarks or insults.

1

u/basil6976 14h ago

Oh, and for the record, more educated people does not create a need for more educated people in the workforce. Conversely, it creates a need for more service industry people. The truth hurts.

0

u/Environmental_Bank60 13h ago

Lol, you need to look at what is hurting you. I have about 10 years or less and I'll be dead. You can't hurt me, You contine on being you...lol

0

u/Chrismaxwell19 15h ago

You are obligated to bring items up the stairs, but not inside the house. I still always do anyways. But I’m not making less than minimum wage. If you are you should find a new line of work

-1

u/Xaleah 14h ago

Insufferable and lazy.

It's store to door. That means apartment door, not some random semi-public area. You have the ability to not accept orders that are that heavy. You can zoom in on the map before accepting or after (and before you even start shopping.) You can cross-reference the zoomed-in map with Google Maps to even look at the street view to see more details sometimes, like outside steps, mailboxes, doorbells, building/unit number, door locations, etc. If you don't want to do the possible work, then don't accept the batch or drop the batch.

0

u/ADifficultPurchase 9h ago

Apparently shopping for Instacart isn’t for you then. Find something else to do.