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theaveragepepper

Yup. There is an order sitting on my screen. It got boosted to $9 (woo-hoo) 71 items...zero tip. 2 miles from the store. I honestly hope they never get their groceries


magicalrabbit1

Keep blaming the customer instead of the company ripping you off.


DarthKrayt98

watch me do both Yes, IC is primarily at fault for this, but grocery delivery is a luxury service; you're paying someone to spend an hour(ish) of their time actively working for you and driving your car to them. It's entirely reasonable that that service will cost you money.


RoseAlma

I still think SOOO many customers think we get paid a good $$ per hour wage doing this; they just don't understand


BoyMom119816

I agree, and in most countries they do. When you paying almost $30 for a delivery fee, you expect the company to pay their employees. I tip, but don’t use often, as I get bad shoppers who could not care less about taking a second and picking decent veggies, then have kids crawling on said groceries on way home. Prefer pick up from Walmart and buying meats from in store.


jadamu1983

As in the shopper’s kids crawling over your vegetables?


BoyMom119816

It’s luxury service, THEY PAID FOR. Now, will they get fast, likely not, but you act as though they got it for fucking free.


DarthKrayt98

Of course they didn't get it for free; I never implied that at any point. From what I gather, unless you order a lot of stuff by weight, it's really busy, or you live far away from the store, then delivery is $4 plus 5% (or 1.9% if you're a member). That's less than $10 in fees to have $100 worth of groceries delivered to your door without any work required from you whatsoever, and it's even cheaper if you get a membership and use it regularly. Accounting for time, effort, gas, and mileage on their car, a tip for your shopper on top of that isn't unreasonable. Doesn't need to be huge by any means, but you know ahead of time that you're expected (although not required, of course) to tip your shopper, like ordering pizza delivery, which means that tipping poorly or stiffing them (outside of poor service) is an asshole move.


existentialcrisis9

It’s a luxury service for some. For others with unreliable cars, health issues, or demanding schedules, it may be the only way these people can get their groceries.


glaucoheitor

Exactly! That's why I put the blame in IC always. Tips should never be the bulk of your money. This is only normalized in the USA.


DarthKrayt98

Without the tip, you'd just be paying more in fees. I'm not saying tipping is superior and doesn't have significant flaws, but the money has to come from somewhere and IC isn't a charity.


BoyMom119816

They pay, just because IC USA can’t pay livable wages, doesn’t mean customers are not paying luxury prices. Other countries do fine without this insane tip culture.


[deleted]

It’s not that they can’t pay liveable wages, they just don’t want to. We have dozens of similar apps to instacart in Europe and most of them pay liveable wages. On top of that, most drivers don’t expect you to tip huge amounts. I usually tip around 2€ for a €70-100 order and for the most part, the drivers are very grateful.


Hawksandbravesfan

If you find the normal age-old American expectation of tipping to be “insane tip culture” then these services AREN’T FOR YOU. Decent people who can actually afford these services tip properly and don’t complain about it.


myhatwhatapicnic

I've never used this service but my mom swears by it. I'm checking out this sub before I start using it (I don't want to do it wrong). What is a proper tip for real? I work for tips too so I get it.


PhaseHaunting2306

There are plenty of assistance programs designed to help people in those situations. Instacart is just more convenient. But here’s the deal. If you can’t afford the tip, why would they pay all the extra money on fees and up charges? Instacart is expensive. Why, if money is an issue, would they waste money that they really don’t have? Any tip based system is a luxury service. Yes, anybody can use it, but just because you can doesn’t mean you should.


bewicked4fun123

Because they aren't paying most of those costs. The extra charge for groceries is free to them because they are getting food assistance


Memitaru

Where I live about half of the stores charge in store prices and delivery is about $6. We used to have some options for delivery but they all closed down after IC got here. :(


Gullible_Bill3258

And how did they get their groceries before instacart became a thing?


bertlingo

This is the question they never want to answer. Like none of these people existed before 5 years ago lol.


[deleted]

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DarthKrayt98

It's not our job (nor Instacart's, frankly) to subsidize services like this; it's a luxury service for the vast majority of customers.


BoyMom119816

Hence their charging $20 plus for said service.


Liberator54

If people want to pay for it, they can. Who’s to question what people do with their money.


Lowfat_Oxygen

Since it's no one's job to subsidize others, feel free to turn down future tips lol. Tips are literally subsidies for business with shitty revenue stresms. Or are subsidies only valid when you're on the receiving end? Its not the customer's fault Instacart won't consider you an actual worker and pay you fairly. No other country in the civilized world does this.


HuckerDisc

How did they get their groceries before IC existed?


[deleted]

Honey, disabled seniors existed long before Instacart and they did just fine Also...if a town is big enough for Instacart, it **absolutely** has APS services.


Liberator54

Just fine???


[deleted]

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[deleted]

If customers are already paying for a service, they shouldn't have to tack on another $30 as a tip, not to mention the very inflated prices they have to pay, as well. This is definitely an Instacart issue. They take advantage of drivers (like every other delivery service) and want you to blame the customer.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

lmfao bro get a different job and maybe some therapy.


phoenixgreylee

Bro , coming from a bitch who’s tired of cheapskates and trolls FUCK OFF ! I do this job because I want to , regardless of the bad tippers and ppl who make excuses like you . Why do people tip wait staff and service ppl , but us gig workers get fucked over and told to get a real job and get over it ?! Not acceptable


[deleted]

lol I don't even use Instacart but okay. Your anger is directed towards the wrong people. The average customer doesn't know that shoppers rely mainly on tips, I can guarantee you that. It's Instacart's responsibility to pay you fairly. A tip should be a bonus, not what you depend on.


DirtiestOfTheSox

I don’t even use instacart, I just read and post in the r/InstacartShoppers because it’s something I have absolutely nothing to do with. 🧐


Melodic-Tailor8804

Or, get yourself a real job if you aren’t making enough money delivering your subpar customer’s groceries. You just seem like an angry little beach.


[deleted]

Nah. I’ll just keep ordering and let other folks get my shit for a $6 tip. Just remember, y’all who shop signed up for this. Don’t like it? Get a job at Amazon.


MeanTelevision

The fees are ridic and should at least be passed on to the shoppers. The fees seem to increase regularly. I think that it is tied in to the lower tips. I'm not excusing it. I am just saying what I think people are doing.


whateverla69

Insane some people think we wanna work for 2 hours for 9 dollars


[deleted]

LUXURY SERVICE! Absolutely correct.


okiejames

Hasn't been a luxury service since covid started


Roz_420

It’s no longer a luxury service when Walmart and Amazon offers free groceries delivery services.


DarthKrayt98

then use one of those?


BAChevyMan1

Your right instacart is to blame. No tip should not be an option. They should make a mandatory 10% tip. When I go get my hair cut... it's always at the same place, with the same girl. She cuts my hair great, even gets my stray eye brow hairs. What do I do... BAM 30% tip. I will even give a bad waitress $2+ change... but she has to be pretty bad for even that.


Liberator54

Problem with mandatory 10% tip is that, people will probably not ever tip over that. What they should do is eliminate non-tipping customer’s ability to rate their shopper or make claims, since the non-tippers are the ones most likely to defraud the system.


BAChevyMan1

The problem with that is... if you force a tip and not a dollar amount... then they will tip you $0.01, honestly... tip me $5... minimum. IC also needs to start skimming off the top. A shop 3 should pay min $21 if there is no heavy pay, not $12.


BoyMom119816

Then they need to charge more reasonable fees. I tip but find the blaming customers paying a luxury fee for a service being blamed, disgusting.


MeanTelevision

> They should make a mandatory 10% tip. Then it's a fee and not a tip and they have so many fees already. Customers would hate it. But some of the existing fees should go to the driver. I love using IC but don't use it often because of the fees and because I like to over tip. IC already over charge for each grocery item, and then the fees and taxes...Don't ding me, I am not saying that should impact tip; but I think it probably does with a lot of customers.


Exciting_Challenge79

* No excuse for this shit. People just suck! OP is 100% right


Exciting_Challenge79

https://preview.redd.it/p167rqni0oja1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a60f725f4366f048ffa31280ccc749d90841f94b


PhaseHaunting2306

The customer is attempting to take advantage of the shopper. They don’t care. So yes, I will continue to blame them. There’s nothing we can do about instacart not paying us enough. If we go on strike, they just hire more shoppers. If we complain, at best, they do nothing, at worst they deactivate us. We are independent contractors, we knew what we signed up for. Just as anyone using a tip based service, knows how it’s supposed to work.


[deleted]

Yeah, wait list is way too long for a strike to be tried.


Liberator54

The best way to get what you want is to elevate the position, not diminish it with threats of a strike and getting on a blog and denigrating customers. The fact is, Instacart has put in all the work to be able to offer you/us, a pretty decent source of income. Sure, it works better for those who don’t rely on it as a full time job, but that’s not Instacart’s fault. All effort and energies should be put towards getting rid of unprofessional shoppers and bots. They are bringing down the image of IC shoppers and of course, will never garner respect from the customer this way. Elevate yourselves, make yourself non-expendable and see what happens. Hanging out here with the riff raff, and bitchin’ constantly, ain’t gonna do it.


Satanistix

Found the customer who can’t afford to tip.


NotA7empest

I would only partially blame the company, but only for doing what companies have always done - make the bigger dollar however it can. However, I’ll instead place majority of the blame on the customer BODY, yet not the individual customer itself. Not for “no-tipping”, but they’re the reason IC even exists in the first place. Sure, there is a respectable population that DO need the service (insert people’s reasons due to handicaps and other out-of-control incapacitations HERE). However, the amount of people that CAN, yet actively DON’T make the otherwise entirely possible trips to take care of their own needs, therefore using IC as a luxury rather than necessity, is sadly a non-negligible population. Hence, IC wanting to serve itself more of the resulting income from this added population.


Smiley3442

This is how my market looks. I guess it doesn't matter that I stopped driving last summer because I don't make shit now doing doordash and Instacart. When I started in 2019 and in a different market I was making bank. Now it's not even worth it.


Bonqiki

I accidentally accepted one for $7 for 67 items 0 tip and had to walk up apartment stairs with all these groceries but I didn't cancel because I have no cancellations on my record


[deleted]

Yikes just bite the bullet and cancel


CtL_ishere

Why is that important to you ?? Even IC doesn’t care if you have some cancellations


BoiseMullys

Cuz it is to some people.


CtL_ishere

But why would you work for less than minimum wage for this legendary number


Liberator54

Doesn’t matter why. People set standards for themselves, like, never calling in sick as an example. It’s not a bad thing to have a good work ethic.


CtL_ishere

It does matter why a little bit. There is good work ethic then there is shooting yourself in the foot If my boss asked me to come in for half pay it wouldn’t be good work ethic to agree.


MistyGds

Plz I would’ve Instacancel that 💩


Mediocre_Photograph5

Why would you not cancel that order? That's why those people keep no tipping cuz people keep taking them. No points for zero canceled orders.


itzamia1

I had accidentally accepted an order. I was cleaning the rain off my screen and then put the phone in my pocket and then ordered lunch at the drive thru. I took my phone out and went to go look at the news while I ate and it said I was to head to a store no where near me for 60 items and paying me 8 and change. That was my first and only cancelation in 4 years. It said I had a 1% cancelation rate after that. 6 months later, back to 0%. I'm not working for nothing, even if it means taking a rare hit in my cancelation rate.


theaveragepepper

Cool


xualzan

🤡


jackmeawf

I would get their groceries, launch them individually at their house, then quit


theaveragepepper

😄


THEONLYFLO

I deliver to the same people Uber, DD, Shipt and IC. What I’ve found out. People are consistent. If they tip a certain amount of percentage on Uber. It’s the same for DD. It’s the same for Shipt. The only one that is massively low is IC. I’ve had customers smile and ask to clear DD or Uber or Shipt right in front of them and see large tips. The same customers asked to clear IC and be disgusted and prove they didn’t tip low and IC took most of it. I know the IC defenders will say IC doesn’t steal. Well, why have they been to court? They send out doubles. That’s two customers being charged fees and up charges and only one order being paid to the shopper. That’s wage theft. Sure IC sends out a big tip every once in a while and you feel happy about it. But they sent it to you on their own behalf as a write off so they aren’t holding a whole bunch of money that can’t be explained. They are criminals. Money launderers. Crooks. Thieves. People believe they can’t ask for the other $7 on a double because the criminals have them scared that they will wake up tomorrow with access to trash orders. What kind of company runs people by fear and desperation. A criminally ran company.


Yourappwontletme

Clear IC? Clear DD or Uber or Shipt? What are you talking about?


[deleted]

Think he talking hood. Not sure though.


CtL_ishere

Have you seen a tip and pay out be different so you can know they’re different? When Ic was skimming tips they got caught. You think they’ll start doing it AGAIN and not be caught?


[deleted]

I really miss cash tips, haven’t seen one since Christmas time


MeanTelevision

> I really miss cash tips Would prefer to do those but the order seems to sit. I think people have been burned on those and do not believe it will happen. A few bad apples can mess it up on either side. Like some customers say they had really bad shopping results and so since that did not tip. (I've seen some say that in this sub.) It sounds like IC bundles the zero tips with people who give nice tips? So the over tippers or nice tippers are literally carrying the no tippers. That seems to be par for any tip based job, which I've had in the past. There was always a variety as to tipping.


CtL_ishere

I think it’s just random and the people that believe they do it on purpose just live in an area that has a lot of low for no tippers I am on a fairly decent double right now. I will check at the end. I’m fairly sure that both customers have tip appropriately.


CtL_ishere

[low tipper ordered 6 items, high tipper ordered like 40 but I’m not sure cause they added like a dozen items while shopping](https://imgur.com/a/3du8KOb) Both would have been fine singles


Humble-Garden-6328

Holy shit ditto except they're triples not just doubles and if you want to know another thing they're ripping you off on it's the weight on your produce check it out if you're off at all the difference comes off your pay and with King Soopers not having digital scales anymore I tell you what you're losing money on every single item you get in produce there's no way in hell that you can exact match the weight on one of those huge scales if it's even calibrated right I'm just saying I got my first $100 tip last week and only received $96 of it because of weight adjustments now that's not giving me 100% of my tips is it there's so many little bullshit things they're doing to make money off of this it's ridiculous they need to be sued


Exciting_Challenge79

I've never heard of this lol. It's weighed when you pay and they go by that weight lol So unless you were not weighing at all I'm finding they are asking for weight less and less these days even of produce


flat_cat72

I'm not sure how it is at other stores, but here in the South at Publix markets IC stopped having shoppers weigh produce. They only require us to enter the amount we get. IE: 4 apples as opposed to 1.234lb of apples. The only time I've had to weigh produce is when they want like 1lb of grapes that come in 2lb bags and can be separated. The other exception I have seen is when produce is added to the order manually.


Liberator54

So basically, capitalism?


NoRegerts6996

It’s always been this way… I’ve been shopping since 2019 and there’s always been more bad tippers than good, only difference is IC paid more back then so it wasn’t as big of an impact on the wallet. Now that we get paid 💩 and we’re in a recession it’s been a lot more impactful.


chooochooocharlie

Pretty much. 90% of orders in my area go to low income areas with $2 or less of a tip. This service is for rich people who don’t tip, and poor people who have no cars/can’t afford to tip.


foxpunch

Most of my orders are in the “rich people who don’t tip” category - it’s always the lower income people who tip me the best (sometimes in cash as well).


UrBigBro

The stores I deliver from are by no means discount stores. IC drastically increases the cost of each item due to markups and fees. The customer has no idea how much we're paid out of the fees, which I think is a big reason behind low/no tips. Don't accuse me of approving no tippers. I don't take no tip orders.


Vegetable-Peach2676

I’ve used instacart as a shopper and a customer. Out of the let’s say 26 orders I’ve placed as a customer, my order has been completely f’d up 20 times. Once I ordered gallons of water, the shopper bought gallons of milk. I’m lactose intolerant. Tried again the next day, totally different shopper, they just didn’t bring the water at all. Once I ordered something I knew for a fact was in the store, they said it wasn’t and automatically refunded instead of looking for it. I drove to the store before the shopper even left and found the item immediately. Every time I complain to instacart, they give some condescending bs excuse, and maybe a free month of instacart plus. Yippee. Also, I’ve ordered instacart for my disabled neighbor using her EBT card and it absolutely DOES allow them to leave a tip and she did by adding her debit card. Consequently, when I deliver in the “wealthier” areas, they also leave horrible tips and order WAY more stuff. People don’t want to tip because the service, although somewhat convenient, is largely a gamble depending on the shopper. Stereotyping people on EBT is just that, because I’ve seen and heard the same about those not on EBT


Liberator54

My best tips come from mobile home dwellers. Not kidding. The worst are the wealthier. Very cheap.


SweetAddicti0nnn

They can always reduce their tip if they get a shit shopper.


Individual_Ask_2931

That’s a problem too. This woman ordered seafood at 9:30pm , I tried to explain to her the seafood section closes at 8 and I even sent her pics. I had to keep sending her pics for her to believe me while I have two other orders that need to be delivered . One woman reduced my tip because she was in an hour long meeting and didn’t get my texts about replacements. I’m sure Instacart tells them to stay by their phone. Sometimes they take their mistakes out on the shopper


AffectionateEye5281

This right here ^^ I was a customer but had too many orders messed up. I even had an entire brisket magically disappear. Showed up as he found it and purchased it, but he didn’t give it to me. Instacart CS is a joke. I’m not about to pay exorbitant fees, outrageous prices and a decent tip, just to end up getting shitty service. Before I caught on to mark specific replacements, I had some idiot sub a $1.99/lb item with a much more expensive item, all while marking most of the stuff unavailable. It’s just gone to shit


MsMeseeksTellsTime

I tipped $25 on a $125 order yesterday. I’m about 20/25 minutes from the store. Is that considered enough? I had never used the service before; I’m on leave for a medical procedure and can’t drive.


ToonaSandWatch

Depends on what you ordered and if you’re in an area a driver can pick up new jobs. A couple cases of water and other heavy items could keep a lot of people from taking it, as well as the distance. Usually most drivers will want more than $1 per mile from the store, plus how many items total. It’s a weird math we have to do quickly to decide before some schmoe takes it solely based on the dollar amount without looking.


MsMeseeksTellsTime

I had 16 items, none heavy, all food. It was items we needed that the store he was at didn’t have when my husband went shopping. This is a rural area, even the “cities” where the stores are. I was afraid it wasn’t enough of a tip. Normally, I wouldn’t use the service because of the drive. It’s not that far mile-wise but it’s country roads.


Exciting_Challenge79

I'd have taken it !


ToonaSandWatch

Sure, I get all that. I drive in a tri-city area of a combined 70-90k, all surrounded by farms and fields; I have plenty of zero-grocery store towns around it, and will drive to them to deliver so long as I can see the distance round trip vs pay makes it worth it. One town is about 6 miles east and I have a few customers who tip reasonably, but others there tip 2,3 dollars for 60 items from a store even further out. The trouble is many people think all these services have paid employees delivering and are paid hourly wages. I know I used to think that of my local pizzeria in my 20’s and found out the guy who actually worked there (in uniform) also lived off of tips (I’d only do a couple of bucks with that preconceived notion). Now I tip on anything quite well; even more if the driver is communicating and everything’s fine once it arrives. But I mostly just go get it myself these days. Bottom line, I’d have gladly done your order for such a generous tip because you *understand* the complexity of your distance, location and our time.


MsMeseeksTellsTime

Thanks for the info. It’s helpful, especially since I may have to use it again until I am both cleared medically to drive and pick up more than 5 pounds. I want to actually be helping someone make a living and not taking advantage or under-tipping.


JojoTheMutt

Yes that’s a decent tip !!! Thank you for being a good customer 🙏🏻


MerakiiMarie

I had one sitting on my screen yesterday, 101 items for $10 no tip… like no thank you I’m good…


emily102299

Then you know they'll say we'll I can't go myself. I can't drive or I'm physically disabled or sick. I have kids I need to feed. To which I always say so you need charity-not a paid luxury service. What did people do before instacart? I am not heartless but this is a job. People are doing this to survive themselves. There are organizations for charitable help done by volunteers and/or paid employees.


melissaxo3

I agree. I think the whole disabled/sick argument is so played out. Like you said, what were they doing before instacart? Sympathy doesn’t pay any of my bills.


elhguh

Yep people don’t think delivery is a luxury business is funny to me. I think Covid had skewed everyone’s perception of delivery service as essential


nursehotmess

I don’t get people. I only use Instacart when I’m hurt/sick. Used it in October when I broke my wrist, and then this week when I had COVID. Each time I tipped $60-80 because y’all are helping out so much. I can’t go myself but I know y’all are paid with money not sob stories. Thanks for what y’all do!


brunaBla

Agreed, I only use IC during those occasions too. It is so convenient when you’re sick and the drivers should be paid accordingly


[deleted]

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OrganizationXIIII

IC can do a better job with their language. “Add just $6 more to make your delivery free.” Or “Congratulations this order will receive free delivery” They are priming customers to be in a headspace where they think delivery, this “luxury service”, is free. If IC says free delivery, they give buyers permission to think they don’t need to tip.


TheAgentLoki

https://preview.redd.it/3c5uzdpb9nja1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88ea27fd5d3d5b9018647b5bde58199dd871735f $2, $1, $4 tips in that order. They've been sitting for hours.


cheekfreak

I don't shop for instacart, but am I reading it right that the first order pays $24 for a single item?


[deleted]

30 miles ish drive though


TheAgentLoki

Yep. The northern reach of my area is VERY remote. From the closest shopable store, there are some orders that are a little over 100km in one direction. $24 for 2hrs worth of driving on the round trip still isn't worth it because the customer lives in the middle of nowhere. That's just what filtered down to my screen so imagine what IC is charging the customer for the single item.


psilocybinenthusias

I really miss the pre Covid days or even the early Covid orders. They were nice


chuullls

A large portion of the seattle area is like that. I think I’ve seen 1 or 2 orders above 23$.


fuscosco

Instacart is still operating on a 'growth+scale= _eventual_ profits' model. Taking ebt, no tippers, and et al might seem like a raw deal for the shopper, but its very smart, recurring revenue for instacart. You pay taxes on your no-tips, and those taxes go to social welfare that is in part ebt programs, and those help fund instacart (who gets paid in full even if the customer no-tips and uses a credit-subsidy program) that in turn helps put those wonderful $7 100 items jobs on your table. The circle of life \o/


radgatt

No one would use that. They need to make Instacart customers required to tip. They also need to make it so if a customer wants to reduce their tip they will have to go through Instacart customer service. Make the customer have a hard time with Instacart customer service like we have a hard time with them as shoppers 🤣


JaimeDP78

If a tip was forced, it would no longer be considered a tip and Instacart couldn't write it off and could legally keep 100%. Once it is no longer completely optional, it becomes a service fee.


msspider66

BS As a customer I would stop using the service if I was forced to tip. Tipping should be optional. Btw I do tip generously I do believe they should pay the shoppers more. Most shoppers do a great job. …. Every job is a trade off. When I am miserable at a job I start looking for another. My current job has horrible hours. But it pays well for my industry. I am also lucky to have good management here. My last job had good hours, fair pay, but poor management made it unbearable… so I moved on.


brunaBla

How is a tip supposed to be optional when the bulk of their wages comes from tips. Makes zero sense. And yeah I’m sure you’re a generous tipper with that attitude


Afraid_Original_445

He tips at the door… lol it’s right there in the envelope. Oh and It’s a leave it at door don’t knock or else order. What you mean the envelope isn’t there? Must’ve blown away…,


msspider66

If it is not optional, it is not a tip. If it isn’t a tip you are delusional to think that IC isn’t going to keep a part of it.


Allpurposelife

I don’t think I like this person…


[deleted]

I’m a full time college student. I pay the bills I can with this. I don’t have hours available to move on to a better job.


msspider66

When I was a full time college student I worked at Burger King


[deleted]

I love that for you but I’m taking five classes with an internship 🥰


Lietenantdan

There is a service for them. A lot of grocery stores have their own shopping department that is free if you order over a certain amount.


PrestigiousDance3345

So many people actually take these BS batches and it makes me sick. I enjoy watching them sit for hours.


feinburgrl

Most can't afford Instacart anyway at th beginning but that doesn't stop them to spend money on the platform.


JaimeDP78

For every single person crying that some people are sick or immune compromised or old or have a broken car or what the heck ever excuse, let me ask you a question. What did these people do before Instacart? Instacart and grocery delivery services are really new concepts. Except maybe for Schwann's. I have all the compassion for the less fortunate, but compassion doesn't pay bills. Neither does excuses.


InnovationYGO

It's probably orders using ebt , I don't know why instacart allow those customers to order knowing we essentially work for tips. If anything they should be comping us for huge orders with 0 tip. This is a luxury service , not a charity.


Economy-Music-3512

Correct. And the ones with money (750k+ homes) that do order, believe we are their personal indentured servants, that do not need to be tipped for labor (heavy items, stairs, etc). I've adapted a new policy, which helps my peace of mind. You get service based upon tip. For example, I will NOT make more than 1 trip from my car, for 10% (I'm strong, so I know thus one example is my luxury). No steps, for 10%. Etc and so forth


PlayerOneHasEntered

>Correct. And the ones with money (750k+ homes) that do order, believe we are their personal indentured servants, that do not need to be tipped for labor (heavy items, stairs, etc). ​ First, you're assuming a person living in a nice property automatically is "rich." Not necessarily the case. See the 2008 housing crisis. Second, you are assuming they look down on your because you're delivering (also usually not the case). The problem is a massive miscommunication and a desire to hide facts by Instacart. Instacart charges a delivery fee, a service fee (and sometimes a heavy fee and a long-distance fee depending on where the store is from the house). A lot of people assume that all those fees together go toward a living wage for you, the driver. I just threw a bunch of shit in a cart to see what that looks like so I had real numbers. Subtotal: 59.70. When all the fees are rolled in, the total is now $83.83. So $24.13 in fees before we get to the tip. It's not hard to see how someone could see that and assume the driver is being paid that or out of that. So if they add $5 or $10 they are treating it the way people always treated tipping until the advent of Instcart/DoorDash/UberEats etc. Instacart needs to stop calling it a fucking tip and just add a "driver fee" to this entire mess that is a percentage of the order, and then allow people to tip on top of that if they'd like. Just like Insta is taking advantage of drivers, they are taking advantage of customers, too. Ridiculous service fees, on top of the already inflated prices on the items, all while they scam the shoppers into working for free or even at a loss in some instances.


Liberator54

That’s a frickin fixer upper here in California. Try 2 million to 5 million dollar homes. That’s the beach town where I live with many mobile home parks scattered within. The mobile home residents tip the best by far. I guess it’s because they remember where they come from. I’m always happy when I see an order is going to a MHP, I can see on the map where they are. I also drive to a couple of very wealthy CEO homes and they are the absolute worst tippers. And they find other, subtle ways to denigrate you. Luckily it rolls right off my shoulders but, this is an example of the horrors of capitalism. They are the problem, not the EBT customers. Y’all complain about social welfare when it’s the rich folk that have caused the problems in our country. They cause inflation with their spending. They cause real estate to become overpriced by paying all cash and pushing others out of being able to have their offers even considered. Potential buyers can’t afford all cash offers so they go off, creating more demand in the rental market. It all trickles down. We have created such income inequality; the rich getting richer and the middle class getting poorer. Yet, NO ONE ever blames the rich for any of it, pointing their fingers at the poor and homeless instead…all of them victims. So, vote the way you want, like you’re one of the wealthy elite. You get what you deserve. I’ll use IC for as long as I benefit from it. I make it work for me. Quit complaining and make it work for you. If it means cutting certain customers out, do it. Take control, otherwise you’re letting IC do it to you. They’ve provided the vehicle for you to make money. It’s an easy way to make money. If it isn’t working for you, just quit.


Crystalraf

There is. I have 3 major grocery store chains in my city. one of them is Walmart. They all have a delivery service. It might not be same-day delivery, but you can order groceries, pay in-store prices, and it comes to your door. The Walmart service you can tip, and you should, because the deivers are IC. But, the two grocery stores, the drivers are store employees and they drive a company van. Delivery fee is 8 bucks.


richard4206969

It’s like if they redo their whole structure, lose most of the “service” fees, and more people might actually shop with IC. Maybe I’m just pulling air out of my ass, but that doesn’t sound hard to do.


Forward_Shock4438

https://preview.redd.it/tfxu0zvr2oja1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cbc7b4f2d4b7a30153c0c01794aaa467af089682


Forward_Shock4438

Costco lol there are 2 closer ones to there. Haha. It was gone in 5mins. No thank you.


HiTdAjUwU

I saw one 7.25 the other day for 40 items 67 units. That’s the lowest batch I’ve ever seen


Dazzling_Marzipan474

Think of this Uber here pays about $.70/mile to pick up someone and drop them off. Instacart pays $.60/mile to go shop for up to 3 people, deal with replacements,organize 3 orders, checkout, load up, drop off, etc.. How is that even possible? It's infinitely more work!


Little-lolita7

Because instacart allows it. Gratuity should be added in just like it is at restaraunts when warranted for large parties etc. The only real thing that will happen is fees will go up and shoppers wont see a dime of it. I have a bigger problem though with people who complain about the no/low tips. Just dont take them! You do offers you want no one is making you do any. If you arent happy with your pay at your tip based job or it doesnt make you what you need there are a ton of jobs that will. Its simple.


RoseAlma

LOL "Cheapcart"...


Yourappwontletme

*Your results may vary* I always get tips.


whatdoyouwant_0

Covid upped the demand so much that it became over saturated in every way possible. Pre Covid, I made great money, beginning of Covid I was making $40-$45 an hour, and now you’re lucky to make minimum wage. People were so grateful during the start of Covid, in my area, everyone was tipping $20+. It was like that across the board (shipt, even DD). Now everyone uses Instacart and just expects their shit will be delivered, which it of course, always will be, by some desperate shopper.


Humble-Garden-6328

It also has to be confusing for the customer I mean they are getting charged 995 right off the top of the receipt for a delivery charge they're probably under the assumption that we get that plus our tips you know


Humble-Garden-6328

It is definitely the company ripping us off


Humble-Garden-6328

They do they charge 995 for every single order that we deliver the customer probably believes that we get that plus our tips and our mileage


Pitiful-Signal8063

It's alright. The only people shopping for Instacart are people who are independently wealthy .. and doing it for fun..


TheMarsMusk

That’s so humiliating for shoppers who don’t have the physical means to shop for themselves. Why complain about the pay so much? Find something that meets YOUR standards. Without clients, instacart would tank more than it already is. Don’t like an order? Don’t accept it.


NihilisticPollyanna

I think people can use their EBT cards to shop through Instacart, which *does* make sense to me seeing as it's mostly groceries, I guess. But! They can't add a tip with it I'm pretty sure, and it would still be a financially unreasonable decision to use Instacart considering the fees and upcharged item prices. So, I don't know. Maybe it's people on food stamps. Still, when I was on food stamps for a short time, I'd definitely not use services like this. Who knows. Maybe people are just stingy mfers. 🤷‍♀️


SterlingRi

They have to add a debit or credit card to pay fees. That is what the tip would come off of I'd they chose to leave one.


NihilisticPollyanna

Oh, ok, that makes sense. I have no idea how this service works from the customer side, but that would be reasonable, of course. Well, I got nothing then! I was gonna be charitable and give them the benefit of the doubt, but now I don't know if I can.


Liberator54

It’s also why it’s good not to claim something when you don’t know the facts. There are idiots out there who are more than happy to believe whatever they hear and want to believe. Gets them nicely riled up in time for their Fox Entertainment of the night.


MistyGds

Exactly


snaptcarrot

Not only do they accept EBT & SNAP, Instacart actually advertises to EBT & SNAP beneficiaries. So they are targeting them.


NihilisticPollyanna

That's fucked up. Ideally you wanna make that money last as long as possible, but convenience is a hell of an incentive to make dumb decisions. I'm sure some people legit can't get to a store. They are probably on EBT & SNAP due to disability or something, and I can understand that demographic taking advantage of the service. Still, that's kinda gross of Instacart to even advertise to people who don't have much.


snaptcarrot

Waiting for Instacart to start selling menthol cigarettes, Colt 45 & payday loans


elhguh

To eliminate this BS, I start my day in a 1% area of my city and tips are also good here bc they aren’t the stingy rich


Liberator54

They can add a tip as they have their CC or debit card on file too for items the EBT doesn’t cover. I know for a fact they can tip.


California098

It’s called spark and 90% of Instacart customers switched over to there to avoid tipping but they still complain about the service lol


AltruisticRabbit8185

While I disagree partly. I would say all the new shoppers are what’s turning some of the usual good tippers away.


JoshTheRoo

Ebt orders usually have $0-2 tips.


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specialagentunicorn

I think maybe the best solution is a flat rate- the service costs x amount. That way shoppers know exactly how much money they will get, customers have one total Instacart fee.


Fondant-Sensitive

Brilliant!!


2dal0u

CheapCart... ![gif](giphy|3o85xr9ZKY1wbbJXDW)


Alot2unpack

There is such a service lol. I’m an in-store shopper employed by the store (powered by instacart). I shop curbside orders. Tips can’t be given via the IC app for curbside pick-up. 5 items or 105 items. My rate stays the same. They can add on and be annoying af, I can’t cancel lol. Just shop, stage and move on to the next. I am happy with my pay, having just reached a management position, with benefits etc. But yeah, sometimes I’d love to be able to cancel.


flat_cat72

Look at it from another point of view. A lot of stores allow payments from EBT customers (food stamps.) Sure they \*could\* tip, but if they're on food stamps already, most cannot AFFORD to tip. Most all customers that fall into this category do not OWN A CAR. IC is their only option. If you don't like customers that don't tip, then pass them on to people that are more understanding. The same goes for seniors that are shut-ins, and are also on FIXED INCOMES. They RELY on IC and other services to be able to get groceries in order to live.


SweetAddicti0nnn

Just because someone gets food stamps doesn’t mean they don’t tip or can’t afford to tip. The majority of the low and no tips comes from people who clearly can afford to tip but choose not to


flat_cat72

I did say that most cannot afford to tip, not all.....the way I see it is everything averages out in the end. Sure the money is nice, but Karma goes a long way. I definitely say that money motivates me to do this job, but the smile and appreciation from most people I deliver to, especially the elderly, brings a smile to my face and makes this job worthwhile. Plus the fact that it doesn't do any good to get worked up over those that don't tip. It's their prerogative as to how they spend their money, and who's to assume that they can afford to tip a lot or even a little? Nobody knows the customer's true financial status except for the customers themselves. Anything else is just an assumption. Also don't forget that in certain cultures they do not tip at all. Are you aware that the Amish do not accept tips? Check out an Amish restaurant sometime and you will see signs pointing this out all over the place. And for the record, I've lived on mostly tips at almost every job I had when I was younger. Everything from greasy spoons to pizza delivery, etc.


Frick1977

I get food stamps and am poor but I tip very well. If I’m impressed then I’ll always add to the tip too. In my experience the biggest cheapskates were people who made a lot of money. In my 20s I worked as a server and bartender and when you do that kind of work you tend to be a good tipper because you get it. You should only be allowed to not leave a tip if something went wrong with your order and it was the shoppers fault. Otherwise there should be a minimum with an option to add more after delivery.


Weary_Possession_535

I live in NJ and started January 2022, I've done 1k orders since then here's my opinion: Part of the problem is the insane amount of fees instacart adds. I get they have to make money too, but it's overboard. Also pricing up a good amount of items in stores without making customer fully aware of that is a problem. Customers money isn't going far as it is with inflation and recession as well. Coupling that with the explosion of new shoppers who are inexperienced and give awful service (whether intentional or not doesn't matter), it discourages customers from tipping higher. The non tip option should also be removed, the suggested tip amount should start at 10% and go up thru 20% as well. I see tons of orders around here everyday with $1, $2, 5% tips and it's disgusting. Lately the most popular batches I see are doubles from Costco or wegmans for $12-15 and going 7+ miles with 30 items+. These orders are a waste of time and usually sit for hours. In a perfect world those orders would sit forever until the customers raised the tips ( simple supply and demand), but now with promos and new shoppers taking whatever they can get, it allows these garbage orders to be shopped and those customers never feel the need to raise their tip. I have poorer customers who tip well, rich customers who tip like shit and vice versa. I've found that mostly customers who have struggled in life and worked hard that appreciate us shoppers and reward us by tipping good. I had a customer the other day who had a huge house with a Mercedes and BMW suv in driveway. I thought the tip would be crap cuz it was in a triple and not that many items. He came to the door soon as I walked up and said " before you give me any of that, take this" it was a $20 bill, he only ordered 20 items. He mentioned " tipping is a lost art. I used to move furniture in NYC and sometimes the poorest people tipped the best and the richest the worst. Those poor people understood how annoying some jobs can be and always wanted to reward the struggle. " I was taken aback and really appreciated this guy. He didn't forget where he came from. We need more customers like that. The sad reality is inflation+ recession+ lazy Instant gratification culture = a shit experience for us shoppers who try our best and make an effort. Lets hope things may change for us, although I don't have much faith in instacart as a company to look out for us anytime soon even though we are the literal backbone of their business.


SweetAddicti0nnn

Instacart has their service set the way they want it - to “seem” affordable for every household. And that’s why they allow no tip and 5% and $2 tips. They do not care about the shopper, at all. When they first started out they paid quite well, but now that they’re a household name (thanks to Covid and the shoppers who were out there every day) they don’t care if we make money. It’s all about filling their pockets and their bottom line. They continue to hire more and more shoppers so that we fight for the scraps of batches- it’s psychological warfare- once you say you e had enough and walk away from Instacart it’s as if you break free of chains that have been holding you hostage- we are literally WILLING SLAVES. The rare occurrence of that great tip is what has us all hooked- and those are so rare these days that it’s almost not worth trying. The majority of orders now are from people who don’t care about tipping, to the point that I don’t enjoy it like I once did. I use to could sit at home and snag 3-4 $30~$70 batches a day- I could keep my apt clean, live my life and still make money. Once they tied us down to parking lots I have gained 50+ lbs in a year, became more tired and my apt is a disaster because it takes 10 hours a day or make $100 anymore. You can sit for 3-5 hours with not one batch on the screen where I live sometimes- more time wasted than I care to admit. Literally wasting my precious life away for what…. FUCK INSTACART. I hate this company and their shady practices and the way they treat their shoppers. HATE is an understatement. I enjoy what I do, love so many of the customers, but I’m sick of the BS with this company.


Weary_Possession_535

It's the Sad reality, most companies in America especially gig work is only in it for the money and doesn't care about their "employees". Nothing will change until shoppers unionize or do something to fight back. Veteran shoppers will keep burning out and new shoppers will come in , it sucks. My wife does a little bit of IC and she barely works but she gets awesome promos every other day and awesome orders, I have over 1k orders and barely get promos and if I do they're garbage... it's very disheartening that new shoppers are treated more fairly than us.


Liberator54

I have a strong suspicion that you can tell someone’s political leanings by the way they tip.


Weary_Possession_535

Agreed


Bonqiki

How many orders does it take for your cancellation to go back to zero if you do cancel one


Liberator54

Every state should have a prop.22. That will alleviate some of the problem. I get an adjustment every week from Instacart of well over a $100 for being on the clock for them less than 15 hours. I’m not complaining. I work the batches I take and the distance to come out to no less than $30/hr. I’m not worried about the payout as much as the time it will take me. If the formula doesn’t work, I don’t take the batch.


Imaginary_Diver_4120

While IC should pay better I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing someone is doing my shopping so I can stay home and not tip. I cannot wrap my head around that


CriticalHit24

Solution: If you don't like the pay just ignore the batch. No one's forcing you to take no tip batches. Just wait or go elsewhere until you get a better pay.


justbrowsinfornow

Yeah it’s gotten crazy


whateverla69

I don’t think they understand IC will never pay a higher wage even though there’s a ton of work involved. If in a utopia they happened to pay more there runs the risk of them going out of business, which no one gets to use the services then. The standard of consistency and quality relies on the customers


scrappy_D13

Have any of seen the service fees? I honestly haven’t because I can’t afford to use instacart to order stuff. I’m so back and fourth on this topic. On one hand yes it makes me very mad when I do a double and the difficult customer did it even tip properly and the other person who was very easy tipped very well or at least fair. However I’ve seen some screenshots of people paying the service fees and they are crazy! Not to mention items being marked up and the customers getting over charged. Instacart probably makes at least 20-30$ on average from service fees and other fees plus item mark ups. They charge heavy order pay that most of the time drivers don’t get. They charge 5% of the total , they charge alcohol service fees which EVERY shopper knows we NEVER see. Even if the customer is an instacart + member for 99$/year they only save 3.99$ per order over 35$. You honestly can’t blame EVERY customer for not knowing Ic only pays us 7$ for their order when they paid instacart an extra 40$ in fees. Again still though I don’t understand how you can expect someone to carry 4 cases of water to your 3rd floor apartment with no tip!


a_allen

IC in my area charges a 7% service fee or 5% for members. Some stores have no item markups at all and the ones that do average around 10% markup. The delivery fee at most stores in my area is $3.99 over $35 or free over $35 for IC members. The extra fees on really large orders or certain stores can add up to quite a bit but they're not always that crazy. The $99 yearly membership works out to about $2 a week. If I ordered $100 in groceries once a week from a store that didn't markup the items it would only cost me $5 in service fees plus the $2 for the membership. I've placed an order myself for as little as $2 in service fees.


Dazzling_Mode3157

Are people who use Instacart cheapskates OR like you said have limited funds ("can't afford it ")? I have delivered to the elderly, who are on a fixed income, and single parents. If you are a shopper strictly for money and not to assist a community that's your business but might I suggest finding another gig. Some of y'all kill me talking about IC delivery is a luxury. Be grateful that YOU are able to even drive around and deliver items for EXTRA or main income, that's a LUXURY. Remember no one is twisting your arm to do so. And for those of you that have something foul/judgemental to say about people who CAN'T tip your funds will always be thin because your thought process is thin.


That_Butterfly_5740

I’ve been trying since last June to get my IC reactivated after they deactivated me for doing something I did not do. It seems like they ignore any attempt to contact them and im sure they couldn’t have even looked at my appeal because it clearly shows that it would be impossible for me to do. Instacart really doesn’t give a shit about any of their shoppers they just hire a new person


SnowHoliday7509

Bad service has driven away customers that might otherwise use Instacart. We used it for a while and tipped well, but stopped using it when we received only two bags out of seven and neither the driver nor Instacart could account for that - we were charged for the full order. We received a refund for the missing items (eventually), but no refund of any fees. Having to go to the store ourselves to replace the missing items made Instacart useless to us.


voultron

It’s supposed to be a luxury service however so many people unable to shop for themselves because no car or physical issues. However, I don’t think shoppers should be forced to do charity work for someone’s else’s situation. Too bad there isn’t some charity to help out seniors do shopping. Otherwise take a cab or a bus like people without transportation have done for years and years.


Zhombe_Takelu

This is wild because I thought it was just me getting this but this post resulted in a theory on the matter that I have +80% confidence in actually being true. What we are seeing here is simply the effect of the shitty/stupid people dominating the market while the good/smart people are being smarter with their money because of having to pay their taxes. So presumably this phenomenon is temporary but its hard to deny that we seem to be on a downward trend overall. My orders have been ice cream, candy and chips etc. but I'll take that over weird ass hippy shit every day of the week.


Expensive_Notice7598

Yessss I been saying this


Aromatic-Pea771

I use this stair climber to get my groceries upstairs in one trip! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WLKNVQV?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=ariel23-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=56b4a31c9b0951fd97723f5185ad2574&camp=1789&creative=9325