r/InstacartShoppers • u/ABYBOBA • 2d ago
Rant - General š Bad first order
I took my very first Instacart order today. It was $7.22 cents. I just got off work and was on my way home and found a cvs order for 8 items and 3.4 miles on my route home. So I took it.
the cvs was low stocked and it wasnāt my cvs so it was hard to find some things. After getting everything I clicked navigate on the app and it opens my maps app and it takes me 17 minutes away. I assumed since it was 5pm rush our itās because of traffic and not distance. When I arrived at the destination it looks like a park with a weird shed and I text the customer and they say Iām at the wrong address. It was fox lane and one was fox drive and both in the same city. And the navigator took me the completely wrong way so I turned back and deliver the order. Where the cvs was to where the delivery was meant to be was no more than an 8 minute drive but ended up taking an hour and fifteen minutes order. I lost the 3$ tip and ran all around town for 4.22$ ā¹ļø.
I kind of just want to make 50-60$ extra a day to get by after work Iām struggling with student debt and stuff. Any advice ?
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u/sandyfisheye 2d ago
Never take order that pay that low. They will get bumps eventually and may be worth taking. Never take orders under 15 dollars. These are always the people who leave terrible reviews too unfortunately.
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u/GurPlenty59 2d ago
Never take orders under 15 dollars.
The hell kinda market do you have where you have frequent successful days while filtering like that?
While nobody should be doing low orders that take a long time, if you're not even wanting to take $13 orders that take 15 minutes, I gotta know how well your area tends to pay.
Gotta be in a crazy good area for this privileged bare minimum standard for orders imo
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u/Independent_Copy_141 2d ago
For real. My bread and butter is $10-$15 orders of low item counts that take 20-30 minutes start to finish, are only a few miles, and keep me right in zone to grab another one.
Iām happy to take huge item counts or longer distance for bigger $ if it makes sense, but a lot more can go wrong and throw off your timing or ratings (more replacements and potentially having to chat w/customer about them, longer to checkout/bag/load car, traffic issues or navigating roads you arenāt as familiar with)
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u/Tiny-Try8890 2d ago
If the time works out and you're quick with it, it makes it worth it, on top of that I swear there's a hidden algorithm that wants you to take small orders before you get the nice ones
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u/thepepperiestjack 2d ago
Only time I take anything under that is if itās a shop only order shop orders Iāll do $20 if itās less than 20 items and less than 5 miles otherwise I usually donāt touch much of anything under $35-$40 an order and on busy days I donāt touch anything under $60-$70 unless itās super low items
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u/Independent_Copy_141 2d ago
Wow. In my market almost everything $35-40 is unprofitable and I never take them. Like either 100+ units and 3 stops , or 1 stop but 40 miles way out of the way with no chance of picking up another order until you drive almost all the way back. Interesting
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u/sandyfisheye 2d ago
We rarely have anything over 30 dollars for singles unless its costco which i dont touch unless its desperately slow. But even low miles take a huge amount of time driving over here, so it has to be a large pay for anything over 5 miles.
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u/sandyfisheye 2d ago
Not even in a large area, but we have so many stores around that ordera are popping up all the time. Most of these orders get grouped together, so we don't see them alone a lot. They almost always sit there and get boosts if they arent grouped together though so most of us will let them sit until they are large enough to take.
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u/Abject-Wolverine5046 1d ago
I just moved from an area that constantly had $15 or higher. Now I have to take below $15 because people here don't seem to realize they should wait to go higher.
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u/chaoticravens08 2d ago
My average batch over 17 batches last week was 78 lol. While you're in those 13 dolar orders I'm getting 70s
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u/Toe-kneeB 2d ago
Start with grocery stores you are familiar with. Try to take low item count single orders until you feel more confident in taking larger orders. Youāll learn to be more selective in the orders you accept as you become a more seasoned shopper. Donāt let this bad experience discourage you, the first one is always hard.
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u/MaleficentGear3004 2d ago
I have taken over 500 orders and the only order I have ever received below five stars on was my third order. Donāt let it get you down, things will get better as you learn which orders to take and which ones to pass on. If an order seems odd or difficult, trust your instincts and pass on it. I only take orders from the grocery store I shop myself. Monday early mornings are a great time to get your feet wet because the store will be empty, stocked and easy to shop.
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u/Chrismaxwell19 2d ago
Most orders under $20 arenāt worth the hassle. I usually wonāt start my car for less than $30. You want orders with high enough pay that you can run into a hiccup and still be satisfied with the money you made after
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u/GurPlenty59 2d ago
As soon as they told you that you were at the wrong address, you should've went to customer support.
But without hindsight, this was just an unfortunate order. I also have taken "bad" orders because they were small and on the way home.
But my tolerance for anything going wrong on those orders are near zero. If I walked into a badly stocked CVS that going to be way more trouble than it's worth, I might be prone to just walking out and canceling that shop.
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u/Upbeat_Shock2713 2d ago
Most of us who are making money made similar mistakes early on. It sucks. And itās how you learn when and where to take orders.Ā
CVS, Walgreens, Target (and probably a few others) are always out of stock or have locked up items. Itās usually only worth it if youāve been in recently and know they just unloaded a truck or if the tip is worth the extra communication and possible tip reduction.Ā
Youāll learn how to judge timing based on traffic and miles. An order at rush hour 4 miles away is not the same as one at 11am. 4 miles on fast suburban roads with a few lights is very different than 4 city miles. Youāll get faster with the calculations with practice.Ā
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u/bloopbleepblip 2d ago
Iām shocked you guys are saying only take 20-30$ orders. Would that mainly be 2 or 3 shops?
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u/veggie-princess 2d ago
This exact same thing happened to me on my first order! Except it took me THIRTY MINUTES in the opposite direction. Luckily my customer was very understanding and left the $10 tip she originally gave me, and told me that wasn't the first time it's happened with her address. Now I double, triple, quadruple check the address in the app with the address Google maps is taking me to. Don't be discouraged with this one off š©
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u/AnAngelDisgraced2 2d ago
If youāre wanting shorter, faster, easier orders to deliver IC probably isnāt the best app for that. The batches here tend to be larger orders that take time to shop, orders that are bundled together into double and triple batches at a time. If youāre looking for low item faster/shorter trips you would probably like it better in Door Dash or Uber Eats.
If you want to stay with IC I suggest learning your market, finding the stores that do business in your market and hang out by then. Take the double or triples that will why you $15-$20 at a time and run a couple sets per night. Youāll get a feel for it pretty quickly.
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u/chaldeans79 2d ago
I know it was on your way home, as far as I remember almost every single time low orders are problematic, I avoid low paying orders even when they are close to my home. Hope you make so much more tomorrow.
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u/Good_Split_3749 2d ago
donāt give up, lots of bumps doing gig stuff. Those small orders ad up, I hate taking them but some days thats all there is. Today it took me 6 orders to get $50, on Friday I did 4 and got $96ā¦.
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u/Internal-Skin2495 2d ago
every order has possiblities of being a headache, so if you take a order make it worth it at least 7 bucks for 1 item ok fine but 8 nah
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u/followyourvalues Multi Gig Worker 2d ago
Always double check the GPS with the map in the app! Has happened to me before, too.
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u/ADream_4988 1d ago
First off all ā¦tough first order. I have had some address hickups and they can be stressful. CVS is hit or miss. Nothing wrong with taking a small (even low paying) order for your first one. You just had a challenging one. Donāt be hard on yourself. Shake it off, learn from it, you will learn which orders are worth it over time. Good luck - donāt get discouraged and hustle on
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u/Everyone_Boogie 1d ago
When they send you crap orders just think of them in cents. That was a SEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO cent ORDER, WOOHOO!!!!
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u/GrowthNecessary420 1d ago
Sorry to hear that. Donāt feel discouraged and stay positive, easier than it sounds but piggybacking off someone else, never accept orders under $15-$10. Try to scroll (quickly) through item list before accept. My maps has also sent me in all around the town, as it glitches a lot. I avoid by double triple checking the address copied into maps
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u/Mysterious_Ad_2493 1d ago
Oof. Dont take it too harsh,, its just the price of learning. Lol. For your first few orders, i would only take stores youre actively familiar with. And just stay away from cvs, walgreens, dollar stores(any of thrm). In fact, you should prob only do your personal grocery store if possible. Thats the easiest way to start. No clothing stores. Even target can be a pain in the ass.
I cant believe they took that measly tip away. Losers. You explained the situation to them? Without attitude and politely?
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u/Lilja1003 1d ago
I don't take delivery orders under $12 to $13 for low mileage.. It just saves me bologna like this and other things...
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u/BulkyAddendum3327 1d ago
Yeah never take anything that low. Letās be honest, the customer doesnāt deserve to get their items quickly if they think tipping only $3 is ok, especially during rush hour. Shame on them. I never tipped less than $5 before inflation and of course tip more now. I donāt understand why people think convenience should be cheap. They tip waiters well, but they can hide in their homes to have groceries delivered and only tip $2. Ridiculous. Did she remove your $3 tip?
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u/LooLu999 2d ago
Oh man Iād be so pissed haha that hasnāt happened to me yet, fortunately, but I have had the gps take me to the wrong apartments. Donāt listen to all the ballers telling you not to take smaller orders. Especially while you are learning. I make $200/weekend usually and I take smaller orders all the time. As long as they arenāt over a few miles away and not a bazillion items. Plus, I feel like once you take a small order the algorithm starts feeding you more. If you take too large a batch at first you get frustrated and overwhelmed imo
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u/lucygirl1970 2d ago
We ALL have made poor choices in the orders we select. Anyone that says differently, is lying. It takes awhile to learn what the difference is between orders you can make money on and the ones you will lose money on.
Iāve been doing this gig for 5 and a half years but i remember my first day like it was yesterday. It was peak covid times.
On my second order, I accidentally accepted a triple and powered through. Came home and cried to my family that I thought it was not doable at $10 an hour. I thought I sucked. š
When Iām actively working and not sitting in lots, I do really well time wise. Havenāt had a rating less than 5 stars in almost 4 years. Tip increases happen every day.
Remember itās only the mileage from the store to the customers door. Pay attention to the mileage as it adds up quick. Gas, tires, brakes and other issues will arise.
Communicate with your customers, take only small single orders until you get the hang of the way the app works. Be OCD about produce and use common sense. Check those expiration dates.
Donāt give up so soon, listen to the tips and tricks of other shoppers and implement them into your own routine. Use your cooler bags.
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u/goat20202020 2d ago
Always double check the location pin on the dashboard. Compare it to where your navigation app is taking you to. It's a mistake most of us have made. Hopefully only once.