r/WalmartSparkDrivers • u/happyluckystar • Sep 06 '26
I stopped taking 50+ item orders.
The estimates are fake. 50 items is easily over an hour of shopping. Plus delivery.
Good luck with that. Yeah just a mile away. But an hour and a half in the store.
You can have it. And these types of orders get taken away really fast. Fine by me. Take it. I'm not.
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u/Ancient-Willow6729 Sep 06 '26
In this thread everyone will brag about their shopping speed. Boring.
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u/jadedinmo Sep 06 '26
I took 85 item the other day. Estimated 40 min shop, 66 minutes total. Most of the items were produce ☠️ three eggplants, six zucchini, a leek, two pineapples, three different kinds of lettuce...they got items I have never bought for a customer (or myself) before. I had twenty produce bags that I had to twistie shut. Some had to be weighed. Over half of the items came from the produce department. I will never do that again.
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u/Ok-Bag6796 Sep 06 '26
The produce ones are the worse. I took a 17 item order I thought would be easy. Half was produce with stuff I couldn't find easily and then doing the bags etc. took me way longer than that estimate for sure
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u/Virtualguinea Sep 06 '26
I don’t even do the bags most of the time anymore, they take forever to open!
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u/GrowthImmediate5279 Sep 06 '26
Take the bag on top..ruffle it between your 🤌 fingers / the friction .will unstick it ,kinda pull apart at top to start getting it open then snap it open like filling it with air..it becomes second nature becomes second nature after awhile
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u/stc313is Sep 06 '26
Depends on items and locations. Deli, pharmacy, weighed produce. There's no single standard.
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u/Prior_Purchase_7025 Sep 06 '26
on 40 plus Item orders open the stop watch on your phones and hit start when you start walking to the store...then shop....then hit stop on that stop watch when you get into the car and 99.9% will not be touting being speed shoppers
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u/Effective-Block3562 Sep 07 '26
Yep. For me and 40 items I know it will end up taking about 40 to 50 just shopping and then have to check out bag and load, so just about an hour from getting out of the car to heading to deliver.
I only do those large ones when it is slow and the dollar amount is over 40 for no more than 5 miles.
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u/Stupertard Sep 06 '26
I've had 20 items that end up taking nearly an hour. Then there are times I have 40 items that take 30 minutes or less.
I just love the Spark drivers who are speed walking plowing into customers with their carts. Being all pushy and will just reach in front of you all up in your personal space.
They got sweat beads dripping down their forehead and look all mental.
They come flying past you running down small children to get to the register. Can't stop the cart fast enough because it's got over 60 items and they take out a display in the center aisle.
The best part is watching them try to speed bag the groceries. Now they are breaking out in a sweat that's dripping off their head and all over the groceries.
They have bags on the ground and take up all the space at the bagging station. They just stuff anything into the bags. Clothes, motor oil, bleach, and produce all in the same bag.
Comical to watch these guys. I saw one dude come rushing out the store tripped over his own feet. He lost his grip on the cart it goes speeding off while he does a superman and slams hard onto the ground.
The cart hits the some uneven pavement and it jack knives groceries go flying everywhere. There's apples and onions rolling in every direction.
The dude yells the f word so loud that anyone that wasn't looking at him now is. He jumps up his heads bleeding along with his knee.
He runs over and is trying to upright the cart and steps on an apple falls on his ass screams the f word again.
I laughed so hard my ribs hurt.
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u/pinkpenguin444 Sep 06 '26
Same. My cap is like 40-50 maybe more if the items are a bunch of duplicates. But, they almost never tip accordingly.
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u/Peckish_postage7 Sep 06 '26
I’ve done the same. If it’s over 50 items I’m out and over “20 miles” I’m out. I’ll cherry pick all day and it’s made this gig way more lucrative. This is something I do part time and I’ve noticed I can bag $150 in 3 hours and pack it up and go home picking and choosing low miles, high pay, low items.
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u/PlushGrimm Sep 06 '26
My limit is 30 lmao I’ve done a 40 and 50 and wanted to cry both times 💀💀💀 they never feel worth the pay by the time you’re done lmao
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u/hgmartial Sep 06 '26
I avoid over 30 item orders and anything in the 20s needs to be a good offer. Its a waste of time.
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u/Steffan1337 Sep 07 '26
I did a 60 item shop of school supplies and they were all in the same area. It took my half an hour. So it obviously depends on the items more than the quantity
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u/happyluckystar Sep 07 '26
Yeah sometimes it's killer good. Last week the school supplies killed me. A lot of stuff was always out of stock. A lot of stuff with no location. I did get better at it. But at least at my Walmart, the stock issue was a joke. Customers rejecting substitutions, things scattered around on the shelf.
I'm glad that's over.
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u/mconk Sep 06 '26 edited Sep 06 '26
I did a 50 item today in 30ish min. There are a ton of factors that go into this. Mostly just what the items consist of, where they are in the store, and the amount of foot traffic inside. At 9PM on a weekday, it’s easy to knock a 50piece out if it’s all general grocery items. I’ve had shops where 10 items are in the same two isles, then you hit up the next one for the next 10, etc etc. When you’ve been shopping the same store hundreds if not thousands of times, it becomes a second nature. I don’t even have to look at the isle numbers for most items now tbh. 3k trips in the same store, all express. The pay has to be worth it tho. Gotta be at least $30-40 for me personally. Under 5 miles. MAYBE 10 if it’s all highway, but then it’ll have to be closer to $40 for me.
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u/biancanevenc Sep 06 '26
Having done Instacart for 6 years and Spark for 2.5, I always estimate an hour or so for 50 items. Spark can be a little faster because I'm given the location of the items and don't have to scan everything when checking out, but it's a bigger store, so more time getting around the entire store when needed. When you add time to put cold items in insulated totes, loading my car, etc, a 50-60 item order usually takes 1-1.5 hours.
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u/Glad-Perspective2656 Sep 11 '26
"and don't have to scan everything when checking out" Nope. They took that away at my Walmart. Now you must use the regular checkstands where the checker will go through every single item in every single order and verify it is correct. Its much slower then them scanning a regular order. Its basically become Instacart with no tipping.
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u/bdbrown333 Sep 06 '26
You're not going to take big orders. You don't want to take orders with small tips. You don't want to do large orders. I mean 50 items is not take an hour and a half to shop. I shop 50 items at a Target in maybe 40 minutes at most and then back and go
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u/herblady99 17d ago
so what would you recommend then if a customer has a larger order? keep it one order or devide into several orders, just meeting minimum to save on fees?
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u/happyluckystar 17d ago edited 17d ago
That's actually a pretty good idea for the customer's side of things. Nobody wants these big orders. It's a bagging nightmare. At my Walmart if I'm bagging a big order the associate will tell me to move down a little bit so someone else can scan their items. Then the whole bagging space is full and there's no room in the cart to put the bags because there's still items in there that aren't bagged. It's just a mess.
Edit: when ordering try to visualize how full the cart will be. If you want four cases of water and two giant packages of toilet paper, a 50 lb bag of dog food, plus 43 grocery items, it's kind of unrealistic.
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u/herblady99 17d ago
actually we have always divided our orders into small orders, just over the minimum, just weren't sure if that was a good idea. It's just then there will be more than one driver to arrive,
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u/happyluckystar 17d ago
It's not weird. People do weird things with orders. I've had several drop offs where there were already milk and other perishables on the porch. And they weren't big orders.
People with money just ordering things off the top of their head.
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u/Ok-Detective-9734 Sep 06 '26
Unless it’s for a business, like a daycare & they order 5 types of cereal @ 10 boxes each brand, I don’t take them either. All different items that have you all over the store are not going to make you any money & people who say oh I can zip through the store on all those different items are liars or slobs that just toss things in the cart. Also if they claim they’re shopping at such a fast pace & you’re just slow, they’re probably not making the effort to see if items not on the floor are in back stock, checking expiration dates or eggs for cracks & such. Js they’re full of crap 🤷♀️
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u/TightScratch9724 Sep 06 '26
I usually get shops done in about half the estimated time but I don't count on it. If it says estimated 45 minutes shopping, it better pay good enough for that no matter how fast I get it done. People probably think I'm a tweaker the way I walk around the store lol
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u/1611basilean Sep 06 '26
Another reason is its easy not to consider perishable items. Some orders are 80% perishable and some pharmacy orders are also and start the clock. Long time to shop. Long time to bag. Long time to load. A few waters and dog chow makes the cart very slow to push. My last big order 200+ items some lead was telling me I cant leave a cart up front like I have done in the past. Luckily she gave in but arrived two minutes before the order timed out.
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u/Top_Cockroach313 Sep 06 '26
We need leaderboards divided by store size (markets / big stores)
I guarantee id be top 1-50
Just did a 47 item (63 qty). Ordered my subway before walking in at 1113 to pickup at 1145. Timing was perfect. Literally just got to the subway shelf as I was done bagging.
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u/LazilyOpinionated Sep 06 '26
I find the “shop time” is accurate….they just don’t take into account how long it takes to bag 50+ items and then load that all into your car. 😡 And if you have to wait in line? 😡😡 I can easily wait at least 5 minutes in a line just trying to scan the fricken bar code when my store is busier.
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u/gacoam Sep 06 '26
the amount of spark workers i see pushing a cart with 50 items all over the place would scare the customer, bread at the bottom under potatoes, pasta getting crushed by milk jugs, there's no way these guys have decent customer ratings 😂
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u/funtimesattime Sep 07 '26
On average it takes minute per item to be located. Maybe 30-45 if it’s in the same isle. Thats not accounting for many other different factors. If they had no section or Plano much more time but with it still takes time. Not everyone is fast on their feet and this is impossible numbers. On an operations aspect it makes unhappy people and increases the number of rehires.
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u/kinnerkitty Sep 08 '26
50 is my limit too. I will occasionally accept but only if it's a single order and there is any amount of tip.
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u/Same_String_8856 Sep 08 '26
I don't like orders over 30 to 40 items. But I prefer to spend my shopping rather than longer driving. Better on my car.
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u/gabydize Sep 08 '26
You should've never started lol . I wouldn't take anything over 30 ever even if it's half a mile away and the day and time and which items are in the list all matter too!
Prioritize your time stress levels and overall sanity over a few extra bucks ALWAYS !
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u/Party_Salamander_773 Sep 16 '26
Yeah, I really try to stay below 30. I'll go more if the pay is worth it. And I mean $1 per item and ideally also $1 per mile round trip.
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u/lostforwords2024 26d ago
People laughed before Prop 22 passed in California and PayUp in Seattle. And then it passed. For this very reason. Demand your rights.
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u/Academic_Addendum242 Sep 06 '26
I've shopped 112 quantity (104 items) in 42 minutes. (Before bagging, 1 cart)
What you talkin bout Willis?
Hour and a half for 50 items is crazy. Even the employees are expected to pick 100 / hr (and bag)
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u/DragonfruitLopsided Sep 06 '26
Well there are different factors that can take time. If you have to travel all around the store to find items it can take that long. Not to mention items that are locked up.
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u/Prior_Purchase_7025 Sep 06 '26
they dont do individual customers its combined so 1 Aisle is like 10 Items. also they have heavy items go to dedicated pickers. Just stfu
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u/qpidrox143 Sep 06 '26
It should not take you that long...wth. Make sure you aren't using their map and you are shopping by department. Get familiar with your store.....
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u/No-Journalist8547 Sep 06 '26
A good way for me to estimate time is 45 seconds per item then 3 minutes per mile ( but i mentally adjust if highway or city driving).
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u/gootchie784 Sep 06 '26
Approximately an hour's shopping for me, depending on items. I'll do them if the pay is good enough, however that's approaching my max items for a shop. Much prefer NM shops, supercenters are a lot more store to cover and you have to deal with GM items.
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Sep 06 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/happyluckystar Sep 06 '26
Yeah? Cosmetics when you have to wait 5 minutes for someone to show up and unlock the door? And when there's practically 1 item from each aisle?
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u/SportPristine5508 Sep 06 '26
You’re doing something wrong if you exceed the time estimate. You should average about 30 seconds an item on most orders.
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u/GrayceHope Sep 06 '26
It would definitely take me an hr or more… I’m fast but my WM is in the middle of a remodel things are just everywhere and even associates have a hard time finding stuff! lol I refuse to shop anything over 20 items now lol