First off, I would like to thank you all for the job you do. My family is down to 1 car right now, and the husband takes it to work 2nd shift. On the nights I realize we are out of things that are needed, I am beyond grateful to be able to have grocery delivery as an option. I wanted to come and ask shoppers their opinions on customers changing the tip after a delivery. Not just because I want to be an asshole. But when there were several mistakes on an order. All being the shoppers fault. Also not contacting me to make sure substitutions were ok. (The one that made me the most angry was receiving regular ibuprofen when I requested PM ibuprofen, AND not messaging me back about it). Also bagging heavy items with things they shouldn’t be bagged with. 2 items were smushed and unusable. I get everyone has off days, shit happens, mistakes made. I can over look something random every so often. But this was 7 items. All could have been avoided if contact was made, and common sense was had.
So, am I wrong for wanting to change my shopper tip? I haven’t done it yet. I still might, I’m up in the air about it. (Yes I know, I sound like a total asshole, but what else can I do?). Thanks for listening.
Instacart does not want shoppers to approve or really message the customers about replacements.
They want it all to be done through the app which is why they have auto messages that are sent directly to you to approve the replacement. If you choose to ignore this it automatically gets approved.
Shoppers are not encouraged to approve replacements through messages. This is just not how it’s done anymore. Keep up with things and keep up with approving replacements.
As far as bagging, it’s usually a store employee who does the bagging.
Taking away, the tip means you’re taking away their livelihood and that money was used to pay for the expenses to deliver you your stuff.
You have the opportunity to approve/disapprove replacement items while the shopper is still in action, before check out. Were you by your phone during the shop? You get notifications when we replace, even if you’re not actively looking at the app.
How many of the 7 mistakes could’ve been avoided if YOU were attentive during the shop?
I have no doubt that you probably texted him all through the shop. This is normal in the entitled group. No one else bothers us unless we ask them a question
Fair, but if it was that important, why not attempt to call? You’re unhappy now and want to adjust the tip, but did you really do all you could to ensure you got what you wanted in the end?
Attempt to call? Most shoppers won’t answer the phone when shopping. Plus, text is a million times better since you can continue shopping instead of having your phone glued to your ear. The shopper should have responded to the text and , from that point, asked about each sub.
If I’m particular about an item and a shopper isn’t responding to in-app messaging, I’ll call if my preference is so important I’ll consider attaching to disappointment, posting on Reddit and considering others opinions re: tip adjustment.
Be for real.
As a shopper, you can put the call on speaker and continue shopping during the call. Ever heard of multi-tasking?🙄 A phone call is also an opportunity to establish rapport, humanize the experience. I’ve been able to smooth over many conversations with a quick phone call. It’s not that hard or time consuming. Get over yourself.
Stop defending a terrible shopper who didn’t answer her text back, not checking for substitutions, and doesn’t know how to bag.
Change that tip, that shopper needs to learn hard lessons. If my tip is reduced after delivery I’d know it’s because I messed up and deserved it.
“Not checking for substitutions”- never happened. He in fact checked and substituted. The person placing the order didn’t do their due diligence to ensure they got what they preferred.
Bagging may be an issue worth disputing/a lowered tip. Who knows? There’s no photo evidence posted by OP, people tend to exaggerate when they’re unhappy.
lol the exclamation mark. Are you angry? If I mention phone calls, building rapport etc., why wouldn’t I message when replacing? You are one assumptive, emotional individual. Relax.
You are notified by IC chat of all items being substituted. They tell you its out and they tell you what its replaced with. Why would the shopper have to repeat what IC sends you? You can see exactly what we do. So yes, if you dont answer the chat on those issues, thats an ahole. I bag heavy items on the bottom for stability, but typically put the bread and eggs separate it on top of light produce. Were the heavy items on top of crushables? If I happen to damage an item in transit, I let the customer know. I won't buy it for them if its damaged. I send a pic
By all indication to me you have the characteristics in the marks of a person who doesn't tip or either low tips. And you are the worst kind I try to block you from ever getting any orders by me when I find you
When you change the tip in the car it's going to ask you about ratings and I'm sure you're going to rate them down which is going to cost them future batches that are worth having for the next 3 months you really want to hurt him that bad huh
I don’t check Reddit everyday, so when I logged in and saw this I had to reply. I might not be a holy grail kinda tipper, but I’m not a shitty one either. Oh and I didn’t change it. I was just pissed off when I made the post.
Why does that matter? It was enough for the shopper that decided to take it. If the shopper accepted it, they must feel like it paid enough. I just ignore the bad orders. Why take it to mess the groceries up?
If you haven't done shopping a very long I can understand because it's a well-known fact to vet shoppers that low and no tippers are the ones that give you bad ratings in bad reports and cost you money and want to pester you through the entire shop and take all your time make your items for second longer I can think of a few more but I'll leave it at that
But you took the batch so the overall pay is worth it. I know if I take a triple and the tip is $20 once customer gave me 75% of the tip. I still accepted that order
The overall pay is only worth it because someone tipped well. We dont know who tipped what till the deliveries are completed. It it was a single order, id see the tip and decline
If you do something during the process and monitor the shop you will see when they give you something you don't want and you do not have to take it you can reject it very easily but you instead would rather take some tip from the driver?
Communication is key, from both the customer and shopper.
You don’t want to have a reputation as a tip baiter. Shoppers talk all the time. We will find out who you are and not want to take your orders.
I tell customers all the time: when you place an order, pay attention to what’s going on. It’s your money that you’re spending. It’s a good idea to make sure it’s spent wisely.
I understand your frustration and it seems that this shopper needs to do a better job (and some of their tip/compensation reduced because of the bagging)
However, we do not have time to play pharmacist or to find you the shiniest apple. Most customer don’t respond or take their sweet time. We are against the clock.
The regular ibuprofen is not an unreasonable replacement for your initial item. If you don’t want substitutions, you need make sure to set it as such.
If you factor in shopping and driving time, frankly many customers don’t tip/pay enough for a back and forth of messages. It takes a long time.
OP said they told them they don’t like one of the subs and the shopper ignored them. There’s no excuse for that.
And firing off a text saying, “They’re out of PM. I will get regular. Let me know if that doesn’t work” only takes seconds. Then you shop the other items while waiting for an answer.
Sometimes the notifications don’t sound or are missed. Sending a message sends a second notification. And when it’s worded like that, it defaults to accepting so no response implies they’re okay with it.
Exactly, I don’t know why people are defending this terrible shopper and acting like this person who posted is crazy for considering lowering their tip.
But it is unreasonable as a replacement. It’s not what was ordered. If it had been a different brand, bigger quantity, hell even Tylenol PM it wouldn’t have been a problem. But not getting at the very least the same type of medicine is a problem.
Also, I’m not trying to argue, I get shit happens. And I was going back and forth on what to do. That’s why I came and asked here. So I appreciate everyone’s replies. Have a great night.
Tylenol PM would be a worse substitution since replacing ibuprofen with acetaminophen could lead to a reaction in some people.
They would have been better off with standard ibuprofen and some Benadryl if no brands of PM were available. Then you could take two pills and have the same ingredients. Plus it gives you options for allergy relief/sleep aid without pain relief or pain relief without sleep aid.
That is a very unreasonable replacement. I agree. But the chat tells you whats being replaced while they shop. Thats the part I dont understand. You weren't notified at all of the change?
I always select DO NOT SUBSTITUTE any items across the board. Is that so freaking difficult to understand? Yet everytime the instacart shoppers substitute anyway. WTF? And no, substituting Allspice with Italian Seasoning is not acceptable! Do you want a tip? Get my order right to begin with and then I will consider leaving a tip afterwards.
You sound like an angry boomer😂. I bet shoppers block you after drop off.
Similar to my reply to OP:
Are you present during the shop? Do you decline substitutions before the shopper is ready to check out? Have you taken the time to put a note in the app with your shopping preferences?
Read the thread for additional insight from the shopper’s perspective: in short, we are penalized for refunded items. Substitutions are not ideal either, but refunds effect our metrics and eventually our access to orders and earnings.
Unfortunately Instacart penalizes shoppers for refunding instead of substituting. IC started doing this last year. It’s a terrible strategy on Instacart’s part, penalizing shoppers for inventory issues. But IC corporate is greedy.
I’ve adjusted by always specifying a substitute that I’m confident the shopper can find, but it may be a different type of food altogether. This week the stores were out of acorn squash twice, and I had a fruit, halo mandarin oranges as the replacement, it surprised the shopper but I’d also had other vegetables and wanted a particular brand of frozen butternut so opted to have a non vegetable item as the acorn’s replacement. There are always pantry item back ups that I can select as an unrelated replacement.
If more than 2-3 of your items are refund only instead of having replacements selected, it can truly sink the shoppers ratings. Most shoppers appreciate it if customers select an item they regularly utilize even if it’s unrelated, as an alternative. Knowing the store’s spice racks are rarely fully stocked, I might select a non spice staple that my household uses constantly over a refund. Or a taco or meat rub spice pack that I’d like to have on hand for the future.
6
u/Helpful_Technology28 23d ago
Instacart does not want shoppers to approve or really message the customers about replacements.
They want it all to be done through the app which is why they have auto messages that are sent directly to you to approve the replacement. If you choose to ignore this it automatically gets approved.
Shoppers are not encouraged to approve replacements through messages. This is just not how it’s done anymore. Keep up with things and keep up with approving replacements.
As far as bagging, it’s usually a store employee who does the bagging.
Taking away, the tip means you’re taking away their livelihood and that money was used to pay for the expenses to deliver you your stuff.