u/WeirdAF-23

to begin collecting their items, do you attempt to stop them so a photo can be taken? Do you take the photo of the customer retrieving the order? …even if it’s kids?

I had an order reported not delivered, which would never happen in a million years. I don’t steal, period. I take photos even when the app doesn’t require it, and I put them in the chat and write “hand-delivered”, but I don’t like to get photos of ppl, particularly kids. However, this platform is leaving me no alternative but to do so when ppl file false claims of undelivered orders. Shopper support is of absolutely no help since they can’t provide details and do nothing but send prescribed responses in chat.

People suck. Mind you, I live and work in scammy Las Vegas and have done IC in other cities for months where this never happened. It’s also so freaking hot, I try to leave in a hurry to avoid their groceries sitting in 114-degree heat while I’m doing a photo shoot.

A big part of the experience as an Instacart shopper is learning the art of choosing orders that are acceptable for you to work. Clearly, and generally speaking, Costco orders are highly desirable if you don’t mind doing the work (heavy cases of water/beverages, paper supplies, etc., that really make you work and take up lots of vehicle space). Many IC shoppers work Costco-only orders (or a majority) and wait (I’ll just say) nearby to pounce on them. If you get a Costco offer when you’re not yet in the parking lot, you should closely review it before starting shopping bc it is not likely to be a good order (otherwise, it would have been scooped up by the shoppers closer to the store). Granted, some individuals are just lazy and don’t want to do the work. However, I have accepted orders just bc I don’t want to sit and wait (learned the hard way) when I am approaching the store, nearby, in the vicinity of (you get the picture), only to have the customer add 4 packs of Culligan water softeners to the already large order after shopping has begun. Clearly, the order had been dwelling for a while without being accepted and they removed the water softeners and re-added them later. And customers like that don’t come out and help you and don’t tip more bc you are the one who actually accepted their challenging order.

I hadn’t shopped for a day or two, so the app was being slow while I waited for batches at one of my usual stores. Not surprisingly, I was asked to verify… TWICE. While I shopped a $27 order with a decent tip, the batch was removed! Support said it was due to fraud, and I was ok to accept new offers. I was getting offers and prompts about my removed batch at the same time! Right when I accepted a new small batch, I got a notification that my (removed) batch was in a critical state! What in the world is happening?

Shaloo left the chat (hung up on me) twice without resolution and not knowing what the heck they were talking about.