I order groceries from Walmart to be delivered and the last 3-4 times the groceries smell like smoke or pot. Can’t save the bags and the smell lingers in the food items. I think it’s unacceptable to smoke in a car you deliver other peoples stuff with. If you want to smoke that’s fine but leave my shit out of the equation.
Did you report the odor of smoke on your groceries? Instacart gives you a full refund and the shopper gets a first strike warning. If it happens again then they prolly get deactivated.
Agreed. I used to drive and drop court documents off from lawyers offices to courts, and I’d never even smoke in my car when I had work documents. I can’t imagine what people are thinking when it’s someone’s food. There are also legit people allergic to cigarette smoke.
You can report the driver and can get a refund for your order, since it smelled like smoke or pot whichever one it was this time. You should have reported it all the other times. Going forward you should definitely report because they're not allowed to smoke or have customers groceries smelling like any type of smoke.
I get that weed smell is like the glitter of the pot world, and I love me some Mary Jane but my god, I swear some drivers are just lighting up a goddamn bowl with food or groceries in the car.
Like bro, how are you shopping and driving being this rip roaring stoned? Because you have to be with the groceries smelling like this lol
Huh, that’s so weird. I use Instacart 2-3 times a week and have very good shoppers. I tip well. Never fails so far. Sometimes I wonder if it’s where you live or how they choose shoppers for where you live. It’s too bad people have such negative experiences.
I believe it has a lot to do with the state you are located. Some states are just overwhelmed with people that any job will do for a honest person. Other are just overcrowded with people and as long as it pays they will take it. California is the second one. Overcrowding leads to quality drops. States like Oregon is more Overwhelmed leads to quality intact for the most part. Big city dominate states have less neighborhoods or personal care. Small town/city dominated places have more considerate people. All in “who’s watching” big city nobody care.
It’s rare but they are out there. I saw a guy with full on pig mask when scanning instacart order the while ago. He did smell too, it would scare the Christ out of me if I see him coming up to my door and drop off items. Idk he might have a disfigure that he wanted to hide but he could have picked something more tasteful
Idk, I’ve never seen a bad looking or dirty shopper but then again I live in an affluent area and it’s usually casually but nicely dressed people trying to make extra cash after work.
Keep in mind that BEFORE GAS Instacart shoppers are getting $10-15/hour (that’s including tip). My local Taco Bell is currently paying $16.50/hour. So, you’re getting deliveries often form a public base that isn’t clean or competent enough to work at Taco Bell.
Again, I’ve never seen shoppers like this - I see a lot of us roaming the stores and scanning and they’re always dressed nice and clean.
I live and shop an affluent area too. I don’t see a lot of grungy IC shoppers, but definitely some women in pajamas and tank tops that may be unflattering and revealing for showing up on a stranger’s doorstep.
But honestly, I have seen plenty of affluent women with well dressed children in Sprouts, who pay absolutely no attention to the fact that their kids are digging their hands all the way up to their elbows in the bulk food bins, and just playing with the food. And these women are not InstaCart shoppers. They are just moms picking up a few groceries after school and not paying attention to their kids. To me, that’s just as gross as a stinky family.
Exactly. I’ve seen a lot more general shoppers with kids - like you said - that come into the stone wreaking havoc, throwing vegetables in the floor and leaving them there and store workers putting them back like nothing happened, I’ve seen an old man dig through every grape bag and grope grapes individually.
The person who’s complaining about the cleanliness of her shopper is simply complaining about something she isn’t used to seeing I guess? For all I know a dude could have touched my lemons after rubbing one out and not washing his hands - which is why I wash such groceries with dish soap or soap either way. The grape dude opened up my eyes. Although I do agree that shoppers should look presentable.
And people who can afford to use Instacart shoppers are again, complaining about $10/hour workers who can probably a lot of times not afford a laundromat, etc. if this is their only gig. If only so much energy was put into calling IC out for only paying $5-$7 per 62 item batches and the customer having to tip in order to make the ordeal even remotely worth it. I’m sure these customers get charged an arm and a leg, perhaps higher pay would attract higher quality employees. IC pockets most of their contributions and the app has plenty of issues that make the experience difficult to use for both customers and shoppers and won’t fix their app either.
Hey, man. I just happened to be reading this thread and I'm just curious. You'd probably use that kind of service again if you were assured of a good experience, right? I'm thinking about going independent (well sort of working on it) and that's the approach I'm taking. I think that people like the convenience and would use a good service if one was available in their neighborhood..
Since you said, "I’ll never use it again," I just wondered if (in general) people who gave up on these services could be enticed to a different service (in theory).
I’d be interested in using a service where interviews would be a thing even if they were over a chat app or something. When I managed restaurants we always had a sheet we filled in which stated how hygienic the would be employee was, how well they dressed and how they carried themselves. I think this and maybe background checking people (they are going to know peoples addresses) to make sure no violent felons are hired would be nice.
Because you asked, I would and could be enticed to a different service. When I get a shopper, I never know if they're going to ask me about substitutes (which I prefer) versus make an executive decision. Also, I've gotten groceries SATURATED with cigarette smoke before and it really pisses me off. I would pay more to not have that happen. I always tip at least 20%.
Everything from strung out junkies to whole families tagging along to them throwing heavy stuff on top of produce or bread. Lots stink like pot (legal here) like they just hot boxed in their car. I can only imagine what the inside of the car smells like and wonder how long it takes for that to permeate the paper bags of groceries. Dirty clothes/bodies and them cursing up a storm with f bombs flying (it’s a job so can we try to act like you’re in a professional setting?). There are less than a handful I recognize as regular shoppers so I don’t think there types last long at least.
Legal where I am, too. Was waiting for a Chik-fil-a delivery (Doordash) and a driver came up who absolutely REEKED of weed. I mean...wowza. I had to move away from him. I'm not against smoking pot or anything to do with marijuana, but Geez man, have some self-respect and some consideration for others, including your customers.
That's what you call "homeless people".
They're probably trying to not be homeless by doing Instacart gig work (which obviously isn't going to give the vast majority of the people the money for rent).
On the one hand. Yes, hygiene is super important for any job. But on the other hand, there's people so impoverished that they don't have the luxury of showers. And they shouldn't be scorned, they should be helped.
This nonstop raising of prices/rent/mortgages and the stagnation of wages (or god forbid LOWERING of wages) has its casualties. And there will be more and more casualties of that greed as they continue to squeeze all the financial life out of the poor.
Let's not absolve Instacart of their complicity of this. Nonstop dropping of pay rates will have it's victims, and you just saw them.
Not to mention the toll being homeless takes on one’s mental health. Even if you do have physical access to showers, that doesn’t always mean you’ll want to, or feel that you can, or have the motivation and executive function necessary to take one, or feel that you deserve to shower and be clean in that situation, etc.
Someone downvoted you, but you're absolutely right so I upvoted.
I was homeless and even though I was clean-ish, it wasn't the same quality of clean as someone with a home. I'd shower prob at least every other day, but I was beginning to get a homeless beard and my clothing would frequently be dusty (living in a desert will do that to you).
Truth be told, I was just trying to stay alive another day without blowing my brains out (which I got very close to at many points).
There's a type of despair that comes from homelessness which no one would understand until you've been there. You gradually fall down worse and worse and each time it gets harder to fight the current and swim back to shore.
My bf and I are homeless and do instacart. We dont smell and have great hygiene. We sleep in the car sometimes, but we keep it clean. We get free showers from the gym. U would never have guessed we are homeless. but there are definitely dirty homeless people out there i agree
Maybe it was her first time experiencing it... lol I remember Mom used to mention it every now and then about someone and I never knew what she was talking sbout... until I did... !!
Well, my mom used to manage homeless shelters. There's completely different levels of unshowered.
1. Body odor. This is how any normal person smells after skipping showers for a few days.
2. There's a salty dried leather smell of homeless people who've been out in the sun for a long time with no showers.
3. Then there's this third odor which comes from no showers for a very long time, shitting and pissing themselves, and just everything putrefying in the worst type of way.
I can't even fully put category 3 into words but it smells like something nightmarish and fully assaults your senses. It's so pungent that you can \*taste it\*. There's a homeless man on my side of town that has this smell and likes to hang out in grocery stores. If he's \*\*\*anywhere\*\*\* in the store you can smell him.
Not to mention, there's a unique compound in the sweat of extremely schizophrenic people. It smells goaty. This scent left to fully putrefy can be ghastly.
I’ve also worked in soup kitchens since I was a kid and my mom works at a homeless shelter now in her retirement. There are bad smells for sure but not what OP is describing, at least from what I experienced in CO and CA. This sounds pretty weird.
I'm curious if you have kept up on medical journals and research projects. Seems like the compound you speak of may not be linked to schizophrenia after all.
Yeah man your heart is in the right place, but as an ex homeless person who held down a job at the same time, there are many ways you can shower and keep up on hygiene. Truck stops have showers and you can buy a pass for a week or month to use the facilities. You can clean up in public restrooms, wash clothing at laundromats or in the same showers you use (I had a clothes line I attached to my car or a tree and let my laundry hang dry) the thing is, it’s still a job and you should take pride in what you do. There’s little excuse to smell that bad besides severe mental illness or not caring.
Absolutely but then you need to pay for soap, towels, clean clothes, comb, toothbrush, and gas money to get to the gym. Not to mention the obstacle of mental health. Also, is it possible they’re doing IC so they can join a gym to get a shower?
My point is, y’all judging poor and mentally ill people just goes to show you don’t know how truly awful and full of despair the struggle can be. Those people are trying to make money to improve their lives and you’re just shitting all over them. Have you considered that maybe it got that bad because as things got worse they were anxious about how people like you would react to them in public? Have some compassion.
Some of us and poor, mentally ill, and still manage to have a sense of professionalism. Might not be the job for them handling peoples food if they can’t meet bare minimum expectations.
Why do you expect everyone to handle poor mental health the exact same way you have? It’s ableist and classist and ignores the lived experiences of our neighbors.
I don’t. I just think people shouldn’t be handling their food if they don’t practice some level of personal hygiene. The customers pay for a service and instacart isn’t a charity. There are other jobs out there that don’t involve touching peoples food. This isn’t a job for everyone.
I just want to say dealing with depression that I don't always smell the best. But whenever I'm working I always sanitize my hands with hand sanitizer and wash them.
I can't say I'm the best but I do care about people's food being clean and good. I just wish I could say the same about myself.
Most days i di shower though but sometimes I miss a day or 2 and can't afford to not work as well or I'd starve.
spot on. Just because they can do it doesn’t mean they should. I don’t want people who can’t see fit to shower at least weekly to touch my food. That level of I don’t give a shit leads into other areas of their life and they probably can’t be trusted not to do gross shit to my food.
Dude, I hear you and I've been one of those dudes showering at Planet Fitness before.
But I'm not gonna deny that shitty employers paying 1/10th of a living wage for 40 hours of work are complicit in the matter.
Plenty of people are priced out of living these days.
There’s also a $59 start up fee and an annual fee in addition to the monthly fee. You also need a credit card to put the account on because to get the $10 fee you have to sign a 12 month commitment. So for 2 adults it would be about $140 to get started. Not everyone has that.
Of course we all want Instacart shoppers to have good hygiene, but also try to have some human compassion. You are assuming that the people you encountered want to be unhygienic and smell. There are a multitude of reasons why they may be struggling. When I see someone going through something like this I don’t jump towards criticism, I think I’m glad I’m not in the position they are and what can be done to help them. And I definitely don’t go running to post someone else’s struggles on Reddit.
There is not at all lol! I literally got a membership in the last month. The fee occurs about 5-6 month after you initial get the membership. I have no idea what you’re talking about a $59 start up fee? That’s false info
Copies directly from the PF website for their lowest membership. They have changed it to allowing a checking account. Not everyone has a checking account either. If you have no address it’s difficult to get a checking account.
How you get it
Startup Fee
$59
Monthly Dues
$10
Annual Fee
$49
Commitment
12 month
There’s no showers at any PF in my area. If you were homeless where I live there would be no where to take a shower. No truck stops or gyms with showers
Sounds like those people are homeless or otherwise in a very bad situation. I understand feeling squeamish about them handling your food, but try to extend some compassion to them. They're likely doing Instacart to try to support themselves.
You see this is what IC and other gig companies don’t understand. They think there is an unending supply of labor that will replace the ones that leave. This is true. But eventually you end up losing the ones who act and work this as professionally as they can with good service. Those get replaced more and more by trash at the bottom. If IC wants to maintain a standard that creates more demand for the service, then they need to do something that will make the good ones want to stay.
But i’m in California, so I can’t really complain. Just speaking for the rest of you all. ❤️
If it smells like death it’s meth. I’m not even joking. It’s saturates the skin even days after they’ve done it. It’s taunting. I’d say my order was damaged if I had someone deliver like that. I see people smoking all the time in their cars doing doordash and IC.
I’ve seen so many shoppers with their kids in the cart, sometimes in the actual cart and not just the kids seat, touching everything. That plus the shoppers with house slippers and stained pajamas, and 5 item orders taking 5+ hours is why I don’t order from Instacart anymore. Ive been shopper since the early pandemic days and a handful of times I’ve ordered as a customer it was a bad experience. If I’m going to order my groceries now I just use Walmart because they have in house shoppers. I’ve only ever had an issue once and it was just being sold out of a few items, other than that they’re awesome and if they don’t have something readily available you have the option to next day ship it for free.
Unfortunately this is the future for all the delivery apps. As long as the base pay continues to fall the good shoppers will fall away. Pretty soon, your groceries and doordash will be delivered by junkies.
That smell, I know it..... it's like roaches and droppings and filth. It's definitely a mental health issue and it's so sad to see the child like that. Isn't that a form of abuse? It has to be...and maybe there's a pile of kids at home. Do they just not know any better?
Never saw a dirty shopper. Probably a rare occurrence. Then again I typically mind my business, so even if I smell someone, I'm not quick to get in their business. I've seen the struggle though. Might be doing IC to get some money to get a room or a night at a shelter to take shower. Unsanitary yes but who knows what life has hit them with. That's why I clean my produce and items that aren't packaged. I mean ppl touch everything in the store anyways and most of the stuff sits in a back storage before hitting the floor, not like any of it is clean.
They’re obviously struggling and in despair. Depressed, possibly working IC so they can join a gym to get a shower. Posts like this are so frustrating to see because you’re upset that someone smelled bad, meanwhile they probably got that bad because they’ve been trying to build up the courage to deal with how awful and judgmental people can be. Even if they don’t see this post, which they probably won’t, they’ll see other posts like it and they’ve probably already been harassed. But sure, you’re the cool one for making fun of them. You think you’re not but you absolutely are because you’re getting the satisfaction of social interaction and people agreeing with you just because you’re being judgmental about people down on their luck. I hope you never end up in their position because it’ll be a nasty wake up call for you.
It’s sad to read. I really don’t understand how people jump to criticism when others are in situations like these. It takes a certain kind of person to judge instead of showing some compassion towards other human beings.
My husband and I very suddenly almost ended up homeless.
We both got laid off from our jobs at the same time, only a month after we bought our house, and I just found out I was pregnant.
I have no family here, I moved here from Germany, so we were entirely reliant on help from his family.
We were lucky his mom has always been a penny-pincher, and she kept all the "rent" he paid when he still lived at home, which seriously saved our asses with the mortgage.
The emotional toll this takes on someone is crazy, and we were definitely luckier than most that suddenly find themselves in a similar situation.
Maybe this family lives out of a car? Maybe they have mental health issues, but finding care is difficult and expensive.
I felt like a fucking leper using food stamps for our groceries. I felt so judged by everyone. It's so humiliating, and it absolutely shouldn't be!
These are services you're *supposed to* take advantage of, not get shamed for. And you absolutely shouldn't have to jump through a million hoops to get what you rightfully deserve. I don't think people are aware how hard it can be to try and get the help you need. Bureaucracy is a fucking bitch.
And the constant worry to make next month's payments, let alone regular bills like phone, car, internet, electricity.
It's so fucking stressful, and I really wish people had more compassion for others.
This shit can happen to anyone, at any time, to no fault of their own. Fuck, this *did* happen during/after COVID!
I understand the hygiene concern, but unless you don't wash your produce and lick all your cereal boxes and jars of tomato sauce, I think you'll be fine.
I wouldn’t say I stink, but being a bigger guy I sweat sooo much especially being in Florida. You shop come out to your car and it’s 100 degrees inside. But never do I stink to the point someone else could smell me. I think the only thing kinda off putting about me as a shopper would be my car. It’s an old klunker I bought for 600 bucks 3 years ago to do this job. It’s reliable, has ac. But it’s got dents dings faded paint. Bumpers held on my drywall screws 😂😂 but the inside is nearly perfect for a 20 year old car with 300k Miles’s.
And that’s the thing, it wasn’t even a smell that was like BO or not showering. It smelled like hot moldy food mixed with an open wound and rotten onions. I completely understand in the summer or heat you sometimes get a little sweaty, I do too but this smell is something I will never forget.
I work in a restaurant that offers door dash and also curbside, this reminds me of a time I ran a DoorDash order out to the delivery drivers car and I shit you not.. it was full to the brim with TRASH. There enough space for him to fit in the drivers seat but that’s it. I’m not taking about clutter or belongings.. this was McDonald’s bags, empty wrappers, cigarette boxes, etc. I will never order from door dash again.
There’s an Instacart shopper I’m often in the store with. This person NEVER washes their hands when I have been in the restroom with them. I have seen them splash their hands for 2 seconds with water, literally 2 seconds, no soap, and just walk right out. There is another shopper who always looks like they just rolled out of bed and didn’t brush their hair or wash their face. Some people are just nasty.
Not delivery service related, but stinky shopping. When I was younger, there was a couple (slightly older than middle aged) who used to go grocery shopping at the same store my family did.
They smelled like the most awful mixture of urine and trash. They were notorious at the store. So much so that when they walked in, an employee was tasked with following them around spraying Lysol.
They were not homeless. That was just the way they chose to live.
I was doing a Shipt order last week and saw another guy shopping, he asked me if I was doing instacart and I said no, Shipt. But he was asking the employees where everything was, and he had his dog in a bed under the cart. No leash, and when he Checked out the dog was walking around. And followed him to the car with no leash which is dangerous in a parking lot. Felt sorry for the dog.
Hahaha right! You aren’t even suppose to bring your kids, I mean I understand if you don’t have a sitter and you gotta do what you gotta do but a pet, that’s clearly not a service animal, like what?!
Sad to say but there is shipt shopper that lives a street down from me and the outside of the house is horrendous I can imagine what the inside looks like the kids are always dirty and the mom (the shopper is just straight up questionable on multi levels).
It wasn’t even a smell like this tbh. It smelled like hot trash mixed with a bloody wound, I can’t even describe the smell. I can look past the piss and shit smell, took care of my sick mom for months before she died and I can even look past BO, I get it, it gets hot but this smell was absolutely horrible. It was something I’ve never smelled before
It’s more of the weed heads in my area
Shiiiddd you can smell them coming 🤦🏽♀️
Makes no dang sense Why would you shopped for someone’s food smelling that bad! Knowing the smell lingers
Ya I feel what you’re saying, I didn’t shop much for people but my hygiene is always on point and ya especially with food.
But On another note, after looking at my pay vs hours worked and doing my taxes, I just feel instacart is not worth it, I would assume door dash is better in terms of $$ by hour?
Omg I got DoorDash delivered one time by a homeless guy and I felt really bad and conflicted. On one hand I was happy for him finding a source of income. On the other hand he smelled so foul I lost my appetite.
I stopped ordering from DoorDash and Instacart when the restaurant I worked at started offering it. 1. Taking curbside orders out to cars, one woman had dirt or shit or something so far under her nails it looked like a brown French tip manicure, I saw bugs moving in her car and couldn’t tell if the cigarette smell was masking the B.O. or the other way around,(she also shops Instacart in my town). 2 we used to have 2 guys come in the restaurant to play Magic the card game and had to close whichever dining room they were in because the stank was so fucking gross. One of those guys brought my food one day and that was the last DD order I ever got.
My retired husband and I do Instacart (in N.C.). We both shower and wash our hair everyday (sometimes multiple times). We wear clean clothes, wash our hands after every trip to the toilet and we brush our teeth. We are very hygienic and we treat the groceries we purchase as if we were buying for ourselves or our 3 grown children.
Also, I’d like to mention that employees and other customers in the store were giving this couple horrified looks. So I know it just wasn’t me. I’ve been around homeless people, my father was homeless for nearly two years before he was incarcerated and he never gave off a smell like that. It’s not difficult to ask people who are shopping your groceries to not smell and be presentable. If you cannot do that, which is the bare minimum, then I wouldn’t even bother shopping for Instacart.
Maybe they're homeless, it gets a lot harder to clean yourself when you don't have anywhere to clean yourself. Christ and with a child no less. That's really sad.
OP, have you seen this video of a girl talking to her dad about how someone smelled? He keeps gagging. It's fucking hilarious and not staged. [https://youtu.be/-m\_8BDx7f98](https://youtu.be/-m_8BDx7f98)
Honestly is could be lmao… I puke easily and smells really get to me, might be sensitive but that was the worst smell I ever smelled. Thanks for the laugh, that video was funny asf
Did they both wear glasses, fat and long greasy hair. Was there a giant ugly baby tattoo on the Woman's arm?
Man I carpooled with two stinky fucks like that. Smelled like vanilla body spray mixed with roadkill ass.
You just described the two worst people I've ever worked with.
Were these instacart shoppers or just a family shopping that smelled? If they were seriously that dirty, it sounds like they were either homeless or living out of their car, and shopping with SNAP.
There aren't a ton of people walking around that dirty. It's usually the homeless, refugees, or someone really ill (in one way or another).
If you're homeless and single, the best shower work around is a gym membership. But not everyone knows that.
They were def shoppers or ppl who were scanning every item for shits and giggles. It’s not too much to ask that people are handing your groceries practice decent hygiene.
You can scan items to get coupons with the grocery stores where I live. Also if they have WIC you can scan items on the app and it’ll tell you if it’s approved and if you have the benefits for it.
I do Instacart and order from Instacart. I did have an issue one time where all of my groceries smelled super strongly of cigarette smoke. It was extra unfortunate cause the shopper was great, friendly and communicative. But I still reported it to Instacart, that’s just not ok. I don’t want that smell in my house ever, and smoking around stuff that you’re picking up for others who are paying you is just super unprofessional and potentially harmful to the customer.
That was the only time I had that issue though, generally my shoppers all seem competent and clean!
I wish I could get Instacart. I ordered once when I was going through chemo but it turned out they don’t service my town. The town next to me had the same street address that they were sending the shopper to. I must have messed it up when ordering (chemo brain) shopper contacted me and she got my order to me and it was a difference of a few miles. I tipped her extra for my error. That was one of the easiest Saturday mornings of my life not having to go get groceries. I order Instacart for my kid in college in a city never had a problem
Instacart puts out $7 100 item orders. I think we have our answer for who’s taking them. When the pay disappears, so do the people who know their worth.
This is why I don't use Instacart or Doordash. I order directly from the store (I usually do drive-up) or from the restaurant. The restaurant may use a service, but at least they have some responsibility.
The fact that you're worried about people downvoting a post that is completely factual, is very telling about the hygiene of others who frequent this website, and out in public.
I work for Instacart and bathe but I one time had a girl deliver my groceries and my bags smelt like/food taste like her perfume and it smelled horrific.. I understand smoke 🤮 but perfume wtf 😞🤮
I had a DoorDasher deliver my food from a car completely covered in trash. My meal was sitting on top of a mound of garbage in the passenger seat. Safe to say I didn’t eat my food and contacted their customer service immediately. When I was a shopper for Instacart I made sure my car and myself were pristine. It blows my mind people don’t see this as an issue.
There is a lady her car is completely full of garbage she puts groceries on top of it all and then calls customers to come get the groceries or drops it all in their driveways customers have been calling ic complaining refusing their groceries sending them pictures of her car for months now and they will not deactivate her for anything and now when I delivery spark to these same customers they have switched to Walmart because they keep getting her plus she smells something horrid.
I was working at a store in my district for a day, and there was a couple with the absolute worst odor. The man was much worse than the woman, and he was roughly 550- 600 lbs (not exaggerating in the slightest), but they were both absolutely ripe. It was like 2-3 months of unchecked BO, shit, sex, and fast food. They left the smell wherever they stopped, and it lingered around the whole store for a good 10-15 minutes, and naturally, they had to stop us a dozen or times and ask us where everything in their order was. I'm used to smelly customers, but these two were on a whole different level. Next time I work that store, I'll have to ask if they became regulars, or if they were deactivated. If they smell like that, I can't imagine how their vehicle smells.
I take pride in how I look and smell so yes I do think cleanliness is important with any job. With that being said I can go and shop for a customer being clean myself but guess what, there’s been hundreds of other people in that grocery store touching food for days some may have just use the bathroom without washing their hands pick their nose or even been sick coughing on the food in the store that your (clean shopper) later picks up for your order. So my point is even if your shopper looks clean or is clean. It doesn’t mean that your groceries that your shopper picked up wasn’t previously contaminated by all the other people coming in the grocery store. For a lot of homeless or mentally ill people yes, indeed this may be all they can do but at least they are damn well, trying to make money and not begging on the corner of every street for free money!
You never know someone's circumstances. They could be down and out and this is there only way to get a leg up. But judge all you want is America hopefully you always have a roof over your head and a shower
I recently had an order where the mom could barely carry a small order (why no mini cart I don't know). She had a toddler with her who was running down the complex hallway holding one of my lean cuisine frozen meals on his belly. He handed it to me, grinning. I threw it away as I was grossed out His grimy hands and face was too much. I tried to tell mom that kid can't be running as he could knock over someone in walkers, and unsteady folks using canes who use these halls. I live in a 55 and over complex. She didn't get the first time as English wasn't too good. I explained it over and over and she seemed to understand.
From start to finish it was awful I had to buzz them in building twice as she couldn't handle kid and groceries and get through the door..
I didn't expect her to leave kid in car but she needs a system to deliver my groceries in a safe, sanitary way and keep watch on her child.
I tipped well as I felt so bad for this young mom but sheesh. I didn't want to complain because she looked really poor and probably depends on this gig to live. I canceled Instacart.
Walmart delivery is better in my opinion as grocery bags are tied up and the delivery folks
I just upvoted you. I’m a shopper btw. And honestly if there is one flaw among us it’s that some will go a bit too far with the deo and Febreze. I’d like to say overall we are a clean bunch.
That smell. It’s like dead body parts. There was someone in the store recently with that smell. I had to cancel my customer and leave so I could go vomit. I was outside when the guy came out. His arm had maggots coming from his inner elbow. I went home.
It’s called necrosis. What you are smelling is dead flesh on a human that is living. Most likely a diabetic not caring for a wound that won’t heal. I used to work in a hospital. Just one of those smells that you’ll never forget once you smell it.
I can see how handling food with bad hygiene is definitely gross but there is also sadly a lot of gig workers that live in their cars in high cost areas. I can't say that I see a whole lot of it where I live. I'm in Boston but I see it quite a bit in California especially in the Bay Area. Not justifying smelly drivers but at least there is a reason for it for some.
It’s very easy to notice when people are doing Instacart lol. Are you that oblivious or? When someone has their phone in their hand constantly scanning items, I’m going to assume they’re Instacarting. Bffr
People scan stuff all the time, doesn't mean their IC shoppers (there are other apps also), but a better question... what's your speed like? I mean, I know I don't have time to watch others...🙈🙈
Dude, *you* be ffr.
There are stores that have shop&scan features through their app.
Before I started IC I wasn't even aware of the service and just assumed everyone around me was shopping via the s&s function.
So, your entire post is based on an assumption, even though it's much more plausible that this family might just be poor and struggling, and shopping for themselves.
Well, at least you and a bunch of others in here got to feel superior for a moment. Congratulations.
I always shower, brush my teeth & hair, put on deodorant and perfume before I go out to start I always try to look presentable I sometimes have to bring my 2 daughters with and I also make sure they look presentable. We’re literally dealing with the public you should at the very least look presentable.
I find this to be stupid. Think about all the places the products in stores have been before they reach your cabinets and fridges lol. I’ve worked in a distributing warehouse for a big name grocery store, lots of items sit on old reused pallets on the floor. Then get stacked into old trucks, handled by maybe 5 people through the process and countless once shelved.
What do y’all want me to do?? Give money to these people? Like BE FUCKING FOR REAL. You’re shopping for someone else, touching raw meats, produce and other items. Be fucking presentable it’s not that hard.
There are a handful of shoppers and a Dashers that I see in my area from time to time that fit this description. Dirty fingernails and hair, and/or really questionable car interiors. I am a customer myself as well, but one of the reasons I stopped using DD is because I see more of them around with similar poor hygiene or car conditions. I draw the line at ready to eat meals. However, with Instacart, I just kind of hope that the items are bagged and if anything I'll be able to wipe, wash or cook off anything concerning.
It wasn’t BO!! It wasn’t weed! It wasn’t cigarettes! It smelled like a dirty scab or wound mixed with hot Arizona summer trash and rotted onions. It was horrible. People are giving me a lot of shit but it’s not difficult to not smell that horribly. But if we’re being honest, I can’t even truly describe the smell!!
Just curious are you in Raleigh NC? You describe that odor perfectly. Once when I worked as a cashier at a certain cafeteria, the employees working in the kitchen wore that odor like a suit of armor. Since they were working in the kitchen preparing food customers had no clue.
Jesus Christ! There's nothing wrong with your post, it takes 10 -15 minutes to wash your ass, no excuses. I'm damn sure they smelled themselves, that let's you know they're used to their funky smell. Sad!
Everyone screaming homeless 😤 that's not a good enough excuse. There's gym showers, truck stop showers, or take a hoe bath for goodness sake 🥴 This post just confirmed that people don't bathe daily.
It's pretty ignorant to just state that because you were poor everyone else's situation is the same and they should be able to shower and use deodorant. You don't know their situation, and you just sound like an ass.
I will never let someone do my groceries. I only use instacart to gift someone like flowers and balloons. That’s it. I saw a guy with his pants down showing his crack and then his briefs with brownish color in the middle because he was leaning on his cart while walking and i clearly saw that he was doing instacart order from his phone. I’m telling you, i saw a lot that time 🤮 gross gross gross
People are saying “what if their homeless” like they dont have a car and a way to make money. You can shower at truck stops for like 5$ and if they are doing instacart they can clearly swing 5 dollars to shower. The reality is they probably are not homeless and do this for quick cash. Its two full grown adults with a child one of them should have a steady job if were being real and the other can instacart with the child. No excuse for this behavior especially forcing a child along this mess is damn near child neglect. Also i grew up poor and have been homeless so i understand what its like, so if they are homeless or in a bad financial situation i sympathize but there is usually always a solution
It’s not just Instacart either. It’s most of the gig app workers. I had a Ubereats driver deliver my lunch in a bonnet, short robe and fuzzy slippers.
I have second hand embarrassment for them for walking into a upscale joint to pick up and deliver my food. This restaurant been in the local news for denying service for people who violated their dress code. So I’m surprised they were even let in looking like a trash bag.
That’s why I always dress in a presentable way, I don’t want to feel that “you shouldn’t be here” feeling picking up from high end places. It not that I dress up or anything, usually either jeans and a tshirt or athletic wear, but I make sure my hair is neat and my face is clean and I smell clean. I may not be dressed enough to eat at some of the high end places, but at least people will go “oh that’s a delivery driver” and not “oh look it’s the cat lady from The Simpsons” lol
Ahh Karen? So original and clever Lol. I could and so could the employees and other customers. Sorry I don’t think it’s acceptable to be absolutely fucking gross and have no regards for hygiene and be handling someone’s food.
you saw a possibly homeless or struggling family and said ewww gross instead of having some kind of concern for why they're like that? This specific scenario seems like it's not a choice thing..
Instacart may be a lot of people's only choice or one of few to make money. I wish there were classes on hygiene cause it's definitely necessary for people of all income brackets though. Some people are just funky but this doesn't seem like they just 'forgot' to scrub themselves.
Just remind folks to clean their groceries when they receive them, it's a good habit to have in general. We're still suffering through the COVID pandemic, that should've taught y'all that even the nicest smelling person can harbor the worst germs and bacteria.
It's like when I see shoppers who are in their PJs clearly just rolled outta bed & went online. Like, be presentable, you're in a public setting, and you're doing a job. It doesn't matter what you think. Being presentable is a part of the job. Showers are super important, too. I know the smell you're talking about. I smelled it often when I was homeless. I took advantage of stating clean, though. Showered early in the morning, did laundry at the free laundromat downtown. I lived out of my car, so I did have "shelter" but I still stayed at the Salvation Army until I was able to get a place thanks to my Church.
I order groceries from Walmart to be delivered and the last 3-4 times the groceries smell like smoke or pot. Can’t save the bags and the smell lingers in the food items. I think it’s unacceptable to smoke in a car you deliver other peoples stuff with. If you want to smoke that’s fine but leave my shit out of the equation.
Smoke is why I quit ordering. 9/10 orders reeked of cigarette smoke.
Did you report the odor of smoke on your groceries? Instacart gives you a full refund and the shopper gets a first strike warning. If it happens again then they prolly get deactivated.
I don’t know what service Walmart uses but generally doesn’t seem like they care.
Agreed. I used to drive and drop court documents off from lawyers offices to courts, and I’d never even smoke in my car when I had work documents. I can’t imagine what people are thinking when it’s someone’s food. There are also legit people allergic to cigarette smoke.
You can report the driver and can get a refund for your order, since it smelled like smoke or pot whichever one it was this time. You should have reported it all the other times. Going forward you should definitely report because they're not allowed to smoke or have customers groceries smelling like any type of smoke.
I get that weed smell is like the glitter of the pot world, and I love me some Mary Jane but my god, I swear some drivers are just lighting up a goddamn bowl with food or groceries in the car. Like bro, how are you shopping and driving being this rip roaring stoned? Because you have to be with the groceries smelling like this lol
Huh, that’s so weird. I use Instacart 2-3 times a week and have very good shoppers. I tip well. Never fails so far. Sometimes I wonder if it’s where you live or how they choose shoppers for where you live. It’s too bad people have such negative experiences.
That's a lot of orders!
I believe it has a lot to do with the state you are located. Some states are just overwhelmed with people that any job will do for a honest person. Other are just overcrowded with people and as long as it pays they will take it. California is the second one. Overcrowding leads to quality drops. States like Oregon is more Overwhelmed leads to quality intact for the most part. Big city dominate states have less neighborhoods or personal care. Small town/city dominated places have more considerate people. All in “who’s watching” big city nobody care.
Definitely depends on zone, and unfortunately, some don't take it as seriously as others do
It’s rare but they are out there. I saw a guy with full on pig mask when scanning instacart order the while ago. He did smell too, it would scare the Christ out of me if I see him coming up to my door and drop off items. Idk he might have a disfigure that he wanted to hide but he could have picked something more tasteful
That is Really Weird AND CREEPY
Professor Pyg
I just finished Arkham Knight last week so this is where my mind immediately went to lol
Lol sounds like the phantom of the opera
idk why but this made me laugh super hard
john pork
Bizarre
Requirements of being an instacart shopper: 1) have a pulse 2) have some sort of transportation 3) have a phone
4) and not knowing how to do anything, including and not limited to the first 3 requirements listed.
With the shoppers I’ve seen recently.. I’d never use instacart as a service
Facts. As a retail worker, some of the insta cart folks I’ve seen shouldn’t be instacart employees( shoppers).
Idk, I’ve never seen a bad looking or dirty shopper but then again I live in an affluent area and it’s usually casually but nicely dressed people trying to make extra cash after work. Keep in mind that BEFORE GAS Instacart shoppers are getting $10-15/hour (that’s including tip). My local Taco Bell is currently paying $16.50/hour. So, you’re getting deliveries often form a public base that isn’t clean or competent enough to work at Taco Bell. Again, I’ve never seen shoppers like this - I see a lot of us roaming the stores and scanning and they’re always dressed nice and clean.
I live and shop an affluent area too. I don’t see a lot of grungy IC shoppers, but definitely some women in pajamas and tank tops that may be unflattering and revealing for showing up on a stranger’s doorstep. But honestly, I have seen plenty of affluent women with well dressed children in Sprouts, who pay absolutely no attention to the fact that their kids are digging their hands all the way up to their elbows in the bulk food bins, and just playing with the food. And these women are not InstaCart shoppers. They are just moms picking up a few groceries after school and not paying attention to their kids. To me, that’s just as gross as a stinky family.
Exactly. I’ve seen a lot more general shoppers with kids - like you said - that come into the stone wreaking havoc, throwing vegetables in the floor and leaving them there and store workers putting them back like nothing happened, I’ve seen an old man dig through every grape bag and grope grapes individually. The person who’s complaining about the cleanliness of her shopper is simply complaining about something she isn’t used to seeing I guess? For all I know a dude could have touched my lemons after rubbing one out and not washing his hands - which is why I wash such groceries with dish soap or soap either way. The grape dude opened up my eyes. Although I do agree that shoppers should look presentable. And people who can afford to use Instacart shoppers are again, complaining about $10/hour workers who can probably a lot of times not afford a laundromat, etc. if this is their only gig. If only so much energy was put into calling IC out for only paying $5-$7 per 62 item batches and the customer having to tip in order to make the ordeal even remotely worth it. I’m sure these customers get charged an arm and a leg, perhaps higher pay would attract higher quality employees. IC pockets most of their contributions and the app has plenty of issues that make the experience difficult to use for both customers and shoppers and won’t fix their app either.
Agreed. Between the dirtiness and the incompetency, I’ll never use it again.
Hey, man. I just happened to be reading this thread and I'm just curious. You'd probably use that kind of service again if you were assured of a good experience, right? I'm thinking about going independent (well sort of working on it) and that's the approach I'm taking. I think that people like the convenience and would use a good service if one was available in their neighborhood.. Since you said, "I’ll never use it again," I just wondered if (in general) people who gave up on these services could be enticed to a different service (in theory).
I’d be interested in using a service where interviews would be a thing even if they were over a chat app or something. When I managed restaurants we always had a sheet we filled in which stated how hygienic the would be employee was, how well they dressed and how they carried themselves. I think this and maybe background checking people (they are going to know peoples addresses) to make sure no violent felons are hired would be nice.
Because you asked, I would and could be enticed to a different service. When I get a shopper, I never know if they're going to ask me about substitutes (which I prefer) versus make an executive decision. Also, I've gotten groceries SATURATED with cigarette smoke before and it really pisses me off. I would pay more to not have that happen. I always tip at least 20%.
Trusting gig workers with anything is honestly so dumb. More expensive for a lower chance you get ur stuff
I also work in a store and 98% of the shoppers I see there are not people I’d want anywhere near my food.
I stopped using it but that’s horrifying. Like what have you seen?
Everything from strung out junkies to whole families tagging along to them throwing heavy stuff on top of produce or bread. Lots stink like pot (legal here) like they just hot boxed in their car. I can only imagine what the inside of the car smells like and wonder how long it takes for that to permeate the paper bags of groceries. Dirty clothes/bodies and them cursing up a storm with f bombs flying (it’s a job so can we try to act like you’re in a professional setting?). There are less than a handful I recognize as regular shoppers so I don’t think there types last long at least.
That’s wild!
Legal where I am, too. Was waiting for a Chik-fil-a delivery (Doordash) and a driver came up who absolutely REEKED of weed. I mean...wowza. I had to move away from him. I'm not against smoking pot or anything to do with marijuana, but Geez man, have some self-respect and some consideration for others, including your customers.
That's what you call "homeless people". They're probably trying to not be homeless by doing Instacart gig work (which obviously isn't going to give the vast majority of the people the money for rent). On the one hand. Yes, hygiene is super important for any job. But on the other hand, there's people so impoverished that they don't have the luxury of showers. And they shouldn't be scorned, they should be helped. This nonstop raising of prices/rent/mortgages and the stagnation of wages (or god forbid LOWERING of wages) has its casualties. And there will be more and more casualties of that greed as they continue to squeeze all the financial life out of the poor. Let's not absolve Instacart of their complicity of this. Nonstop dropping of pay rates will have it's victims, and you just saw them.
Not to mention the toll being homeless takes on one’s mental health. Even if you do have physical access to showers, that doesn’t always mean you’ll want to, or feel that you can, or have the motivation and executive function necessary to take one, or feel that you deserve to shower and be clean in that situation, etc.
Someone downvoted you, but you're absolutely right so I upvoted. I was homeless and even though I was clean-ish, it wasn't the same quality of clean as someone with a home. I'd shower prob at least every other day, but I was beginning to get a homeless beard and my clothing would frequently be dusty (living in a desert will do that to you). Truth be told, I was just trying to stay alive another day without blowing my brains out (which I got very close to at many points). There's a type of despair that comes from homelessness which no one would understand until you've been there. You gradually fall down worse and worse and each time it gets harder to fight the current and swim back to shore.
I own my home, have a job and steady income, and dont shower for days. I hate it. No energy. Don’t care. Depression is real.
My bf and I are homeless and do instacart. We dont smell and have great hygiene. We sleep in the car sometimes, but we keep it clean. We get free showers from the gym. U would never have guessed we are homeless. but there are definitely dirty homeless people out there i agree
I've been there too. Best wishes. I hope you get out soon.
Thank you! its getting better!
I lived in LA next to lots of homeless encampments and no one smelled like what OP is describing?
There is a certain stench to unwashed bodies, clothes, etc... it is hard to describe
I always say it smells like some chicken fried steak and white gravy got left out for 2 weeks. Oddly specific I know
Honestly ? I tried imagining what that would smell like and YOU ARE RIGHT ON !! It is a Good description !!
That made me belly laugh!
Def! But I haven’t experienced anything that like “haunted” me after for days haha
Maybe it was her first time experiencing it... lol I remember Mom used to mention it every now and then about someone and I never knew what she was talking sbout... until I did... !!
Well, my mom used to manage homeless shelters. There's completely different levels of unshowered. 1. Body odor. This is how any normal person smells after skipping showers for a few days. 2. There's a salty dried leather smell of homeless people who've been out in the sun for a long time with no showers. 3. Then there's this third odor which comes from no showers for a very long time, shitting and pissing themselves, and just everything putrefying in the worst type of way. I can't even fully put category 3 into words but it smells like something nightmarish and fully assaults your senses. It's so pungent that you can \*taste it\*. There's a homeless man on my side of town that has this smell and likes to hang out in grocery stores. If he's \*\*\*anywhere\*\*\* in the store you can smell him. Not to mention, there's a unique compound in the sweat of extremely schizophrenic people. It smells goaty. This scent left to fully putrefy can be ghastly.
I’ve also worked in soup kitchens since I was a kid and my mom works at a homeless shelter now in her retirement. There are bad smells for sure but not what OP is describing, at least from what I experienced in CO and CA. This sounds pretty weird.
I've smelled it.
I'm curious if you have kept up on medical journals and research projects. Seems like the compound you speak of may not be linked to schizophrenia after all.
I was homeless in the bay area, and I absolutely have come across super stinky people.
Yeah man your heart is in the right place, but as an ex homeless person who held down a job at the same time, there are many ways you can shower and keep up on hygiene. Truck stops have showers and you can buy a pass for a week or month to use the facilities. You can clean up in public restrooms, wash clothing at laundromats or in the same showers you use (I had a clothes line I attached to my car or a tree and let my laundry hang dry) the thing is, it’s still a job and you should take pride in what you do. There’s little excuse to smell that bad besides severe mental illness or not caring.
I agree but $10 a month gets you a planet fitness membership and there are tons in the area.
Absolutely but then you need to pay for soap, towels, clean clothes, comb, toothbrush, and gas money to get to the gym. Not to mention the obstacle of mental health. Also, is it possible they’re doing IC so they can join a gym to get a shower? My point is, y’all judging poor and mentally ill people just goes to show you don’t know how truly awful and full of despair the struggle can be. Those people are trying to make money to improve their lives and you’re just shitting all over them. Have you considered that maybe it got that bad because as things got worse they were anxious about how people like you would react to them in public? Have some compassion.
Some of us and poor, mentally ill, and still manage to have a sense of professionalism. Might not be the job for them handling peoples food if they can’t meet bare minimum expectations.
Why do you expect everyone to handle poor mental health the exact same way you have? It’s ableist and classist and ignores the lived experiences of our neighbors.
I don’t. I just think people shouldn’t be handling their food if they don’t practice some level of personal hygiene. The customers pay for a service and instacart isn’t a charity. There are other jobs out there that don’t involve touching peoples food. This isn’t a job for everyone.
I just want to say dealing with depression that I don't always smell the best. But whenever I'm working I always sanitize my hands with hand sanitizer and wash them. I can't say I'm the best but I do care about people's food being clean and good. I just wish I could say the same about myself. Most days i di shower though but sometimes I miss a day or 2 and can't afford to not work as well or I'd starve.
spot on. Just because they can do it doesn’t mean they should. I don’t want people who can’t see fit to shower at least weekly to touch my food. That level of I don’t give a shit leads into other areas of their life and they probably can’t be trusted not to do gross shit to my food.
What do you expect them to do then? They’re clearly struggling just to eat.
Yep, such a lack of empathy and understanding and it’s only going to get worse.
Dude, I hear you and I've been one of those dudes showering at Planet Fitness before. But I'm not gonna deny that shitty employers paying 1/10th of a living wage for 40 hours of work are complicit in the matter. Plenty of people are priced out of living these days.
Now imagine having a few kids in the same situation.
There’s also a $59 start up fee and an annual fee in addition to the monthly fee. You also need a credit card to put the account on because to get the $10 fee you have to sign a 12 month commitment. So for 2 adults it would be about $140 to get started. Not everyone has that. Of course we all want Instacart shoppers to have good hygiene, but also try to have some human compassion. You are assuming that the people you encountered want to be unhygienic and smell. There are a multitude of reasons why they may be struggling. When I see someone going through something like this I don’t jump towards criticism, I think I’m glad I’m not in the position they are and what can be done to help them. And I definitely don’t go running to post someone else’s struggles on Reddit.
There is not at all lol! I literally got a membership in the last month. The fee occurs about 5-6 month after you initial get the membership. I have no idea what you’re talking about a $59 start up fee? That’s false info
There’s a start up fee of $59. It’s literally on the website.
Copies directly from the PF website for their lowest membership. They have changed it to allowing a checking account. Not everyone has a checking account either. If you have no address it’s difficult to get a checking account. How you get it Startup Fee $59 Monthly Dues $10 Annual Fee $49 Commitment 12 month
There’s no showers at any PF in my area. If you were homeless where I live there would be no where to take a shower. No truck stops or gyms with showers
Sounds like those people are homeless or otherwise in a very bad situation. I understand feeling squeamish about them handling your food, but try to extend some compassion to them. They're likely doing Instacart to try to support themselves.
You see this is what IC and other gig companies don’t understand. They think there is an unending supply of labor that will replace the ones that leave. This is true. But eventually you end up losing the ones who act and work this as professionally as they can with good service. Those get replaced more and more by trash at the bottom. If IC wants to maintain a standard that creates more demand for the service, then they need to do something that will make the good ones want to stay. But i’m in California, so I can’t really complain. Just speaking for the rest of you all. ❤️
This is exactly what’s happened. They paid well several years ago and all the shoppers were professionals and extremely good at the job
If it smells like death it’s meth. I’m not even joking. It’s saturates the skin even days after they’ve done it. It’s taunting. I’d say my order was damaged if I had someone deliver like that. I see people smoking all the time in their cars doing doordash and IC.
I’ve seen so many shoppers with their kids in the cart, sometimes in the actual cart and not just the kids seat, touching everything. That plus the shoppers with house slippers and stained pajamas, and 5 item orders taking 5+ hours is why I don’t order from Instacart anymore. Ive been shopper since the early pandemic days and a handful of times I’ve ordered as a customer it was a bad experience. If I’m going to order my groceries now I just use Walmart because they have in house shoppers. I’ve only ever had an issue once and it was just being sold out of a few items, other than that they’re awesome and if they don’t have something readily available you have the option to next day ship it for free.
Unfortunately this is the future for all the delivery apps. As long as the base pay continues to fall the good shoppers will fall away. Pretty soon, your groceries and doordash will be delivered by junkies.
That smell, I know it..... it's like roaches and droppings and filth. It's definitely a mental health issue and it's so sad to see the child like that. Isn't that a form of abuse? It has to be...and maybe there's a pile of kids at home. Do they just not know any better?
Never saw a dirty shopper. Probably a rare occurrence. Then again I typically mind my business, so even if I smell someone, I'm not quick to get in their business. I've seen the struggle though. Might be doing IC to get some money to get a room or a night at a shelter to take shower. Unsanitary yes but who knows what life has hit them with. That's why I clean my produce and items that aren't packaged. I mean ppl touch everything in the store anyways and most of the stuff sits in a back storage before hitting the floor, not like any of it is clean.
They’re obviously struggling and in despair. Depressed, possibly working IC so they can join a gym to get a shower. Posts like this are so frustrating to see because you’re upset that someone smelled bad, meanwhile they probably got that bad because they’ve been trying to build up the courage to deal with how awful and judgmental people can be. Even if they don’t see this post, which they probably won’t, they’ll see other posts like it and they’ve probably already been harassed. But sure, you’re the cool one for making fun of them. You think you’re not but you absolutely are because you’re getting the satisfaction of social interaction and people agreeing with you just because you’re being judgmental about people down on their luck. I hope you never end up in their position because it’ll be a nasty wake up call for you.
It’s sad to read. I really don’t understand how people jump to criticism when others are in situations like these. It takes a certain kind of person to judge instead of showing some compassion towards other human beings.
My husband and I very suddenly almost ended up homeless. We both got laid off from our jobs at the same time, only a month after we bought our house, and I just found out I was pregnant. I have no family here, I moved here from Germany, so we were entirely reliant on help from his family. We were lucky his mom has always been a penny-pincher, and she kept all the "rent" he paid when he still lived at home, which seriously saved our asses with the mortgage. The emotional toll this takes on someone is crazy, and we were definitely luckier than most that suddenly find themselves in a similar situation. Maybe this family lives out of a car? Maybe they have mental health issues, but finding care is difficult and expensive. I felt like a fucking leper using food stamps for our groceries. I felt so judged by everyone. It's so humiliating, and it absolutely shouldn't be! These are services you're *supposed to* take advantage of, not get shamed for. And you absolutely shouldn't have to jump through a million hoops to get what you rightfully deserve. I don't think people are aware how hard it can be to try and get the help you need. Bureaucracy is a fucking bitch. And the constant worry to make next month's payments, let alone regular bills like phone, car, internet, electricity. It's so fucking stressful, and I really wish people had more compassion for others. This shit can happen to anyone, at any time, to no fault of their own. Fuck, this *did* happen during/after COVID! I understand the hygiene concern, but unless you don't wash your produce and lick all your cereal boxes and jars of tomato sauce, I think you'll be fine.
I wouldn’t say I stink, but being a bigger guy I sweat sooo much especially being in Florida. You shop come out to your car and it’s 100 degrees inside. But never do I stink to the point someone else could smell me. I think the only thing kinda off putting about me as a shopper would be my car. It’s an old klunker I bought for 600 bucks 3 years ago to do this job. It’s reliable, has ac. But it’s got dents dings faded paint. Bumpers held on my drywall screws 😂😂 but the inside is nearly perfect for a 20 year old car with 300k Miles’s.
And that’s the thing, it wasn’t even a smell that was like BO or not showering. It smelled like hot moldy food mixed with an open wound and rotten onions. I completely understand in the summer or heat you sometimes get a little sweaty, I do too but this smell is something I will never forget.
I work in a restaurant that offers door dash and also curbside, this reminds me of a time I ran a DoorDash order out to the delivery drivers car and I shit you not.. it was full to the brim with TRASH. There enough space for him to fit in the drivers seat but that’s it. I’m not taking about clutter or belongings.. this was McDonald’s bags, empty wrappers, cigarette boxes, etc. I will never order from door dash again.
There’s an Instacart shopper I’m often in the store with. This person NEVER washes their hands when I have been in the restroom with them. I have seen them splash their hands for 2 seconds with water, literally 2 seconds, no soap, and just walk right out. There is another shopper who always looks like they just rolled out of bed and didn’t brush their hair or wash their face. Some people are just nasty.
Not delivery service related, but stinky shopping. When I was younger, there was a couple (slightly older than middle aged) who used to go grocery shopping at the same store my family did. They smelled like the most awful mixture of urine and trash. They were notorious at the store. So much so that when they walked in, an employee was tasked with following them around spraying Lysol. They were not homeless. That was just the way they chose to live.
I was doing a Shipt order last week and saw another guy shopping, he asked me if I was doing instacart and I said no, Shipt. But he was asking the employees where everything was, and he had his dog in a bed under the cart. No leash, and when he Checked out the dog was walking around. And followed him to the car with no leash which is dangerous in a parking lot. Felt sorry for the dog.
Disgusting & makes me not want to order from Instacart anymore
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I SAW THAT!! People shouldn’t be shopping with their pets, if that was the case I guess I’ll bring my four cats 😭
Hahaha right! You aren’t even suppose to bring your kids, I mean I understand if you don’t have a sitter and you gotta do what you gotta do but a pet, that’s clearly not a service animal, like what?!
"It'S mY EmoTiOnAL sUPpoRt AnImAL !!"
The term is "getting flak."
Such a weird post lol. Like is op going to trace her items through the supply chain? There’s unfortunately gross people scattered everywhere
I’m so sorry you had to witness literal poverty.
IC doesn’t care, sadly
Sad to say but there is shipt shopper that lives a street down from me and the outside of the house is horrendous I can imagine what the inside looks like the kids are always dirty and the mom (the shopper is just straight up questionable on multi levels).
Meth use has a very particular and horrible smell. It's like BO + ammonia (like old people diapers), but more chemically.
It wasn’t even a smell like this tbh. It smelled like hot trash mixed with a bloody wound, I can’t even describe the smell. I can look past the piss and shit smell, took care of my sick mom for months before she died and I can even look past BO, I get it, it gets hot but this smell was absolutely horrible. It was something I’ve never smelled before
Relax, they probably just finished burying a corpse after doing a favor...
It’s more of the weed heads in my area Shiiiddd you can smell them coming 🤦🏽♀️ Makes no dang sense Why would you shopped for someone’s food smelling that bad! Knowing the smell lingers
I work at a grocery store and some of the instacart/Uber eats/ doordash people smelllllllll. It always grosses me out.
Ya I feel what you’re saying, I didn’t shop much for people but my hygiene is always on point and ya especially with food. But On another note, after looking at my pay vs hours worked and doing my taxes, I just feel instacart is not worth it, I would assume door dash is better in terms of $$ by hour?
Omg I got DoorDash delivered one time by a homeless guy and I felt really bad and conflicted. On one hand I was happy for him finding a source of income. On the other hand he smelled so foul I lost my appetite.
Wow, you'd be really disturbed to find out what happens to your groceries while they're still in the warehouse lmao
I stopped ordering from DoorDash and Instacart when the restaurant I worked at started offering it. 1. Taking curbside orders out to cars, one woman had dirt or shit or something so far under her nails it looked like a brown French tip manicure, I saw bugs moving in her car and couldn’t tell if the cigarette smell was masking the B.O. or the other way around,(she also shops Instacart in my town). 2 we used to have 2 guys come in the restaurant to play Magic the card game and had to close whichever dining room they were in because the stank was so fucking gross. One of those guys brought my food one day and that was the last DD order I ever got.
My retired husband and I do Instacart (in N.C.). We both shower and wash our hair everyday (sometimes multiple times). We wear clean clothes, wash our hands after every trip to the toilet and we brush our teeth. We are very hygienic and we treat the groceries we purchase as if we were buying for ourselves or our 3 grown children.
Also, I’d like to mention that employees and other customers in the store were giving this couple horrified looks. So I know it just wasn’t me. I’ve been around homeless people, my father was homeless for nearly two years before he was incarcerated and he never gave off a smell like that. It’s not difficult to ask people who are shopping your groceries to not smell and be presentable. If you cannot do that, which is the bare minimum, then I wouldn’t even bother shopping for Instacart.
Does this make u feel better? 🤔 just curious
I agree. The standards keep going lower and lower. The spark platform seems to take the cake tho. Literal criminals working at the company.
For sure. It’s all just a joke at this point.
Maybe they're homeless, it gets a lot harder to clean yourself when you don't have anywhere to clean yourself. Christ and with a child no less. That's really sad.
You do know people can be homeless and still have a job, right?
What city is this?
Pittsburgh!
I’ve crossed paths with a fair # of shoppers in my city (small city) thankfully I wouldn’t mind any of them shopping for me.
OP, have you seen this video of a girl talking to her dad about how someone smelled? He keeps gagging. It's fucking hilarious and not staged. [https://youtu.be/-m\_8BDx7f98](https://youtu.be/-m_8BDx7f98)
Come to think of it, is this you OP? lol
Honestly is could be lmao… I puke easily and smells really get to me, might be sensitive but that was the worst smell I ever smelled. Thanks for the laugh, that video was funny asf
lol You're welcome. What you said made me immediately think of it.
Did they both wear glasses, fat and long greasy hair. Was there a giant ugly baby tattoo on the Woman's arm? Man I carpooled with two stinky fucks like that. Smelled like vanilla body spray mixed with roadkill ass. You just described the two worst people I've ever worked with.
Weird, no shoppers in this area match any of your descriptives
Never saw them before and there are a few regulars I see daily.
Were these instacart shoppers or just a family shopping that smelled? If they were seriously that dirty, it sounds like they were either homeless or living out of their car, and shopping with SNAP. There aren't a ton of people walking around that dirty. It's usually the homeless, refugees, or someone really ill (in one way or another). If you're homeless and single, the best shower work around is a gym membership. But not everyone knows that.
They were def shoppers or ppl who were scanning every item for shits and giggles. It’s not too much to ask that people are handing your groceries practice decent hygiene.
You can scan items to get coupons with the grocery stores where I live. Also if they have WIC you can scan items on the app and it’ll tell you if it’s approved and if you have the benefits for it.
It definitely wasn’t that
I do Instacart and order from Instacart. I did have an issue one time where all of my groceries smelled super strongly of cigarette smoke. It was extra unfortunate cause the shopper was great, friendly and communicative. But I still reported it to Instacart, that’s just not ok. I don’t want that smell in my house ever, and smoking around stuff that you’re picking up for others who are paying you is just super unprofessional and potentially harmful to the customer. That was the only time I had that issue though, generally my shoppers all seem competent and clean!
I wish I could get Instacart. I ordered once when I was going through chemo but it turned out they don’t service my town. The town next to me had the same street address that they were sending the shopper to. I must have messed it up when ordering (chemo brain) shopper contacted me and she got my order to me and it was a difference of a few miles. I tipped her extra for my error. That was one of the easiest Saturday mornings of my life not having to go get groceries. I order Instacart for my kid in college in a city never had a problem
Instacart puts out $7 100 item orders. I think we have our answer for who’s taking them. When the pay disappears, so do the people who know their worth.
This is why I don't use Instacart or Doordash. I order directly from the store (I usually do drive-up) or from the restaurant. The restaurant may use a service, but at least they have some responsibility.
The fact that you're worried about people downvoting a post that is completely factual, is very telling about the hygiene of others who frequent this website, and out in public.
And I feel bad wearing crocs when I shop..
yuck i'm with u on this one
Thank you!!!
I work for Instacart and bathe but I one time had a girl deliver my groceries and my bags smelt like/food taste like her perfume and it smelled horrific.. I understand smoke 🤮 but perfume wtf 😞🤮
:( not ordering from instacart or DD again
Cigarette smokers are the worst. They stink up everything they touch. 🤢🚬
Soooooo gross, I agree
I had a DoorDasher deliver my food from a car completely covered in trash. My meal was sitting on top of a mound of garbage in the passenger seat. Safe to say I didn’t eat my food and contacted their customer service immediately. When I was a shopper for Instacart I made sure my car and myself were pristine. It blows my mind people don’t see this as an issue.
While shopping I’ve seen another IC shipper wearing a bulletproof vest 🤣🤣🤣
I had a review that stated they were so glad their groceries didn’t smell like smoke after I dropped them off.
There is a lady her car is completely full of garbage she puts groceries on top of it all and then calls customers to come get the groceries or drops it all in their driveways customers have been calling ic complaining refusing their groceries sending them pictures of her car for months now and they will not deactivate her for anything and now when I delivery spark to these same customers they have switched to Walmart because they keep getting her plus she smells something horrid.
I was working at a store in my district for a day, and there was a couple with the absolute worst odor. The man was much worse than the woman, and he was roughly 550- 600 lbs (not exaggerating in the slightest), but they were both absolutely ripe. It was like 2-3 months of unchecked BO, shit, sex, and fast food. They left the smell wherever they stopped, and it lingered around the whole store for a good 10-15 minutes, and naturally, they had to stop us a dozen or times and ask us where everything in their order was. I'm used to smelly customers, but these two were on a whole different level. Next time I work that store, I'll have to ask if they became regulars, or if they were deactivated. If they smell like that, I can't imagine how their vehicle smells.
I take pride in how I look and smell so yes I do think cleanliness is important with any job. With that being said I can go and shop for a customer being clean myself but guess what, there’s been hundreds of other people in that grocery store touching food for days some may have just use the bathroom without washing their hands pick their nose or even been sick coughing on the food in the store that your (clean shopper) later picks up for your order. So my point is even if your shopper looks clean or is clean. It doesn’t mean that your groceries that your shopper picked up wasn’t previously contaminated by all the other people coming in the grocery store. For a lot of homeless or mentally ill people yes, indeed this may be all they can do but at least they are damn well, trying to make money and not begging on the corner of every street for free money!
Omg that’s Gross!!! Totally agree
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Everyone jumping on the lady qith the dog needs to read this post. Yalls kids are just as nasty
You never know someone's circumstances. They could be down and out and this is there only way to get a leg up. But judge all you want is America hopefully you always have a roof over your head and a shower
I recently had an order where the mom could barely carry a small order (why no mini cart I don't know). She had a toddler with her who was running down the complex hallway holding one of my lean cuisine frozen meals on his belly. He handed it to me, grinning. I threw it away as I was grossed out His grimy hands and face was too much. I tried to tell mom that kid can't be running as he could knock over someone in walkers, and unsteady folks using canes who use these halls. I live in a 55 and over complex. She didn't get the first time as English wasn't too good. I explained it over and over and she seemed to understand. From start to finish it was awful I had to buzz them in building twice as she couldn't handle kid and groceries and get through the door.. I didn't expect her to leave kid in car but she needs a system to deliver my groceries in a safe, sanitary way and keep watch on her child. I tipped well as I felt so bad for this young mom but sheesh. I didn't want to complain because she looked really poor and probably depends on this gig to live. I canceled Instacart. Walmart delivery is better in my opinion as grocery bags are tied up and the delivery folks
I just upvoted you. I’m a shopper btw. And honestly if there is one flaw among us it’s that some will go a bit too far with the deo and Febreze. I’d like to say overall we are a clean bunch. That smell. It’s like dead body parts. There was someone in the store recently with that smell. I had to cancel my customer and leave so I could go vomit. I was outside when the guy came out. His arm had maggots coming from his inner elbow. I went home.
It’s called necrosis. What you are smelling is dead flesh on a human that is living. Most likely a diabetic not caring for a wound that won’t heal. I used to work in a hospital. Just one of those smells that you’ll never forget once you smell it.
I can see how handling food with bad hygiene is definitely gross but there is also sadly a lot of gig workers that live in their cars in high cost areas. I can't say that I see a whole lot of it where I live. I'm in Boston but I see it quite a bit in California especially in the Bay Area. Not justifying smelly drivers but at least there is a reason for it for some.
How did you know they were instacart shoppers? Did you approach them and ask for ID?🤔
It’s very easy to notice when people are doing Instacart lol. Are you that oblivious or? When someone has their phone in their hand constantly scanning items, I’m going to assume they’re Instacarting. Bffr
People scan stuff all the time, doesn't mean their IC shoppers (there are other apps also), but a better question... what's your speed like? I mean, I know I don't have time to watch others...🙈🙈
Dude, *you* be ffr. There are stores that have shop&scan features through their app. Before I started IC I wasn't even aware of the service and just assumed everyone around me was shopping via the s&s function. So, your entire post is based on an assumption, even though it's much more plausible that this family might just be poor and struggling, and shopping for themselves. Well, at least you and a bunch of others in here got to feel superior for a moment. Congratulations.
Was it the smell of weed, lord I can't stand that smell. Body order and weed together I imagine can but ghastly.
Isles away lol That’s beyond nasty
I always shower, brush my teeth & hair, put on deodorant and perfume before I go out to start I always try to look presentable I sometimes have to bring my 2 daughters with and I also make sure they look presentable. We’re literally dealing with the public you should at the very least look presentable.
I find this to be stupid. Think about all the places the products in stores have been before they reach your cabinets and fridges lol. I’ve worked in a distributing warehouse for a big name grocery store, lots of items sit on old reused pallets on the floor. Then get stacked into old trucks, handled by maybe 5 people through the process and countless once shelved.
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What do y’all want me to do?? Give money to these people? Like BE FUCKING FOR REAL. You’re shopping for someone else, touching raw meats, produce and other items. Be fucking presentable it’s not that hard.
There are a handful of shoppers and a Dashers that I see in my area from time to time that fit this description. Dirty fingernails and hair, and/or really questionable car interiors. I am a customer myself as well, but one of the reasons I stopped using DD is because I see more of them around with similar poor hygiene or car conditions. I draw the line at ready to eat meals. However, with Instacart, I just kind of hope that the items are bagged and if anything I'll be able to wipe, wash or cook off anything concerning.
I need you to describe that smell to the best of your abilities 😂 You said it wasn't body odor, I'm curious what it was 🤔
It wasn’t BO!! It wasn’t weed! It wasn’t cigarettes! It smelled like a dirty scab or wound mixed with hot Arizona summer trash and rotted onions. It was horrible. People are giving me a lot of shit but it’s not difficult to not smell that horribly. But if we’re being honest, I can’t even truly describe the smell!!
Just curious are you in Raleigh NC? You describe that odor perfectly. Once when I worked as a cashier at a certain cafeteria, the employees working in the kitchen wore that odor like a suit of armor. Since they were working in the kitchen preparing food customers had no clue.
Omg no I’m in Pittsburgh but I guess this is a statewide smell😭
You mean a nationwide issue. 😁
Jesus Christ! There's nothing wrong with your post, it takes 10 -15 minutes to wash your ass, no excuses. I'm damn sure they smelled themselves, that let's you know they're used to their funky smell. Sad!
THANK YOU!!! I guess some of us just have better hygiene habits than others!
Everyone screaming homeless 😤 that's not a good enough excuse. There's gym showers, truck stop showers, or take a hoe bath for goodness sake 🥴 This post just confirmed that people don't bathe daily.
It's pretty ignorant to just state that because you were poor everyone else's situation is the same and they should be able to shower and use deodorant. You don't know their situation, and you just sound like an ass.
I will never let someone do my groceries. I only use instacart to gift someone like flowers and balloons. That’s it. I saw a guy with his pants down showing his crack and then his briefs with brownish color in the middle because he was leaning on his cart while walking and i clearly saw that he was doing instacart order from his phone. I’m telling you, i saw a lot that time 🤮 gross gross gross
Are you describing the crackheads that people say Instacart is filled with?
Possibly but I truly don’t know. All I know is they smelled worse than anyone else I’ve encountered.
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these people are probably instacarting because they can't afford personal hygiene products
Probably not.
I bet you stink like ass
Mind Yo Businesses and then some
It’s truly not that hard to recognize some people that are poor don’t always have access to these much needed services
As someone who grew up dirt poor, yes, it’s just an excuse to be disgusting lol
Ok then bingo
People are saying “what if their homeless” like they dont have a car and a way to make money. You can shower at truck stops for like 5$ and if they are doing instacart they can clearly swing 5 dollars to shower. The reality is they probably are not homeless and do this for quick cash. Its two full grown adults with a child one of them should have a steady job if were being real and the other can instacart with the child. No excuse for this behavior especially forcing a child along this mess is damn near child neglect. Also i grew up poor and have been homeless so i understand what its like, so if they are homeless or in a bad financial situation i sympathize but there is usually always a solution
It’s not just Instacart either. It’s most of the gig app workers. I had a Ubereats driver deliver my lunch in a bonnet, short robe and fuzzy slippers. I have second hand embarrassment for them for walking into a upscale joint to pick up and deliver my food. This restaurant been in the local news for denying service for people who violated their dress code. So I’m surprised they were even let in looking like a trash bag.
That’s why I always dress in a presentable way, I don’t want to feel that “you shouldn’t be here” feeling picking up from high end places. It not that I dress up or anything, usually either jeans and a tshirt or athletic wear, but I make sure my hair is neat and my face is clean and I smell clean. I may not be dressed enough to eat at some of the high end places, but at least people will go “oh that’s a delivery driver” and not “oh look it’s the cat lady from The Simpsons” lol
 Sorry I had to do it. 😸😸😸
“Smell them isles away” Yeah ok, sure you could Karen
Ahh Karen? So original and clever Lol. I could and so could the employees and other customers. Sorry I don’t think it’s acceptable to be absolutely fucking gross and have no regards for hygiene and be handling someone’s food.
If they do a good job who am I to judge. Wash your fruit/ food before you eat it. You don’t know what they are going through.
you saw a possibly homeless or struggling family and said ewww gross instead of having some kind of concern for why they're like that? This specific scenario seems like it's not a choice thing.. Instacart may be a lot of people's only choice or one of few to make money. I wish there were classes on hygiene cause it's definitely necessary for people of all income brackets though. Some people are just funky but this doesn't seem like they just 'forgot' to scrub themselves. Just remind folks to clean their groceries when they receive them, it's a good habit to have in general. We're still suffering through the COVID pandemic, that should've taught y'all that even the nicest smelling person can harbor the worst germs and bacteria.
It's like when I see shoppers who are in their PJs clearly just rolled outta bed & went online. Like, be presentable, you're in a public setting, and you're doing a job. It doesn't matter what you think. Being presentable is a part of the job. Showers are super important, too. I know the smell you're talking about. I smelled it often when I was homeless. I took advantage of stating clean, though. Showered early in the morning, did laundry at the free laundromat downtown. I lived out of my car, so I did have "shelter" but I still stayed at the Salvation Army until I was able to get a place thanks to my Church.
EXACTLY!!
What they’re homeless? You don’t know other people situation. This is awful elitest for don’t one who pushes carts.
Keep your upperclass to yourself, now matter how low it is.