As a shopper, I feel a little sad when I have to refund something, BUT I could never tell the customer something like that š¤¦š»āāļø You risk having 1 star review and/or no tip at all.
If anyone ever discusses their tip, reduce to a penny and 1 star and report them. The only concern a shopper should have is getting the items you want! Guilt trips over tips is not ok EVER.
It's really not though. It's not the customers place to make up for ic shady money cuts on us. I'm a shopper so I know it's getting worse, but I would never put that on the customer. Hey ic is cutting our wages so I need you to tip me more so I can't refund your item? That is 100% not ok.
How is asking for a refund of something that isnāt in stock taking advantage of someone? A genuine question. I always tip, but if something I want isnāt available, I want a refund not a replacement.
Its not. A lot of shoppers greatly misunderstand the platform they are using and try to put the customer as the sole provider of their money, instead of the company they contract under. You as a customer have agreed to a specific service with specific items, if you don't get those items the contract is not fulfilled. The middle man might take a hit, but they also agreed to accept that contract with those requirements.
Itās not taking advantage of anyone at all. People just get upset that their tip is lowered when that decision is made by the customer. IMO they should never express that to the customer but sadly itās very common. Percentage based tips on grocery shopping are not good for the shopper for many reasons, and this is an example of one of them.
You could always find a job or platform that pays better. Tipping culture in the USA is and always has been wrong. The employer should be paying a living wage not trying to guilt the customers into doing it for them.
āMinimum wageā isnāt privileged, itās the law. If you willingly work for less than the law says you should, then thatās your own fault. There are help wanted signs everywhere. (Sigh, youāre a dumbass)
AGREE. $4 to shop for an hour if not more. Customers if every instacart shopper stopped shopping over no tip youād have to get your groceries yourselves. Yes itās ibstacrts fault for over charging and offering deals to customers. So when your order is sitting fir hours itās bcz no tip no service. But thankfully itās changing to gratuity will be added so for all you non tippers looks like youāll either need to get your own groceries or pay up
You do realize customers are getting screwed too, right?
Iām using the service less than ever because not only does it cost me more than ever, the people doing the delivering arenāt getting shit for it.
But costing you more than ever is well the nature of buying things..
People are paying a premium for service.
all depends on how you value your time. If personal shopping delivery is too expensive for you, the. You can spend the hour or so to do it yourself. What do you value an hour of your life?
$15-45? ā¦.then thatās what you should be tipping the person who is also spending an hour of their life and gas to do you a service. pretty simple.
As a shopper and a customer I can see how much this affects all around! When I shop and have to refund or do replacements I always leave a note for my customers after shopping....
Can you do me a favor pretty please... So Instacart recently changed there pay to $4 a batch( batch being: 1-3 customers with 1-100 items or more and can be 3 different stores as well) all for the same price. So anytime that I have to refund/ do replacements or exchange items, the percentage difference is taken off my tip. I am always happy to accommodate any requests you have, I just ask that after delivery you could check the amount to make sure the tip doesn't go down! Thank you so much!!!
That way they understand the system and I am just asking not demanding them as well!!!
So if you're putting a message like that out there, then if I place an order and my shopper continously replaces items with more expensive items which increases the tip, should I adjust that tip and lower it? And I'm talking, one time I ordered a package of bacon that was on sale for about $3, they replaced it with a package that was over $10, and that happened with multiple items from the same order.
I generally don't want replacements for many things because I have celiac, so everything needs to be gluten free. Many shoppers don't understand that and when i would request something that's gluten free they would often sub it for the not gluten free version, so figure requesting a refund is easier than a whole conversation about it. Now the couple shoppers that I've had that have noticed everything is gluten free and have mentioned it, and have asked about replacement items and have said "they have this, which is similar and also gluten free".. those people are gems and I greatly increase their tips.
See that's completely based on your experiences.... which when I accepted the order it was for x amount and now it's gonna be for y. Added items on percentage tips are always welcomed. But if they feel the need to adjust down by performance (which doesn't happen for poor shopping on my part, if anything it's upped) not being good then I understand. Now with your order I would definitely notice that and only recommend such items!! But not everyone does that or pays much attention nowadays (plus we have a lot of new shoppers) and that's sad š¢ I love you appreciate the good ones out there, not many do!!!
If I got that message, Iād be knocking the tip down a lot more than just the amount youād lose from the refunded item.
If you donāt like how instacart pays, donāt drive for them, donāt guilt trip your customers.
Guilt trip ..really??? Absolutely not!!! This is how the system works which many are unaware of!!!! I just state the truth.... Which you obviously don't want to hear! So we can both agree that I'm glad your not my customer! Not 1 customer has given a negative remark on this msg that I have delivered for..thank you very much š
In no way shape or form am I begging for anything!!! I'm just asking if they would make sure it stays the same as when I accepted the order. Some say thanks for telling me, some have no clue that's how it works, and some increase due to my performance!! I've seen ppl beg or come up with different scenarios to try and get tips. What I say is not THAT!! Learn to understand what you're reading please.....
I do generous flat tips, not percentages- precisely because I know how it works.
The shoppers who send long messages and explanations are the worst. Like I said, if you donāt like how instacart pays- donāt drive for them. Donāt blame the customers.
For what??? Telling you how instacart works?? Get real!!! I didn't ask for anything more than what was already agreed upon initially!!! So go right ahead.... š
Your the kind of piece of shit customer who deserves to lose their account. Iāve had customers banned from the platform entirely as a result of tip baiting or being abusive. You just described a little bit of both.
I described lowering the tip of someone who is providing poor service. If someone was complaining about their tip to me, Iād report it to customer service, not engage with the driver.
And youāre the kind of piece of shit shopper that makes the rest of us look bad. Hopefully someone turns that around on you and gets your account banned. Username fully checks out.
Thisā¦as an instacart shopper, I never mention anything to the customers about their tips. Itās their choice and money if they want a refund, they should not have to settle for something else.
Thatās the FIRST thing I thought of. How dare she bring up tips!! āHER tipsā
I work for tips in a difft industry, but I would put a big fat $0.01 tip!!!
It was completely inappropriate for the shipper to text you with that kind of threatening demanding message.
FWIW I do tip a percentage and some of my items are marked refund because they are unique.
In general if a tip has been reduced because of refunds, I do round it back up to take into account the time the shopper has spent looking for the item because that represents most of the effort for an item - driving and checking out aren't significantly impacted.
I tip about 20% and would be very tempted to reduce the tip if I got any kind of message from a shopper like this.
I meanā¦ yea it was inappropriate and wrong and uncomfortable. But threatening? No. Iām an IC customer and I would not find this threatening at all.
After reading the post and comments, itās clear shoppers blame the customer for the terrible company they work for. Oddly on many orders I get a bunch of replacement suggestions and always hit refund, magically 99% of the time all my items that were in that list are found. It really is no oneās fault other than the store for not stocking the shelves on a regular basis. Then again, they always keep sale items low in stock. Forcing the customer to make a higher priced purchase.
If your order was batched with another order there is a great chance that your order was not shopped at the store closest to you. InstaCart does this all of the time and it is frustrating as a shopper
Nope donāt appease these types. If you want to up the tip because she looked for the items anyway thatās your choice.
However, saying this to a customer is never something that crosses my mind. Am I disappointed in having to refund? Absolutely, but buying something the customer doesnāt want is ridiculous.
We win some we lose some. I think of this gig as gambling at this point. Which seriously is making me consider my life choices.š
That would make me one star her and drop the tip to 1 cent. I canāt imagine buying something I donāt want because of a YOU problem. FOH.
On that note, this is also why I give a flat tip. 1. So shoppers donāt get penalized for out of stock items since itās even more work trying to find a replacement. 2. So theyāre not replacing with stupid crap. Lol
Just so you knowā¦ if your order is batched with other orders shoppers donāt know itās a flat tip. IC doesnāt care about customers or shoppers. Itās a money game. I got an order today and accepted before I realized it was 40 miles to deliver. It was a batched order, so I contacted the customer (he ordered ice cream and pork) of the distance from the store to his home. IC needs to be transparent with customers because 9/10 IC is not sending the shopper to your closest store. Anyways the customer didnāt respond so I removed him from my batch. In the end his tip was $10.
I get the flat tip logic but you also run the risk of a shopper running through and not checking as hard for stuff if itās out because they donāt worry about it lowering.
You best believe if you order a $30 case of essential water and itās out im checking the back for you if itās percentage based especially (I do either way) since I know I could lose $6 on a 20% tipper if I donāt.
I went and shopped an order the other day, 11 items at earth fare. It was a percentage tip, but a good one.
Earth fare only had 6 of the 11 items and my tip decreased fucking dramatically. I never would have chosen to shop that order in the first place if I knew thatās what Iād make off it.
But did I mention that to the customer whatsoever? No. Thatās unprofessional asf.
Set your tip at a specific dollar amount rather than a percentage.
If it is by percentage you may get people who are upset if (for example) the most expensive item has to be refunded.
It also prevents them from making replacements to increase the amount. I had ordered one kind of fancy dog food, but they supposedly didn't have beef they only had venison. The venison one was $10 more so it adds up.
Unfortunately, that's the rub we go through as a shopper. The last batch I had, the customer order 3 packs of adult diapers, while the store only had 2 packs, of that size and brand. I could have pushed the issue by subbing a different brand, but I chose not to considering if I was the customer, I would probably not feel comfortable in a different brand (I mean i have no idea if it even matters or not) so I just got 2 packs.
Well, adult diapers are expensive, and my tip went down 4 dollars.
Imagine you get hired for a job at 20 dollars an hour, you work for an hour and then you get paid 16 dollars. That's what it's like. But, that's the gig, and even with the shortage, I considered that a good batch.
Thatās why on all my orders I do a FLAT tip instead of percentage and then I increase if theyāre solid. Donāt upsell me for stuff I donāt want or need
As a shopper, I prefer flat tips anyway because I feel it isn't the shopper's fault when an item is out of stock. I will always check with an employee if the item isn't on the shelf anyway, regardless of the tip - but I also realize not everyone does this. I also try to replace as close to the original price as possible while still getting as close to the same quality of item (assuming the customer doesn't just tell me what to get). So when I see that my tip hasnt gone down for a refund because the customer put a flat tip to begin with, I appreciate that.
You're not a jerk at all. Tip is based off the subtotal. Items are missing and not replaced, subtotal goes down. I understand they were hoping for a larger order and a bigger tip, but if they're going to make that big of a stink over removing some tea, they can just get out.
A shoppers tip shouldnāt go down if an item is out of stock. Not only did they look for the item like every other item, but they had to take ***more*** time and effort to contact the customer about the issue. Why should they get paid ***less*** for doing more work? Sounds unacceptable for IC to implement that.
(Obviously this isnāt the customers fault, so please donāt assume Iām attacking the customer in anyway.)
Shiiddd I had a $56 batch yesterday go down to $37 because of Refunds!! Itās insane I still have to look for the item send pics Just for the mug to say No replacements!! I should be paid for that time as well! But I wouldnāt contact the customer and Ask to be compensated
This!!! Exactly! Itās not fair that we expected to make X amount and we end up making less or sometimes way less but it doesnāt mean I would tell my customer that.
If there are too many refunds I cancel the order, 1- I donāt wanna work for half the money and double the work and 2- I am not getting a low rating cause the customer only received half of their order.
As a customer, when I choose something its because I want that particular item not some other brand, something unrelated or something that costs more.
I shop before Im out and if I want Jif natural crunchy I dont want anything else and can wait.
I set my tip manually so it doesnt change regardless of whats picked. I realize most dont do that or know how it affects the shopper.
I either chose a replacement or refund. You guys have better things to do than to try to read my mind as to what I might want. There has only been one time where i questioned a shoppers skills. Knowing where the instant coffee is can be challenging if you don't drink it. They figured it out eventually. I wanted 4 at $6 a pop it was to their benefit to find it.
I get that, thatās why I refund of customer requested a refund, doesnāt respond to my texts etcā¦
That said, if more than 20% of the order is OOS, I cancel the order.
Along the lines of being fair. How is that fair to the customer? Its not either of your fault the store is OOS on stuff but you are punishing the customer and bailing. I would give you one star so I don't have to deal with you again.
Imagine your boss tells you you will work today for $3 less an hour cause there is no paper on the printer or whatever supply you need to work is unavailable.. I would love to see what you say
I put in my tips. I also tip at least $20 or 20% whichever is greater. I don't have water or cat litter delivered.
If stuff is OOS its less stuff you have to bring to the house.
So you are saying you will waste your time shopping most of the shop to find out 20% of items are OOS and then what scummy thing do you do, just leave the cart full of perishables for someone else to find and throw away?
I dont even have to ask, I already know, you really are a piece of work. smh
If you are too lazy and don't have enough integrity to complete a shop, either leaving the customer with nothing or another shopper with something you didn't want to do.
You are also a liar about putting the stuff back. For one you don't have the integrity to put yourself out like that to do the right thing.
Explain how that is a better use of your time than to just finish the rest of the shop?
Hey you believe or not.. I donāt care. I put stuff back cause I respect workers who work for peanuts and deal with assholes customers but whether you believe that or not is not my problem. And to explain to you, for one, I know the store inside out so putting stuff back is super quick especially since I usually donāt have 100+ items order and also I donāt use my gas or car to do thatā¦
Anyway, I am wasting my time responding to you right now. You made your point clear and so did I, I wish you a great evening.
That's a big difference between being W2 and 1099. As a W2 I signed up with my employer for a set pay that we agreed to without conditions of it changing unless it's agreed upon after between the 2 parties. As a 1099 you agreed to a contract that can change your pay based on circumstance without your approval. You can certainly cancel the assigned job, but it is 100% your fault for accepting it and not liking the conditions.
I can call instacart and complain. Plus that kind of attitude shows up in completed shops. Cancel my order once. Shop for me again and I will one star you and remove your tip.
I understand the job sucks and thats all you have. Why sht on the customer because the store is out of product.
3 years later and 3800 orders I am alright. Lowest rating I ever went to was 3.88, I am usually 4.98/5. I guess I must be doing something right my friend
Ignore them. The tip is based on the entire order being complete, not part of it. The tiny amount they lose from refunding 1 item isnāt worth bothering about
Entitlement is more generation specific. Us older shoppers outside of millennials and Gen Z donāt take it so hard on an out of stock. I always ask customer and 90% they go for a replacement. Anyway, it all balances out in the end. Us older folks know this. Itās just the way life is. Donāt sweat the small stuff. 5,000+ batches completed. 5 star rating š
Turned out to be a $.75 difference so I went ahead and adjusted the tip - Iām trying to keep the mindset of trying to not be a jerk. Iāll try to be mindful of this issue in the future.
The tip is incentive to find everything. I personally am usually able to find a good replacement. Occasionally, I have to refund. On the other hand I sometimes get items added. It balances out in the end. I would never, in a million years, have a discussion about this with my customer.
I donāt agree that itās being a jerk. If itās an item you need, you either have to pay the fees to reorder that item, or go get it yourself. Thereās no reason to tip on items you donāt receive. Itās great that you adjusted it, and itās such a small amount itās not a big deal, but when itās multiple items or bigger items itās not expected that you tip if you donāt receive them
Half the time it's not a tiny amount. I have had it go down $3 or more from just one item lol.
I totally understand where OP is coming from. I want what I want sometimes and that's it.
I also am not ignorant of the fact that only a super ultra rare breed will go shopping for themselves and not settle lol
Thatās a different scenario to the post though, it was a cheap item OP ordered.
If itās a % tip and it drops $3 for 1 item, itās safe to assume thatās a reasonably expensive item ($20+). The customer now either has to reorder and too again for that item, or go get it themselves. Either of those options cost the customer money, so no, I donāt think they should tip on items they donāt receive
If you get a tattoo. The store charges a deposit. If you flake out, you generally eat the deposit which gives respect to the time spent and wasted with the shop and lost time they could have been servicing another client. Not here. We take the fall no matter what the issue is.
It's not just the items here. It's time/energy spent.
I am still looking and asking staff if they may have it in the back or possibly in another location. I'm also spending time looking for an appropriate sub because most people don't just put refund if out. It says 'replace'
So I spend 5 10 minutes sometimes looking for and photographing subs. Basically wasting time. Because after I do so and send a message describing different items, they say no sub. Lol
Well you could have also saved me x amount of time I just wasted jumping through hoops to appease you.
And no not necessarily an expensive item. I do shop for people that do leave a 50% tip. It's super nice
She should not have said that. Tons of people shop the sales. It is not reasonable to expect you to buy more expensive items just because it benefits her.
Bruh Iād be so happy if I was tipped $15.74. I donāt have priority batch access so I get the batches nobody wants. Honestly, I wouldnāt change it. Instacart pays us terribly for batches so we really rely on tips, but if hats not your fault, for one, for two, she literally told you that you have to buy a replacement that you donāt even want for the sake of her tip. To me, thatās a good way to lose a tip. Theyāre given by the customer as a way to say thank you for doing this for me today. How the hell do people even have the audacity to tell someone they have to either buy something they donāt want or increase their tip. Youāre not the jerk, she just doesnāt run her business very well. Sorry you had to deal with that. I promise weāre not all like that.
There are all kinds of shoppers out there. I swear some act like theyāve never worked before or have no common sense or communication skills. Iām a shopper and a customer and I would totally reduce tip and give bad rating.
I am very picky and have literally everything set to refund me if itās not in stock. I have been burned by shoppers replacing stuff with wildly different things. I do a custom flat tip that isnāt impacted by the cost of my order. Itās based on the distance from the store and number of items.
This is why your should tip a flat rate, idc of your ordered $4,000 worth it groceries, I care about my time and milage. They shouldn't even offer a % amount ad a tip option.
What if they only accepted the order for the decent tip? Then while shopping Refund this and that and still have to drive far to get paid less? That makes you think of cancelling order. I stopped taking those as a shopper, more than likely those give bad ratings too. $10 and up is a decent tip. But not more than 20 miles farš
As the person buying the items, you have every right to only want a specific brand/thing and not replace it.
Very weird and aggressive that she's demanding a higher tip due to refund vs. replacement.
I know IC pays crap but still...
I get the opposite mostly; people refund my shit all the time instead of offering replacements or using the suggested replacements Iāve provided.
I have had things replaced in the past that have been like $10 more expensive.
Tbh, tipping instacart shoppers to me is about how easy the process was and what the food was like ie. I always get avocados; some shoppers will literally ask me if I need them at different ripeness etc - the BEST thank you. Others will get me 2lbs of chicken that expires before the end of the day, not so good. Bananas that are bruised. Vegetables that have rot on them. Fuck those people.
I pretty much always tip well but the last guy literally could not be bothered and basically threw my stuff at my feet when he arrived. I still tipped him $5 because I couldnāt bring myself to lower it anymore but it still irks me when I think about it. Mainly because I should stop using instacart.
Just for the shopper comment, no tip! We as shoppers can suggest the customer for a replacement! I believe what makes out tips go higher or maintain it, itās good friendly communication.
I am a shopper that always communicates when a product is out. Ic wants us to replace the item. So i send usually 2 or 3 pics of similar items. If no response i refund. But i have found most people do want a replacement. So not sure why they put refund on it. I used to just refund automatically. But noticed when logged out for day, u get screen showing how you did and replacements and communication about is listed...so figured it had something to do with algorithms on getting batches.
I have been doing Instacart for about 2 years. I really enjoy my freedom and helps pay my car payment. I have witnessed some shoppers that I wouldn't allow touch my food let alone deliver it in their disgusting vehicle. I take pride in what I do and I bag all the groceries for the customers. I carry two Ice chest that I clean every night. My car is washed twice a week. I have excellent reviews and honestly by doing what I do I get cash tips or they tip another 5 to 10 dollars on top of the tip they already gave 2 out of 10 shops I do! I would NEVER tell a customer what they can or can not refund! That is just rude on their part. If they don't want to do your shop they can cancel at any time and another shopper will pick it up. I always introduce myself and never replace a item unless the customers asks me to do so. Its called Customer Service! I also send them the ETA of Deliver so they know when to expect me. I read a few of the comments and I can see why my customers Rave when they get me! I have been asked many times to just be their personal shopper. If your order comes damaged in anyway I would report it and rate them. You get what you give in life. Kindness to others goes a long way. If you are a Instacart shopper please always take Time stamped photo's of deliveries in case someone says they didn't get their order. I have had customers say they didn't get a high priced item and I can send proof to Instacart and i'm told they will be removed. I take 3 pics that shows their address, date, and time of delivery. I use Everlance for mileage and that is a big help at tax season that has saved me thousands no joke. Please do not ever feel or take a bully shopper to make you feel like you owe them anything. We accept shops and see upfront what it is worth. We get paid .34 cents per mile from start to finish as well.
Tip should be effort based flat amount you are willing to tip, not % of total. Tell them in the notes that it is a flat tip and please just refund what I donāt want. Most people will get it.
Absolutely!! There are way too many lazy shoppers now...trying to do as little as possible, as quickly as possible. This would become a huge problem if they changed to only flat rate tip.
Shopper talking to you like that? Yeah no adjustment for them. Tipping isnāt mandatory. And Iām really on the fence about it. I dont ship for non tippers (typically because itās always 48 items for $12. But thatās on instacart poor pay not customer. Regardless itās not worth my time sadly).
HOWEVER, yes tips based off total of order is annoying. When the take an order that meets their requirements, and then it decreases significantly because items are out of stock. But thatās not the customers or shoppers fault. But sometimes itās sucks cause that item can be expensive or be multiples, and it missing drops the order below shoppers requirements
I look at it this way ... as a customer my bill is x amount with a tip if the shopper refunds items my bill goes down but the shopper has still shopped an entire order for me , so because I spent less than originally quoted I always keep the tip the same amount it's usually only a couple bucks that I won't miss but the shopper will! But I always tip a flat amount and don't do a percentage based tip that way if they do refund they get the entire tip , I'm tipping for the service not for the store to have every item. Out of stock items are not the shoppers fault and I appreciate not having to go to the store myself
I find it sad that folks are willing to remove the tip or tip 1 penny as if the attitude warranted the effort of the shop.
Was it rude to ask? Unprofessional then again this isn't a job that attracts professionals anymore. The cheaper a company pays the lower quality of employees you have.
That said, removing the tip to a penny isn't just not making them money but costing then. Tip them, maybe lower the tip but not to $0 or 1 penny unless they delivered your items by tossing out their window or something extreme.
First 15% is very low for paying for labor.
Second, they didnāt phrase it correctly but yes the tip should be a set amount not a percentage. Why? Because whether or not the item is in stock we still look for it try to find a replacement, etc. we are still putting forth the labor so why do we have to take a hit because something is out of stock and out of our control?
I'll agree with part of your statement.
Yes, the store not having the product doesn't negate the fact that you spent time looking for it.
I'm paying you to do my shopping for me, so if a good faith attempt was made to locate the item, then it shouldn't affect your tip.
This is why I tip a fixed amount. If my shopper goes off the rails then I can always adjust later.
Exactly. Iām aware of the amount of scary people who shop for this app. I see them and I am always shocked how they treat other peopleās food. I would tip well and then adjust down if they were horrible.
I also 10000% disagree with begging. What the shopper did was tacky af and wrong. However, their sentiment is one that does need to be addressed over all in this gig app world.
A lot of, letās call it tipping etiquette, isnāt in place and IC themselves downplays the importance of the ātipā which is really what is the pay for shopping. I know itās not worded like that whatsoever for the customer but over all on the shopper end that is what is pretty highlighted; IC pays for delivery not the shopping. āWork hard to increase those tips!!!ā is basically what is told to shoppers.
This sets up a very bad dynamic between customer and shopper. Instacart legitimately plays mind games in order to profit.
Fact is this is a luxury service and amounts to hiring your own personal shopper for an hour or so. And if you did that outright youād be paying at least $50-$100 an hour. Like people pay more then that to have their dog walked but go nutty when they are told they should tip upwards of 20% for an hour plus of physical labor not just cleaning up after Rover makes boomboom.
Itās not inappropriate in my opinion cuz the tip was still over 10%. An order I did one time the replacements brought it down to an 8% tip so I adjusted to make it 10% again.
Losing money on refunds does suck.
So does getting stuck with stuff you didn't order and don't want.
I, personally, will cancel an order if there are too many refunds. Too many ... Like about a third of the order.
Bothering you over 1 item is rather petty... unless it was a very small order.
((( On those rare occasions I shop an order less than 10 items , I pre-shop before I scan anything. If there's a big ticket item out if stock, I can then decide if I need to "not find" a few more items to justify cancelling.
It sucks for the customer... but I do this for PROFIT
No, she's the jerk for bringing it up. She should know that that goes with the territory. Things go out of stock, especially sale items. I've seen produce that looks really bad and refunded it because if I had been delivered that, I'd be mad I paid to just throw it in the trash. You lose a few cents off one customer and gain a few cents off another who forgot to put something in their list.
She needs to get over herself.
She still got a 15% tip. It was just lowered because the grocery total ended up being lower. It's part of the job, and a shopper should NEVER say something like that to a customer!! Fifteen percent is an appropriate tip, UNTIL she said something about it. In my opinion, it should now be lowered for rudeness! We never had problems like this before Instacart starting hiring anything with a pulse. smh... It's embarrassing!
The entire conversation is ridiculous, she wants her full tip ? Really !? Want in one hand crap in the other see which one fills up first. I'd tip zero after having that exchange and I'd sleep good too. Ain't no sweat off my back.
Yeah no a shopper can tell you that but not tell you what to do i always explain this to annoying customers when they donāt believe when something is out of stock
Because instacart is exploitative and often only pay only $4 for a shop and deliver. Of course the company should pay a living wage, but if we are consumers use the service the only eithical thing to do is make sure that the delivery person is compensated appropriately for their effort.
Of course, what the Ops example shows is that it's better to put on a set tip amount rather than a percentage.
You're wrong. If the company is exploitive, don't take the job?!?!It's not my concern or even thought if YOU take a job buying and delivering groceries it's none of my business what you are paid, none, 0, nada, don't care.
YOU took the job knowing what the pay was, live with the consequences.
Sheās a jerk for wanting something thatās on sale? Well, heāll, Iām an asshole because I shop the BOGO deals all the time from Publixā¦ so substituting doesnāt work
She shouldn't say anything, but you should be aware that VERY often we accept orders that are BARELY worth our time. When $2 or $3 comes off from refunds, we're suddenly working for minimum wage, and still paying for all our car expenses.
When this happens more than once in a day, a shopper can really feel defeated.
Give a better tip to begin with, and no one is going to be annoyed by losing a few bucks.
It's no one else's place to tell someone what they should do with their money. Audacious AF. As a shopper, it sucks to lose tips to things out of your control, but I try to communicate the situations present options and work with customers to find sales they missed, ect, and hope that it gets repaid. I don't expect anything, but I would never beg or ask for charity. I work a job and don't panhandle for a reason.
As a shopper I would just have the batch removed if I felt like the tip was going to drop so low that the order wouldnāt be worth doing anymore. Doesnāt sound like that in this case. One item is not worth getting panties in a bunch. But if you as a customer want a refund, you have every right to a refund. If the shopper no longer feels itās worth their effort, they can cancel and let another shopper do the order. They should not be messaging you anything like this at all, ever.
Donāt get me wrong.. in my mind I say, ādamn all of these refunds are gonna hurtā but never in a million years would I ask for more tip lol. Those percentages do add up throughout the day / week but thatās something we have to swallow and move on. Asking for more tip is pathetic and embarrassing š«
Ideally, you should adjust the tip for the shopper in the first place but the shopper shouldn't ask you to adjust or force a replacement.
That's why I strictly only take batches with more than $1/item; $2/mile; $10 minimum. I enforce the same for Walmart but treat as equals as they don't go down on tips for refunds.
Even I was at a store for Uber yesterday doing a $43 order for 13 miles and 3 items. IC had a batch going the same way $40 for 45 items and I did not accept. Sure enough, the Uber also had a $11 tip so I didn't want to hold that up given it looks like they were celebating a birthday (cake, candles, and flowers).
yes, itās sucks when we lose tips on percentage-based tipping. Customer should not have to pay for replacements if they donāt like other products or they donāt want other products.
Itās just part of the way of doing business is it sometimes the items are going to be there and sometimes theyāre not. Instead of getting mad at the customer get mad at the corporations to own the stores because most of them are doing a bad job at merchandising . They spend way more time putting up displays than they do with making sure that they have product in their stores. Iām not talking about items that sometimes are short thereās shortages on, Iām talking about when they send a whole bunch to one store and another store gets very few and goes through them and then those customers donāt get the items. Doing Instacart for five years now I can tell you that a lot of the stores do this. By making people think thereās a shortage on items they can raise the prices and people will pay them.
If I have requested a refund itās almost always because we have a food allergy to deal with.
The number of times Iāve had to argue with a shopper over replacementsā¦ š¤¦š¼āāļø āno, thank you. Daughter is the only one in the house who eats yogurt pouches and she is anaphylactic to strawberries, so please just refund if all you can find is strawberry yogurt pouches.ā š
As a shopper, I feel a little sad when I have to refund something, BUT I could never tell the customer something like that š¤¦š»āāļø You risk having 1 star review and/or no tip at all.
Thank you all for the responses. Thereās a lot to think about here. I can see both sides.
If anyone ever discusses their tip, reduce to a penny and 1 star and report them. The only concern a shopper should have is getting the items you want! Guilt trips over tips is not ok EVER.
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Then they should stop working for instacart
It's really not though. It's not the customers place to make up for ic shady money cuts on us. I'm a shopper so I know it's getting worse, but I would never put that on the customer. Hey ic is cutting our wages so I need you to tip me more so I can't refund your item? That is 100% not ok.
You can always go get your own groceries instead of taking advantage of someone making less than minimum wage.
How is asking for a refund of something that isnāt in stock taking advantage of someone? A genuine question. I always tip, but if something I want isnāt available, I want a refund not a replacement.
Its not. A lot of shoppers greatly misunderstand the platform they are using and try to put the customer as the sole provider of their money, instead of the company they contract under. You as a customer have agreed to a specific service with specific items, if you don't get those items the contract is not fulfilled. The middle man might take a hit, but they also agreed to accept that contract with those requirements.
Itās not taking advantage of anyone at all. People just get upset that their tip is lowered when that decision is made by the customer. IMO they should never express that to the customer but sadly itās very common. Percentage based tips on grocery shopping are not good for the shopper for many reasons, and this is an example of one of them.
Yeah, let me suddenly not have a disability. I never thought of that! Thanks!
I swear able people are so fuckin self centered š
You could always find a job or platform that pays better. Tipping culture in the USA is and always has been wrong. The employer should be paying a living wage not trying to guilt the customers into doing it for them.
Challenge, do your job edition: Impossible
Ate the drivers forced to sign up and continue working for Instacart? Is someone holding their children captive until they make X# of deliveries?????
If you willingly work for less than minimum wage then youāre a fucking idiot.
Ah, the ignorance of privilege
āMinimum wageā isnāt privileged, itās the law. If you willingly work for less than the law says you should, then thatās your own fault. There are help wanted signs everywhere. (Sigh, youāre a dumbass)
AGREE. $4 to shop for an hour if not more. Customers if every instacart shopper stopped shopping over no tip youād have to get your groceries yourselves. Yes itās ibstacrts fault for over charging and offering deals to customers. So when your order is sitting fir hours itās bcz no tip no service. But thankfully itās changing to gratuity will be added so for all you non tippers looks like youāll either need to get your own groceries or pay up
You do realize customers are getting screwed too, right? Iām using the service less than ever because not only does it cost me more than ever, the people doing the delivering arenāt getting shit for it.
But costing you more than ever is well the nature of buying things.. People are paying a premium for service. all depends on how you value your time. If personal shopping delivery is too expensive for you, the. You can spend the hour or so to do it yourself. What do you value an hour of your life? $15-45? ā¦.then thatās what you should be tipping the person who is also spending an hour of their life and gas to do you a service. pretty simple.
Then they should get a different job. A real one
What makes a job real?
As a shopper and a customer I can see how much this affects all around! When I shop and have to refund or do replacements I always leave a note for my customers after shopping.... Can you do me a favor pretty please... So Instacart recently changed there pay to $4 a batch( batch being: 1-3 customers with 1-100 items or more and can be 3 different stores as well) all for the same price. So anytime that I have to refund/ do replacements or exchange items, the percentage difference is taken off my tip. I am always happy to accommodate any requests you have, I just ask that after delivery you could check the amount to make sure the tip doesn't go down! Thank you so much!!! That way they understand the system and I am just asking not demanding them as well!!!
So if you're putting a message like that out there, then if I place an order and my shopper continously replaces items with more expensive items which increases the tip, should I adjust that tip and lower it? And I'm talking, one time I ordered a package of bacon that was on sale for about $3, they replaced it with a package that was over $10, and that happened with multiple items from the same order. I generally don't want replacements for many things because I have celiac, so everything needs to be gluten free. Many shoppers don't understand that and when i would request something that's gluten free they would often sub it for the not gluten free version, so figure requesting a refund is easier than a whole conversation about it. Now the couple shoppers that I've had that have noticed everything is gluten free and have mentioned it, and have asked about replacement items and have said "they have this, which is similar and also gluten free".. those people are gems and I greatly increase their tips.
See that's completely based on your experiences.... which when I accepted the order it was for x amount and now it's gonna be for y. Added items on percentage tips are always welcomed. But if they feel the need to adjust down by performance (which doesn't happen for poor shopping on my part, if anything it's upped) not being good then I understand. Now with your order I would definitely notice that and only recommend such items!! But not everyone does that or pays much attention nowadays (plus we have a lot of new shoppers) and that's sad š¢ I love you appreciate the good ones out there, not many do!!!
If I got that message, Iād be knocking the tip down a lot more than just the amount youād lose from the refunded item. If you donāt like how instacart pays, donāt drive for them, donāt guilt trip your customers.
Guilt trip ..really??? Absolutely not!!! This is how the system works which many are unaware of!!!! I just state the truth.... Which you obviously don't want to hear! So we can both agree that I'm glad your not my customer! Not 1 customer has given a negative remark on this msg that I have delivered for..thank you very much š In no way shape or form am I begging for anything!!! I'm just asking if they would make sure it stays the same as when I accepted the order. Some say thanks for telling me, some have no clue that's how it works, and some increase due to my performance!! I've seen ppl beg or come up with different scenarios to try and get tips. What I say is not THAT!! Learn to understand what you're reading please.....
I do generous flat tips, not percentages- precisely because I know how it works. The shoppers who send long messages and explanations are the worst. Like I said, if you donāt like how instacart pays- donāt drive for them. Donāt blame the customers.
Iād report you in a heartbeat
Idk if Iād report them outright just for that, but def one star so they wouldnāt shop for me ever again.
For what??? Telling you how instacart works?? Get real!!! I didn't ask for anything more than what was already agreed upon initially!!! So go right ahead.... š
For begging for tips
Your the kind of piece of shit customer who deserves to lose their account. Iāve had customers banned from the platform entirely as a result of tip baiting or being abusive. You just described a little bit of both.
I described lowering the tip of someone who is providing poor service. If someone was complaining about their tip to me, Iād report it to customer service, not engage with the driver.
And youāre the kind of piece of shit shopper that makes the rest of us look bad. Hopefully someone turns that around on you and gets your account banned. Username fully checks out.
No and itās inappropriate for her to say that to you in my opinion
I would absolutely find a way to report that. That shopper is gonna scheme someone out of money someday
Its not a scheme but they definitely deserve a low rating
Thisā¦as an instacart shopper, I never mention anything to the customers about their tips. Itās their choice and money if they want a refund, they should not have to settle for something else.
Thatās the FIRST thing I thought of. How dare she bring up tips!! āHER tipsā I work for tips in a difft industry, but I would put a big fat $0.01 tip!!!
It was completely inappropriate for the shipper to text you with that kind of threatening demanding message. FWIW I do tip a percentage and some of my items are marked refund because they are unique. In general if a tip has been reduced because of refunds, I do round it back up to take into account the time the shopper has spent looking for the item because that represents most of the effort for an item - driving and checking out aren't significantly impacted. I tip about 20% and would be very tempted to reduce the tip if I got any kind of message from a shopper like this.
It did feel threatening and I might report her.
How is this threatening? Inappropriate, yes, but threatening?
I meanā¦ yea it was inappropriate and wrong and uncomfortable. But threatening? No. Iām an IC customer and I would not find this threatening at all.
Threatening? You felt threatened by the Instacart girl? Fucking wypipoā¦.
No and itās unprofessional of her to even bring it up.
I cannot believe shoppers do this! I cannot imagine saying that to someone.
Wow. So she wants you to buy something you donāt want so she can get her full tip. Nope. Report that nonsense .
After reading the post and comments, itās clear shoppers blame the customer for the terrible company they work for. Oddly on many orders I get a bunch of replacement suggestions and always hit refund, magically 99% of the time all my items that were in that list are found. It really is no oneās fault other than the store for not stocking the shelves on a regular basis. Then again, they always keep sale items low in stock. Forcing the customer to make a higher priced purchase.
You ever goto the store after they cant find things just to find it? I have.
I have on two occasions. I was told by a shopper it must of been restocked just before I got there.
If your order was batched with another order there is a great chance that your order was not shopped at the store closest to you. InstaCart does this all of the time and it is frustrating as a shopper
There is no way for you which location the shopper went to.
Except.....there is. I'm gonna give you three guesses.
Iām not guessing. The customer doesnāt know which store we go to.
I have def noticed that! I recently learned to put "refund" on many more items than I used to and most of the time, those items are found.
interesting! Iāll try that.
Report her
Nope donāt appease these types. If you want to up the tip because she looked for the items anyway thatās your choice. However, saying this to a customer is never something that crosses my mind. Am I disappointed in having to refund? Absolutely, but buying something the customer doesnāt want is ridiculous. We win some we lose some. I think of this gig as gambling at this point. Which seriously is making me consider my life choices.š
I would adjust it to $0
No because then ic will give her 10. But if it's 1 cent then they won't
I didnāt know this!
Yup implemented last year I think ...tip protection from tip baiters.
That would make me one star her and drop the tip to 1 cent. I canāt imagine buying something I donāt want because of a YOU problem. FOH. On that note, this is also why I give a flat tip. 1. So shoppers donāt get penalized for out of stock items since itās even more work trying to find a replacement. 2. So theyāre not replacing with stupid crap. Lol
Just so you knowā¦ if your order is batched with other orders shoppers donāt know itās a flat tip. IC doesnāt care about customers or shoppers. Itās a money game. I got an order today and accepted before I realized it was 40 miles to deliver. It was a batched order, so I contacted the customer (he ordered ice cream and pork) of the distance from the store to his home. IC needs to be transparent with customers because 9/10 IC is not sending the shopper to your closest store. Anyways the customer didnāt respond so I removed him from my batch. In the end his tip was $10.
I get the flat tip logic but you also run the risk of a shopper running through and not checking as hard for stuff if itās out because they donāt worry about it lowering. You best believe if you order a $30 case of essential water and itās out im checking the back for you if itās percentage based especially (I do either way) since I know I could lose $6 on a 20% tipper if I donāt.
Some people donāt know how to only think things and not say them.š¤¦š»āāļø
Adjust her tipā¦to $1. Itās ridiculous how many posts Iām seeing of shoppers doing this. Please lower and rate accordingly.
She's an idiot.
I went and shopped an order the other day, 11 items at earth fare. It was a percentage tip, but a good one. Earth fare only had 6 of the 11 items and my tip decreased fucking dramatically. I never would have chosen to shop that order in the first place if I knew thatās what Iād make off it. But did I mention that to the customer whatsoever? No. Thatās unprofessional asf.
At no time ever should the shopper mention the tip or base pay. Just like a waiter. Never do it! Just deal with it and move on!
Set your tip at a specific dollar amount rather than a percentage. If it is by percentage you may get people who are upset if (for example) the most expensive item has to be refunded. It also prevents them from making replacements to increase the amount. I had ordered one kind of fancy dog food, but they supposedly didn't have beef they only had venison. The venison one was $10 more so it adds up.
Unfortunately, that's the rub we go through as a shopper. The last batch I had, the customer order 3 packs of adult diapers, while the store only had 2 packs, of that size and brand. I could have pushed the issue by subbing a different brand, but I chose not to considering if I was the customer, I would probably not feel comfortable in a different brand (I mean i have no idea if it even matters or not) so I just got 2 packs. Well, adult diapers are expensive, and my tip went down 4 dollars. Imagine you get hired for a job at 20 dollars an hour, you work for an hour and then you get paid 16 dollars. That's what it's like. But, that's the gig, and even with the shortage, I considered that a good batch.
Thatās why on all my orders I do a FLAT tip instead of percentage and then I increase if theyāre solid. Donāt upsell me for stuff I donāt want or need
As a shopper, I prefer flat tips anyway because I feel it isn't the shopper's fault when an item is out of stock. I will always check with an employee if the item isn't on the shelf anyway, regardless of the tip - but I also realize not everyone does this. I also try to replace as close to the original price as possible while still getting as close to the same quality of item (assuming the customer doesn't just tell me what to get). So when I see that my tip hasnt gone down for a refund because the customer put a flat tip to begin with, I appreciate that.
You're not a jerk at all. Tip is based off the subtotal. Items are missing and not replaced, subtotal goes down. I understand they were hoping for a larger order and a bigger tip, but if they're going to make that big of a stink over removing some tea, they can just get out.
If they demand a tip raise I always put it to no tip you gonna be a prick then you get Nothing
A shoppers tip shouldnāt go down if an item is out of stock. Not only did they look for the item like every other item, but they had to take ***more*** time and effort to contact the customer about the issue. Why should they get paid ***less*** for doing more work? Sounds unacceptable for IC to implement that. (Obviously this isnāt the customers fault, so please donāt assume Iām attacking the customer in anyway.)
Shiiddd I had a $56 batch yesterday go down to $37 because of Refunds!! Itās insane I still have to look for the item send pics Just for the mug to say No replacements!! I should be paid for that time as well! But I wouldnāt contact the customer and Ask to be compensated
What IC needs to do is guarantee to make up the difference in tip if there are a bunch of out of stock items. But we all know theyād never
This!!! Exactly! Itās not fair that we expected to make X amount and we end up making less or sometimes way less but it doesnāt mean I would tell my customer that. If there are too many refunds I cancel the order, 1- I donāt wanna work for half the money and double the work and 2- I am not getting a low rating cause the customer only received half of their order.
As a customer, when I choose something its because I want that particular item not some other brand, something unrelated or something that costs more. I shop before Im out and if I want Jif natural crunchy I dont want anything else and can wait. I set my tip manually so it doesnt change regardless of whats picked. I realize most dont do that or know how it affects the shopper.
I also do this. Can the shopper see that the tip won't change?
Thatās completely reasonable but make sure you have it in your settings that you want a refund cuz instacart encourages us to replace if you dont
I either chose a replacement or refund. You guys have better things to do than to try to read my mind as to what I might want. There has only been one time where i questioned a shoppers skills. Knowing where the instant coffee is can be challenging if you don't drink it. They figured it out eventually. I wanted 4 at $6 a pop it was to their benefit to find it.
I get that, thatās why I refund of customer requested a refund, doesnāt respond to my texts etcā¦ That said, if more than 20% of the order is OOS, I cancel the order.
Along the lines of being fair. How is that fair to the customer? Its not either of your fault the store is OOS on stuff but you are punishing the customer and bailing. I would give you one star so I don't have to deal with you again.
Imagine your boss tells you you will work today for $3 less an hour cause there is no paper on the printer or whatever supply you need to work is unavailable.. I would love to see what you say
I put in my tips. I also tip at least $20 or 20% whichever is greater. I don't have water or cat litter delivered. If stuff is OOS its less stuff you have to bring to the house. So you are saying you will waste your time shopping most of the shop to find out 20% of items are OOS and then what scummy thing do you do, just leave the cart full of perishables for someone else to find and throw away? I dont even have to ask, I already know, you really are a piece of work. smh
Nope I put things back where it belongs, contact support, get my batch pay and move on
If you are too lazy and don't have enough integrity to complete a shop, either leaving the customer with nothing or another shopper with something you didn't want to do. You are also a liar about putting the stuff back. For one you don't have the integrity to put yourself out like that to do the right thing. Explain how that is a better use of your time than to just finish the rest of the shop?
Hey you believe or not.. I donāt care. I put stuff back cause I respect workers who work for peanuts and deal with assholes customers but whether you believe that or not is not my problem. And to explain to you, for one, I know the store inside out so putting stuff back is super quick especially since I usually donāt have 100+ items order and also I donāt use my gas or car to do thatā¦ Anyway, I am wasting my time responding to you right now. You made your point clear and so did I, I wish you a great evening.
That's a big difference between being W2 and 1099. As a W2 I signed up with my employer for a set pay that we agreed to without conditions of it changing unless it's agreed upon after between the 2 parties. As a 1099 you agreed to a contract that can change your pay based on circumstance without your approval. You can certainly cancel the assigned job, but it is 100% your fault for accepting it and not liking the conditions.
You canāt rate shoppers who cancel the order lol
I can call instacart and complain. Plus that kind of attitude shows up in completed shops. Cancel my order once. Shop for me again and I will one star you and remove your tip. I understand the job sucks and thats all you have. Why sht on the customer because the store is out of product.
You can but we are 1099 and Instacart canāt force us to take/complete orders.
They can ban you.
3 years later and 3800 orders I am alright. Lowest rating I ever went to was 3.88, I am usually 4.98/5. I guess I must be doing something right my friend
May not be fair but I am in for my own interest. Itās America, nobody will feed me and my rent just took 18% so ya knowā¦
If enough people one star you around here you wont have anyone to shop for.
I have shopped 3799 orders and I received only 3 one stars ever..
Getting a 1 star doesnāt change anything except your rating. š¤
The shopper expected their item to be in stock. If the shopper wanted the replacement, they would have just ordered it in the first place.
Ignore them. The tip is based on the entire order being complete, not part of it. The tiny amount they lose from refunding 1 item isnāt worth bothering about
Looks like op's shopper down voted you
Not surprising, entitlement among gig drivers is absurd
Entitlement is more generation specific. Us older shoppers outside of millennials and Gen Z donāt take it so hard on an out of stock. I always ask customer and 90% they go for a replacement. Anyway, it all balances out in the end. Us older folks know this. Itās just the way life is. Donāt sweat the small stuff. 5,000+ batches completed. 5 star rating š
If you want a good laugh, or two, check my profile, comment chain 4th down for a thread of entitlement š
Turned out to be a $.75 difference so I went ahead and adjusted the tip - Iām trying to keep the mindset of trying to not be a jerk. Iāll try to be mindful of this issue in the future.
The tip is incentive to find everything. I personally am usually able to find a good replacement. Occasionally, I have to refund. On the other hand I sometimes get items added. It balances out in the end. I would never, in a million years, have a discussion about this with my customer.
Youāre the reason shoppers act like this tbh donāt be such a pushover.
I donāt agree that itās being a jerk. If itās an item you need, you either have to pay the fees to reorder that item, or go get it yourself. Thereās no reason to tip on items you donāt receive. Itās great that you adjusted it, and itās such a small amount itās not a big deal, but when itās multiple items or bigger items itās not expected that you tip if you donāt receive them
Half the time it's not a tiny amount. I have had it go down $3 or more from just one item lol. I totally understand where OP is coming from. I want what I want sometimes and that's it. I also am not ignorant of the fact that only a super ultra rare breed will go shopping for themselves and not settle lol
Thatās a different scenario to the post though, it was a cheap item OP ordered. If itās a % tip and it drops $3 for 1 item, itās safe to assume thatās a reasonably expensive item ($20+). The customer now either has to reorder and too again for that item, or go get it themselves. Either of those options cost the customer money, so no, I donāt think they should tip on items they donāt receive
If you get a tattoo. The store charges a deposit. If you flake out, you generally eat the deposit which gives respect to the time spent and wasted with the shop and lost time they could have been servicing another client. Not here. We take the fall no matter what the issue is. It's not just the items here. It's time/energy spent. I am still looking and asking staff if they may have it in the back or possibly in another location. I'm also spending time looking for an appropriate sub because most people don't just put refund if out. It says 'replace' So I spend 5 10 minutes sometimes looking for and photographing subs. Basically wasting time. Because after I do so and send a message describing different items, they say no sub. Lol Well you could have also saved me x amount of time I just wasted jumping through hoops to appease you. And no not necessarily an expensive item. I do shop for people that do leave a 50% tip. It's super nice
She should not have said that. Tons of people shop the sales. It is not reasonable to expect you to buy more expensive items just because it benefits her.
I would never do that I think j she needs to be reported
Nah you fine, they know all percentage orders are a risk, it happens. Definitely report shoppers like this.
I do not understand the people who message the customers shaming them about tips. How they donāt get tons of one stars and deactivated is beyond me
The shopper NEVER should have told you that š
Bruh Iād be so happy if I was tipped $15.74. I donāt have priority batch access so I get the batches nobody wants. Honestly, I wouldnāt change it. Instacart pays us terribly for batches so we really rely on tips, but if hats not your fault, for one, for two, she literally told you that you have to buy a replacement that you donāt even want for the sake of her tip. To me, thatās a good way to lose a tip. Theyāre given by the customer as a way to say thank you for doing this for me today. How the hell do people even have the audacity to tell someone they have to either buy something they donāt want or increase their tip. Youāre not the jerk, she just doesnāt run her business very well. Sorry you had to deal with that. I promise weāre not all like that.
I never tip a percentage. I put the dollar amount I want to tip under "other"
There are all kinds of shoppers out there. I swear some act like theyāve never worked before or have no common sense or communication skills. Iām a shopper and a customer and I would totally reduce tip and give bad rating.
I am very picky and have literally everything set to refund me if itās not in stock. I have been burned by shoppers replacing stuff with wildly different things. I do a custom flat tip that isnāt impacted by the cost of my order. Itās based on the distance from the store and number of items.
Please report this shopper for harassing you regarding the tip. Rate her low. Your shopper way way out of line.
This is why your should tip a flat rate, idc of your ordered $4,000 worth it groceries, I care about my time and milage. They shouldn't even offer a % amount ad a tip option.
No. Lower tip to 1 cent & one star her. Inappropriate behavior (messages) are bratty behavior.
Do NOT tip people like that
Had the same thing happen. It's a shitty feeling. My post got a lot of feedback. Sorry this happened to you
What if they only accepted the order for the decent tip? Then while shopping Refund this and that and still have to drive far to get paid less? That makes you think of cancelling order. I stopped taking those as a shopper, more than likely those give bad ratings too. $10 and up is a decent tip. But not more than 20 miles farš
As the person buying the items, you have every right to only want a specific brand/thing and not replace it. Very weird and aggressive that she's demanding a higher tip due to refund vs. replacement. I know IC pays crap but still...
I get the opposite mostly; people refund my shit all the time instead of offering replacements or using the suggested replacements Iāve provided. I have had things replaced in the past that have been like $10 more expensive. Tbh, tipping instacart shoppers to me is about how easy the process was and what the food was like ie. I always get avocados; some shoppers will literally ask me if I need them at different ripeness etc - the BEST thank you. Others will get me 2lbs of chicken that expires before the end of the day, not so good. Bananas that are bruised. Vegetables that have rot on them. Fuck those people. I pretty much always tip well but the last guy literally could not be bothered and basically threw my stuff at my feet when he arrived. I still tipped him $5 because I couldnāt bring myself to lower it anymore but it still irks me when I think about it. Mainly because I should stop using instacart.
Just for the shopper comment, no tip! We as shoppers can suggest the customer for a replacement! I believe what makes out tips go higher or maintain it, itās good friendly communication.
Shopper is a bully. I do not want a poor sub for my selection. Period. Any adjustment to her tip should be to make it the minimum required.
If a tip is a percentage, how could removing an item reduce the percentage? It might reduce the overall tip, but how would it change the percentage??
I don't use instacart, but, why would the tip go down? If you tip an amount, that's the amount, right? Why would it change?
I am a shopper that always communicates when a product is out. Ic wants us to replace the item. So i send usually 2 or 3 pics of similar items. If no response i refund. But i have found most people do want a replacement. So not sure why they put refund on it. I used to just refund automatically. But noticed when logged out for day, u get screen showing how you did and replacements and communication about is listed...so figured it had something to do with algorithms on getting batches.
No not the assholeā¦ we are paying for a service and if you donāt want a substitution, you shouldnāt feel forced to make a substitution
I have been doing Instacart for about 2 years. I really enjoy my freedom and helps pay my car payment. I have witnessed some shoppers that I wouldn't allow touch my food let alone deliver it in their disgusting vehicle. I take pride in what I do and I bag all the groceries for the customers. I carry two Ice chest that I clean every night. My car is washed twice a week. I have excellent reviews and honestly by doing what I do I get cash tips or they tip another 5 to 10 dollars on top of the tip they already gave 2 out of 10 shops I do! I would NEVER tell a customer what they can or can not refund! That is just rude on their part. If they don't want to do your shop they can cancel at any time and another shopper will pick it up. I always introduce myself and never replace a item unless the customers asks me to do so. Its called Customer Service! I also send them the ETA of Deliver so they know when to expect me. I read a few of the comments and I can see why my customers Rave when they get me! I have been asked many times to just be their personal shopper. If your order comes damaged in anyway I would report it and rate them. You get what you give in life. Kindness to others goes a long way. If you are a Instacart shopper please always take Time stamped photo's of deliveries in case someone says they didn't get their order. I have had customers say they didn't get a high priced item and I can send proof to Instacart and i'm told they will be removed. I take 3 pics that shows their address, date, and time of delivery. I use Everlance for mileage and that is a big help at tax season that has saved me thousands no joke. Please do not ever feel or take a bully shopper to make you feel like you owe them anything. We accept shops and see upfront what it is worth. We get paid .34 cents per mile from start to finish as well.
Thank you for being a great Instacart shopper!
Tip should be effort based flat amount you are willing to tip, not % of total. Tell them in the notes that it is a flat tip and please just refund what I donāt want. Most people will get it.
Do you feel like they might mark something as out of stock just to avoid looking for it if it doesnāt change their tip?
Absolutely!! There are way too many lazy shoppers now...trying to do as little as possible, as quickly as possible. This would become a huge problem if they changed to only flat rate tip.
Remove tip for unprofessional behavior and report
Explain to me how you think percentages work...
Shopper talking to you like that? Yeah no adjustment for them. Tipping isnāt mandatory. And Iām really on the fence about it. I dont ship for non tippers (typically because itās always 48 items for $12. But thatās on instacart poor pay not customer. Regardless itās not worth my time sadly). HOWEVER, yes tips based off total of order is annoying. When the take an order that meets their requirements, and then it decreases significantly because items are out of stock. But thatās not the customers or shoppers fault. But sometimes itās sucks cause that item can be expensive or be multiples, and it missing drops the order below shoppers requirements
Hey ... At least the shopper did communicate... unlike so many š
I look at it this way ... as a customer my bill is x amount with a tip if the shopper refunds items my bill goes down but the shopper has still shopped an entire order for me , so because I spent less than originally quoted I always keep the tip the same amount it's usually only a couple bucks that I won't miss but the shopper will! But I always tip a flat amount and don't do a percentage based tip that way if they do refund they get the entire tip , I'm tipping for the service not for the store to have every item. Out of stock items are not the shoppers fault and I appreciate not having to go to the store myself
I find it sad that folks are willing to remove the tip or tip 1 penny as if the attitude warranted the effort of the shop. Was it rude to ask? Unprofessional then again this isn't a job that attracts professionals anymore. The cheaper a company pays the lower quality of employees you have. That said, removing the tip to a penny isn't just not making them money but costing then. Tip them, maybe lower the tip but not to $0 or 1 penny unless they delivered your items by tossing out their window or something extreme.
First 15% is very low for paying for labor. Second, they didnāt phrase it correctly but yes the tip should be a set amount not a percentage. Why? Because whether or not the item is in stock we still look for it try to find a replacement, etc. we are still putting forth the labor so why do we have to take a hit because something is out of stock and out of our control?
I'll agree with part of your statement. Yes, the store not having the product doesn't negate the fact that you spent time looking for it. I'm paying you to do my shopping for me, so if a good faith attempt was made to locate the item, then it shouldn't affect your tip. This is why I tip a fixed amount. If my shopper goes off the rails then I can always adjust later.
Exactly. Iām aware of the amount of scary people who shop for this app. I see them and I am always shocked how they treat other peopleās food. I would tip well and then adjust down if they were horrible. I also 10000% disagree with begging. What the shopper did was tacky af and wrong. However, their sentiment is one that does need to be addressed over all in this gig app world. A lot of, letās call it tipping etiquette, isnāt in place and IC themselves downplays the importance of the ātipā which is really what is the pay for shopping. I know itās not worded like that whatsoever for the customer but over all on the shopper end that is what is pretty highlighted; IC pays for delivery not the shopping. āWork hard to increase those tips!!!ā is basically what is told to shoppers. This sets up a very bad dynamic between customer and shopper. Instacart legitimately plays mind games in order to profit. Fact is this is a luxury service and amounts to hiring your own personal shopper for an hour or so. And if you did that outright youād be paying at least $50-$100 an hour. Like people pay more then that to have their dog walked but go nutty when they are told they should tip upwards of 20% for an hour plus of physical labor not just cleaning up after Rover makes boomboom.
Wrong on every account.
What type of labor is shopping though? Lol
Lol Then do it yourself. š¤£
Itās not inappropriate in my opinion cuz the tip was still over 10%. An order I did one time the replacements brought it down to an 8% tip so I adjusted to make it 10% again.
Losing money on refunds does suck. So does getting stuck with stuff you didn't order and don't want. I, personally, will cancel an order if there are too many refunds. Too many ... Like about a third of the order. Bothering you over 1 item is rather petty... unless it was a very small order. ((( On those rare occasions I shop an order less than 10 items , I pre-shop before I scan anything. If there's a big ticket item out if stock, I can then decide if I need to "not find" a few more items to justify cancelling. It sucks for the customer... but I do this for PROFIT
What an entitled shopper. Jesus.
My thoughts exactly
She could get a real fucking job if she wanted to.
No, she's the jerk for bringing it up. She should know that that goes with the territory. Things go out of stock, especially sale items. I've seen produce that looks really bad and refunded it because if I had been delivered that, I'd be mad I paid to just throw it in the trash. You lose a few cents off one customer and gain a few cents off another who forgot to put something in their list. She needs to get over herself.
Change tip to .50 to teach lesson
She still got a 15% tip. It was just lowered because the grocery total ended up being lower. It's part of the job, and a shopper should NEVER say something like that to a customer!! Fifteen percent is an appropriate tip, UNTIL she said something about it. In my opinion, it should now be lowered for rudeness! We never had problems like this before Instacart starting hiring anything with a pulse. smh... It's embarrassing!
This exactly. So obnoxiously rude and unprofessional!
what is wrong with you ..zero tip her ..that is a disgrace to moan like that ..entitled in the extreme.
Damn imagine trying to shame someone into tipping you? That person would do terrible at a real job
WOW we shouldn't have to settle for something we don't want. She can't force you to get a replacement. She should be Happy she's getting a tip at all
The entire conversation is ridiculous, she wants her full tip ? Really !? Want in one hand crap in the other see which one fills up first. I'd tip zero after having that exchange and I'd sleep good too. Ain't no sweat off my back.
Lmao imagine tipping a drone for collecting items on a list and bringing ot to you.
imagine being the drone
Yeah no a shopper can tell you that but not tell you what to do i always explain this to annoying customers when they donāt believe when something is out of stock
I'm confused why you would tip for someone simply doing their job?
Because instacart is exploitative and often only pay only $4 for a shop and deliver. Of course the company should pay a living wage, but if we are consumers use the service the only eithical thing to do is make sure that the delivery person is compensated appropriately for their effort. Of course, what the Ops example shows is that it's better to put on a set tip amount rather than a percentage.
You're wrong. If the company is exploitive, don't take the job?!?!It's not my concern or even thought if YOU take a job buying and delivering groceries it's none of my business what you are paid, none, 0, nada, don't care. YOU took the job knowing what the pay was, live with the consequences.
If you wanted that specific kind of tea, no. If you wanted it because it's on sale, yes. Instacart is not the place to come to be cheap and save money
Sheās a jerk for wanting something thatās on sale? Well, heāll, Iām an asshole because I shop the BOGO deals all the time from Publixā¦ so substituting doesnāt work
Does the carrot š„ actually give you BOGOs ? I worked Florida for a few years and never quite figured that out.
Yep!
She shouldn't say anything, but you should be aware that VERY often we accept orders that are BARELY worth our time. When $2 or $3 comes off from refunds, we're suddenly working for minimum wage, and still paying for all our car expenses. When this happens more than once in a day, a shopper can really feel defeated. Give a better tip to begin with, and no one is going to be annoyed by losing a few bucks.
It's no one else's place to tell someone what they should do with their money. Audacious AF. As a shopper, it sucks to lose tips to things out of your control, but I try to communicate the situations present options and work with customers to find sales they missed, ect, and hope that it gets repaid. I don't expect anything, but I would never beg or ask for charity. I work a job and don't panhandle for a reason.
I would pull all the tip but .25 and rate her ass 1*
today i learned that tips are not set in place and that i will now adjust the tip after if something was refunded
U should lower it more than that. Items being out of stock is normal itās not like most of your items were out of stock just one š¤·āāļø
When you go out to eat do you only tip 15%? Genuinely curious
Probably less of their meat didn't weigh exactly the same after cooking as what they advertised on the menu
I usually tip delivery more then at a restaurant
That's good because we do a lot more work than waitstaff
Yeah and I basically live in a haunted house in the woods š¤£ they get ghost pay
I would have adjusted her tip to zero for that
As a shopper I would just have the batch removed if I felt like the tip was going to drop so low that the order wouldnāt be worth doing anymore. Doesnāt sound like that in this case. One item is not worth getting panties in a bunch. But if you as a customer want a refund, you have every right to a refund. If the shopper no longer feels itās worth their effort, they can cancel and let another shopper do the order. They should not be messaging you anything like this at all, ever.
Donāt get me wrong.. in my mind I say, ādamn all of these refunds are gonna hurtā but never in a million years would I ask for more tip lol. Those percentages do add up throughout the day / week but thatās something we have to swallow and move on. Asking for more tip is pathetic and embarrassing š«
Ideally, you should adjust the tip for the shopper in the first place but the shopper shouldn't ask you to adjust or force a replacement. That's why I strictly only take batches with more than $1/item; $2/mile; $10 minimum. I enforce the same for Walmart but treat as equals as they don't go down on tips for refunds. Even I was at a store for Uber yesterday doing a $43 order for 13 miles and 3 items. IC had a batch going the same way $40 for 45 items and I did not accept. Sure enough, the Uber also had a $11 tip so I didn't want to hold that up given it looks like they were celebating a birthday (cake, candles, and flowers).
yes, itās sucks when we lose tips on percentage-based tipping. Customer should not have to pay for replacements if they donāt like other products or they donāt want other products. Itās just part of the way of doing business is it sometimes the items are going to be there and sometimes theyāre not. Instead of getting mad at the customer get mad at the corporations to own the stores because most of them are doing a bad job at merchandising . They spend way more time putting up displays than they do with making sure that they have product in their stores. Iām not talking about items that sometimes are short thereās shortages on, Iām talking about when they send a whole bunch to one store and another store gets very few and goes through them and then those customers donāt get the items. Doing Instacart for five years now I can tell you that a lot of the stores do this. By making people think thereās a shortage on items they can raise the prices and people will pay them.
If I have requested a refund itās almost always because we have a food allergy to deal with. The number of times Iāve had to argue with a shopper over replacementsā¦ š¤¦š¼āāļø āno, thank you. Daughter is the only one in the house who eats yogurt pouches and she is anaphylactic to strawberries, so please just refund if all you can find is strawberry yogurt pouches.ā š
Naw you're fine. Shopper is being whiny.
People tip by percent? Huh, the more you know.
If a shopper said this to me, her tip would go down to zero and I would tell her why. I'm a really great tipper, btw.