• Instacart

Instacart

Is this your business?

Is this your business?

Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and manage your listing.

Claim Your Business
Is this your business?

Overview

Instacart has a rating of 1.17 stars from 2,457 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Instacart most frequently mention customer service, credit card, and grocery store problems. Instacart ranks 128th among Grocery Delivery sites.

  • Service
    583
  • Value
    547
  • Shipping
    394
  • Returns
    401
  • Quality
    489
Positive reviews (last 12 months): 0.9%
Positive
2
Neutral
1
Negative
227
448
See all photos

What reviewers want you to know

Positive highlights

No positive highlights yet

Critical highlights

  • Customer support number has HORRIBLE customer service.
  • Terrible rip off had to call my credit card to cancel.
How would you rate Instacart?
Top Positive Review

“Johns pantyhose and stockings”

Jo H.
12/4/21

I cant thank customer care at instacart enough. I was concerned about availability of my stockings and pantyhose and they pointed me in the right direction... Sineay was awesome!... I will be ordering with Instacart again and again!. I love my stockings and pantyhose!... John

Top Critical Review

“I'd leave 0 stars if possible”

kim l.
2/19/24

I've had to use Instacart for 2 years since my husband had a stroke. He can't shop anymore and I'm disabled. I pay for plus too. For a while when they screwed up,, they'd process refunds. Lately, after getting incorrect orders and rotten produce, they are telling me that I've lodged too many complaints and there's a cap on refunds which was never brought to my attention. I'm furious and disappointed especially since there are no other grocery delivery services..

Reviews (2,457)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

customer service (646) credit card (193) service fee (171) delivery fee (136) grocery store (109)
Thumbnail of user kiml1365
1 review
1 helpful vote
February 19th, 2024

I've had to use Instacart for 2 years since my husband had a stroke. He can't shop anymore and I'm disabled. I pay for plus too. For a while when they screwed up,, they'd process refunds. Lately, after getting incorrect orders and rotten produce, they are telling me that I've lodged too many complaints and there's a cap on refunds which was never brought to my attention. I'm furious and disappointed especially since there are no other grocery delivery services..

Service
Value
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user whiteheadangelo
1 review
0 helpful votes
January 8th, 2024

I had an order delivered to wrong address and they were just unwilling for the longest to simply make it right. Why should customer have to suffer waiting 2 weeks for a return. I needed those items for catering and I couldn't get them. Waiting another 3 hours for delivery or a two week refund wasn't an option. It was a horrible, long first experience. They make it very hard to trust the incompetence of the employees they hire. There is no accountability and it's not ok. That was my first and last order with them! Stay away!

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Thumbnail of user sanr8
1 review
144 helpful votes
April 24th, 2020

Terrible company and shoppers, I have very bad experience not just once but 4 times, today I got a small toilet paper roll delivered when I ordered for a large pk of paper towels for 28.99. How can anyone with brain make such poor choices unless their intent is to cheat, after spending 4 hours with various support people without refund I am better off campaigning to banish this unethical company from America

Thumbnail of user natas9
1 review
1 helpful vote
January 13th, 2024

The most horrible customer service. Don't even think about signing up for their membership. They send you wrong, rotten items. Many times items are missing, few times my groceries were not delivered at all. When I contacted customer service they refused to do anything. No refunds for missing or rotten items. How is it fair. They simply ignore your complaints. Waste of time and money.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user margaretm1828
1 review
26 helpful votes
December 1st, 2021
Verified purchase

I have ordered 15 times through instacart the last few by far than the worst poor communication skills rude shoppers total disregard for anything you say when they're asking you something and you reply it's like talking to a brick wall I'm done with instacart. I've had items not delivered I've had items purchased that I've never even added to my cart or received. I am disabled I asked them to leave it on the side porch most do but lately they don't do it even though I give them a tip.

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user pbjoneal5557
1 review
2 helpful votes
August 25th, 2023

Service from Instacart Non Disclosure on Service Fees. There is nowhere that if you ask for an item and/or replacement/refund that Shoppers must drive (In my case) to/from Vacaville instead of the Wallmart, 6 minutes away from me incurring an extra mileage fee (HIDDEN) and only visible as a reg. Service Fee and killing any saving I might had had by shopping carefully to save expenses. This seems evasive, as to extra fees, though it is called when I call, "We will get as many products as we can from the closest store available". Vacaville, Ca is 49 min. Away and however many miles from Antelope, Ca. C distance fees that only shows hidden within the receipt only in the form of a HIGHER service fee negating me saving any $$ by shopping close by sales, etc.

Signed Disabled, Soc. Sec. Recipient

Tip for consumers:
Buyer be aware of how final prices are evaluated and lookup how prices can change without you being told in a consistent manner, distance traveled, weight, are vaguely disclosed, not so the choice you have if refund items are not there, There will be fees to go to a further store even if in another CITY. Yes, they will make every effort to get what you asked for. but you will pay extra if is not at the location you are expecting, and there is NO WAY to request only 1 store.

Products used:
groceries, all delivered at regardless the final price.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user bellaf48
1 review
0 helpful votes
January 14th, 2024

Instacart ShopRite Delivery wrong address received refund against my will refused re delivery! Called customer service. Rep keep talking and he do not listen customer. Transferred to Q, when I asked for supervisor and disconnected, Rep agreed to re delivery, but changed his mind for no reason applied refund without my permission. Called customer service again re: issue. Spoke to rep. Wait on line, but supervisor was not available. I never received my items, received refund without permission instead of redelivery my order. It's a really bad experience!,

Thumbnail of user kentl194
1 review
1 helpful vote
January 23rd, 2024

I bought a water bottle for a Christmas gift last Fall, not realizing they automatically signed me up for the $99 annual membership. I called after receiving my credit card statement, but since it was after 30 days, they won't refund the membership fee for a service I have since cancelled and will never use again. If I hadn't received a special offer in the first place, I never would have used them. Since they refuse to offer even a pro-rated refund, I'm making it my mission to make them pay (in lost customers). I appreciate your consideration in boycotting their aggressive business tactics and unfriendly policies.

Tip for consumers:
Their 30-day cancellation policy only works when you've been notified you have a trial membership OR your credit card statement arrives within 30 days, which it did not.

Products used:
I purchased a $33 water bottle but paid an additional $99 for a membership I didn't want.

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user juliettem60
1 review
0 helpful votes
January 15th, 2024

1&1/2 had to hang up they just kept deliberately putting me on hold no resolution! Oh & because the customer was probably drunk & didn't let me in there docking my pay if I don't take the 3$ cheap 3 bottles of wine back to Aldi's over it worst company ever!

Thumbnail of user danid93
1 review
0 helpful votes
March 6th, 2024

Order was correct and delivered safely… But it's rude to mutter $#*! under your breath especially while you're walking off someone's porch. Glad I'm sound in mind and have things to lose. Otherwise I would have punched her in the back of the head.

Thumbnail of user evel94
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 15th, 2024

If you return anything, you wont get your full amount and will have to deal with all of the hidden fees

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user melissaa1748
1 review
0 helpful votes
January 16th, 2024

This was by far the worse transaction ever! I am displeased and giving a horrible review on every website I can. This trash a$$ company charged me twice, totaling $100 for nothing. No groceries were ver delivered and all they could offer was apologies, excuses, and a $5 credit. Once my money is refunding, I WILL NEVER use this service again. I placed an order early afternoon 1/15 and nothing was ever delivered. They kept extending the delivery time and as of today (the following day) it was pushed til noon 1/16. Unacceptable. Horrible. Tacky. Unprofessional.

Products used:
none

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user sharonb1556
1 review
14 helpful votes
May 1st, 2021

Second time this happened. First time I ordered I got only half the order. Had to wait a week for that refund. Today they delivered my order to a different apartment. Over $100 in groceries that a total stranger now has. Lucky them! Now I have to wait another week before I can get my money back. My back is injured so Im not able to shop for heavy or numerous items at this time and now I have to wait a week to get my money back before I can put food in my fridge.

Tip for consumers:
less stress to NOT use instacart

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user hollyw11
6 reviews
48 helpful votes
September 19th, 2021

Quite possibly the worst customer service I've ever dealt with. I had a fairly small problem that should have been an easy fix and the customer service was completely incompetent, rude and unhelpful. I ended up closing my account not even because of the initial problem but because of just how terribly I was treated and how horrible their service was. Also note that the will keep all your private personal information forever. Once they have it they will never fully delete you from their system.

Products used:
Delivery

Thumbnail of user sarae497
1 review
0 helpful votes
January 26th, 2024

Stated on the shopping list that items were charged. When delivered the shopper delivered my pet food and none of my groceries! How does that even happen! Now I'll have to pay the fees AGAIN to get my groceries! Talked to customer service and they were no help at all. They gave me a $5 credit for my inconvenience! There's ansolutly no accountability for these shoppers!

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user glenn.doucet
2 reviews
23 helpful votes
January 23rd, 2024

Great concept, brutal customer service. They "auto renew" the account which always leaves a bad taste. If you try to call them for help they will actually hang up on you, complete indifference. It is shocking to think of a business being run like this. I wouldn't sign up again and have deleted my accounts in the middle of my membership due to gross incompetence with the customer support. I wanted an email to confirm my account deletion and they couldn't make it happen. I don't trust this company.

Tip for consumers:
Don't sign up or if you do avoid calling customer service. They literally hang up on you. They have kids answering the phone who really don't care and will actually hang up mid sentence. I wanted an email confirming my account was deleted because of auto renewal, this was too much to ask. AVOID

Products used:
Tried to order groceries online. Never again with instacart. Customer service is offensive.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user scottm1037
1 review
19 helpful votes
April 10th, 2020

I have made a complaint with Costco Corporate office and disputed the charges made by "Instacart" with Bank of America. I made several attempts to resolve the issue with "Instacart" and have received no response. Your shopper/delivery associate added items to my order which were not authorize or receive. Your customer service number indicates "Phone Service Unavailable"... No accountability. Will post negative feedback with details on WEB

Thumbnail of user gofucky
1 review
25 helpful votes
September 22nd, 2021
Verified purchase

Placed my order at 3 pm to have my food delivered by 7. Nobody called, nobody picked my order up and it took three representatives to get my money back. Will never use them again! Then asked for a manager and the representative put me on hold for 5 mins only to come back on as herself like I am an idiot. Stupid people run it, so stupid people are employed there.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user suef144
2 reviews
0 helpful votes
April 1st, 2020

3/30/2020 I was charged $2.99 for sourdough bread. It did not arrive with the order. I can not find the pathway on their web site to report this.

Thumbnail of user lauriey34
1 review
6 helpful votes
September 30th, 2021

Always missing items and now go out to our car to find a lovely note from one of there drivers now I am on vacation and never in my life had so many things come up missing they don't fix it all they do.is report back to the drivers so they can leave notes lmao what a time period we live in today to rip off a single mother

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user nicholass608
1 review
20 helpful votes
October 7th, 2021
Verified purchase

I am NEVER using Instacart again, and I advise everyone else to avoid them. My girlfriend and I just arrived at an Air BNB, and we needed groceries. We waited FOUR freaking hours for our order, which was eighty dollars (even though they charged us one hundred dollars). Eventually, the order never came, and we had to cancel the order. At this time, everything closed, and we went to bed hungry. Thanks, Instacart. You screwed us over. Big time.

Tip for consumers:
Never use Instacart. Ever.

Products used:
None; they never came

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user thomasb2075
2 reviews
11 helpful votes
November 21st, 2023

They're thieves ISTACART STEALS money. Their drivers will take food items or even deliver to wrong address or substitute without any permission and customer service will tell u nothing they can do about it.

The female delivered my items somewhere else and the guy substitutes a 5 dollar pack of fish for 2 20 dollar cases and customer service told me o well nothin they can do.

Tip for consumers:
They’re thieves ISTACART STEALS money. Their drivers will take food items or even deliver to wrong address or substitute without any permission and customer service will tell u nothing they can do about it..

The female delivered my items somewhere else and the guy substitutes a 5 dollar pack of fish for 2 20 dollar cases and customer service told me o well nothin they can do.

Products used:
Did

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user samanthae145
1 review
3 helpful votes
July 3rd, 2020

If I could give zero stars, I would. Every single time I get my groceries delivered, there is a problem. EVERY SINGLE TIME! My ice cream is melted, the milk is warm, pizza is not frozen anymore. It is utterly ridiculous that a grocery story delivery company can't get it together. One time, they changed my scheduled pick up order a full 24 hours and claimed it was because I was buying alcohol, which was untrue. When I called them out on it, they told me it was my cold cuts instead. Avoid this company.

Thumbnail of user cacw1
1 review
3 helpful votes
August 8th, 2023

Grocery delivery. Not only were items completely missing but I had items I did not even order. The response I got from them was " oh well they must have been shopping for 2 different people at the same time".
Not with it at all. Never again. Even with the price increase you would expect you are paying a premium to get the correct order. Nope. Stuff was just thrown in a carriage and I doubt they even looked at my list. Just awful. They should be shut down. Also filing complaint with our Attorney General's office.

Products used:
Very little

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user shafiqr3
1 review
14 helpful votes
April 3rd, 2020

Delivery person seemed to have difficulty deciding which order is ours. Then left things that belonged to someone else. Spent several hours trying to rectify the problem. Email went unanswered. 2 hour Hold on telephone before being disconnected, and so on. Their call back got disconnected before I could talk to anyone. Total mess.

Sitejabber for Business

Gain trust and grow your business with customer reviews.

About the business

Instacart delivers groceries from local stores in two hours. Choose from stores like Whole Foods Market, Target, Costco and Petco. Try us today for free.

How do I know I can trust these reviews about Instacart?

  • Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
  • Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
  • Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
Have a question about Instacart?

Is this your business?

Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and manage your listing.

Claim Your Business