Instacart

As a shopper, I'm quite satisfied with how everything works. Keep in mind, this is a meant-to-be SIDE JOB as an INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR. Though Instacart does what they can, they have very little control over the quality of customer service each driver provides. I found that dressing professionally, consistently staying in contact with each customer, and treating the customer with care and respect goes a long way in terms of how much money you'll make. I was surprised to see a majority of customers complaining about the downright awful customer service, considering half of your paycheck is tips. It's simply a waste of gas and time if you aren't going to put any effort in.
The Bamko Brand insulted gas I got from the Instashopper App were an incredibly good deal. Couldn't even find a better deal after searching through Walmart, Kroger, and ALDI. Plus I've found many other uses for them, so the money was well spent.

To customers: don't give up hope yet, there ARE good delivery drivers out there who want to provide excellent customer service and treat you like you deserve to be treated. And don't blame Instacart! They're doing the best they can. The extra fee you're paying is SUPPOSED to be for the convenience and service delivery drivers provide. I'm extremely disapointed to see so many customers struggling just to get decent customer care. DRIVERS it's YOUR responsibility to provide excellent customer service as an Independent Contractor. All of the responsibility falls on you. If you aren't going to care about the job one bit, do the rest of us a favor - the ones who actually go above and beyond for their customers - go get a job where they don't care about the quality of service. You're doing nothing but wasting your gas money and making the rest of us look bad.

I placed close to a $300.00 grocery order with Instacart about a week in advance. The day came for my delivery and the app showed me that someone was shopping for and even replacing items that were "not available" in the store. I waited over an hour after my groceries should have been delivered and no one came. I contacted customer service via phone and had an automated message tell me that call volumes are too high and that I would have to submit my complaint online. It took days to get a response. I checked my bank account and noticed the charge had not come out. I finally heard back from customer service via email over a week later and they stated that they were going to credit my Instacart account for the missing order or I could let them know that I wanted to be refunded. I let them know that I wanted a refund. I checked my bank account and the charge had come out of my account conveniently around when they had emailed me about a credit or a refund. The email had stated that if I requested a refund it would be issued to my account between 5 and 10 business days. I waited 5 days and there was still no refund. So I contacted customer support and asked when I would be getting my refund. They explained that they issued me a credit and it is available in my Instacart account (even though I had clearly stated previously and promptly that I would like a refund). So I replied stating again that I wanted a refund and that is all. Someone replied and said that they could not refund me due to it being a week after the scheduled purchase. I let them know that I would be disputing it with my bank. I did not receive a reply. I contacted my bank (M&T) and explained the everything to them. She gave me a case # and let me know that they would be contacting me via USPS regarding information they may need in support of the dispute. She went on to reimburse my bank account for the missing Instacart payment. I will go out of my way to make sure M&T Bank have everything they need to follow through with this dispute. This is terrible customer service on instacart's part. I feel as though I was manipulated into what they were hoping would be surrender. I am so upset and offended that the opposite of what they wanted is taking place. I refuse to use a $300.00 credit for a company that I don't believe does good business.

Terrible. I placed an online grocery order from Walmart on a Friday afternoon for delivery the next day between 1000 and 1200. I live in an apartment building on the third floor. I stayed home waiting for the delivery. Nothing. No phone call. No text message. No buzzer. By 1300 I started calling Walmart to find out where my grocery order was, because according to Walmart it had been delivered to me.
On Saturday I made 3 phone calls to 3 different Walmart Customer service reps. I was told to call back on Sunday On Sunday, I made another 3 phone calls to Walmart and finally was told that I would be getting a refund email by Monday. (All the while, I was being told that I did receive the order. There was no mention of perhaps there was an error somewhere in the process.) By Tuesday am, still no email from Walmart. One of these phone calls directed me to Instacart. When I called Instacart the rep there said that she did not know why I had been given direction to call them. She did contact yet another customer service rep from Walmart and he told me that he would be processing my refund. I then received an email stating that I had received a refund for $11.17. My order was $104.79. So, I called Walmart yet again and this time the rep refunded me for $91.19. So, I received a total refund for $102.29, short $2.43. All the while I was reminded that my grocery order had indeed been delivered to me. I contacted Instacart again today. Again, I was being spoken to like I am a little child and that as the customer I must do this, do that, etc. I told the woman on the other end, that I had received my refund, but that I would never be using this service again and that I had put up signs in my building to let other people know to never use this service. I told her that the issue is between Walmart and Instacart and until they can get things sorted out between each other so that the customer is not getting the short end of the stick, and being spoken rudely while they are, that the business should not be operating at all. With every phone call to Walmart there is a customer service survey at the end of the call. I have given good reviews because I was under the impression that I was going to get a resolution. Anytime I engage in a customer service issue with Walmart I get the run around. What the heck is going on? The same for Instacart. What's with all this blaming and ripping off the customer rubbish? Terrible, terrible, terrible attitude.

UPDATE: FOOD LION REFUNDED DAMAGEWD/SPOILED PRODUCTS. A Food Lion Manager called this morning "after researching" her options... and has determined that FOOD LION wants to provide a remedy for the delivery problem we had. She has refunded the amount of delivery charges, the tip, and the amount we paid to replace the damaged products. Food Lion is only 3 miles from us, has always been our "go to" store along with Walmart and Lowe's Food depending on where we were when we needed groceries. We appreciate FL fixing an INSTACART deficiency.

We placed an on-line order Sunday, August 29,2001 at 12:56 pm. The order was delivered at 3:50 pm, left at a side door rarely used, on concrete, in 94 degree weather. The order included a gallon of milk, a dozen and a half eggs, an 18 oz bag of Romaine Hearts, and three packs of Ken's Steak house Dressing Buttermilk. The delivery driver, "Larrys" did not bother to knock, ring the door bell, or in any way let us know the groceries were outside in the heat. Our Amazon Prime driver notified us that groceries were sitting outside at 5:09 pm. The groceries were unsafe to use after sitting in the hot sun on concrete for 1.5 hours. After calling the store we were told to "return the products affected and the problem would be taken care of". Today, a Food Lion customer service manager refused to replace or reimburse for the damaged products. They referred us to a 3rd party, "INSTACART" for any restitution. Instacart does not answer the number we were given, we can only leave voice mail or text messages. Upon returning the milk, eggs, dressing, etc. to the store, they required that we REPURCHASE the items. WE WILL NOT BE USING INSTACART IN THE FUTURE. Submitted by G. Frederick, Clayton, NC
Order placed Aug 29,2021, 1:46 PM Items 10 Total $35.10

This app is nothing but an inconvenience. I wish I could give 0 stars!

I would like to share my experience

First and for most the worst
Company I have ever seen

I sign up they they welcome
You make
You feel special part
Of
The team. They make you download the app they make you go through this whole process and then you have to wait to get your credit card the worst part is that they keep on sending you emails to complete your application but you cannot because you have to wait for the card to arrive and put the Numbers of the credit card to proceed to your final step. Then they send you another email to complete a alcohol procedure you do that then they see congratulations you passed your test and now they say that youre good to go to start work I finally get a few shifts and I received an email tell me that my shifts are canceled due to my background check still pending. This company checkers that everybody is using like Uber Lyft its a generic company that everybody is using and Ive had a bad experience with them Ive waited almost 2 months to be approved come to find out that I was approved after three days but on the website it still said that it was pending terrible service undependable I wouldnt trust him so heres my bad experience if you know that you have to go through a background check why do they said you the credit card when you do not know if you have passed the back ground check. Thats stupid. I have send them several email and all i got was a complete different answer. They are so messed up as a company that they clearly do not communicate with each other. Now I have another shift and Im wait to get another emai tell me that my back ground check is still pending and they will pull the shift away from me. The funny part is that they send me emails to go pick up shifts why would you do that if my background check is still pending clearly theres no communication in this company was company to do business with I would recommend our business to stay away from this Instacart

I cancelled my order because bit was placed at 4:41pm with and ETA of 6:15. At 6:30pm I received notice that my or was delayed and a the new ETA was 8:15pm. I noticed that at that time, there was no shopper assigned to my order yet, so I contacted Instacart. After being on hold for over an hr I noticed that Sherell was my shopper. I immediately messaged her to let her know I did not want the order (now it's 6:30) she agreed and she began refunding the 4 sandwiches I ORDERED BUT BEGAN ADDING HER OWN ITEMS. I caught the first item (life savers) and she quickly refunded it but she then proceeded to add Little Debbie cake, and as I was messaging her about that… she quickly closed out the purchase and immediately marked it as delivered. Sherrell was very dishonest. I had to report her to Instacart for stealing. I canceled, and instead of closing my transaction, she added candy, cake AND A TIP! Then closed out my order and marked it as delivered. WHICH IT WAS NOT… she had no idea that I was screenshoting the whole interaction between her and I. SHERRELL B. SHOULD BE FIRED! Instacart has since refunded me and provided me with a small credit for my experience.

They treat the shoppers like $#*! and do not care for their safety. They will take orders in very risky areas without any concern for the safety of the shopper. I once received an order for a budget suits in Dallas that was located on the side of a service road next to a strip club and liquor store. There were people hanging out watching mu every move. I couldn't help but to think if it was after dark how much more dangerous this situation would be. In addition to this they often overcharge the customer which gives the customer a bad experience and leads to them taking it out on the shopper. Customer often confront the shopper when they are unhappy with unapproved charges to their account. To make matters worse they force the shoppers to replace out of stock items with poor selections the customer do not want rather than refunding their money. The customer then gives the shopper a poor rating and will not tip them. They will force you to fill several orders at one time rather your vehicle is large enough to properly accommodate such large orders. I've had 3 orders assigned at once from Costco totally to over 56 items. They do not offer any compensation for the wear and tear of you car and if you get a ticket they tell you its you issue even though the accept orders in undelivered zones. Your only choice is to walk a long distance carrying a large order leaving your vehicle unattended. You pay changes and they do not pay you what they guaranteed. They will make changes to the app that will force you to shop at one particular location even though you may pass several location on the way to one store that does not guarantee if the item will be in stock. They have not order restriction for apartments on 3rd and 5th floors. Someone can order 30 bulk items from costco and will have to struggle to deliver under these circumstances while trying to avoid any injury to your body. Even after lugging all these bulk items up 5 or more flights of stairs they customer still does not tip because they have been charged additional fees and think that money comes to you rather than the company. I have had customers demand a physical receipt due to being charged a higher price that what actually rang up in the store. They will try to force an order through 2 hours ahead of schedule even when the customer explained they would not be home until that time. You get to the home and have to wait or take the items back to the store just to re-shop the same items later. Most definitely shady business that does not care about the shoppers or customers.

First of all, I am over 60 years old, so I get to use their help line, if there is a problem; and I don't have a car, so I use store deliveries often.

About 2 weeks ago, I placed an order with Instacart from Publix. My groceries arrived and one of the items was visibly rotten, and it was expired. I reported the issue, received a credit towards my future order. Apparently Instacart doesn't issue refunds. It was only $3.87, and I know I would use them again, so no big deal.

Today I placed an order for 2 items, total of $16.82 plus delivery fees and tips. While my shopper was shopping, she accidentally keyed 5 instead of 2, the system charged me for 5 items. I quickly texted the shopper, who apologized, and assured me I would only be charged for 2 once she checked out. She checked out, and nope, system did not correct. I called Instacart, the agent explained that they can't issue a refund until the order is delivered. The shopper arrived, showed me the receipt, and once again, assured me I would only paid for the items she bought. Once again, nope, system still charging for the 5 items. I called Instacart again, and explained what happened, the agent said they could issue a refund, but wouldn't tell me the amount of my refund. When I pushed for the amount, the amount she gave me was $1.82 short. I corrected her, then she explained that they only refund the cost of the item, they don't refund the extra money Publix charges for using Instacart. To be clear this is the amount by which they increase the cost of the items, and not related to the tip or the delivery fees. I explained that if I paid a certain amount I should be getting that amount, regardless of their arrangement with the store. She then explained that the system does not allow the full refund. At that point I explained I can live without Publix and Instacart, and asked the agent to please escalate the issue, I need to be refunded for the overpayment. I was on hold for a few minutes, agent came back and said the supervisor had agreed to a full refund. I am still waiting to see if the refund actually happens, and it doesn't turn into an account credit. It's been a couple of hours and I still don't have a receipt or my purchase.
At this point I think I should concentrate on living with an alternate grocery shopping service.

They very cheap,actually you will work for free,you will give more than you get anything very bad..

The price that the items were when I placed the order and the price I was actually charged is NOT the same. In fact they gave 3 different prices for the same exact items before charging the 3rd price. I am including screenshots. The 1st prices the ones that the items where when I placed my publix order order were over charged by a total of $4.07.: Idahoan Buttery Homestyle Mashed Potatoes (4 oz) 3 x total= $1.63 Chinet Classic White Dinner Plates, 10.375" 32 ct 1 x total = $3.55 Crystal Light Pure Peached Iced Tea Naturally Sweetened Drink Mix 2.28 oz 1x total= $1.47 Crystal Light Decaf Iced Tea Drink Mix, Lemon 1.5 oz 1x total= $1.47 This was not the prices when the shopper checked out. Here is what was then showed: Idahoan Buttery Homestyle Mashed Potatoes (4 oz) 3 x total= $2.46 Chinet Classic White Dinner Plates, 10.375" 32 ct 1 x total = $5.31 Crystal Light Pure Peached Iced Tea Naturally Sweetened Drink Mix 2.28 oz 1x total= $2.21 Crystal Light Decaf Iced Tea Drink Mix, Lemon 1.5 oz 1x total= $2.21 THEN they changed the prices AGAIN! The final charges were: Crystal Light Decaf Iced Tea Drink Mix, Lemon $1.85 · 1.5 oz 1x total=$1.85 Crystal Light Pure Peached Iced Tea Naturally Sweetened Drink Mix $1.85 · 2.28 oz 1x total=$1.85 Chinet Classic White Dinner Plates, 10.375" $4.43 · 32 ct 1x total =$4.43 Idahoan Buttery Homestyle Mashed Potatoes 4 oz 3x total= $2.04 How can they in any way justify this? The charged total for these items finally settled at a total of $10.17 when the price at the time of the placed order was $8.12 for a final over charge of $2.05. This is not even about the money. It is about the fact that they overcharged me and then failed to do offer customer service for it!

Being im stuck quaratining have contracted zcovid, I thought I give them the business to shop for me and I got screwed big time. I placed order at 1225 on 1/1/2021 for 15 basic items. Tbe shopper sent message they had completed shopping csrd was charged for total of $53.62. Order was to be delivered by 330 p.m. i was like ok cool. Next thing I known i get addt alrrt from bank stating transaction of $23.57 applied to my card at Grocery Store. THE Shopper made 2 separate transactions on my card. Mine and then there's. Wtf. 15 minutes later I get email thanking me for completely my instscart shopping. Where is my stuff. It not at my door. The shopper has marked order as complete. And disconnected the conversation between us. I called instacart customer service whom said they would replace my order at their expense as they can't reach the driver. Wtf. I never received my 15 items nor any re delivery as them promised to duexat there expense. This morning, Saturday 1/2/21 I see a post about a person in neighbor stating the believe someone stuff was miss delivered to and put in their back yard. I messaged neighbor asking if these bags by chance where full of the named items. The guys was like yes it all matches with the exception of tampons, condoms, baby oil none of which I ordered. He also told me the chicken and Italian sausage obviously was visited by a homeless animal as the package was all torn up and half the chicken is missing. Instacart said they will not refund my card. Well they can go $#*! themselves. I had bank stop payment filed a fraud complaint for items not asked to be purchased. Filed a criminal complaint with local police as well.