Instacart - What’s your experience with their grocery delivery service?

That was supposed to say: they’re able to deliver. My apologies!

I love Instacart! They’re were always same day delivery (2 hour), but since the unpleasantness, you have to keep checking the app to see if you can grab a “within 5 hours” slot.

Or you can schedule for another day.

Their inventory algorithm is far better than Shipt, although Shipt still has same day delivery most days. Maybe fewer people know about Shipt - they deliver from Target and some grocery and pet stores. It’s ok in a pinch.

I like them. I think quality depends on where you are though. make sure you know that the people make almost zero money and the service fee is not a tip. ie, tip, don't be an asshole

What exactly do you want to know?

It's a grocery delivery service, fairly self explanatory.

I've used it in the past, it got the job done.

The drivers see the tip beforehand, so if you tip well up front, you get better service.

I tip 15-20%, more if it’s a bunch of heavy or bulk shot to haul.

It’s $10 a month for unlimited deliveries with no service fees - Instacart Express.

I tip cash, they seem to love it. Just put cash tip in the Instructions box.

I said recently in another thread I didn't care for it but ...

I just used it this weekend. I did not buy meat or produce really (this was my bitch about the service. I want to see it before I buy it).

It worked fine. My only "complaint" is the shopper literally texted me about every substitution. "They don't have Kroger half and half, is XXX brand OK?". Yes, it is OK. I put substitution allowed on everything. I appreciated it, but at the same time it was annoying to get 15 texts.

Probably not an issue in "normal" times.

$9.95 fee is a bit steep for me to use on a regular basis, but I'm cheap.

Thank you for the replies. This has been very helpful. I was about to check out and got a message that my CC would be charged $70 even though my cart content was $45, and I stopped myself to see if anyone has had any bad experiences with them.

R4, most of my questions have been answered already. As I said, I have only used Amazon Fresh grocery delivery for perishable items before and I’m not too familiar with the different delivery services out there. But that will now have to change for me.

I was hesitant because I’ve been trying to order flour and rice online everywhere and it’s not available, but they happen to have a 25 lbs bag of rice and flour is also available.

I signed up for 2 local stores here (Santa Monica) on Instacart. Most of the items I ordered (esp paper products but also tuna, etc) turned out not be in store even though they were listed in stock at 7:45 a.m. The guy for one chain worked really hard at it (kept sending me photos of empty shelves!) but basically only got 2 items--grey poupon mustard and a kind of chicken broth that I tried years ago and didn't like. I think I had ordered 9 things on that order originally. So that was 2 days ago. I paid for Instacart express for a trial so there was no delivery charge and tip was automatically added on. I hadn't used Instacart since they were delivering for Whole Foods. WF Amazon Prime delivery last week gave me a 3 day ahead delivery date. Amazon Fresh has no delivery dates.

they hold extra on your card in case substitutions etc raise your total

Thanks, R11. That makes sense. I had never heard of them before I got their email.

I feel bad that this is the experience you will be judging them on. (grocery stores being empty). I have only had really good experiences in the past though.

Let’s see if I get 5 out of my 15 items. I figured I’ll order next week since the shelves are probably empty right now after the weekend.

Instacart is horrible. I ordered 50 things and only got one item delivered. I had to have the tip refunded for horrible service.

The prices on the items are out of line what I pay in the store. I checked items against what I paid on Wed and everything is at least two dollars more

Unless the grocery store raised prices, which I suppose is possible. Still I can grab a cab both ways for less than the increase in prices. (assuming the store didn't increase the price)

Has anyone tried Imperfect Produce for food delivery? They also have staples like olive oil and nuts. You get to choose what you want from their selection and then their baskets are delivered to your door. They're running a special of 20% off your 1st few orders. You select the items you want from a master list a few days in advance of the delivery date in your area. Please mention my name if you decide to use them.

Have been very happy with both Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods delivery but I'm a very careful shopper. Prices are comparable to the 99 Cent Store and shipping is free at $35. They only request a $5 tip to drop carefully wrapped food at your front door.

Instacart ended up being very expensive as they won't give you listed sale prices in any items, many items are out-of-stock, and I know the driver doesn't get any of the pricey delivery fees. At 15 - 20% tip it's not worth it.

Yes, instacart prices are often higher r16. The point of instacart is convenience, if you are trying to keep to a budget you shouldn't be using the luxury of grocery delivery.

I was thinking of becoming a shopper to make some extra money.

R19, how do they pay their employees? Do you know if they mostly get by on tips?

I have no idea. Someone I know on Facebook said he made a budle this week doing it. Take that for what it's worth, but I could use the extra money.

its a few cents per item and multiples of the same item count as one for payout. ie, 25 cases of pepsi pays less than 25 boxes of rice a roni if the ronis are all different flavors even though carrying the fuckton of pepsi is harder. you get a small flat fee on top of the per item and there's some weird algorithm based on timing, how long the order request has been sitting there and how far delivery is from you. not a livable wage. people are tipping well this week, that's how he's making his money.

I tip, under normal circumstances, what an administrative assistant/bookkeeper makes per hour times 2 because that's what I make and its paying someone for saving me time of at least 2 hours

I used it when I was laid up last year with Sprouts and Kroger. Everything went smoothly except for an occasional error or incorrect substitution, which Instacart adjusted promptly. I'm switching back to it after the 1st. of the month. I expect there will be lots or substitutions or items completely unavailable. I'll be tipping extra, shoppers are taking risks right now.

Some of the substitution suggestions are a bit out there. No, I want baking yeast, not Monistat or yeast dinner rolls.

Imperfect Foods is a SCAM. Avoid it. They sent me an email saying they were upping the monthly delivery date by 2 weeks, as well as the 2-day window in which I could order produce.

It was a mistake on their part, and they never bothered to correct it.

Spent hours trying to contact customer service with wait times of 1 hour. All I got was a bitter, complaining rep who refused to acknowledge their own series of errors.

Emails requesting clarification with this company has always results in not relevant form letters in return.

Plus they make you give your credit card info BEFORE you get a general inventory and a price list. SCAM.

WTF is with Amazon Fresh and WF? I'm no longer able to get a single fucking delivery. Every time I check, it states "not available." How are time slots gone the moment I refresh and a new day is added and immediately states "not available"

I used Instacart and it said the grocery delivery would take five days. Then I checked it two days later and they had a two hour window available. But yet my groceries still took an extra three days. What’s up with that?

I've used it twice, the first time was a disaster with a young shopper who clearly had never shopped for anything fresh in her life. That was before the quarantine. This time I used it for a smaller order and the shopper was much better, but still never asked about substitutions (everyone else mentions getting texts but that has never happened to me) and it is weird how long it takes them to shop. This is a store I have been to hundreds of times over the years and I know it shouldn't take an hour to find 12 items.

Used Hy-Vee's delivery and it has improved since the last time I tried it, I think because my store is now outsourcing to DoorDash for the delivery part.

R26, Use Amazon Fresh weekly. Even before the quarantine customer service reported demand had increased by 1000% and they were swamped with orders.

Try at various times of the day to find an open slot or cancellation.

Here’s an interesting take on Instacart

I think the Instacart app is very laggy. And then when they have to replace items they have to wait for your approval. This is why it seems a shopper takes forever. Plus they’re probably not familiar with the store layout either.

their shoppers prefer cash tips. I think these companies dip in the tips if they’re left through the app.

My shoppers never ask for approval before subbing though, R31. They just sub stuff and I get a text saying they did so, but not to what, and I can't reply back to ask them not to.

I’ve had one amazing shopper who patiently sent me pictures of replacement that we’re not on my list of substitutions. She was texting me throughout to ask questions, and I can’t tell you how appreciative I was.

She had clearly shopped before, since my fruits and vegetables were of great quality.

The other 2 times that I’ve used Instacart were a different experience. One Shopper just brought back what was available without asking, which wasn’t much. The other Shopper purchased produce that looked like someone had played soccer with it.

Oh well, I wish you could request a shopper by name. It is what it is for now, since I prefer not to leave the house. Can’t complain too much.

I hate the idea of getting a stream of messages from a stranger texting me from the grocery store regarding my food order. Maybe I'm weird that way. The good thing about Amazon Fresh is they either deliver it or they don't but they never bother you with a bunch of dumb questions.

Do you all use Instacart because you're lazy or because you're afraid to go out during the coronavirus?

When Instacart subs an item, there is a button at the bottom of the sub saying “request something else”.

Hit that and it brings up a search box to find whatever you want for the substitution.

There is also a button that says something like “Refund” if you can’t find a substitution you like.

And retards, the “texts” are WITHIN THE APP. It’s not done through your regular text messaging on your phone.

If there’s a lag on the app, close it out and reopen it.

This is 101.

When you order through Instacart, there is a note function below each item to put special instructions.

So if you want fully ripe bananas, you can indicate that.

I swear some of you are fucking ancient, and I’m no trunk anymore myself.

*im no twink myself

Finally, the shop takes longer because Instacart shoppers are shopping for multiple orders, not just yours, fatty.

r37 I was also able to do it on my desktop -- not through the app.

Really R40 they don’t do one order at a time? That makes no sense. I think it would be way too confusing to get groceries for two separate orders at the same time.

When you’re ordering your groceries through the Instacart app you can choose not to replace items or replace with a specific item.

Im trying Instacart for the first time, I placed my order Wednesday and the earliest delivery they had was for Monday between 9 & 12. Ive ordered 42 items so that Im set for a few weeks if they actually deliver everything I picked..... hope it works!

They have no available slots, evah.

r45 Try a different store.

I used it once back in mid-January. From the time I submitted the order until it was on my kitchen counter was an hour and 45 minutes. I prefer going myself though.

If you get a very good shopper it’s great! The first time I used it I got this really nice gay dude as my shopper. He was excellent! I tipped him 30 bucks and he about hugged me!

They don't offer us shoppers here. You go to the store website, choose your groceries then they put you through to Instacart to choose a delivery slot; at that point Instacart tell you that there are no available slots, so you cannot even eat cake.

With this app called dumpling I think you can choose who you want to do your shopping

Thanks R50. I'll give it a go before I starve.

Oh, its only for Apple customers. Dumpling's not for me.

I used it for the first time this week and it went pretty good - the only downsides were that the store was out of 19 of my items, but it was things like rice, flour, eggs, which are scarce all over. The other minor nitpick - the grapes they chose had about 10% wrinkled old loose grapes in the bag.

One thing that made me wonder how the jobs are doled out is that the store I shopped from has two locations that are no more than 3 miles away from my (Brooklyn) apartment but the job was given to a shopper who was located in Queens and he had to drive 40 minutes to drop off my order. Very poor time management and it ties up a shopper who could probably squeeze in more jobs if he didn't have that commute.

I don’t want groceries in 5 fucking days! I want them within the same day! Otherwise I’ll risk getting the virus and get them my fucking self.

[quote]retards

That's a pretty strong word for a guy who bragged about storing 150 rolls of toilet paper in suitcases in his closet.

My issue with Instacart isn't that I'm "too retarded to use the app," it's that Kroger outsources to Instacart as a third party delivery service, and you can't get to Kroger orders via the Instacart app. You can only see your order through the Kroger app.

My first experience with Instacart isn't going very well, they totally disregarded 10 items that were in my cart, and then replaced several other things with products that were much more expensive. And several of the things they left out I needed to make diners out of, so even though I tried to stay out of the stores Im going to have to go and do shopping myself. Totally negates the use and expense of Instacart.

It’s Nearly Impossible to Get Big Box Grocery Delivery in NYC Right Now:

I tried to buy groceries for my aunt who lives in a quiet suburb. There is no delivery available now. I checked four different stores close to her.

I made the stupidest mistake not keeping fresh direct reserved weekly delivery. I can't get anything now and even places that were 24 HRs close at 8/9. I was going to just go shop at like 1am when no lines would be there.

very poor at best

I've heard that trying to get a time over and over again can sometimes work, at least with Whole Foods Amazon Prime. Instacart delivered but maybe 1 out of 10 products I ordered at 2 different stores. In my area in LA we have a lot of stores so I'll try some other ones, see if Instacart does better.