Nasty algorithm, bad people - Full Service Shopper Instacart Employee Review

2.0
Feb 18, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexible schedule, can make okay money at times without having to be dressed up.

Cons

Abysmal algorithm takes good tippers and lumps them with $0 tippers. Instacart lies to customers and says tipping isn't necessary, then pays us absolutely sub federal minimum wage salary on orders. Like $6 for an order that would take 75 minutes to complete, including wear and tear on your car. Support is necessary for so many things. If you find 3 bananas and they happen to be too big (without a prompt for weight), you might get declined at checkout. Then it takes 5 minutes to click through the app to reach support. 10-12 minutes to remedy. Then get back in line and make no extra $ for your lost time. Then the customer gives you a 4 star review, which lowers you to a 4.96 that IC considers STANDARD. It's just bad work for a company that cares about shareholder value, not you. Get out asap. Only do this if you are stuck. Only really pencils in major metro areas.

Explore other reviews about Instacart

5.0
Jun 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexible schedule and independent work environment with good earning potential during busy hours.

Cons

Pay can vary by day and vehicle expenses like gas and maintenance add up quickly.

2.0
Jun 21, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fun going out and talking to people. You will interact with people everyday. You control how much you get paid. Lots of flexibility in the time between accepting an order and traveling to the store and beginning to shop. It isn't pedal to the metal to get to the store like DoorDash is. You can also cancel batches after accepting as long as you keep your rate under 15%. This is different from DoorDash where your rankings will suffer if g.t. 2% cancellation rate.

Cons

There's a learning curve and it takes a while to learn each chain of stores' items. Once you become proficient at one store, the algorithm will lowball your offers relative to other less-experienced Instacart shoppers. Overall, Instacart shoppers likely get paid similar or less than the store's regular employees.

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