I Tried Instacart, Here's an Honest Assessment.

I hate just sitting idly in my house, which is easy to do during the cold New England winters. And the region that I live in really doesn't have much to do during the winter. So I figured that I should find something to do and perhaps make a little money along the way. I figured Instacart was the best option for me as I enjoy shopping and really didn't feel like going through the fast paced world of food delivery. Although you can probably make more money with DoorDash or Uber, it just seemed a bit too stressful for me. Also, apparently there's fierce competition between drivers for those services and that's something that I was trying to avoid. So I signed up for Instacart and was put on a wait list. I was on the list for about 2-3 months as our area was already saturated with drivers. Oddly many of them have out of state license plates; I'm unsure what that's all about. Regardless, I was finally able to officially join the service and was excited at the prospects of making a little bit of extra cash. I knew that I wasn't going to get rich but the money would certainly help out with day to day expenses. So how did I fare? First the good: with Instacart you get to set your own hours and can pick and choose which jobs you would like to take. For me, I always avoided going to questionable areas and stores. I didn't feel like getting mugged or assaulted in any way. No amount of cash is worth it. Luckily for me I live in a nice neighborhood surrounded by towns with a well to do population. But I'll tell you right now, just because people have a bit of wealth does not mean that they will tip well. More often than not they would give the lowest tip possible. Another aspect of Instacart that I enjoyed was the feeling that I was in a timed scavenger hunt. I really enjoyed trying to find the products requested by customers. It was stressful at times but overall it felt like being in a game against the clock. I actually became quite efficient at locating products. Going back to wealthy individuals, I realized quickly that they only eat organic, all natural, grass fed etc. My family and I do not typically eat this fancy so navigating the organic or gluten free sections could be a hassle. And what's the deal with Avocados? It was like every order contained avocados! Tipping was hit or miss on Instacart. I had a couple of orders that tipped more than the sum of the products! I

s tip baited. What that means is the customer will offer a higher tip initially just to get someone to select their order then after the order is delivered the tip is reduced. What made this even worse was that I had to traverse up a steep driveway in the snow because my car could not make it up the hill. That really pissed me off. I should have just left the order at the bottom of the driveway. Now for some of the negatives. Once in a while I would get a low rating because a requested item was out of stock. I could not magically pull a can or organic beets out of my ass. But apparently the customers thought that I had this rare talent Low ratings affect your ability to see possible orders so you end up getting less than ideal orders or just none at all. Instacart is extremely favorable to the customer so the drivers will always struggle to have their complaints regarding ratings heard. Instacart also relies heavily on tips as opposed to base pay which can mean that some deliveries will end up losing you money (gas and wear and tear on your vehicle). Finding orders is also hit or miss. Some days the orders will stack up while other days it'll be a struggle just to get one potential delivery. This is especially true for new drivers. I understand having to work your way up but with the unfair rating system this could be a challenge. Overall I enjoy delivering for Instacart and most of the interactions that I had with customers were pleasant. If you have the time then go for it. You won't get rich but you can make a little extra to save.