When a customer orders bagged apples I always open the apple bag check each apple put the moldy damaged apples aside and get another apple bag and replace the damaged ones for the good ones. I know this takes a little bit more time but it gives me peace of mind I do that for the bagged potatoes too. Im going to try the thing with the asparagus tips.
the most frustrating part of produce shopping is having tons of produce and having to constantly be on the phone and messaging them and taking up the produce section.
Another great way to keep your rating high is shop for customers who respect and appreciate what you do for a living. A good size tip typically means they respect you as a shopper and don't consider you a slave or low life heres 5 bucks get me 70 items kind of thing. Most of my bad ratings come from the low tippers. Why would I take a low tipper? I don't on purpose there thrown in on a double or triple batch. So I may think both customers tipped well but in actuality one stiffed me the other tipped huge but my rating is in jeopardy with the stiffer. There much more likely to make false reports and rate you bad. So besides what Jen says be very careful what batches you choose.
Great produce tips Jen! I view my order ahead of time & count how many produce bags I need in total. Once in produce section I grab all my bags, go to the wet section & get couple fingertips wet then open all my bags. I do this because I'm tired of spending time trying to open them! 🤣
Thank You for this video!! So thorough. And I AGREE with you about stepping up and giving the customer exceptional service! I always ask myself how I’d like my shopper to shop for me, the answer always lies in that question, as I have high standards! 💕
Girl, yes!! I love that you get it! It’s not hard, right? You are so right in asking yourself how you would like your groceries to be shopped for you. 💛 I hope you are having a great week!
Hi again Jen. I watched this video yesterday and later that day I took a double batch (one order was only 9 items so it was fine)... but I used your tips about communication, acknowledging their notes, taking photo and saying that I sent it to them and to instacart and this morning I woke up with 5 stars for both customers and 2 very nice comments.!! I also snagged some smaller paper bags from my other job to put frozen items in (and yes I texted the customer and told them I had put their ice cream in it's own paper bag). I also grabbed a few of those paper cones you use to put oil in your car so next time I have asparagus, their gonna have their own little hat! Thanks for the great advice.!
Sometimes you have no choice with avocados, they're all hard. Luckily, you can ripen avocados faster when placed in a brown paper bag for a day or two.
Agreed however, the avocado bags are usually ripe. I have had customers approve bags over singles due to ripeness. Try it next time! If your tip is based off of percentage, that’s more money in your pocket.
Yes!! I actually ran into another shopper who just started during covid and she noticed me sending messages and taking pics every batch and she actually stopped and said you know you waste way toomuch time trying to help these people just refund and go on you need to learn nobody ever answers you anyway.... and that truly bothered me that was her attitude..... so I told her I don't do that I send messages to every single customer and I go the extra mile for literally everyone and trust me people really appreciate that and I hear so many times a day that people wish every shopper was like me.... she snorted and got an attitude with me! I just tell you I totally and completely agree with you it really doesn't take that much more time to do these extra little things and I can't tell you how many people give me extra money simply because I doexactly what you are saying in this video.. it makes me sad that there's other shoppers who don't do this! These people are paying for a premium service and should get a very premium service from the shopper!! I'm with you girl and I'm truly glad that I finally see that there are other people who do it exactly the way I do and I really hope people are inspired to do better because customers deserve better!! I run into that girl from time to time and she looks at me like I'm crazy and acts like she's so much better than me and it makes me sad inside... I've been doing this for 3 years and I'm telling you I know a lot of customers in myarea and as soon as I start my shop and they realize it's me... they get so excited and quite honestly most give me either cash as extra or change my app tip to more simply because it was me that shopped for them! So idk maybe I should be grateful that there's so many "bad" shoppers because I usually make more money simply because of that! Jen you are so right and I really hope with everything in my heart that people listen to you!!
Hi and thank you so much for sharing this. First of all this is unbelievable to me. We work in the service industry and yes it is our job to service customers and to go above and beyond for them. So many shoppers missed the memo on this one. That other shopper that approached you certainly won’t last long on this platform and her days are numbered with her ratings. Keep doing what you are doing and focusing on your path. At the end of the day you can be proud of what you do.! Thank you so much for being here and for being a part of this community. We need all the positivity we can get. 💛
I always send an introduction text before getting started to every customer to let them know that sometimes the shelves may not always be stocked with the exact item they requested and to please keep an eye on their instacart app for possible replacements and messages about the produce they ordered. That helps so they will answer you back
I just started and I have the hardest time getting people to answer me. Today they did not have items the customer wanted and I sent them a text saying they do not have it, would they like a replacement? No answer. I called them, no answer, so I refunded the items and paid for what I found, then they answer back, and of course said to make replacements, but it was too late. I only started doing it today, but the people I did contact, don’t get back to me, or in that case, on time. How long do you wait for the customer to answer you back?
@@patlynn6425 usually if I hit the button in the app that says I can't find the item... and it says the customer has chosen a refund if this item is out of stock then I refund but send a message through chat to them that hey they're out and the app said you would like a refund so I did do that... but if you'd like a replacement instead I can absolutely do that I will send a pic of this section and if you see anything that will work let me know!! Then refund and move on. But if I hit the can't find item button and it doesn't say refund request then I'll choose a suitable replacement and go ahead and replace it if there's something there that is similar....like instead of ragu a similar flavor in a different brand or something.... then I do the same I send a message to customer saying hey they're out of the requested ragu sauce but I did see a tomato basil sauce in the prego brand and so I went ahead and grabbed it for you as replacement but I thought I'd also send you a picture of the section and if you see something that would work better than I can absolutely change it for you! Then I keep going through the list. If by the time I've finished the list I haven't heard from them then I leave the changes I made. Then at the very end of the shop if I haven't heard from them I will sometimes try to call or I'll send a final message saying I'm all done shopping and reaching out one final time before check out to ensure the replacement/ refunds made were ok with customer and tell them I'm heading to check out and I did go ahead and keep the sauce replacement because I didn't want to not get them anything at all! Or if I did do a refund on items I'll letthem know why I chose to do so. Then honestly I wait like maybe a minute or two after depending on my opinion of how much they might/might not like my replacement. Like for example if the person had a lot of organic items in their order and they had requested and organic sauce that was out of stock then I absolutely would not replace an organic sauce with a non-organic without permission... or if you could tell by their order that they sort of seemed to stay away from meat and maybe they might be a vegetarian then I would be sure that the softs that I grabbed would go for that type of diet..... but not everybody answers that is for absolute sure! However usually if they don't get my messages until I am already on the way to their house or have already delivered usually when they go back in the app they will see that I did try to get ahold to them and they will see that I did spend time on my decision and why I made the decision I made! And usually for the most part most people appreciate that... however you do run across people who do not!!! And used to this was not an issue because before covid it was extraordinary really rare to ever not see a customer at drop off.... so usually at drop off you would just be able to say something about the changes u made and why you did them. But now almost every customer is a leave at door customer so that does make it a little harder!! But one thing you should know is that you have priority for your first 30 orders... well I think it is 30 orders... instacart does not count any bad ratings against you whatsoever it does actually give you time to get a rhythm going for yourself and to learn how the app works so just make the best choices that you know how and just always make sure you tell the customer why whether they answer or they don't and that way if the customer gets their groceries and is confused why some items are different whenever they open the app they will see your messages! And hopefully see that you did make a concerted effort to speak to them
I totally understand, I applaud you for going above and beyond. I try to make replacements when I can but I try not to communicate too much with them. In my area I’m averaging about 12/hour and tips are fairly low. Not worth my time to message them about every single produce item, slows me down way too much
Thanks again. I’ve been checking most produce with my customers. Today the green beans were sooooo moldy and gross I could not even pick through them. She was very happy that I got her the prepackaged ones instead.
Thanks for the tips you are so right. I also always give the customers a heads up about about certain fruits an veggies an yes they love it. Even when im headed to check out I always ask if they would like to add items. Also I let them know if the lines are a bit long an drop off time may be delayed. They always thank me for that info. An is very appreciative wit how I Communicate with them.
Hi Jen love your channel! One thing that I do to avoid all that plastic because I am very much against it and I absolutely abhor plastic bags, I want share with everyone that what I do and it looks really neat and almost like a luxury Fruitbox !🍑I save my boxes from Costco, the produce ones and what I do when I have quite a bit of fruit and vegetables, I arrange them in a beautiful arrangement almost like arranging flowers except I am arranging their fruits and vegetables in the box! I arrange them neatly so everything is facing up and it looks like they just purchased a luxury fruit/vegetable box also, I keep a little Water mister in the back just with some water in it and I just lightly spray a fine mist over them right before I set them down that way they have a light, fresh, crisp appearance that makes them look like they were just picked and everything looks beautiful and dewy, it is zero extra time really I pack the box as it is rung up, I believe the small touches make it look like you just gave them them the best!
I really appreciate you making this video on handling produce. Thank you so much for educating us on how to select better produce. The asparagus wrapping never even thought of that method or the tips being so important for the customers. I don’t buy it for myself I would not know. Right now strawberries are probably out of season and it is not the best looking anymore. At my market where I shop I wished I can bag the groceries myself. The cashier often don’t give a shit and over stuff the bags and put wrong items that should not be mixed together in the bag. If I am the customer I don’t want my cold cuts mixed with hot food items. Or my milk products mixed with detergents. I asked the cashier very nicely if I can pack it myself and often say no and not allow me to even pack my cart. They just dump everything in the cart and I end up have to sort thru it all. They are very strict that I can’t cross the line and chain the checkout. I often try to be friendly to many cashier and say how you doing how is your day is it very busy today so that she will let me pack my cart. I took a break on IC for a week I just got very burned out and tired thinking about the unavoidable bad ratings. As much as I can do to be more customer service oriented many times they don’t care. Sometimes it is inevitable that their items are out of stock. And we suggest replacements and we get ding on missing items. I checked on the eggs all the time that they are in perfect condition and none of them cracked. Also I tried very hard to becareful in handling soft produce and not let it get squashed in the car. Thank you again for your tip. I often look up to mature people like you they have experience in shopping to find the best for the customer.
Hi Tye! Thank you so much for your response. You sound like you are very diligent and thorough with each one of your customers. Awesome job! Listen, I i’m an absolute control freak at the checkout line. I have to be!! Lol as long as we are being polite to the cashiers and baggers, they have no problem with us bagging our own groceries. I had a situation today where the checker was throwing the yogurt on top of the cardboard cereals and I wasn’t having it. I stopped him and kindly asked if I could step in. It’s what we have to do! If the baggers and checkers are having a bad day, I simply remind them that I am representing and shopping for another customer and I’m very particular about how things will be bagged. I also can relate with you regarding getting burnt out on Instacart. Sometimes you have to take a step back and give yourself a break. It is all about balance! Anything I can do to help I am happy to do so. Just reach out. I hope you are having a great week.! 💛
Soooo... many of my customers tell me about their bad shoppers. I have ordered several times also and have had bad shoppers too. No communication, wrong items, replacing without asking if it's OK. I'm not perfect either and have made a few mistakes in the past but I really try my hardest. It really does Make a difference to get back up to the ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating. I study how to be a better shopper every day and watch all of the videos and read the comments. It really has helped me.😃
Hi June! Thank you for your comment and support. Yes, I also have customers tell me that they have had such bad experiences with their shoppers. This frustrates me so much. Yes, we all make mistakes because we are human. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t take much to make customers happy! Communication and good replacements are everything! I am perplexed as to why shoppers don’t understand this.! I hope you’re having a great week!💛
Thank you so much, I start my ninth week with Instacart. Yes I agree with you the communication is so important. Love the tip about the bananas and taking pictures and sending them. I had not thought of that. Very grateful for your hard work and making these videos thank you
Funny you mentioned avocados.. I always ask my customers how they want their avocados.. also always send a pic of banana’s! Got great feedback in comments for doing this!
Love this! I’m new here and to IC so you may have touched on this as well. But I do what I do with my own meat. I take the pack and put into the bag but I add a paper towel on each side to prevent juice from leaking.
Good morning, Larry! Wow!! Now THAT is an accomplishment!! I would love to know all of her tricks and tips so that I could share them with the viewers on this channel. My email address is jenonthego2@gmail.com! 💛
@@JENontheGO Hi ,I'm Lisa the shopper my husband unknowingly told you about.i have been doing this for almost three years and got him started when his restaurant job ended due to the pandemic.its a tough market here,we have 1 schuncks and 1 Aldi and 73 shoppers at 1 time we had over 150 it really got tough.o have no idea how I have managed to keep my rating I've been blessed by the instacart gods lol.
Great idea Jen, we are so fortunate here in California produce is less expensive. Not the pt here... TIME is because when I shop, time is everything. I wrap asparagus just once then put in top of basket. Takes me longer to open cellophane bag 😬😬. My rating usually stays at 5 stars but is now 4.96 for scanning item then did not place in basket. learned from my mistakes. Time is everything
I don’t like over messaging customers, however, if I am not certain on the produce I send a pic, that way they approved it & then they don’t seem to complain.
Great video Jen I will use your advice on the asparagus I've been a five-star for 3 weeks I am loving life I am the king of cherry picking my batches there's only two grocery stores I will go to and I will not do doubles and triples only single batches that are no more than 4 miles away and no more than 33 items or so, I cannot deal with double and triple batches you are doubling and tripling your chances of something going wrong I just like focusing on One customer and giving them 100% of my attention I am protecting my five-star like you protect your asparagus.. my area the deliveries are paying 20 and $30 so I do lots of those delivery only and still doing liquor stores they pay very well also last week I made $27 an hour I know it's not quite as much as you but in Central Florida the pay for the batches is a lot less than it is up north, last week I made over $400 in 17hrs I only did two shopping batches the rest were delivery onlys and liquor stores, also do lots of small cvs and pet co batches, have a great day honey..P.S. love the hair up and the apple sweatshirt, your so cute...🙂.. if you're ever down in the Orlando area give me a shout I could talk about instacart all day long I love just sitting around and talking about the stories and everything to me instacart is like a drug I'm addicted. I also hate that best times to shop icon that they put in the batch queue it's very annoying.. there are many different ways to make money on the instacart platform other than doing grocery orders I think a lot of people do not realize that
Hi Cagey! You are the best! Thank you for your comment and support. I love your attitude and work ethic. This is what will set you apart from all of the rest! You’re absolutely right to give each one of your customers 100%, because that’s what it takes, right??!! The 20 and $30 batches are just fine. They are safer and bring lower risk! $27 an hour is a great wage, especially in Orlando where I’ve been told is oversaturated with shoppers! My daughter actually lives in Orlando, and perhaps when I visit her in the near future, we can do an Insta cart chat, together!! I was still hoping you would submit a video with your Best Instacart tips because you seem to have them.! It would make my day! 💛
Jen, I have thought of you since you first started blogging every single time I purchased asparagus! Lol I didn't wrap it quite the way you did but I definitely will from this point on🧚 I always text every client and ask how do you prefer bananas?🍌 An I send them a photo,more yellow or more green?🤔 I always ask how do you prefer your avocados? Although I never know exactly why I've been dinged or even though I've called customer service😯 I have gotten so many wonderful comments and as of today I'm back at a 4.98!🌟 Again all thanks to you and your tips! When I'm feeling low and exhausted I think of you! And I immediately feel worthy. I try so super hard with the baggers and beg to bag myself🙃 yet it's like an ongoing battle with them so it's so rough trying to be really sweet with them yet watch how they're bagging and then I often have to re-bag everything in 5he parking lot😩 because I have gotten damaged items in the past😴 especially yogurts!😰 Yesterday I invested in instacart dudes idea of elastics because it seems the cashier / baggers get very aggravated by me putting produce in the cellophane bags! Love your stuff you always lift me up 🌻 Have a five-star day! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Hi Wendy! YOU are such a doll! First, thank you for your support and love! ❤️. So proud of the hard work you are doing every day. You GET it! You are going the extra mile with your attitude and customer effort. This will reward you Both physically and emotionally! There are so many people in this world who don’t have a great work ethic. Instacart is hard, but it is rewarding if you put the work in, and you are doing just that! As far as bagging your groceries. Listen, I am ridiculously attentive at the way the groceries are being bagged. I have no problem stepping in and asking the bagger to step out if I feel they are not up to par. Please don’t feel bad about this one little iota!! We have to do it.! I always approach and kindness. I also say when I’m on the belt, “ hi, I am shopping for a customer today so it’s imperative these groceries are packed perfectly. If you’d rather I bag, I am happy to do so.!” :)) works like a champ.. I love Instacart dude as well! I also will rubber band my berries from time to time. It really is the little things and especially the communication with the customers.! Have a great week and please keep me posted!! With you! ❤️
Hi Mike. I touched upon this briefly, suggesting using rubber bands to secure the produce in plastic containers, such as blueberries, raspberries & strawberries. Many times these lids pop open and the berries roll all over the place. This was a great tip I learned from Instacart Dude on UA-cam. 💛
Ah, thank you Jen. I see, that makes sense. InstaCart Dude has a lot of great little ideas in his videos, but they are buried in between a lot of banter.
Where is that Asparagus from ...Mexico? It comes already wrapped at Costco here in CA I go for the darker avocados which are still hard but soon will ripen. California strawberries are great year round.. Thanks for another cool video!
Thank you so much! Not exactly sure where the asparagus is from. I do know it’s fresh, though! Sometimes the Costco produce it is pre-wrapped can be tricky, as well. I hope you’re having a great week! 💛
@@JENontheGO so on my very first instacart delivery the customer said there was a missing item but thanks to one of your videos my husband and I took pictures. I’m not sure what the outcome will be with their “investigation “ but I know the item was delivered
Oh my gosh the first few orders i had always had strawberries in them and EVERYTIME customers would say they were damaged. Everytime. So this is a good tip- I basically have to treat them like eggs lol "open em up"
dont stop with the strawberries. blackberries, blueberries and raspberries go south quicker than strawberries. At one point i worked in the produce department at walmart and received them bad or noticed they'd go bad in just a few days inside the coolers.
Any suggestions on artichokes? If they are big..do you bag each one? Is that excessive? I had the hardest time the other day, the bags kept breaking. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Love your channel! It’s been so helpful!!
I am with you as both a customer and, a new InstaCart shopper! I care about the customer and, when I am a customer, I never take back the tip. I had one shopper not communicate at all. I texted her numerous times. She never responded. When she arrived, I asked her if she received my texts. She said yes and never explained herself. I still did not take back the tip. I just think it’s wrong.
This shopper is absolutely out of line to blatantly ignore your communication with her. I mean, this is really not Okay and you were so kind to keep her tip in tact. Good for you, and shame on her!💛
I shop by myself but sometimes, if the bags are heavy, my husband helps me carry them to the customer’s door. He drives me around because it’s his car. I don’t have my own car. Is that ok or, should I only take orders I can carry. I care about doing the right thing. He doesn’t shop with me. He waits in the car. I respect any advice you have. :)
Thanks so much for your comment. I think its GREAT you shop with your hubby and he helps you. I would feel more comfortable if your husband is a vetted IC shopper, just in 💛case.
@@JENontheGO ...I could definitely get him vetted under his own phone but, he has a learning disability so, he would not be able to shop on his own. I will reach out to InstaCart to see if he can get qualified to help me because, he is a strong 💪 labor help. For now, I can just take smaller loads.
Thanks will try the asparagus and avocado depends on customer. Tip put avocado in brown bag with apple or banana speed up the ripe in two days. I hate strawberries usually I tell customer doesn’t look good anytime after 12 pm strawberries are goes bad..
Jen, take the rotten ones out and replace them with good strawberries from another container ..Do you know what I mean? I do that with apples when they request a bag of apples that’s already pre-bagged, I will open up the bag, look at the apples , if there are any rotten ones , I take them out and take apples from another bag and put it in the bag that I’m going to purchase for the customer. And I’m all about the photos, I photograph every single substitute so that they’re not surprised when the substitute arrives they were already expecting it.
Strawberries in my area: for the most part they look like they are about two or three days from being moldy. I will be honest...you are better off buying frozen strawberries if you want them that badly.
Hi Rachel! Right?? Yes, again the strawberries today looked awful. I suggested frozen strawberries to all of my customers. A couple of them wanted a refund. Ugh!
one last thing, 🤔I always pack every single thing in an insulated bag even though the paper bags can only fit one bag in my huge insulated bags, I just went out and bought more and I literally take a photo of the delivery in the bags before I unpack them, it never fails 🤭that customers will come to the door and say ,"oh are those for me? "And seem really impressed 🧚again thanks to you!, 👋I see quite a few other drivers in my favorite store lately who are very obviously not from around here😲 yesterday even saw one with produce literally hanging over the top of a paper bag 😳none of them use insulated bags. I'm curious how they are still shoppers when I treat all my things like they're my babies, 🤗 All I think of is 🧐Jen would say just do your OWN thing! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟Hopefully they will be weeded out because I don't see any better batches no matter what rating I'm at 😳 My back is almost broken at this point and I'm an athlete 💯 I still love it! ♥️ I'm so very grateful for having found you here 💃 last thing I wanted to tell you I always wear a mask! But lately every single customer who comes out to greet me seems nervous and says oh I better go back and get my mask, almost like they think I'm afraid of them, I always say the minute I get out of the car oh please don't be afraid of the mask it's instacart policy 🤗
Wendy!! You are the absolute sweetest!! I appreciate all of your comments and feedback! You are absolutely killing it! I love that you put your all into Instacart. You seriously get out of what you put in! That’s the secret sauce! Have a great attitude and do the best you can. Even so, things happen that are out of our control and customers will be nasty. But when this happens, it won’t be as often and it’s not your problem! I hope you’re having a great week, so far. I’m sure you are hitting your goals because that’s your nature.! Stay strong and get plenty of rest in between! All my love! ❤️
I took a pic of the bananas I picked out for a customer bc they weren't blemish free and he appreciated it. I did laugh though bc when I buy bananas for myself, I graduate the ripeness. I buy one or two that are ready to eat now, get another one that will be ripe in 2 days, and another in 3 days, and one or 2 green ones.
Thanks for these videos. I lost my 90k a year job and started instacarting shopping about three weeks ago because I can't find a "real job." I've been learning a lot but my rating still sucks = 4.80 this morning. A few questions - 1. If you are shopping for someone and cannot find what they want, maybe it's a certain kind of lettuce or cracker or something and you message them with an alternative and they don't respond what do you do? I heard you are supposed to refund it and not decide on your own what to replace it with. 2. How in the hell do you make so much money on just three batches. I did six yesterday and only made $70. What am I doing wrong? Thank so much Molly in the DMV (DC, MD, VA)
Hi Molly! Thank you for reaching out and for being here. First, I am very sorry to hear that you lost your job. I’m sure this is taking an emotional and financial toll on you. Listen, please don’t beat yourself up. This is a process just like anything else and you will get better as time goes on. When I first started, I also struggled in my rating tanked, as well. Replacements are definitely a tricky contender with our ratings. Always begin your shop the kind and professional greeting. If they are not responding to you regarding your replacement choices, Simply send him another message again stating “ Hey Mary, they do not have this particular item on your list. I noticed you do not have a replacement selected. I found this item which is very similar. Here’s a photograph. Would you like me to purchase this for you instead? “. Molly, keep that item on the top of your cart so it is accessible and easy to put away. If the customer does not respond then I wait until I have just a few more items left to scan. And usually I will send a message as such. “ hi Mary, I did not receive approval from you regarding the replacements. I am going to go ahead and send you a refund on those as I don’t want to purchase them without your approval. I am heading to the checkout soon and will be in route shortly with your groceries. It has been my pleasure shopping for you today. Please stay safe! 💛” This usually protects me. But I would not do is just take it upon yourself to choose the selections if she doesn’t have any listed. Better safe than sorry. To get your rating up, you will likely have to do a lot of smaller batches. But that’s OK because he’s will add up as well and your rating should go up in no time. It’s all about communication, even if they don’t respond. I hope this helps. And yes, the batches in my area seem to be higher than most. You also might need to try experimenting in other zones while you are working getting your rating up. I’m so sorry you are frustrated. Please hang in there. Here for you! 💛
This is a little crazy...this lady does way more than I do. And I shop like I'm shopping for myself...latest dates, best produce, get an item in back etc. I don't think we get paid enough to think this hard about it! I mean, I'm careful with everything but this is way too much to me. Maybe it's because this isn't my full time job.
I usually am very customer service-oriented but recently I’ve had people reporting damaged items (that happen to be the most expensive things on their order) so they can get credit for their next order, and some real piece of work was upset Costco didn’t have Clorox wipes, so they reported the entire order as undelivered. I know it’s probably just a cluster of bad luck, but it makes it difficult because the batches I get now require so much more work for such little return compared to what I was getting before. 😔
None of this is fair or equitable! Instacart is not the platform for this, and it should be! This will turn around for you, always does. Just takes time. Please hang tough. I hear you. 💛
I pick through the strawberries because they always seem gross so I'll make sure that the customer gets a good bunch. I also seen a girl doing that with avocados and asked her why and she explained exactly that to me so now I do the same for each. Whenever I shop produce, I shop it the way I wpuld want my produce and will send pictures of things or I will say the is organic is better or worse that the non organic and ask if they want one or the other, etc.
Here's a tip, shop like you're shopping for yourself. Get the best of everything and take care of their food like it's your own! I have 5 stars from every customer I've ever had never not 1 comlaint or low rating 😃
Your videos brighten my day and make me a better shopper. Thank you dear friend ❤️ Cotton Candy Grapes are my new mortal enemy, it’s tough to find a batch that don’t have at least a few ugly brown ones! I’m taking photos and asking if they’d like fresh Gum Drop or Moon Drop Grapes (more expensive) instead or a refund? If they insist on bad Cotton Candy Grapes, I have been known to actually remove a few brown ones 😭 I spend so much time turning over strawberries particularly at Costco, unfortunately to provide this level of customer service you can’t really be in the 40’s anymore on speed. My friends in the 30’s and 40’s lack the rating. At Costco, 9 times out of 10, I will take a photo and ask for permission to refund the huge bags of yellow onions. There’s always at least one in that bunch that’s absolutely rotten and I find customers really appreciate our honesty on their poor quality. I struggle so hard with bananas, thank you for all of your guidance on that. I’m getting braver, but I saw a batch today asking for 27 bunches and immediately said no way! 🤪 Does the store even have that many in decent shape? Would I get dinged for pulling 27 instead of 7? Hopefully whoever got that batch succeeded. I saw the Facebook comments on that horrific post. The wildest part was bad shoppers defending how this terrible shopper and his buddies (how did the other 3 get past the Covid nightly questionnaire?? 🤪) damaged her property and she just needs to calm down and not tip bait him. Karma will no doubt come for these types. Thanks for all you do! You make all of us better and capable of making more money ❤️
I feel like this is a bit over the top. Your one bad experience about asparagus shouldn't result in double wrapping the tips. Just treat them with care. 100 percent agree with you about the avocados though! Love your content Jen!
Hi Steven! It is definitely over the top. I haven’t had a problem since I started double wrapping my asparagus. I guess this is what it has come to with these ratings. Better safe than sorry in my opinion. So happy you are here! 💛
Hi Jen, I love your videos sooo much.........they have helped me tremendously as a new Instacart shopper. I have a question: Yesterday I had a customer who wanted some butternut squash, that had a very low weight. All the squash was way over the weight she requested and the app would not let me confirm it. What is appropriate when the weights are too much, and the app won't accept it? I contacted the customer with a pic of the smallest, but regardless, the app would not let me confirm my selection. Hope this makes sense........hope you can help me. Thanks so much, Jen. Scott
Hi Scott. I know exactly what you are referring to as this has happened to me plenty of times too. The workaround for me is and I know this is silly, a refund that item because obviously it won’t let you put the item in with the correct wait. So then I start over and I manually enter the item back in. So for instance if it is a spaghetti squash, I will slightly misspell spaghetti., by adding an extra i. This will allow you to enter the weight that is on the scale. If you manually enter the exact same item with the exact same spelling, it will not let you put it into the app. I hope this makes sense.
@@JENontheGO Hi Jen! Thank you so much for your help. It makes total sense, and is hugely helpful to me. I'm in a small area in Oregon (on the coast) so the competition here is not nearly what I'm sure you encounter back east. That said, if I don't jump on batches pretty quickly (provided they are good batches) they are gone. Here in my area, it's mostly two Safeways and a Fred Meyer and a bulk grocery outlet. Not as many options, so that cuts down on the number of batches available.....if that makes sense. Thanks again, and I hope to talk more, Jen. Stay safe and well!! -Scott
This one customer had notes, written redundantly, under every single produce item: "make sure it's not bruised!" and then she even messaged me repeating herself. I asked her, have you had shoppers deliver beat up produce? Turns out she HAD! I made extra sure my produce was spectacular. Her 2 dollar tip jumped to a 20 dollar one! Another customer told me to make sure I get the organic produce---not the ones with the yellow labels. I was like, hello, I know what I'm doing. Turns out she had shoppers just replace organic with conventional, not bother asking her. What is up with these few bruised apples that spoil it for the rest of us? Bumped into another shopper who said "I never write the customer. They'll just want me to do more stuff for them." Unreal.
Hi Nate. I love that you understand why customers act the way they do. So many of the customers that over communicate with me on so many of their items do so, as a result From their previous InstaCart shoppers not caring and being reckless. You are a GEM and so deserving of the extra tip! Thank you for giving us all a good name. 💛👊🏼💯
Yesterday I had an order for batteries (the store had none), a certain kind of lights for a bedroom and a certain kind of christmas lights at Bed Bath Beyond. Well the store had no batteries and the packaging the bedroom ligthts came in were all ripped. I messaged the customer and she told me not to get the bedroom lights. The Christmas light s weren't what she wanted exactly but she told me to get them. That order was a complete fail and the distance between her house and the store was like 12 miles. LOL
I really appreciate your help always When customer lied and reported what shall I do? Example: when they got right item and then they reported wrong.🤨iteam even though I took a picture
Hi. I am so sorry this happened to you. When this does happen, and it will, contact Instacart support right away and show them the photograph if you have it. If you don’t have a photograph you can always report fraud on the customer. All you can do is move onto the next customer and put it behind you.
take photos of every item!!!! it's a pain but it will cover your butt. I don't only report the fraud through the app I reach out to the chat support too.
And, AVOCADOS 🥑 are tricky! I haven’t had anybody complain on them, but I have trouble picking them for myself. Bananas 🍌 are another pain in the ass unless they have a wide variety. Usually our regular bananas are spotted & the organic look good, but then what? If they don’t want to pay 10 cents more a pound😬
Produce is the worst and I agree with you. Grapes are pretty bad, too. I message customers about the condition of Bananas and will always send a photo, if I’m not comfortable. If they don’t respond, I will refund. Bad bananas aren’t worth the risk! Have a great week! 💛
It's not very realistic to have a speed in the 66 range if you're taking the time to communicate and really paying a lot of attention to the customer service aspect which by the way I 100% agree with. That is time consuming and slows the speed down considerably.
Hi Lulu! No matter what, customer service is the number one priority. Rather than focusing on speed it is more important to focus on customer service. I have found a way to keep my speed holding steady at around 67 items per second with superior customer service.💛 I would never compromise service for speed. Good for you! 💛
Also, do you worry about the wear and tear you are putting on your car? Oh, I just thought of another thing. Why do some batches have you shop at a store 16 miles from the customer's house? I don't see a way you can see where you are actually delivering to when you accept a batch. Is this because my rating is so shitty? Also, sometimes there are very few batches. Im thinking again it's because of my rating. Thanks Molly
Hi Molly. Before you except the batch you can definitely see how many miles you will be driving from the store to the customers house. It is critical that you base your selection on the mileage, and this mileage shows up on the main that screen, before you click on it. A lot of Instacart shopper‘s are stating that it seems very slow right now. Your rating is less than five star so this could be an indicator of why you’re not seeing loads of batches. Maybe today you try experimenting another zones to see if it picks up on your app. When my rating was lower, I was very discouraged but determined to fix it. I did quite a bit of driving to find areas that would at least keep me working and able to complete 4 to 5 batches a day. It is just a numbers game to get your rating up. Try to set a daily goal that is realistic and reasonable for you because this will keep you in the field until you hit it. I’m just offering you advice that helped me. I know it isn’t easy but it is possible. I hope this helps.💛
Personally, I always pick up the produce first. If I am shopping for 40 items, I am pretty fast so grabbing the produce first isn’t a problem at all. If shoppers tend to be slower, they might want to consider grabbing the produce last as customers can see the order in which they are scanning the items in. 💛
Hi Jason. Thank you for your comment. Yes, it is extremely frustrating when you were chatting with customers and they are not responding. I had it happen today. My advice is to keep chatting with them as if they are responding. If they choose not to respond that’s on them. At the end of the day, if I am doing everything right with replacements and communication, I well feel good about the outcome. Not all customers will respond and that’s OK. On the app it shows that the customer was notified of the messages you sent however I’m not sure that it guarantees that they’ve actually read the messages. Some customers may not be on the app at that particular time.😊
I think it's rude and annoying. We're risking our butts for these ppl, literally. Our health. The least they can do is be around while we shop and especially when we deliver. I talk to them as if they are talking to me, but if they don't reply at the end, I alert IC and then IC tries calling them. It's a royal pain in the butt but, we gotta cover our own butts!
Hi Kim, unfortunately, we don’t always know why we receive a low rating. Instacart stated that customers are required to leave a reason but this is not the case. Often, we are left to wonder. Incredibly frustrating! 💛
I’m curious as to how you keep your time down while going the extra mile?? I do the same because I want the best for my customers, but can’t seem to get my time down any lower than I have. My time isn’t bad - I just want it to be the best lol
Same here. Something always happens. Moved product, can’t find an employee to help find it, customers not replying till your headed for checkout and then want to discuss replacements. I can’t get my time below 110. Sigh.
My average is about 74 - anywhere from 69-78 depending on batch types. I end up having to take triple batches due to the lack of choices in my town, which means a lot of communication, late responses, running back and forth because of late responses, etc
This is a great speed! I get it though. I am very competitive as well. There are definitely shortcuts to get a faster speed. As of five minutes ago I got my speed down to a 61. I’d like to get in the 50! Most importantly though, is accuracy and efficiency.! You are doing great.! 💛
Hi Mandy! Do not be hard on yourself. Keep going and try to shave a little bit off your time with each shop. Set lsmall goals that Will keep you motivated. When I started, I was hovering over 100 seconds per item, as well. When I started, I was hovering over 100 seconds per item, as well. What’s most important is your accuracy! 💛
No reply means an automatic refund. Before I refund the customer, I will give them one more opportunity to respond. I will say, “ hi Mary, I am heading to the checkout now. I am going to refund you on the produce I showed you as I didn’t hear back from you. It’s been my absolute pleasure shopping for you today.!” 😊
Hi Kelsie! I don’t tell them about the asparagus being wrapped unless they ask me to make sure that their asparagus looks good. I definitely make sure it is on top of all the groceries so that it is one of the first things they pull out. Customers notice. Again, it’s in the details.😊
@@JENontheGO Hi there, great video. Am new to Instacart and am planning to work that soon. I have a question. When you said a refund, you mean in that particular item? But isn't that risky too?
You communicate as needed. If they don’t want to be contacted,, you deliver the groceries per instructions in their notes. Are still provide superior customer service with or without customer communication. 💛
JEN-THE FLASHES----IT HAPPENS TO ME. I WAS DOING HUGE SHOP AND IT DISAPPEARED. MY RATING IS LOW I CONTACTED INSTA..THEY SAID I DIDNT HAVE A LOWER SCORE..BUT I DO I THINK I KNOW WHO HACKED ME..SOMEONE SENT ME A TEXT..NOTHING POPPED UP SAID DOWNLOADING NEVER DID..SINCE THEN PROBLEMS SAYINV IM AT WRONG STORE ETC
Lucian Brown definitely and issue here. Stay on Instacart support until you find resolve. Sometimes it could be an APP glitch. You also may want to try uninstalling and reinstalling the app, if you haven’t already tried this. You will get through it but it’s so unnerving! 💛
Hi Judy. In the beginning, I can honestly say it did slow me down a bit. But now I have it down and I don’t overthink. I do voice to text so it goes fast and I don’t wait long for approval. 💛
Do you wear gloves?? I had customer tell me hopefully I’ll wear gloves next time and I let her know I won’t ever be delivering to her again and we aren’t required to wear gloves. She told me yes you are and all my other shoppers have worn them. We got in little argument but she still left me 5 stars👀
I’m nice and provide good customer service but I won’t kiss customers ass to next level some think you’re their slave and they’re so powerful..no I’ll take no tip and 1 star before losing dignity sorry. Some customers just look for anything to whine about. I’d rather not deal with it you will never win them over and they’re not worth it
I’ll wear them now but it’s impossible trying to text the customer w them and either way the gloves won’t protect from other grocery store customers germs that have touched items. wearing them is literally pointless
I think some customers are not meant for instacart and vice versa for shoppers. If you’re that nit picky and phobic of germs...having a literal stranger you know nothing about (health,hygiene) grocery shop for you is bad idea.
Good morning! Huge NO to the gloves! You are actually at more risk of cross-contamination while wearing gloves! Wearing gloves is absolutely ridiculous. If it happens to me, I will tell the customer my hands stay disinfected and are at less at risk of spreading viruses than with wearing gloves. At least she gave you your five stars, as she should have. Hope you’re having a great week! 💛
Every fruit or veggie has its peak season. You can't help the green bananas if you wanted to avoid the spotted bananas. You can never satisfy Humanity. It doesn't matter if it's Amazon, Instacart or Doordash, these companies will never create the perfect flawless system. If customers are that petty, then lets see if these companies can one day create the perfect veggie or fruit. In this case, you damned if you do or damned if you don't. SMH. I don't get it :( Even the produce department will confess, that it's impossible to get 100% of produce 99% of the time.
That’s incredibly wasteful. Just set produce aside in the cart and don’t set anything near it. I’ve never had a problem like this. Screw your ratings, the planet is way more important.
When a customer orders bagged apples I always open the apple bag check each apple put the moldy damaged apples aside and get another apple bag and replace the damaged ones for the good ones. I know this takes a little bit more time but it gives me peace of mind I do that for the bagged potatoes too. Im going to try the thing with the asparagus tips.
Good morning, Sandra! Ohhhhhh!! So smart. Groceries are expensive and customers deserve the best of the best. Good for you!! 💛
the most frustrating part of produce shopping is having tons of produce and having to constantly be on the phone and messaging them and taking up the produce section.
Agree! Produce is my least favorite! And to add to what you were saying, produce gives me the most trouble regarding ratings. Ugh! 💛
Exactly and it takes so much time you don't have..frustrating
Another great way to keep your rating high is shop for customers who respect and appreciate what you do for a living. A good size tip typically means they respect you as a shopper and don't consider you a slave or low life heres 5 bucks get me 70 items kind of thing. Most of my bad ratings come from the low tippers. Why would I take a low tipper? I don't on purpose there thrown in on a double or triple batch. So I may think both customers tipped well but in actuality one stiffed me the other tipped huge but my rating is in jeopardy with the stiffer. There much more likely to make false reports and rate you bad. So besides what Jen says be very careful what batches you choose.
Agreed.
I once had a customer leave me a gift bag full of snacks with a lovely note of appreciation.
Great produce tips Jen! I view my order ahead of time & count how many produce bags I need in total. Once in produce section I grab all my bags, go to the wet section & get couple fingertips wet then open all my bags. I do this because I'm tired of spending time trying to open them! 🤣
Hi Christine! Great tip with your produce bags! Those are the worst! I’m all
Over this! Thank you! 💛
I just figured this out! Yes!
"I'd rather save my rating"
One of the realist statements ever...
100% ! 💛
Thank You for this video!! So thorough.
And I AGREE with you about stepping up and giving the customer exceptional service! I always ask myself how I’d like my shopper to shop for me, the answer always lies in that question, as I have high standards! 💕
Girl, yes!! I love that you get it! It’s not hard, right? You are so right in asking yourself how you would like your groceries to be shopped for you. 💛 I hope you are having a great week!
Hi again Jen. I watched this video yesterday and later that day I took a double batch (one order was only 9 items so it was fine)... but I used your tips about communication, acknowledging their notes, taking photo and saying that I sent it to them and to instacart and this morning I woke up with 5 stars for both customers and 2 very nice comments.!! I also snagged some smaller paper bags from my other job to put frozen items in (and yes I texted the customer and told them I had put their ice cream in it's own paper bag). I also grabbed a few of those paper cones you use to put oil in your car so next time I have asparagus, their gonna have their own little hat! Thanks for the great advice.!
Thank you for your help, waiting on my background check to clear before I start, but you are really helpful.
Sometimes you have no choice with avocados, they're all hard. Luckily, you can ripen avocados faster when placed in a brown paper bag for a day or two.
Yes, agree! Avocados, strawberries & grapes seriously stress me out! LOL
Agreed however, the avocado bags are usually ripe. I have had customers approve bags over singles due to ripeness. Try it next time! If your tip is based off of percentage, that’s more money in your pocket.
sometimes it's the 🍌 when they all look bruised or too ripe
Where do you find brown paper bags?
@@Critical.Thinker Home Depot has some in the garden section.
Yes!! I actually ran into another shopper who just started during covid and she noticed me sending messages and taking pics every batch and she actually stopped and said you know you waste way toomuch time trying to help these people just refund and go on you need to learn nobody ever answers you anyway.... and that truly bothered me that was her attitude..... so I told her I don't do that I send messages to every single customer and I go the extra mile for literally everyone and trust me people really appreciate that and I hear so many times a day that people wish every shopper was like me.... she snorted and got an attitude with me! I just tell you I totally and completely agree with you it really doesn't take that much more time to do these extra little things and I can't tell you how many people give me extra money simply because I doexactly what you are saying in this video.. it makes me sad that there's other shoppers who don't do this! These people are paying for a premium service and should get a very premium service from the shopper!! I'm with you girl and I'm truly glad that I finally see that there are other people who do it exactly the way I do and I really hope people are inspired to do better because customers deserve better!! I run into that girl from time to time and she looks at me like I'm crazy and acts like she's so much better than me and it makes me sad inside... I've been doing this for 3 years and I'm telling you I know a lot of customers in myarea and as soon as I start my shop and they realize it's me... they get so excited and quite honestly most give me either cash as extra or change my app tip to more simply because it was me that shopped for them! So idk maybe I should be grateful that there's so many "bad" shoppers because I usually make more money simply because of that! Jen you are so right and I really hope with everything in my heart that people listen to you!!
Hi and thank you so much for sharing this. First of all this is unbelievable to me. We work in the service industry and yes it is our job to service customers and to go above and beyond for them. So many shoppers missed the memo on this one. That other shopper that approached you certainly won’t last long on this platform and her days are numbered with her ratings. Keep doing what you are doing and focusing on your path. At the end of the day you can be proud of what you do.! Thank you so much for being here and for being a part of this community. We need all the positivity we can get. 💛
I always send an introduction text before getting started to every customer to let them know that sometimes the shelves may not always be stocked with the exact item they requested and to please keep an eye on their instacart app for possible replacements and messages about the produce they ordered. That helps so they will answer you back
I just started and I have the hardest time getting people to answer me. Today they did not have items the customer wanted and I sent them a text saying they do not have it, would they like a replacement? No answer. I called them, no answer, so I refunded the items and paid for what I found, then they answer back, and of course said to make replacements, but it was too late. I only started doing it today, but the people I did contact, don’t get back to me, or in that case, on time. How long do you wait for the customer to answer you back?
@@patlynn6425 usually if I hit the button in the app that says I can't find the item... and it says the customer has chosen a refund if this item is out of stock then I refund but send a message through chat to them that hey they're out and the app said you would like a refund so I did do that... but if you'd like a replacement instead I can absolutely do that I will send a pic of this section and if you see anything that will work let me know!! Then refund and move on. But if I hit the can't find item button and it doesn't say refund request then I'll choose a suitable replacement and go ahead and replace it if there's something there that is similar....like instead of ragu a similar flavor in a different brand or something.... then I do the same I send a message to customer saying hey they're out of the requested ragu sauce but I did see a tomato basil sauce in the prego brand and so I went ahead and grabbed it for you as replacement but I thought I'd also send you a picture of the section and if you see something that would work better than I can absolutely change it for you! Then I keep going through the list. If by the time I've finished the list I haven't heard from them then I leave the changes I made. Then at the very end of the shop if I haven't heard from them I will sometimes try to call or I'll send a final message saying I'm all done shopping and reaching out one final time before check out to ensure the replacement/ refunds made were ok with customer and tell them I'm heading to check out and I did go ahead and keep the sauce replacement because I didn't want to not get them anything at all! Or if I did do a refund on items I'll letthem know why I chose to do so. Then honestly I wait like maybe a minute or two after depending on my opinion of how much they might/might not like my replacement. Like for example if the person had a lot of organic items in their order and they had requested and organic sauce that was out of stock then I absolutely would not replace an organic sauce with a non-organic without permission... or if you could tell by their order that they sort of seemed to stay away from meat and maybe they might be a vegetarian then I would be sure that the softs that I grabbed would go for that type of diet..... but not everybody answers that is for absolute sure! However usually if they don't get my messages until I am already on the way to their house or have already delivered usually when they go back in the app they will see that I did try to get ahold to them and they will see that I did spend time on my decision and why I made the decision I made! And usually for the most part most people appreciate that... however you do run across people who do not!!! And used to this was not an issue because before covid it was extraordinary really rare to ever not see a customer at drop off.... so usually at drop off you would just be able to say something about the changes u made and why you did them. But now almost every customer is a leave at door customer so that does make it a little harder!! But one thing you should know is that you have priority for your first 30 orders... well I think it is 30 orders... instacart does not count any bad ratings against you whatsoever it does actually give you time to get a rhythm going for yourself and to learn how the app works so just make the best choices that you know how and just always make sure you tell the customer why whether they answer or they don't and that way if the customer gets their groceries and is confused why some items are different whenever they open the app they will see your messages! And hopefully see that you did make a concerted effort to speak to them
I totally understand, I applaud you for going above and beyond. I try to make replacements when I can but I try not to communicate too much with them. In my area I’m averaging about 12/hour and tips are fairly low. Not worth my time to message them about every single produce item, slows me down way too much
Thanks again. I’ve been checking most produce with my customers. Today the green beans were sooooo moldy and gross I could not even pick through them. She was very happy that I got her the prepackaged ones instead.
Absolutely did the right thing, Mandy! It’s all about going above and beyond for the customer.! 😊
Thanks for the tips you are so right. I also always give the customers a heads up about about certain fruits an veggies an yes they love it. Even when im headed to check out I always ask if they would like to add items. Also I let them know if the lines are a bit long an drop off time may be delayed. They always thank me for that info. An is very appreciative wit how I Communicate with them.
Just became a shopper and love your videos. I have learned so much from you and hope to use it in my part time shopping gig.
Great Tips! I’ve been using your asparagus technique! Thank you!
Yes! That’s a great one!! Works like a charm! Have a great week! Hope you are hitting your daily goals. 💛
Will definitely use the asparagus tip,and others. Thanks 😊
My pleasure! I hope you’re having a great week. Thank you for your support!💛
You’re right about exemplary customer service, it’s not too much!!!
Hi Jen love your channel! One thing that I do to avoid all that plastic because I am very much against it and I absolutely abhor plastic bags, I want share with everyone that what I do and it looks really neat and almost like a luxury Fruitbox !🍑I save my boxes from Costco, the produce ones and what I do when I have quite a bit of fruit and vegetables, I arrange them in a beautiful arrangement almost like arranging flowers except I am arranging their fruits and vegetables in the box! I arrange them neatly so everything is facing up and it looks like they just purchased a luxury fruit/vegetable box also, I keep a little Water mister in the back just with some water in it and I just lightly spray a fine mist over them right before I set them down that way they have a light, fresh, crisp appearance that makes them look like they were just picked and everything looks beautiful and dewy, it is zero extra time really I pack the box as it is rung up, I believe the small touches make it look like you just gave them them the best!
WOW! This is really going above and beyond. Good for you and thank you for sharing what you do! :)
I really appreciate you making this video on handling produce. Thank you so much for educating us on how to select better produce. The asparagus wrapping never even thought of that method or the tips being so important for the customers. I don’t buy it for myself I would not know. Right now strawberries are probably out of season and it is not the best looking anymore. At my market where I shop I wished I can bag the groceries myself. The cashier often don’t give a shit and over stuff the bags and put wrong items that should not be mixed together in the bag. If I am the customer I don’t want my cold cuts mixed with hot food items. Or my milk products mixed with detergents. I asked the cashier very nicely if I can pack it myself and often say no and not allow me to even pack my cart. They just dump everything in the cart and I end up have to sort thru it all. They are very strict that I can’t cross the line and chain the checkout. I often try to be friendly to many cashier and say how you doing how is your day is it very busy today so that she will let me pack my cart. I took a break on IC for a week I just got very burned out and tired thinking about the unavoidable bad ratings. As much as I can do to be more customer service oriented many times they don’t care. Sometimes it is inevitable that their items are out of stock. And we suggest replacements and we get ding on missing items. I checked on the eggs all the time that they are in perfect condition and none of them cracked. Also I tried very hard to becareful in handling soft produce and not let it get squashed in the car. Thank you again for your tip. I often look up to mature people like you they have experience in shopping to find the best for the customer.
Hi Tye! Thank you so much for your response. You sound like you are very diligent and thorough with each one of your customers. Awesome job! Listen, I i’m an absolute control freak at the checkout line. I have to be!! Lol as long as we are being polite to the cashiers and baggers, they have no problem with us bagging our own groceries. I had a situation today where the checker was throwing the yogurt on top of the cardboard cereals and I wasn’t having it. I stopped him and kindly asked if I could step in. It’s what we have to do! If the baggers and checkers are having a bad day, I simply remind them that I am representing and shopping for another customer and I’m very particular about how things will be bagged. I also can relate with you regarding getting burnt out on Instacart. Sometimes you have to take a step back and give yourself a break. It is all about balance! Anything I can do to help I am happy to do so. Just reach out. I hope you are having a great week.! 💛
Soooo... many of my customers tell me about their bad shoppers. I have ordered several times also and have had bad shoppers too. No communication, wrong items, replacing without asking if it's OK. I'm not perfect either and have made a few mistakes in the past but I really try my hardest. It really does Make a difference to get back up to the ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating. I study how to be a better shopper every day and watch all of the videos and read the comments. It really has helped me.😃
Hi June! Thank you for your comment and support. Yes, I also have customers tell me that they have had such bad experiences with their shoppers. This frustrates me so much. Yes, we all make mistakes because we are human. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t take much to make customers happy! Communication and good replacements are everything! I am perplexed as to why shoppers don’t understand this.! I hope you’re having a great week!💛
Thank you so much, I start my ninth week with Instacart. Yes I agree with you the communication is so important. Love the tip about the bananas and taking pictures and sending them. I had not thought of that. Very grateful for your hard work and making these videos thank you
Thank you so much for your feedback and for being here! We have to stick together! 💛
Funny you mentioned avocados.. I always ask my customers how they want their avocados.. also always send a pic of banana’s! Got great feedback in comments for doing this!
Awesome! Have a great Sunday! 💛
LOVE your sweater!😍
Thank you! At J.Crew right now for 50% off! 🍎❤️
Love this! I’m new here and to IC so you may have touched on this as well. But I do what I do with my own meat. I take the pack and put into the bag but I add a paper towel on each side to prevent juice from leaking.
Hi Jessica! The little things make a huge difference, and customers love it! Welcome to Instacart! 💛
You are awesome!! Thank you so much for all this good information.
Thank you, Jacqueline! Happy to help in every way I can. Thank you for your support! 💛
Your awesome 🤩 I love your energy & your positive attitude 👏🏼 thank you 😊 🙏🏼
My wife has been a instacart shopper for 3 years and has remained a 5 star. I have no idea how she has dodge a bad rating.im so proud of her.
Good morning, Larry! Wow!! Now THAT is an accomplishment!! I would love to know all of her tricks and tips so that I could share them with the viewers on this channel. My email address is jenonthego2@gmail.com! 💛
@@JENontheGO Hi ,I'm Lisa the shopper my husband unknowingly told you about.i have been doing this for almost three years and got him started when his restaurant job ended due to the pandemic.its a tough market here,we have 1 schuncks and 1 Aldi and 73 shoppers at 1 time we had over 150 it really got tough.o have no idea how I have managed to keep my rating I've been blessed by the instacart gods lol.
Hi ! Because you are a great shopper! Congratulations!! ❤️
It’s so about the details ... thanks for giving attention to details in all of your videos!
My pleasure! Thx so much! I hope you are having a great week! 💛
i like your vibe, your glasses + the apple stem is an aesthetic lol
Your channel is simply amazing. So glad I found it!
Hi Shamikaakeela! I am so excited you are here! I appreciate you! Have a great week!💛
I love your honesty! Save the asparagus! Lol! I've watched about 5 of your videos now and subscribed earlier! Thank you so much!
Hi Sasha!! So happy you are here! Thank you so much! 💛
Great idea Jen, we are so fortunate here in California produce is less expensive. Not the pt here... TIME is because when I shop, time is everything. I wrap asparagus just once then put in top of basket. Takes me longer to open cellophane bag 😬😬. My rating usually stays at 5 stars but is now 4.96 for scanning item then did not place in basket. learned from my mistakes. Time is everything
💛
I don’t like over messaging customers, however, if I am not certain on the produce I send a pic, that way they approved it & then they don’t seem to complain.
That’s good, too! It’s really whatever works for you. 💛
Great video Jen I will use your advice on the asparagus I've been a five-star for 3 weeks I am loving life I am the king of cherry picking my batches there's only two grocery stores I will go to and I will not do doubles and triples only single batches that are no more than 4 miles away and no more than 33 items or so, I cannot deal with double and triple batches you are doubling and tripling your chances of something going wrong I just like focusing on One customer and giving them 100% of my attention I am protecting my five-star like you protect your asparagus.. my area the deliveries are paying 20 and $30 so I do lots of those delivery only and still doing liquor stores they pay very well also last week I made $27 an hour I know it's not quite as much as you but in Central Florida the pay for the batches is a lot less than it is up north, last week I made over $400 in 17hrs I only did two shopping batches the rest were delivery onlys and liquor stores, also do lots of small cvs and pet co batches, have a great day honey..P.S. love the hair up and the apple sweatshirt, your so cute...🙂.. if you're ever down in the Orlando area give me a shout I could talk about instacart all day long I love just sitting around and talking about the stories and everything to me instacart is like a drug I'm addicted. I also hate that best times to shop icon that they put in the batch queue it's very annoying.. there are many different ways to make money on the instacart platform other than doing grocery orders I think a lot of people do not realize that
Hi Cagey! You are the best! Thank you for your comment and support. I love your attitude and work ethic. This is what will set you apart from all of the rest! You’re absolutely right to give each one of your customers 100%, because that’s what it takes, right??!! The 20 and $30 batches are just fine. They are safer and bring lower risk! $27 an hour is a great wage, especially in Orlando where I’ve been told is oversaturated with shoppers! My daughter actually lives in Orlando, and perhaps when I visit her in the near future, we can do an Insta cart chat, together!! I was still hoping you would submit a video with your Best Instacart tips because you seem to have them.! It would make my day! 💛
Jen, I have thought of you since you first started blogging every single time I purchased asparagus! Lol I didn't wrap it quite the way you did but I definitely will from this point on🧚 I always text every client and ask how do you prefer bananas?🍌 An I send them a photo,more yellow or more green?🤔 I always ask how do you prefer your avocados? Although I never know exactly why I've been dinged or even though I've called customer service😯 I have gotten so many wonderful comments and as of today I'm back at a 4.98!🌟 Again all thanks to you and your tips! When I'm feeling low and exhausted I think of you! And I immediately feel worthy. I try so super hard with the baggers and beg to bag myself🙃 yet it's like an ongoing battle with them so it's so rough trying to be really sweet with them yet watch how they're bagging and then I often have to re-bag everything in 5he parking lot😩 because I have gotten damaged items in the past😴 especially yogurts!😰 Yesterday I invested in instacart dudes idea of elastics because it seems the cashier / baggers get very aggravated by me putting produce in the cellophane bags! Love your stuff you always lift me up 🌻 Have a five-star day! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Hi Wendy! YOU are such a doll! First, thank you for your support and love! ❤️. So proud of the hard work you are doing every day. You GET it! You are going the extra mile with your attitude and customer effort. This will reward you Both physically and emotionally! There are so many people in this world who don’t have a great work ethic. Instacart is hard, but it is rewarding if you put the work in, and you are doing just that! As far as bagging your groceries. Listen, I am ridiculously attentive at the way the groceries are being bagged. I have no problem stepping in and asking the bagger to step out if I feel they are not up to par. Please don’t feel bad about this one little iota!! We have to do it.! I always approach and kindness. I also say when I’m on the belt, “ hi, I am shopping for a customer today so it’s imperative these groceries are packed perfectly. If you’d rather I bag, I am happy to do so.!” :)) works like a champ.. I love Instacart dude as well! I also will rubber band my berries from time to time. It really is the little things and especially the communication with the customers.! Have a great week and please keep me posted!! With you! ❤️
Have you made a video on this? Because I'm not sure what you both mean about rubber banding plastic berry containers.
Hi Mike. I touched upon this briefly, suggesting using rubber bands to secure the produce in plastic containers, such as blueberries, raspberries & strawberries. Many times these lids pop open and the berries roll all over the place. This was a great tip I learned from Instacart Dude on UA-cam. 💛
Ah, thank you Jen. I see, that makes sense. InstaCart Dude has a lot of great little ideas in his videos, but they are buried in between a lot of banter.
Happy to help! No more spilled blueberries on my watch! Lol! 💛
If I see a bad berry or something, I just pull that one out. Sometimes we will notice these things after we leave the store.
Ah! Great advice. 💛
Thats what my grandma would've done buying for our home.
I’ll replace one or two from
Another package of strawberries and make a great package myself if I have to 😉
I won’t tell! Lol! Good for you! 💛
Where is that Asparagus from ...Mexico? It comes already wrapped at Costco here in CA I go for the darker avocados which are still hard but soon will ripen. California strawberries are great year round.. Thanks for another cool video!
Thank you so much! Not exactly sure where the asparagus is from. I do know it’s fresh, though! Sometimes the Costco produce it is pre-wrapped can be tricky, as well. I hope you’re having a great week! 💛
VERY helpful video. Thank you for taking the time
Very welcome!💛
@@JENontheGO so on my very first instacart delivery the customer said there was a missing item but thanks to one of your videos my husband and I took pictures. I’m not sure what the outcome will be with their “investigation “ but I know the item was delivered
Thank you for all the tips!!
So happy to help! Thank you for being here! 💛
Thanks
Oh my gosh the first few orders i had always had strawberries in them and EVERYTIME customers would say they were damaged. Everytime. So this is a good tip- I basically have to treat them like eggs lol "open em up"
Yes. I scrutinize the produce. Strawberries seriously stress me out!! 😬💛
dont stop with the strawberries. blackberries, blueberries and raspberries go south quicker than strawberries. At one point i worked in the produce department at walmart and received them bad or noticed they'd go bad in just a few days inside the coolers.
Oh man! Yikes! 💛
Keep up the great videos. Your energy is so awesome.
Thank you so much, Jeremy! 💛
Any suggestions on artichokes? If they are big..do you bag each one? Is that excessive? I had the hardest time the other day, the bags kept breaking. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Love your channel! It’s been so helpful!!
"I really don't wanna hear lets save the earth because I'd rather save my rating to be honest." 😂❤
I am with you as both a customer and, a new InstaCart shopper! I care about the customer and, when I am a customer, I never take back the tip. I had one shopper not communicate at all. I texted her numerous times. She never responded. When she arrived, I asked her if she received my texts. She said yes and never explained herself. I still did not take back the tip. I just think it’s wrong.
This shopper is absolutely out of line to blatantly ignore your communication with her. I mean, this is really not Okay and you were so kind to keep her tip in tact. Good for you, and shame on her!💛
I shop by myself but sometimes, if the bags are heavy, my husband helps me carry them to the customer’s door. He drives me around because it’s his car. I don’t have my own car. Is that ok or, should I only take orders I can carry. I care about doing the right thing. He doesn’t shop with me. He waits in the car. I respect any advice you have. :)
Thanks so much for your comment. I think its GREAT you shop with your hubby and he helps you. I would feel more comfortable if your husband is a vetted IC shopper, just in 💛case.
@@JENontheGO ...I could definitely get him vetted under his own phone but, he has a learning disability so, he would not be able to shop on his own. I will reach out to InstaCart to see if he can get qualified to help me because, he is a strong 💪 labor help. For now, I can just take smaller loads.
Smart, please keep me posted.!
Cashiers at the store usually have to unwrap that asparagus to scan it.
Lol
Thanks will try the asparagus and avocado depends on customer. Tip put avocado in brown bag with apple or banana speed up the ripe in two days. I hate strawberries usually I tell customer doesn’t look good anytime after 12 pm strawberries are goes bad..
Awesome! The asparagus wrapping method really works. Good call on the strawberries. You are right, terrible, especially in the afternoon!💛
Jen, take the rotten ones out and replace them with good strawberries from another container ..Do you know what I mean? I do that with apples when they request a bag of apples that’s already pre-bagged, I will open up the bag, look at the apples , if there are any rotten ones , I take them out and take apples from another bag and put it in the bag that I’m going to purchase for the customer. And I’m all about the photos, I photograph every single substitute so that they’re not surprised when the substitute arrives they were already expecting it.
Hi Debra. Love this! This is why you are doing well on IC! Thank you for sharing this! 💛
Strawberries in my area: for the most part they look like they are about two or three days from being moldy. I will be honest...you are better off buying frozen strawberries if you want them that badly.
Hi Rachel! Right?? Yes, again the strawberries today looked awful. I suggested frozen strawberries to all of my customers. A couple of them wanted a refund. Ugh!
one last thing, 🤔I always pack every single thing in an insulated bag even though the paper bags can only fit one bag in my huge insulated bags, I just went out and bought more and I literally take a photo of the delivery in the bags before I unpack them, it never fails 🤭that customers will come to the door and say ,"oh are those for me? "And seem really impressed 🧚again thanks to you!, 👋I see quite a few other drivers in my favorite store lately who are very obviously not from around here😲 yesterday even saw one with produce literally hanging over the top of a paper bag 😳none of them use insulated bags. I'm curious how they are still shoppers when I treat all my things like they're my babies, 🤗 All I think of is 🧐Jen would say just do your OWN thing! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟Hopefully they will be weeded out because I don't see any better batches no matter what rating I'm at 😳 My back is almost broken at this point and I'm an athlete 💯 I still love it! ♥️ I'm so very grateful for having found you here 💃 last thing I wanted to tell you I always wear a mask! But lately every single customer who comes out to greet me seems nervous and says oh I better go back and get my mask, almost like they think I'm afraid of them, I always say the minute I get out of the car oh please don't be afraid of the mask it's instacart policy 🤗
Wendy!! You are the absolute sweetest!! I appreciate all of your comments and feedback! You are absolutely killing it! I love that you put your all into Instacart. You seriously get out of what you put in! That’s the secret sauce! Have a great attitude and do the best you can. Even so, things happen that are out of our control and customers will be nasty. But when this happens, it won’t be as often and it’s not your problem! I hope you’re having a great week, so far. I’m sure you are hitting your goals because that’s your nature.! Stay strong and get plenty of rest in between! All my love! ❤️
I took a pic of the bananas I picked out for a customer bc they weren't blemish free and he appreciated it. I did laugh though bc when I buy bananas for myself, I graduate the ripeness. I buy one or two that are ready to eat now, get another one that will be ripe in 2 days, and another in 3 days, and one or 2 green ones.
Thanks for these videos. I lost my 90k a year job and started instacarting shopping about three weeks ago because I can't find a "real job." I've been learning a lot but my rating still sucks = 4.80 this morning. A few questions - 1. If you are shopping for someone and cannot find what they want, maybe it's a certain kind of lettuce or cracker or something and you message them with an alternative and they don't respond what do you do? I heard you are supposed to refund it and not decide on your own what to replace it with. 2. How in the hell do you make so much money on just three batches. I did six yesterday and only made $70. What am I doing wrong? Thank so much Molly in the DMV (DC, MD, VA)
Hi Molly! Thank you for reaching out and for being here. First, I am very sorry to hear that you lost your job. I’m sure this is taking an emotional and financial toll on you. Listen, please don’t beat yourself up. This is a process just like anything else and you will get better as time goes on. When I first started, I also struggled in my rating tanked, as well. Replacements are definitely a tricky contender with our ratings. Always begin your shop the kind and professional greeting. If they are not responding to you regarding your replacement choices, Simply send him another message again stating “ Hey Mary, they do not have this particular item on your list. I noticed you do not have a replacement selected. I found this item which is very similar. Here’s a photograph. Would you like me to purchase this for you instead? “. Molly, keep that item on the top of your cart so it is accessible and easy to put away. If the customer does not respond then I wait until I have just a few more items left to scan. And usually I will send a message as such. “ hi Mary, I did not receive approval from you regarding the replacements. I am going to go ahead and send you a refund on those as I don’t want to purchase them without your approval. I am heading to the checkout soon and will be in route shortly with your groceries. It has been my pleasure shopping for you today. Please stay safe! 💛” This usually protects me. But I would not do is just take it upon yourself to choose the selections if she doesn’t have any listed. Better safe than sorry.
To get your rating up, you will likely have to do a lot of smaller batches. But that’s OK because he’s will add up as well and your rating should go up in no time. It’s all about communication, even if they don’t respond.
I hope this helps. And yes, the batches in my area seem to be higher than most. You also might need to try experimenting in other zones while you are working getting your rating up. I’m so sorry you are frustrated. Please hang in there. Here for you! 💛
be nice, save the earth
❤️agree. Just being funny.
This is a little crazy...this lady does way more than I do. And I shop like I'm shopping for myself...latest dates, best produce, get an item in back etc. I don't think we get paid enough to think this hard about it! I mean, I'm careful with everything but this is way too much to me. Maybe it's because this isn't my full time job.
I mean best dates, like furthest out..
I usually am very customer service-oriented but recently I’ve had people reporting damaged items (that happen to be the most expensive things on their order) so they can get credit for their next order, and some real piece of work was upset Costco didn’t have Clorox wipes, so they reported the entire order as undelivered. I know it’s probably just a cluster of bad luck, but it makes it difficult because the batches I get now require so much more work for such little return compared to what I was getting before. 😔
None of this is fair or equitable! Instacart is not the platform for this, and it should be! This will turn around for you, always does. Just takes time. Please hang tough. I hear you. 💛
I pick through the strawberries because they always seem gross so I'll make sure that the customer gets a good bunch. I also seen a girl doing that with avocados and asked her why and she explained exactly that to me so now I do the same for each. Whenever I shop produce, I shop it the way I wpuld want my produce and will send pictures of things or I will say the is organic is better or worse that the non organic and ask if they want one or the other, etc.
Here's a tip, shop like you're shopping for yourself. Get the best of everything and take care of their food like it's your own! I have 5 stars from every customer I've ever had never not 1 comlaint or low rating 😃
Your videos brighten my day and make me a better shopper. Thank you dear friend ❤️ Cotton Candy Grapes are my new mortal enemy, it’s tough to find a batch that don’t have at least a few ugly brown ones! I’m taking photos and asking if they’d like fresh Gum Drop or Moon Drop Grapes (more expensive) instead or a refund? If they insist on bad Cotton Candy Grapes, I have been known to actually remove a few brown ones 😭 I spend so much time turning over strawberries particularly at Costco, unfortunately to provide this level of customer service you can’t really be in the 40’s anymore on speed. My friends in the 30’s and 40’s lack the rating. At Costco, 9 times out of 10, I will take a photo and ask for permission to refund the huge bags of yellow onions. There’s always at least one in that bunch that’s absolutely rotten and I find customers really appreciate our honesty on their poor quality. I struggle so hard with bananas, thank you for all of your guidance on that. I’m getting braver, but I saw a batch today asking for 27 bunches and immediately said no way! 🤪 Does the store even have that many in decent shape? Would I get dinged for pulling 27 instead of 7? Hopefully whoever got that batch succeeded. I saw the Facebook comments on that horrific post. The wildest part was bad shoppers defending how this terrible shopper and his buddies (how did the other 3 get past the Covid nightly questionnaire?? 🤪) damaged her property and she just needs to calm down and not tip bait him. Karma will no doubt come for these types. Thanks for all you do! You make all of us better and capable of making more money ❤️
“I’d rather save my rating” - 100% agree with you. My rating is more important than you Mother Nature 😂
I feel like this is a bit over the top. Your one bad experience about asparagus shouldn't result in double wrapping the tips. Just treat them with care. 100 percent agree with you about the avocados though! Love your content Jen!
Hi Steven! It is definitely over the top. I haven’t had a problem since I started double wrapping my asparagus. I guess this is what it has come to with these ratings. Better safe than sorry in my opinion. So happy you are here! 💛
@@JENontheGO Hey you know more than me! You are the IC Goddess in my eyes and I appreciate all of your advice!
Hi Jen, I love your videos sooo much.........they have helped me tremendously as a new Instacart shopper. I have a question: Yesterday I had a customer who wanted some butternut squash, that had a very low weight. All the squash was way over the weight she requested and the app would not let me confirm it. What is appropriate when the weights are too much, and the app won't accept it? I contacted the customer with a pic of the smallest, but regardless, the app would not let me confirm my selection. Hope this makes sense........hope you can help me. Thanks so much, Jen.
Scott
Hi Scott. I know exactly what you are referring to as this has happened to me plenty of times too. The workaround for me is and I know this is silly, a refund that item because obviously it won’t let you put the item in with the correct wait. So then I start over and I manually enter the item back in. So for instance if it is a spaghetti squash, I will slightly misspell spaghetti., by adding an extra i. This will allow you to enter the weight that is on the scale. If you manually enter the exact same item with the exact same spelling, it will not let you put it into the app. I hope this makes sense.
@@JENontheGO Hi Jen! Thank you so much for your help. It makes total sense, and is hugely helpful to me. I'm in a small area in Oregon (on the coast) so the competition here is not nearly what I'm sure you encounter back east. That said, if I don't jump on batches pretty quickly (provided they are good batches) they are gone. Here in my area, it's mostly two Safeways and a Fred Meyer and a bulk grocery outlet. Not as many options, so that cuts down on the number of batches available.....if that makes sense. Thanks again, and I hope to talk more, Jen. Stay safe and well!!
-Scott
This one customer had notes, written redundantly, under every single produce item: "make sure it's not bruised!" and then she even messaged me repeating herself. I asked her, have you had shoppers deliver beat up produce? Turns out she HAD! I made extra sure my produce was spectacular. Her 2 dollar tip jumped to a 20 dollar one! Another customer told me to make sure I get the organic produce---not the ones with the yellow labels. I was like, hello, I know what I'm doing. Turns out she had shoppers just replace organic with conventional, not bother asking her. What is up with these few bruised apples that spoil it for the rest of us? Bumped into another shopper who said "I never write the customer. They'll just want me to do more stuff for them." Unreal.
Hi Nate. I love that you understand why customers act the way they do. So many of the customers that over communicate with me on so many of their items do so, as a result From their previous InstaCart shoppers not caring and being reckless. You are a GEM and so deserving of the extra tip! Thank you for giving us all a good name. 💛👊🏼💯
@@JENontheGO I heard from Sunshine today :) My day is complete!
Nate!!! 💛 Have a great day!!! XO
Yesterday I had an order for batteries (the store had none), a certain kind of lights for a bedroom and a certain kind of christmas lights at Bed Bath Beyond. Well the store had no batteries and the packaging the bedroom ligthts came in were all ripped. I messaged the customer and she told me not to get the bedroom lights. The Christmas light s weren't what she wanted exactly but she told me to get them. That order was a complete fail and the distance between her house and the store was like 12 miles. LOL
I like the tip regarding the 🥑
Glad it was helpful!💛
I really appreciate your help always
When customer lied and reported what shall I do?
Example: when they got right item and then they reported wrong.🤨iteam even though I took a picture
Hi. I am so sorry this happened to you. When this does happen, and it will, contact Instacart support right away and show them the photograph if you have it. If you don’t have a photograph you can always report fraud on the customer. All you can do is move onto the next customer and put it behind you.
take photos of every item!!!! it's a pain but it will cover your butt. I don't only report the fraud through the app I reach out to the chat support too.
Facts. 💛
@@JENontheGO Hi, Sunshine! 💛
☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
I bag plus use paper bags - I pick up from other stores.
And, AVOCADOS 🥑 are tricky! I haven’t had anybody complain on them, but I have trouble picking them for myself. Bananas 🍌 are another pain in the ass unless they have a wide variety. Usually our regular bananas are spotted & the organic look good, but then what? If they don’t want to pay 10 cents more a pound😬
Produce is the worst and I agree with you. Grapes are pretty bad, too. I message customers about the condition of Bananas and will always send a photo, if I’m not comfortable. If they don’t respond, I will refund. Bad bananas aren’t worth the risk! Have a great week! 💛
LOL, I'd rather save my rating too!
It's not very realistic to have a speed in the 66 range if you're taking the time to communicate and really paying a lot of attention to the customer service aspect which by the way I 100% agree with. That is time consuming and slows the speed down considerably.
Hi Lulu! No matter what, customer service is the number one priority. Rather than focusing on speed it is more important to focus on customer service. I have found a way to keep my speed holding steady at around 67 items per second with superior customer service.💛 I would never compromise service for speed. Good for you! 💛
Also, do you worry about the wear and tear you are putting on your car? Oh, I just thought of another thing. Why do some batches have you shop at a store 16 miles from the customer's house? I don't see a way you can see where you are actually delivering to when you accept a batch. Is this because my rating is so shitty? Also, sometimes there are very few batches. Im thinking again it's because of my rating. Thanks Molly
Hi Molly. Before you except the batch you can definitely see how many miles you will be driving from the store to the customers house. It is critical that you base your selection on the mileage, and this mileage shows up on the main that screen, before you click on it. A lot of Instacart shopper‘s are stating that it seems very slow right now. Your rating is less than five star so this could be an indicator of why you’re not seeing loads of batches. Maybe today you try experimenting another zones to see if it picks up on your app. When my rating was lower, I was very discouraged but determined to fix it. I did quite a bit of driving to find areas that would at least keep me working and able to complete 4 to 5 batches a day. It is just a numbers game to get your rating up. Try to set a daily goal that is realistic and reasonable for you because this will keep you in the field until you hit it. I’m just offering you advice that helped me. I know it isn’t easy but it is possible. I hope this helps.💛
Thanks for replying to me! Lets see what happens today!
😊👍
😘
🙌 ❤️ THX
❤️
Would you say it would be easier to do produce last?
Personally, I always pick up the produce first. If I am shopping for 40 items, I am pretty fast so grabbing the produce first isn’t a problem at all. If shoppers tend to be slower, they might want to consider grabbing the produce last as customers can see the order in which they are scanning the items in. 💛
I want to know what you do about customers that don't respond to you yeah you can see they're reading your messages?
Hi Jason. Thank you for your comment. Yes, it is extremely frustrating when you were chatting with customers and they are not responding. I had it happen today. My advice is to keep chatting with them as if they are responding. If they choose not to respond that’s on them. At the end of the day, if I am doing everything right with replacements and communication, I well feel good about the outcome. Not all customers will respond and that’s OK. On the app it shows that the customer was notified of the messages you sent however I’m not sure that it guarantees that they’ve actually read the messages. Some customers may not be on the app at that particular time.😊
I think it's rude and annoying. We're risking our butts for these ppl, literally. Our health. The least they can do is be around while we shop and especially when we deliver. I talk to them as if they are talking to me, but if they don't reply at the end, I alert IC and then IC tries calling them. It's a royal pain in the butt but, we gotta cover our own butts!
How do you know the specific reason a customer gave you a low rating? I thought the only comments we got to see were for the 5 star ratings.
Hi Kim, unfortunately, we don’t always know why we receive a low rating. Instacart stated that customers are required to leave a reason but this is not the case. Often, we are left to wonder. Incredibly frustrating! 💛
I’m curious as to how you keep your time down while going the extra mile?? I do the same because I want the best for my customers, but can’t seem to get my time down any lower than I have. My time isn’t bad - I just want it to be the best lol
Heidi Hughes what is your average time?
Same here. Something always happens. Moved product, can’t find an employee to help find it, customers not replying till your headed for checkout and then want to discuss replacements. I can’t get my time below 110. Sigh.
My average is about 74 - anywhere from 69-78 depending on batch types. I end up having to take triple batches due to the lack of choices in my town, which means a lot of communication, late responses, running back and forth because of late responses, etc
This is a great speed! I get it though. I am very competitive as well. There are definitely shortcuts to get a faster speed. As of five minutes ago I got my speed down to a 61. I’d like to get in the 50! Most importantly though, is accuracy and efficiency.! You are doing great.! 💛
Hi Mandy! Do not be hard on yourself. Keep going and try to shave a little bit off your time with each shop. Set lsmall goals that Will keep you motivated. When I started, I was hovering over 100 seconds per item, as well. When I started, I was hovering over 100 seconds per item, as well. What’s most important is your accuracy! 💛
What you do when customer didn’t reply back ?
Refund
No reply means an automatic refund. Before I refund the customer, I will give them one more opportunity to respond. I will say, “ hi Mary, I am heading to the checkout now. I am going to refund you on the produce I showed you as I didn’t hear back from you. It’s been my absolute pleasure shopping for you today.!” 😊
refund. if you attempt to replace they are more likely to whine and complain and claim you screwed up.
What do you do if customer doesn't communicate?
Do you tell them you wrapped the asparagus & everything or do you wait for them to notice?
Hi Kelsie! I don’t tell them about the asparagus being wrapped unless they ask me to make sure that their asparagus looks good. I definitely make sure it is on top of all the groceries so that it is one of the first things they pull out. Customers notice. Again, it’s in the details.😊
What do you do when someone doesn’t communicate with you during a batch? I assume to refund than try to replace?
Absolutely refund before guessing on replacements. It is not worth the risk.! 💛
@@JENontheGO Hi there, great video. Am new to Instacart and am planning to work that soon. I have a question. When you said a refund, you mean in that particular item? But isn't that risky too?
What is your lowest rating was?
Or offer the frozen ready cut avocados.
Ew. Not wearing masks? What is wrong with the people that delivered ? 🙄 Great tips as always. Thank you for making my new job easier.
Avocados are always hard here.
Produce for me takes up the most of my time when shopping for a customer. I do not know about you guys.
Or what do you do when you get a customer that doesn't want to be contacted?
You communicate as needed. If they don’t want to be contacted,, you deliver the groceries per instructions in their notes.
Are still provide superior customer service with or without customer communication. 💛
Also instacart sees the conversation and when you get a bad rating about the bananas you will be safe
Regarding quality of fruit and veggies... If I wouldn’t purchase it for my family, I’m not going to purchase it for my customers.
100%. Produce has to be the freshest and best. 💛
JEN-THE FLASHES----IT HAPPENS TO ME. I WAS DOING HUGE SHOP AND IT DISAPPEARED. MY RATING IS LOW I CONTACTED INSTA..THEY SAID I DIDNT HAVE A LOWER SCORE..BUT I DO I THINK I KNOW WHO HACKED ME..SOMEONE SENT ME A TEXT..NOTHING POPPED UP SAID DOWNLOADING NEVER DID..SINCE THEN PROBLEMS SAYINV IM AT WRONG STORE ETC
Lucian Brown definitely and issue here. Stay on Instacart support until you find resolve. Sometimes it could be an APP glitch. You also may want to try uninstalling and reinstalling the app, if you haven’t already tried this. You will get through it but it’s so unnerving! 💛
@@JENontheGO I SO APPRECIATE YER CHANNEL..I WAS TOTALLY SECRETLY FURIOUS AND FELT SABBATOGED TOTALLY PARANOID..SOOO THANK U
Some customers don't read your messages and then get po'd when they don't get what you picked. OK ill shut up now..............
Agree!
Thank you for not saying Guac. Lol
Jose! LOL !! Whew!
This must really cut into your timing. I think quality is so important but that would affect your timing
Hi Judy. In the beginning, I can honestly say it did slow me down a bit. But now I have it down and I don’t overthink. I do voice to text so it goes fast and I don’t wait long for approval. 💛
Do you wear gloves?? I had customer tell me hopefully I’ll wear gloves next time and I let her know I won’t ever be delivering to her again and we aren’t required to wear gloves. She told me yes you are and all my other shoppers have worn them. We got in little argument but she still left me 5 stars👀
I’m nice and provide good customer service but I won’t kiss customers ass to next level some think you’re their slave and they’re so powerful..no I’ll take no tip and 1 star before losing dignity sorry. Some customers just look for anything to whine about. I’d rather not deal with it you will never win them over and they’re not worth it
I tried to shop with gloves picking produce using gloves dulls the feeling the ripeness of the veggies and fruits.
I’ll wear them now but it’s impossible trying to text the customer w them and either way the gloves won’t protect from other grocery store customers germs that have touched items. wearing them is literally pointless
I think some customers are not meant for instacart and vice versa for shoppers. If you’re that nit picky and phobic of germs...having a literal stranger you know nothing about (health,hygiene) grocery shop for you is bad idea.
Good morning! Huge NO to the gloves! You are actually at more risk of cross-contamination while wearing gloves! Wearing gloves is absolutely ridiculous. If it happens to me, I will tell the customer my hands stay disinfected and are at less at risk of spreading viruses than with wearing gloves. At least she gave you your five stars, as she should have. Hope you’re having a great week! 💛
I can see why women have the advantage on presentation... good on ya
Lol! Anyone can do this! 💛
Every fruit or veggie has its peak season. You can't help the green bananas if you wanted to avoid the spotted bananas. You can never satisfy Humanity. It doesn't matter if it's Amazon, Instacart or Doordash, these companies will never create the perfect flawless system. If customers are that petty, then lets see if these companies can one day create the perfect veggie or fruit. In this case, you damned if you do or damned if you don't. SMH. I don't get it :( Even the produce department will confess, that it's impossible to get 100% of produce 99% of the time.
Not all customers rate..and can't be pleased
That’s incredibly wasteful. Just set produce aside in the cart and don’t set anything near it. I’ve never had a problem like this. Screw your ratings, the planet is way more important.
I definitely don’t. 💛
Most of the time asparagus is of poor quality *sigh
Refund or replace. 💛
@@JENontheGO
thank you
You are so welcome !