InstacartReviews 2,486

These people hire drivers with NO CLUE. There app converts my address to a different place so I have had to call and make sure there are notes to give proper directions. Twice I never received my groceries because the drivers just return them when they cant figure it out (I live in a quadrant neighborhood, not hard to figure out NSEW). They just keep telling me they will put notes for the future. One guy told me if it were him he would stop using the service. Lol. Two hours after my scheduled delivery time, with the first driver returning my groceries, still no groceries. What type of convenience is this?

I've been using Instacart for a few months now, ever since they started offering service in my area. I have not had a problem with anything related to charges, but I've had poor or inconsistent service, and my latest experience was the last straw. I requested a delivery time on a certain day and time, and the day of the delivery was informed that the delivery had been pushed back by an hour. I was able to accommodate that, as I would be home anyway. The delivery window came and went, and no groceries. I emailed Instacart, and they told me that due to a lack of shoppers, they were rescheduling the delivery for the next day. This did not work for me, so after some back and forth, it was rescheduled for the day after that. The same thing happened - midday, I got an email stating the delivery had to be rescheduled for another day, as they had no shoppers. At that point, I told them to forget it, and cancel the order.
They have one job - deliver groceries. Clearly they can't provide that service (at least in my area) if they keep cancelling deliveries due to a lack of shoppers. I don't have the patience or time to schedule a delivery only to have it cancelled.
I made my views known to them, as well, and have yet to receive a response.

I have no complaint about the store I used, the personal shopper herself, what she brought to me, or how fast she was. That was all fine. My problem is that the site soaks the customer for at least 20% more than the groceries cost -- what exactly is "service" and "tip" when you've already paid for delivery and it's obvious that the shopper who delivers your order expects a tip on top of that? I can't pay 25% more than groceries cost. As it happens I did not tip my shopper (I had no cash in the house and it really was an emergency order), and then I ended up feeling guilty about that all day. If I hadn't been watching my granddaughter, who was sick and couldn't go out, I would have gone to the store myself. Next time that's what I'll do.

I wish to rate instacart a 0 on the scale. Instacart has recurring charges of over $200 being withdrawn from my account. When I attempted to contact them the customer service rep advised me to wait til the transaction was 'completed' posted [at the time it was still pending]. Now that the charges has posted. They have also overdrawn my account. ALL MY AUTOPAYMENT BILLs were rejected. This has caused me a major inconvenience. I am unable to get a properly trained customer service rep to help resolve this 1matter. This company definitely need to retrain their staff. Instacart is a scam. IMMEDIATELY CONTACT YOUR BANK IF YOU SEE ANY SUSPENCIOUS CHARGES FROM INSTACART.

I ran a busy business schedule and had to rely on instacart for years. The shoppers will pick the worst produce and make wrong replacement or false refunds because they are too lazy to do a good job. I placed an order for $150 on March 30th and had to call customer help 3x during the shopping because the shopper refused to communicate and listen. She gave me replacements I did not ask for and refunded items that were in stock. I asked to cancel the order and get a refund but I was delivered the items nonetheless and was told I would get a refund for the complete order. That never happened and now Instacart is refusing to take care with the refund or a credit. I'd rather change my time management and do my own shopping from now on.

I don't know where to begin except to say they charged my card twice in two days and once after I cancelled my order that they could not delivery after a customer service (can't really call them customer service) stayed on the line and walked me through placing my first order said they would. I had a special bakery request at a Publix and asked repeatedly that my order would be picked up at that particular store for obvious reasons. The representative assured me that was not an issue. The next morning I get a call from a frantic shopper telling me he is at the Publix but my order is not. When I asked what Publix he told me one that was 20 miles from my delivery.

They are the rudest, most unprofessional organization I have ever encountered. They randomly (this is how they assign all their orders) gave my order to a shopper that was 20 miles from the delivery address which means they drive around with your grocery before they are delivered.

I spoke to two supervisors one in the morning to cancel my order and refund and another to inquire why I had a new charge after my order was cancelled. He advised me that it was an Instacart error and that he would report it. REALLY - they hit my card due to a system error.

Just run from this one - a new start up that is filled with bugs and won't be around much longer with these glaring issues. If I could give a negative number I would - AWFUL!

Well I am reading all of these reviews and I now see why I sit in a parking lot waiting for an order to come through. Instacart sucks for us shoppers as well. I wanted to let you customers know that working for them is just as bad. It is Rush Rush Rush! When the app goes down in the grocery store, we cannot do anything... the texts do not go through until you are done with checkout. Sometimes I could communicate with customers while in the store. So many times the orders contain items that the store just does not carry. I just do not understand why the products are listed at all. It frustrates the customers as well as the shoppers. And so much time is spent looking for a suitable replacement. Not to mention that I my pay this week I made a total of $51.66 in 15.50 hours. That is about $3 an hour. Plus all the gas that I spend money on.
So I agree with all of you customers. There is absolutely no communication with them. If you have a question, they send you an email with FAQs. There is no communication with anyone. The app never works efficiently. And if you are late delivering the groceries because the app did not function correctly, they take points away from the shopper. And there is no way to dispute this because they will not communicate with us at all. I would never be a client of any service that treated their employees like this. It is a TERRIBLE SERVICE for the clients and the shoppers!
DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE! I SUSPECT THAT THEY ARE GOING UNDER VERY SOON!

The service was OK (basically no complaints) until they charged me twice in February for the Instacart Express monthly subscription ($14.99 twice).
I called their customer service several times only to be told that "on their side" everything is correct, and finally - that my only recourse is to file a dispute with my bank over the charge (which I did).
Everything seemed fine until they cancelled my Instacart account online last week (end of March) - for filing the dispute! When I mentioned to the customer service that I have no other way of shopping at Whole Foods because I don't have a car, I was told to look for a cab service in my area (that would be ~$30.00 here if the cab doesn't have to wait for me to do my shopping).
At this point, I am being blackmailed (I don't have any other term for it) by them to drop the dispute, or they will keep my account closed 'til the end of June.
It seems that the E-mails are written not by a real person but by a computer!

Shopping is not hard when it's for yourself, but shopping for other people is a challenge in itself. Instacart is creating a poor environment by not valuing shoppers and not allowing shoppers the right to decide and all other pertinent details an "independent" contractor needs to independently conract. Instacart does not play fair. They are discriminatory and do not provide fair contracts to shoppers. They provide dynamic contracts which basically gives them the right to change everything and screw everyone. Angry mistreated shoppers ultimately have no other course than to provide equally poor service. This is a unsustainable relationship that is going nowhere but downhill.

Customers have issues with the app constantly. Items in catalog often incorrect or unclear as to size/style/etc. Company went from being somewhat selective in choosing Shoppers to accepting anybody who breathes, whether or not they have the ability to do the job. Company no longer trains new Shoppers. Company has no means of protecting Shoppers or themselves from customers who report items missing only to obtain said items for free. Company cares nothing about Shoppers, and even penalizes Shoppers for events beyond their control (accidents, injuries, etc.). Company has dropped Shoppers hourly guarantee in markets that are not yet ready to lose it (due to newness of market and/or lack of orders). Company continually drops rates in most markets. Company has been penalized for deceptive practices in re tips and service fees. Company employs support staff who are completely clueless in re company rules and policies. Many Shoppers no longer care to do their best because of how badly managed the company is.

I placed an order via the Instacart app to have my order delivered Friday, March 16,2018 for the hours of 5 PM-6 PM. I got home from work around 5 PM to get an email my delivery would be delayed and moved to 8:45 PM-9:15 PM. I called them asked them to moved my order to Saturday, March 17,2018 for 30pm-4 PM. I had a lunch to go to and i get a text at 1:15 PM my order is on it's way to be delivered. I called them told them I set it for 3-4 PM. The guy told me he would move it as it must have been a glitch. 1:20 PM the delivery driver is at my apartment complex. A 3rd phone call told them I set it for 3-4 PM as I had plans until that time. I get home at 3pm. At 3:45 PM i get a notification that my order was being shopped for and would be delivered at 6-7 PM. I called told them to cancel the order and refund my, money the service was in no way convenient. Will stick with Wal-Mart Pickup.