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Be nice to your grocery delivery person [1]
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Date: 2022-10-10
When the pandemic shut down everything in March 2020, the rideshare business took a hard hit. In San Antonio, that meant no Spurs games, no concerts, no Fiesta, flights cancelled, everyone told to stay home. And since rideshare drivers were classified as “independent contractors,” we couldn’t get unemployment insurance, at least not right away.
I’d been driving for Uber for over three years. I had over 8,900 rides, which means I’ve had the equivalent of the capacity of the Alamodome in my van. In fact, I’d just upgraded the month before to a new van to get the coveted “comfort” status, which meant I would earn more money. I had a little bit of savings from my tax return, but that wasn’t going to last long.
Uber offered me a solution: Apply for Shipt grocery delivery. It appealed to me, because it meant that I wouldn’t have to be driving nights, or deal with drunks puking in my car. I’d get to have meals with my family again. I’d also get the benefits of plenty of exercise, and it would be in nice, air-conditioned grocery stores. If I needed to pee, I could just use the store’s facilities and not a cheesy convenience store whose owners would look askance at me because I wasn’t a paying customer.
Since I started with Shipt, I’ve now been to the grocery store 4,000+ times in service to my particular metro area. I’ve got over 100 people who’ve selected me as a “preferred shopper.” I’m good at this, even though this is not what I expected to be doing at this stage in my life. That doesn’t mean that I’m not looking for something better, but bills must be paid, kids must be fed.
So now that I’ve given you my bonafides, let me submit to you a series of suggestions that will ensure that you get a better experience when you order from a delivery service company like Shipt, Doordash, Instacart, Favor, UberEats, or any other entity engaged in doing your shopping or food delivery. And a lot of these rules also apply to rideshare, so remember them when you climb into that Uber or Lyft.
We are “Independent Contractors.” This means we are completely responsible for our own vehicle purchase, gas, tires, insurance, maintenance, tax filings, and a host of other items that normally are taken care of by an employer.
We are continually being low-balled by the service corporations who connect us to you. They aren’t paying us any extra to compensate for the fluctuations in the price of gas, insurance, maintenance, etc. In fact, they’ve dropped the amounts considerably they pay us for the same amount of work.
We have only a limited amount of control over our assignments. We do get to see some information, like distance, grocery list, and estimated pay. But we must be careful about refusing or dropping shop requests because it might mean we don’t get more assignments later. That said, the price of gas vs. the amount that the servicing company offers does necessitate that we may turn your shop down or cancel it in favor of a better one that comes along.
If we do cancel your shop, it’s not always because of that better one. Most of the time, in my experience, I’m cancelling a scheduled shop because I am in the process of doing another shop, and I know that I’m not going to be able to finish it, and then shop for yours and finish it on time. We get penalized for being late, and the forgiveness procedure to get that overturned is problematic, so a lot of drivers choose to pass on the shop to someone else out of concern for the customer, in addition to their own statistics.
We do have the ability to bundle orders into one shop if we so desire. The ones who’ve been doing this for a while are pretty good at making it work. But more than half of our bundled orders are done by the servicing corporation. This means that even though you know it’s only eight minutes from the grocery store to your house, we’re not always going to be there in those eight minutes. Please be patient. Sometimes we’re going to get there at three minutes until the two-hour window expires. If we realize that we’re going to bust the deadline, we’ll tell you.
There’s a lot of turnover in this business. A lot of college students do it during the holiday breaks, then go back to school in the fall and spring. Others are doing it as temporary work, or part-time, or just to be doing something. So you’re not always going to get stellar service. But when you do, remember that and be gracious in return.
When your shopper is actively engaged in doing your shop, please remember the following:
You scheduled the shop at a time that is convenient to you. That means you need to be available to answer texts for your shopper. If you scheduled a delivery in the early morning, you need to be awake and ready to answer if the shopper notifies you that an item is not available. If that’s too much for you, then you need to select the option to allow the shopper to choose any substitutions. Don’t give your phone to your kid to play games, because if it interrupts his/her game, they might just ignore it. If you need to use your phone for other purposes, like a business meeting, then schedule your shop for a different time.
If an item isn’t available, we’ll text you at least once. A good shopper will do it twice if you don’t respond. A great shopper will call you as a third attempt (at his/her discretion, depending on the time of day and availability of substitutes). If you don’t respond to any of those inquiries, we’re going to delete the item rather than get you something you didn’t want.
Try and be as accurate as possible when texting your shopper. A spelling or typing error might get you something you didn’t want, or make you not get what you needed. Same thing with special orders not listed in the app.
Remember that just because the store lists something as available when you placed the order doesn’t mean it’s going to be there when the order is shopped. During the early stages of the pandemic, there was a big demand for disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer. Then it was toilet and tissue paper. Recently, shortages of cereal, pasta, canned soda, meats, and more have been the norm. Don’t take it out on your shopper. He or she isn’t responsible for the shortage. If a substitution is available, a good shopper will let you know the alternatives.
Items may also be restricted at times at the discretion of the store.
The cost that the store advertises and what the shopping app advertises are usually two different things. This is where the servicing corporation makes its money. This is not the fault of your shopper. Even if you ask the shopper what the cost of an item is, chances are you’re going to be paying more for it.
Try to keep additions to a minimum. If you do have additions, tell your shopper at the beginning of the shop so that he/she can add them to the list and not have to backtrack through the store.
For items that you order regularly but know are not always in stock, please either select a substitute item or set as “Do not substitute.”
On shops larger than 8 items, the app will (usually!) tell the shopper to send you an update text and ask if you need anything else. If you have a smaller shop, you might not see this message. And if you don’t respond to it, the shopper is going to assume you don’t need anything and check out.
If the shopper has already finished the shop and has checked out, that means that no more items can be added. You’ll have to order it on a different order. Therefore, it’s important to stay in touch with your shopper, especially when you get that “nearly done” message.
Tips on making your shopper’s job easier:
We’re on a schedule. We’re trying to get your shop fulfilled within a two-hour window. We usually have shops scheduled after yours, and we must consider the travel time and distance to deliver your shop and then get back to the store (or a different store) in time to do the next shop. So please have your order as complete as possible and respond to texts. I’ve had to drop numerous orders because my previous customer didn’t respond to requests for substitutions.
Tips are what keeps most of us available to do this service for you. As noted above, we’re “independent contractors,” so we pay our own expenses. Most of us are working 10-hour-plus days, and some are working seven-days-a-week.
If you have special circumstances; like a gate code, or “don’t ring the doorbell” because of babies or animals, put that in the “Remarks” section of your customer profile. It will save a lot of time and you won’t have to repeat it in a text.
Please don’t ask us to call/text a different number than the one on the account. The app might or might not have its own internal texting application, but even if it does, it sometimes fails or doesn’t apply to some types of delivery (like pharmacy). The app uses a series of phone numbers that are registered to the servicing corporation. This is a privacy measure for both you and your shopper. If we have to text you at a different number, that not only reveals your number but ours as well. You may get dropped because of that. It’s also a major inconvenience because the app generates text messages based on greetings, item availability, and shopping completion. We are pressed enough for time without having to copy/paste these messages into a different text message group.
Shoppers who have been doing this for a while (the “good” ones) keep records of customers and how much they tip, or on how the customer treats the shopper. Shoppers also talk to each other in the stores and pass on stories, so be nice to us all.
If you get good service from a shopper, please rate us accordingly. We often get sent back to a customer if we’ve shopped them before and/or if the customer gave a good rating. If your app offers a “preferred shopper” option, use it for the ones you like best.
Don’t down-rate us for things that are beyond our control. If a store is out of items, or traffic is bad, or the app has assigned us a bundled order, it’s not our fault. We’re doing our best to fulfill your order and get it delivered in that two-hour window. But a single complaint by a customer can get us deactivated. The service companies don’t care; they have plenty of drivers to take up the slack. If you have a major complaint with your shopper’s service; by all means, make it. But be sure that it’s not due to circumstances beyond our control.
Be mindful of how many items you’re asking for and what day of the week/time of day it is. For example: If you have a very large order, try to schedule it on a weekday or at least in the early morning, when the stores are empty and freshly restocked. You have a better chance of getting all of your requests than you would on a busy weekend afternoon when the stores are doing a roaring trade and a lot of items are sold out.
Deli, Butcher, and Fish Market orders are time-consuming, especially if you have the items prepared in non-standard ways (shaved, shredded, etc.). Please don’t overdo it on these requests.
Some items (Produce, Deli, Butcher, Fish) are listed in the app by weight, not by item. The app usually offers a set weight; if you want more or less, then change it. We’ll do the best we can to match it. But some items are marked as weight by mistake; they should be marked by item, like store-packaged items. For example: you may order a bag of grapes that is marked at 2.5 pounds but is sealed and listed as a bar code.
When ordering bananas, we’ll get you as many as you ask for. But if you ask for just one, we’re wondering if you mean just one banana, or one bunch of bananas. Please specify. Also, we don’t have any control over how green or yellow the bananas are.
Some store-prepared items are only available at certain times. For example: Rotisserie chicken and sushi are not generally available until after 9 a.m. Breakfast items usually disappear after 10:30 a.m.
Texas alcohol sales have time restrictions. And if you didn’t order it originally, we can’t add it.
In the case of pharmacy and alcohol deliveries, you need to be home to accept the delivery. If no one of legal age is there, we can’t deliver alcohol. In the case of pharmacy items, we can leave it if you instruct us to do so but be advised that we’re going to document that. If we must return it to the store, you’re going to be out the cost of the return.
If you’re ordering holiday items (i.e.: Halloween/Christmas/Valentines/Easter candy, Thanksgiving/Christmas dishes), order them at least a week before the holiday dates. We see these items on the shelves for two months prior to the given holiday, but in that last week they all disappear. Yes, we know you don’t want to buy it too early because you’re afraid you’ll eat it all beforehand. But you’re not going to get the “good” candy if you wait. In fact, you might not get any at all.
When we get a shop, the app organizes it so that we can follow the layout of the store. If you text your shopper that you need something in Produce and he/she is on the other side of store in the Dairy department, it may take a while to get the addition.
Make sure your house number is visible. We’re using Google Maps/Waze/Apple Maps to find you, but they’re not always accurate, especially in newer neighborhoods.
Sometimes your order might be accepted and then dropped by shoppers, or not accepted at all. If you do have this unfortunate set of circumstances, please tip the shopper that does accept and deliver your order generously.
You live in an apartment complex, and you live on the second or third floor.
You’re ordering a lot of heavy items, like cases of water. Some shoppers can’t do that kind of heavy lifting (especially to the third floor).
You’re ordering a large number of piecemeal items, like pet or baby food. These are very time-consuming to search for and find the correct request, since there are so many options/flavors to choose from and the items are so small in size. If you are ordering these, don’t just pick one of each; order three (or more) of the same flavor. Your pet or baby isn’t really going to know the difference.
You’re making a large order during a busy time, like a weekend afternoon, when items are likely to be limited in availability. If we know we’re going to have to constantly be texting you on substitutions, we’re going to avoid the hassle. Plus, weekends are times when the servicing corporations are offering bonuses for number of completed shops, and your order is going to require us to work longer to get the bonus.
In your remarks, you ask us to text/call a different phone number. (See above.)
You’re ordering non-grocery items, such as clothing, toys, furniture, etc. These items take longer to find, as they are usually lumped in together without any recognizable structure (like a grocery item shelf). Also, your shopper may not have a vehicle capable of delivering such items.
You live more than a reasonable distance from the store. Remember, your shopper must consider the cost of gas, plus the travel time to your residence and back to his/her metro area. Sometimes the app tries to send us across town, passing several of the same stores along the way.
You’re ordering only three items (or less), so the servicing corporation is low-balling the amount that they’re paying for the shop. Again, it’s a gas/travel time issue. You’re also very likely to get bundled with another order.
You’ve changed your delivery address to outside the metro area of your preferred shopper.
You’re ordering a high-value item, but you’re not at home to receive it.
The shopper had a bad experience with you. We aren’t informed on which specific customers left us a bad review, but we can usually figure it out. And the more experienced shoppers keep their own records.
Happy ordering! And remember to tip for good service!
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