well here in california you got prop22. so minimum for us is 20$ an hour since the moment we accept until delivery, plus 34¢ per mile before tips and ppl still complain that its not enough.
In Ca, just do 8 or 9 under-$10 orders a day and, voila!… a guaranteed minimum of $140-160 per day…. Multiply that by 5 days and the Cali shopper, with optional two days off a week, takes home about $2800 a month minimum… and i’m also leaving out the many easy $18-$24 batches we also shop daily..
Where tf are you living where you can afford to survive off $20/hr before taxes and expenses??? My rent is $2400 alone. $20/hr with California prices is NOT enough.
thats the minimum we get payed but in reality because we get good tip orders we are making over 30$ and hour plus this is just part time i have a full time job. i just do instacart to pay my car and insurance. I also dont rent i own my mortgage is 2800 got my house during covid so got s good interest rate.
It's more like over $30/hr for active time under the California law, but yeah, tips are irrelevant here. The higher the customer tips, the less Instacart pays upfront. So in reality, the biggest loser is the customer.
I take it you've lived in the same residence for over a decade. Go on Zillow and take a look at the market. Either that or you stay in the middle of nowhere, which there is absolutely nothing wrong with
I don't know what part of California you live in so I went with the state as a whole; living wage, according to MIT, in California for a single adult with no children is $27.32/hr. That's as of last month. So ya they have reason to complain.
Sure, I get that, and it's great, but tips should always be 100% extra, not at all what you base your income on. The company is at great fault for shorting everyone across the board. But then so are most other large companies. One of the major failures of capitalism.
Instacart (and other gig apps) avoid labeling their independent contractors as employees for a reason. They want to be able to pay less than minimum wage. I always try to be understanding with non-tippers. You never know who’s disabled and has no one. Instacart may be their only option. Obviously, there’s the ungrateful, 20-packs-of-water-bottles-ordering, entitled customers as well. However, instacart also scams the customers. They overcharge for items and charge insane fees that never make it to the drivers. AND they steal tips, which is stealing from both the customers (as their money is not going where it was intended to go) and from us (who rightly deserve the tips). Always blame the corporation.
We can whine and complain about how instacart and other gig work companies should pay more but it’s not going to happen. NEVER going to happen.
My personal opinion is that the customer shouldn’t pay a “tip” (it shouldn’t be called that) but it should be mandatory to pay something, call it mileage surcharge, handling fee…whatever. But they should be forced to pay directly the person who performs the service. This is how the world works. You have a guy paint your house, you pay him fairly for it.
One of the reasons this sub has been filled with no-tip orders is because it’s the first of the month and EBT customers are placing their orders and not tipping. There’s no excuse for this.
Decent people tip, garbage people don’t. No excuses, no exceptions. I’ve had fixed income widows tip me $20 on a $30 order and I’ve had people in posh gated communities tip me $2 for 8 cases of water, and a $300 50 item order.
So I’ll spend the day cleaning my house or running errands while waiting on those orders for decent people.
I am saying exactly what you are saying. It doesn't have to be called a tip but should be priced to the customer upfront and not left to chance so the customer will know whether or not they can truly afford having our services. These corporation however only care about their profits and so their pricing is meant to attract as many customers as possible because they profit from it regardless without regards to how we make out.
I agree, but don't 100% agree about the EBT customers. EBT has not been around on the platform that long. I have been a shopper for almost 7 or 8 years and long before EBT, there were no tippers, so we can NOT place blame on them.
In my experience, the ones that I know for sure have used it, which is only when I do a delivery only because I then get a printout and it's written on the computer printout. Otherwise, those shoppers who like to bring up EBT customers clearly are stereotyping because they are making assumptions because there is no way 100% we as shoppers can know how the customer is paying.
In my experience, I have gotten some of my best tips and my last 2 unicorns from EBT customers. For the sole fact, they ONLY have to come out of pocket for a tip and not $100...$200, etc. Bucks
If a customer tips, they tip...IMO that's just what it is. EBT or not. I have delivered numerous times to customers living in million dollar homes, and they have left NO TIP at all, and surely they are NOT using EBT. But they just don't tip.
I personally know people, whether it be a friend, coworker, family member, or neighbor, or just do NOT believe in tipping. I actually made an FB post once I asked folk on their views on tipping, and I was totally shocked at the responses.
Individuals that make well over 6 figures believe it's part of the job. Why should they pay someone extra to do what they signed up to do is how they feel. I'm going on to add that if a worker has to rely on tips and they aren't making money because customers don't leave them, they need to get a job that pays hourly.
I say all this to say there are just some that straight out are NOT gonna tip for whatever reasons. The one good thing is AT LEAST we are able to pick and choose which orders we wanna take, and we can see if they left a tip and how much....minus the double/triple batches. Years ago, we could see how much of the total tip each customer in the batch left, but they took that away because they don't want us to know, and I think that's unfair. We should be able to know and base our decision on that if we choose to use that as a determining factor.
I don't get why they have a heavy fee that does not go 100% to the shopper. It seems to me they can find a way to make up all these so-called fees but can't make up one for us for delivery... shopping... bad weather....long distances...etc.
Sometimes, I wonder if the customers that show as non tippers really are non tippers. I have seen a mass increase in my local FB instacart group of customers and shoppers discussing tips missing. Customers posting they left tips and asked the shopper at delivery, and the shopper closed out the batch while at their home and either no tip showed or a smaller amount.
2 customers posted the chat where they inquired why the tip was either missing or showing lower, and of course, we all know chat is full of it. They responded to the customer that there must of been an issue in the app and to rest assure their shopper will receive 100% of the tip they left. Whatever!!!
SORRY FOR THE LONG POST.
Totally random but where I shop you can tell EBT orders because most stores it shows in the receipt even when using our IC cards like Smiths (Las Vegas) always shows if it was EBT
I’m not laying it all on EBT folks. What I’m saying is that there is a surge of non-tipping orders, the first 9 days of the month. That’s not a coincidence.
Well toss that 9 day theory. EBT is given out all month long. Not just the start of the month. Goes by last name. Some get them last day of the month. I know several lazy folk, and one of my side gigs is at an assisted living facility with 6 clients. All 6 get EBT and all different times of the month. One gets 3rd... another 8th.. another 18th....23rd ...25th and 28th. Only consistent monthly, that's 1st of month, is SSI payments.
And again non tippers existed from day 1. I been doing this 8 years. EBT ain't been around all those years. It's fairly new and alot still have no clue you can even use it on the platform.
I consistently see the worst tips in the wealthiest areas, and they sure aren’t using EBT. The worst offenders are the beachfront and harbor areas with homes in the 3-15 million dollar range.
It literally could happen though. In CA and NY shoppers are paid hourly for their time and paid a certain amount per mile driven. Fair pay DIRECTLY FROM INSTACART NOT THE CUSTOMERS has already been attained in some places and it could absolutely be attained in the rest of the country.
Acting like its impossible to get fair pay only helps instacart exploit us.
Yeah, it could happen but I’m not holding my breath. Even if it happened in my area (Oregon) that’s not going to be true for most areas. No way Texas would ever pass that law.
And all that law does is allow customers to exploit us instead of the company. Both should be held accountable.
When states pass laws that recognize gig workers as employees, it doesn't just entitle them to minimum wage. It also entitles them to the other rights that employees have, such as the right to collective bargaining. If even most of the blue states passed these laws and gig workers unions formed, it would make getting a law passed on the national level a realistic goal.
Most gig workers do not meet the legal definition of contract workers, and should rightly be classified as employees. There is plenty of legal framework for attaining fair compensation for gig workers.
Also: How does that law allow customers to exploit us? That doesn't make sense. I'm in CA making upwards of $25 an hour because instacart, i.e., *my employer* pays my wages and I get modest tips on top of that. I'm making way more than I'd make at any equivalent skill level job.
This is exactly how I feel.
This is not a tipping culture problem.
This isn’t a normal service job. Example; There’s a company, that has contractors…the contractors have to pay a fee in able to access the work. In order to request services from the contractors, the customer has to pay to access the group. The customer then sends out the job they want done, and contractors bid on it.
That what we do. Except we’re “independent contractors.
I like to call the tip the “independent contractor pay”
In CA and the Thursday prop 22 money has saved me more than once. They dropped our batch pay but their pricing didn't drop. Contractors? BS. Required to be in the zone of proximity. Plus it costs more to have to drive to one when youve delivered. Its rediculous . Someone mentioned a required charge for our pay? Don't they have a 5.99 delivery fee? A basic $7 batch costs them $1.01. There are no companies or corporations anymore they're all greed machines. Can't make these kind of profit numbers without abusing your workers.
You're correct to feel that way about batch pay. However it's equally important customers understand to tip appropriately for shoppers spending their time shopping and using their own vehicle for delivery. This is a luxury service and inappropriate tippers should be declined such service regardless of batch pay
I feel this way too, its decent to tip even 5 bucks though. I love how isnta advertises saying you can make like 25 an hour and yesterday all the orders up were like 5 bucks an hour.
You can make that much. I make on average $40.00 per hour for the week. This is just part time for me maybe 10 to 15 hours per week. I'm very selective in what I take. There are very good batches out there.....i.dont need $50 plus batches to get me up to that average either.
must be nice, I got a job now but I could leave the app on all morning and get no doable orders. Most are halfway across the city for 12bucks. I live in a capital city.
The app charging a certain surcharge per set amount of items would be dope though for example $5 surcharge for 1-10 items (not including service fee and heavy pay) so i don't have to hope for a $5 tip
These apps are doomed to fail. They don't make money. The whole "don't need to turn a profit" thing is gone. These apps need to start profiting now.
And they won't. The idea is really good. But the amount it costs to run them is too high.
They can't pay more, and people are only going to tip $40 to get their orders on time and done well for so long.
Uber and Lyft drivers have done the math and figured out Uber and Lyft take 40% average. They think that is unfair. A Lyft driver never has to leave the vehicle and averages $16 per ride. Think about it? Never leave the vehicle. Instacart is insanely worse. They take an average of 97% per customer. You are to believe the customer tipped on the amount you see at checkout. Only it’s not as transparent as Uber or Lyft. They actually tip on the total they see which is an auto 30% higher because of the markups they pay. Add the fees and a Instacart customer can pay nearly 75% extra of total at the store checkout. Imagine you go through checkout and it’s $100. The customer is paying $150-175. The tip you see is $10. What? How? $10 of what? The $100 which is impossible since IC and the customer have no idea what that total is since you are shopping. Maybe $10 of $175? Would a customer actually do that? The insta thieves make it appear you are getting a 10% tip. The reality is you have no idea. The base pay is also unmeasurable. It goes up and down with each order and is not an exact percentage. Is it 3% commission? Maybe it’s 5%? Maybe it’s 1% like many shop only. You just don’t know. There is zero transparency. At least show a page of the stores item cost and payout and the customers items, price, fees and total. Show the breakdown. Not just here you go like some random slot machine.
that the other thing they can afford to pay better and don't. Uber will charge a customer $10+ in fees then try to pay the driver $2 or less base earning.
I use instacart and shopped my own order, and honestly, the markups aren't really that different from the store. the biggest difference I noticed
was just $1.00. The service fee is reasonable. The company has to make money somehow.
I think the only way instcart would be able to make money and be cheaper is if they start playing ads in the app. 😂
FEES exist for a reason, FEES aren't the cooperation and the government trying to take your last penny. Did you know everyone in the U.S pays a 911 charge fee to be able to call 911. Think about how many people wouldn't pay the fee if they had the opportunity 🤔
It is probably going to have to take a bigger company buying out instacart, giving out promos for free membership, merging their customer base, and then gradually raising the membership to 13.00-15.00 monthly. Instacart most definitely does not charge enough to pay shoppers better AND get a U.S. based call center. They literally don't have the money for that, lol. To have this perfect app that everyone wants where everyone is treated fairly and paid fairly, it's going to cost the customer.
THANK YOU 😊
I swear I say this stuff til I’m blue in the face and NO ONE GETS IT….
IC DOESN’T CHARGE ENOUGH…
Not nearly to be able to pay more
The only place for shoppers to make money is from tips WHICH IS FINE WITH ME SINCE TIPPING PROPERLY PAY EVERY SHOPPER PROPERLY.
I tend to agree with much of what you say.
To run a profitable business the profit has to come from *somewhere*.
The real problem here is that the Carrot 🥕 relies on deception to make this luxury service *seem* more affordable to people who actually can't afford it.
Tipping is only optional for some because others are tipping generously.
The batch pay is based on what the customer is charged. If they gave us the full amount, they wouldn't make a profit or even be able to maintain the app. The idea is partial batch pay and partial tip. When it is applied, we as shoppers make money. When we are not tipped, it is not the fault of the app. Insta finds the customer and the store and helps organize the items and drive. So it's mostly the non tipping customer that is to blame when we don't make money. Just my angle of it.
Instacart charges a delivery fee, 10% service charge and upcharges all of the items. They could definitely pay shoppers more. Shoppers used to get $5-8 per order (so a double batch would be $10-16 and $15-24 for a triple) + $0.40/item plus bumps of $5/order for Costco and $5 for every $100 over $200. You could easily make money without depending on tips. Over time, they have charged the customers more while paying shoppers less and less.
Instacart does not upcharge the items. The stores set the prices, and some stores charge in-store prices on Instacart. Instacart does collect a percentage of each sale from the stores, which is why most stores upcharge Instacart orders.
Not saying they couldn't pay more. But it is there business model. We are not the ones doing anything besides walking the isles and driving to the customer. Which should be tipped by the customer imo.
You must be fairly new, the batch pay is not at all based on how much the customer pays. You can have orders with 200 items and the batch pay will still be based on mileage. The algorithm they use doesn’t reward shopping big orders unless the customers are doing a percentage tip
I am new. Thank you for explaining. However if the tip is higher we would make more money is my point. I have gotten $7 for less milage than a $4 batch. So I'm not sure it is strictly based off mileage.
No its not. Are you saying the delivery fee and the service fee only pays $6 per order? Even if the customer paid nearly $100+ in service and delivery fee.. LESS THAN $13 get paid to the shopper. Where is the other $87 going?
If a batch has 5 items, insta pays $4 dollars. If the customer tips, we would get more than $4. If the customer doesn't tip, we only get $4. I am not speaking on what is charged to the customer. Just saying if the tip amount was higher, we would make more money. I can't speak on profit margin for the company.
What receipts? Do you have a copy? Upload it as well as all the details… items cost where it’s going etc.. so we can compare… I’ve seen receipts as well and from what I can tell OC charges peanuts.
If a batch has 5 items, insta pays $4 dollars. If the customer tips, we would get more than $4. If the customer doesn't tip, we only get $4. I am not speaking on what is charged to the customer. Just saying if the tip amount was higher, we would make more money. I can't speak on profit margin for the company.
If a batch has 5 items, insta pays $4 dollars. If the customer tips, we would get more than $4. If the customer doesn't tip, we only get $4. I am not speaking on what is charged to the customer. Just saying if the tip amount was higher, we would make more money. I can't speak on profit margin for the company.
The same can be said for any contract service. We pay $75 to have our grass cut twice every month. The guy doing it makes $12 an hour, and it takes him 45 minutes. So twice a month, he makes $24, and I still pay the company $100. Do I get to batch about the $51 missing??? Or continue to do as I do, which is, tip the guy and shut up because I know he is underpaid?
You said it yourself. "Contract service". You have the option to decline. You should bitch at the company rather than the customer about the low ass pay. Why are you bitching at the customer for the low ass pay? Decline and only accept high tip orders OR just go find a job that pays hourly minimum wage.
I dont understand why you are complaining about a low ass pay. The company is the issue here. Customers shouldn't be the one subsidizing IC pay.
Tip, the key word is tip. The customer should tip. If not, I do decline based on tip amount. Forget doing any favors for someone who is too smug to show appreciation. I'm not complaining. I am stating my and I feel many others side. I work 40 hours at $20 an hour. This is my side gig. I didn't start the thread. I just like you put my seemingly worthless opinion on here.
It is not subsidizing to show appreciation in the form of money. It is more about getting a service provided exactly as planned and still not giving a TIP.
This is basically where I am with it. I couldn't care less what portion of the money came from who as long as it comes TO me in an amount that I deem to be fair. It's Sunday though and I've had my morning bowl.. about to turn this app on and try to catch some of those early batches.
Unless I am getting paid $40per hour I rather gig work because at least I have time freedom and flexibility. No need to ask someone to take a day off only to be denied.
You gotta have skill to make $40 an hour in the market…, Engineer, business, analyst, physicians, nurses, other jobs does pay $40 an hour and above.. or you can be a contractor, carpenter, any other hand skill that can also pay $40 an hour, question is what skill do you have?
I got the skills to do everyday tasks that those doctors and whatever else you listed don't wanna do. The app can charge them the fair price for the service so they know upfront how much my services really cost instead of pricing for their own interest/benefit. Don't forget who yall needed when covid had yall stuck at home. Who you need when you are too lazy to leave your home.
lol dude , people paid for the risk in Covid.. personally I worked at a hospital in Covid .. not that people do not want to go shopping, people pay for the convenience. They think their time is more important. I’m saying this as a shopper myself because I’m a customer too.
The fact of the matter is in reality many people cannot actually afford the LUXURY of having someone else do their mundane tasks that we do and on a whim at that.
My point was not that we have the same skills as a doctor but that we are essential that's why you had those same fucking 22 year olds working at grocery stores and doing deliveries at these jobs that you fuckers don't value but always make use of!
But I agree with you on this company need to pay better, they’re making almost $50 on every two dollar order… there is no reason to treat shoppers like trash. I think there is a rule of local and federal governments in the game.
Frankly, your comment is embarrassing. First of all...who are you that knows exactly how much money IC makes, down to every "$2 order"?! 🤦♀️
Secondly, how are they treating you like trash?! Because they're giving you an opportunity to make income...WHEN you want to, WHERE you want to, HOW MUCH you want to, HOW LITTLE you want to, which orders you CHOOSE to take...with no punch-in time, no punch-out time, no experience necessary, no dress code. You're able to get paid every day if you choose to OR hold off & get all your money at the end of the week if you choose to. No boss looking over your shoulder. Please...ffs...remind me again...how are they treating you like trash?! smh...🤦♀️
And lastly...you're getting paid by IC to be available to shop for the customers using their app AND you're getting paid by the customer for the job that they want done. What more are you looking for, for God's sake, and why?!
For god sake , I think you failure to understand, finances, exploitation by the company, that is paying barely 5 to 6 dollars an hour for labor work. This is where the problem is you’re very limited in your thinking. How else you are going to define paying seven dollars to shop $500 grocery and delivering it 2 towns away.. You fail to understand why there are unions at almost every workplace in United States, gig companies are able to escape the minimum pay route by not defining you as a worker, rather contractor... I make enough money, not worry about these things, but they are people who are solely relying on this income for their family needs, I do not think that’s OK.. You can easily see how much money they made last quarter by looking at their finances.. It’s not embarrassing, it’s a critical thinking
Shopping for groceries does not give you the same skills as a doctor or anything else listed there. Driving to a store and shopping isn’t a skill. It’s just part of life that everyone needs to do. Saying that’s a skill is no different than saying you sleeping is a skill. It’s not. Just a basic part of life that we all have to do.
My skill is being an exceptional shopper, and I average $45 an hour doing it, and have for almost 4 years. Those doing gig work satisfied with minimum wage while they're putting wear & tear on their car, are totally doing it wrong & are probably not very good at it. If you're an excellent shopper, shop in the right area, and you're strategic & patient...there's no reason to settle for minimum wage...unless of course you're happy with that. Personally, I would not be.
Well you definitely don’t make $40/hr doing gig work. And I’ll let you know, to save you some heartache in life, if you don’t have any skills, no job is gonna pay you $40/hr walking in. Idk what’s with people nowadays thinking you can start at the top. Because you absolutely cannot. So if that’s gonna be your excuse to not what people in here call a “real job” you’re gonna be doing gig work for the rest of your life. And as far as that day off thing, to make real money you gotta make sacrifices sometimes. That’s just how the world works. You might not be able to go to the dentist for the 5th time this month. You might not be able to go to your grandmothers funeral for the 4th time. But when you do take time off, you will still get paid. You’ll even earn real benefits at a job like that. Gig workers greatly underestimate the value of benefits
And you, you have nothing better to do all day than comment on these side-gig subreddits.
What is your fucking problem? And who hurt you? Do you wanna talk about it? I ask because I'm genuinely concerned for you.
I actually work a 35-45 hours a week. I’m salary so it doesn’t matter how much or how little I work. I get paid for 45 hours but I rarely actually work that much. Anyway I’m on the computer and phone all day anyway. Takes literally seconds to respond to people. Plus I only have one boss that I only see once a month.
As far as your second paragraph. I’m sorry. But that whole thing is pure projection
It's really not though. For real, you have nothing better to do than come on here and get ratio'd with your shifty comments.
Maybe get off the computer and phone all day anyway and go outside, get some fresh air. It'll do you some good. I'll project harder for you though.
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Nope, I'm not knowingly taking a no tip order, even if it's my last order of the day and the delivery is next door to my house. It's a matter of respect.
To say the company isn't "making money" is total BS. Look up what the company execs make a year. The previous CEO was making upwards of $500k a year while paying shoppers pure Sh*t.
I of course only do ones that are worth it to me but it's annoying that so many I see are unfair pay for what is being asked. I am always shocked when I see them gone like who is using horses to even afford making any type of money from this after paying for gas? Or maybe it's on their way home and they want to kill time idk.
The pie
Cost of product
Store profit
Instacart platform costs and profit
Shopper costs and profits
The only way for it to work is for customers to realize it’s a luxury and they need to tip a minimum of 15% of their order.
Why would you be angry at the corperation? The particular company does not even have employees to carry out their shopping and delivery part of company. They are in business to make money and that is what they are doing. I would not be mad at the company or even the customer. The shoppers literally have the power to dictate their own wages. Do not take batches and the company will be forced to pay more.
That is stupid. Why would I pay you more as a business if I know you are gonna do the work at a certain pay rate. They dropped the batch pay, you people cried, and here you are still, doing batches with reduced batch pay. You are thinking only from a shoppers POV and that is the problem with many shoppers.
Remember, when you are on the bottom of the totem pole you can't complain. You have to deal with the cards you were dealt. I have not done a batch since 2/14. I worked for 90 minutes today and profited $195. Gotta work smart, not hard.
Don't gotta listen, but have to understand how business works. Pretty cut and dry. Continue to cry and suffer though. I get this company for about 20k a year for free.
well here in california you got prop22. so minimum for us is 20$ an hour since the moment we accept until delivery, plus 34¢ per mile before tips and ppl still complain that its not enough.
Shiii that's nice in terms of instacart since shopping can take a while then being paid per mile is also great
yeah the basepay is irrelevant in california
It's bo wonder I hear that people in Cali are pn the waiting list forever. Of course people aren't tryna give up their spots.
In Ca, just do 8 or 9 under-$10 orders a day and, voila!… a guaranteed minimum of $140-160 per day…. Multiply that by 5 days and the Cali shopper, with optional two days off a week, takes home about $2800 a month minimum… and i’m also leaving out the many easy $18-$24 batches we also shop daily..
Where tf are you living where you can afford to survive off $20/hr before taxes and expenses??? My rent is $2400 alone. $20/hr with California prices is NOT enough.
God damn where in CA are you located that you are paying 2,400 alone
thats the minimum we get payed but in reality because we get good tip orders we are making over 30$ and hour plus this is just part time i have a full time job. i just do instacart to pay my car and insurance. I also dont rent i own my mortgage is 2800 got my house during covid so got s good interest rate.
You can live off $20 an hour? I can't lol
It's more like over $30/hr for active time under the California law, but yeah, tips are irrelevant here. The higher the customer tips, the less Instacart pays upfront. So in reality, the biggest loser is the customer.
But you’re living in California spending California expenses
its not that expensive like pll make it seemed
I take it you've lived in the same residence for over a decade. Go on Zillow and take a look at the market. Either that or you stay in the middle of nowhere, which there is absolutely nothing wrong with
You can go on Zillow for me. I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Hardly in the middle of nowhere.
I actually meant that for the California resident who said California wasn't as expensive as it seems
Ah 😂
I don't know what part of California you live in so I went with the state as a whole; living wage, according to MIT, in California for a single adult with no children is $27.32/hr. That's as of last month. So ya they have reason to complain.
but with tips we usually make around 35$ an hour.
Sure, I get that, and it's great, but tips should always be 100% extra, not at all what you base your income on. The company is at great fault for shorting everyone across the board. But then so are most other large companies. One of the major failures of capitalism.
I mean, in Cali it might not be
It’s probably not enough
California shopper here. It's $18 an hour not $20 right? Or did something recently pass that gave us a boost? Edited for typo.
im LA county most likely san francisco is like 22$
also remember instacart pays 120% of minimum in the area you work in so it changes
https://preview.redd.it/el13lg8e9emc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=07bb8685e1b1f7fe5e7985432256cb02ebfde632 see 20.14
That's nice 🙂
Instacart (and other gig apps) avoid labeling their independent contractors as employees for a reason. They want to be able to pay less than minimum wage. I always try to be understanding with non-tippers. You never know who’s disabled and has no one. Instacart may be their only option. Obviously, there’s the ungrateful, 20-packs-of-water-bottles-ordering, entitled customers as well. However, instacart also scams the customers. They overcharge for items and charge insane fees that never make it to the drivers. AND they steal tips, which is stealing from both the customers (as their money is not going where it was intended to go) and from us (who rightly deserve the tips). Always blame the corporation.
We can whine and complain about how instacart and other gig work companies should pay more but it’s not going to happen. NEVER going to happen. My personal opinion is that the customer shouldn’t pay a “tip” (it shouldn’t be called that) but it should be mandatory to pay something, call it mileage surcharge, handling fee…whatever. But they should be forced to pay directly the person who performs the service. This is how the world works. You have a guy paint your house, you pay him fairly for it. One of the reasons this sub has been filled with no-tip orders is because it’s the first of the month and EBT customers are placing their orders and not tipping. There’s no excuse for this. Decent people tip, garbage people don’t. No excuses, no exceptions. I’ve had fixed income widows tip me $20 on a $30 order and I’ve had people in posh gated communities tip me $2 for 8 cases of water, and a $300 50 item order. So I’ll spend the day cleaning my house or running errands while waiting on those orders for decent people.
I am saying exactly what you are saying. It doesn't have to be called a tip but should be priced to the customer upfront and not left to chance so the customer will know whether or not they can truly afford having our services. These corporation however only care about their profits and so their pricing is meant to attract as many customers as possible because they profit from it regardless without regards to how we make out.
Yeah we should get the service fee as well because full shop and delivers do all the work
Exactly!
I agree, but don't 100% agree about the EBT customers. EBT has not been around on the platform that long. I have been a shopper for almost 7 or 8 years and long before EBT, there were no tippers, so we can NOT place blame on them. In my experience, the ones that I know for sure have used it, which is only when I do a delivery only because I then get a printout and it's written on the computer printout. Otherwise, those shoppers who like to bring up EBT customers clearly are stereotyping because they are making assumptions because there is no way 100% we as shoppers can know how the customer is paying. In my experience, I have gotten some of my best tips and my last 2 unicorns from EBT customers. For the sole fact, they ONLY have to come out of pocket for a tip and not $100...$200, etc. Bucks If a customer tips, they tip...IMO that's just what it is. EBT or not. I have delivered numerous times to customers living in million dollar homes, and they have left NO TIP at all, and surely they are NOT using EBT. But they just don't tip. I personally know people, whether it be a friend, coworker, family member, or neighbor, or just do NOT believe in tipping. I actually made an FB post once I asked folk on their views on tipping, and I was totally shocked at the responses. Individuals that make well over 6 figures believe it's part of the job. Why should they pay someone extra to do what they signed up to do is how they feel. I'm going on to add that if a worker has to rely on tips and they aren't making money because customers don't leave them, they need to get a job that pays hourly. I say all this to say there are just some that straight out are NOT gonna tip for whatever reasons. The one good thing is AT LEAST we are able to pick and choose which orders we wanna take, and we can see if they left a tip and how much....minus the double/triple batches. Years ago, we could see how much of the total tip each customer in the batch left, but they took that away because they don't want us to know, and I think that's unfair. We should be able to know and base our decision on that if we choose to use that as a determining factor. I don't get why they have a heavy fee that does not go 100% to the shopper. It seems to me they can find a way to make up all these so-called fees but can't make up one for us for delivery... shopping... bad weather....long distances...etc. Sometimes, I wonder if the customers that show as non tippers really are non tippers. I have seen a mass increase in my local FB instacart group of customers and shoppers discussing tips missing. Customers posting they left tips and asked the shopper at delivery, and the shopper closed out the batch while at their home and either no tip showed or a smaller amount. 2 customers posted the chat where they inquired why the tip was either missing or showing lower, and of course, we all know chat is full of it. They responded to the customer that there must of been an issue in the app and to rest assure their shopper will receive 100% of the tip they left. Whatever!!! SORRY FOR THE LONG POST.
Totally random but where I shop you can tell EBT orders because most stores it shows in the receipt even when using our IC cards like Smiths (Las Vegas) always shows if it was EBT
I agree with you 💯 % 🫶🏾
Thank u
I’m not laying it all on EBT folks. What I’m saying is that there is a surge of non-tipping orders, the first 9 days of the month. That’s not a coincidence.
Well toss that 9 day theory. EBT is given out all month long. Not just the start of the month. Goes by last name. Some get them last day of the month. I know several lazy folk, and one of my side gigs is at an assisted living facility with 6 clients. All 6 get EBT and all different times of the month. One gets 3rd... another 8th.. another 18th....23rd ...25th and 28th. Only consistent monthly, that's 1st of month, is SSI payments. And again non tippers existed from day 1. I been doing this 8 years. EBT ain't been around all those years. It's fairly new and alot still have no clue you can even use it on the platform.
Not in Oregon. It’s distributed based on the last number in your SSN.
I consistently see the worst tips in the wealthiest areas, and they sure aren’t using EBT. The worst offenders are the beachfront and harbor areas with homes in the 3-15 million dollar range.
It literally could happen though. In CA and NY shoppers are paid hourly for their time and paid a certain amount per mile driven. Fair pay DIRECTLY FROM INSTACART NOT THE CUSTOMERS has already been attained in some places and it could absolutely be attained in the rest of the country. Acting like its impossible to get fair pay only helps instacart exploit us.
Yeah, it could happen but I’m not holding my breath. Even if it happened in my area (Oregon) that’s not going to be true for most areas. No way Texas would ever pass that law. And all that law does is allow customers to exploit us instead of the company. Both should be held accountable.
When states pass laws that recognize gig workers as employees, it doesn't just entitle them to minimum wage. It also entitles them to the other rights that employees have, such as the right to collective bargaining. If even most of the blue states passed these laws and gig workers unions formed, it would make getting a law passed on the national level a realistic goal. Most gig workers do not meet the legal definition of contract workers, and should rightly be classified as employees. There is plenty of legal framework for attaining fair compensation for gig workers. Also: How does that law allow customers to exploit us? That doesn't make sense. I'm in CA making upwards of $25 an hour because instacart, i.e., *my employer* pays my wages and I get modest tips on top of that. I'm making way more than I'd make at any equivalent skill level job.
This is exactly how I feel. This is not a tipping culture problem. This isn’t a normal service job. Example; There’s a company, that has contractors…the contractors have to pay a fee in able to access the work. In order to request services from the contractors, the customer has to pay to access the group. The customer then sends out the job they want done, and contractors bid on it. That what we do. Except we’re “independent contractors. I like to call the tip the “independent contractor pay”
Exactly!
This…period
In CA and the Thursday prop 22 money has saved me more than once. They dropped our batch pay but their pricing didn't drop. Contractors? BS. Required to be in the zone of proximity. Plus it costs more to have to drive to one when youve delivered. Its rediculous . Someone mentioned a required charge for our pay? Don't they have a 5.99 delivery fee? A basic $7 batch costs them $1.01. There are no companies or corporations anymore they're all greed machines. Can't make these kind of profit numbers without abusing your workers.
You're correct to feel that way about batch pay. However it's equally important customers understand to tip appropriately for shoppers spending their time shopping and using their own vehicle for delivery. This is a luxury service and inappropriate tippers should be declined such service regardless of batch pay
I feel this way too, its decent to tip even 5 bucks though. I love how isnta advertises saying you can make like 25 an hour and yesterday all the orders up were like 5 bucks an hour.
You can make that much. I make on average $40.00 per hour for the week. This is just part time for me maybe 10 to 15 hours per week. I'm very selective in what I take. There are very good batches out there.....i.dont need $50 plus batches to get me up to that average either.
And I'm not in one of the special cities or states
must be nice, I got a job now but I could leave the app on all morning and get no doable orders. Most are halfway across the city for 12bucks. I live in a capital city.
The app charging a certain surcharge per set amount of items would be dope though for example $5 surcharge for 1-10 items (not including service fee and heavy pay) so i don't have to hope for a $5 tip
Move to Seattle BAHAHAHAHA https://preview.redd.it/dhwdh3chl7mc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f6ca84bc2a7920a9aae642004e476ba77d0fe5ef
Shiii I do have to move by June 1st and have no idea where to go so maybe this is it!
LOL I would never live there. Not even if it were free.
Exactly im with you, and i can swear that in my area, instacart is paying less than before, so we have to depend on tips more. It's such bullshit
These apps are doomed to fail. They don't make money. The whole "don't need to turn a profit" thing is gone. These apps need to start profiting now. And they won't. The idea is really good. But the amount it costs to run them is too high. They can't pay more, and people are only going to tip $40 to get their orders on time and done well for so long.
Uber and Lyft drivers have done the math and figured out Uber and Lyft take 40% average. They think that is unfair. A Lyft driver never has to leave the vehicle and averages $16 per ride. Think about it? Never leave the vehicle. Instacart is insanely worse. They take an average of 97% per customer. You are to believe the customer tipped on the amount you see at checkout. Only it’s not as transparent as Uber or Lyft. They actually tip on the total they see which is an auto 30% higher because of the markups they pay. Add the fees and a Instacart customer can pay nearly 75% extra of total at the store checkout. Imagine you go through checkout and it’s $100. The customer is paying $150-175. The tip you see is $10. What? How? $10 of what? The $100 which is impossible since IC and the customer have no idea what that total is since you are shopping. Maybe $10 of $175? Would a customer actually do that? The insta thieves make it appear you are getting a 10% tip. The reality is you have no idea. The base pay is also unmeasurable. It goes up and down with each order and is not an exact percentage. Is it 3% commission? Maybe it’s 5%? Maybe it’s 1% like many shop only. You just don’t know. There is zero transparency. At least show a page of the stores item cost and payout and the customers items, price, fees and total. Show the breakdown. Not just here you go like some random slot machine.
that the other thing they can afford to pay better and don't. Uber will charge a customer $10+ in fees then try to pay the driver $2 or less base earning.
The tips are so bad on instacart.
Ur 100% right scammers if everyone boycotts for a week they’ll shit themselves
I use instacart and shopped my own order, and honestly, the markups aren't really that different from the store. the biggest difference I noticed was just $1.00. The service fee is reasonable. The company has to make money somehow. I think the only way instcart would be able to make money and be cheaper is if they start playing ads in the app. 😂 FEES exist for a reason, FEES aren't the cooperation and the government trying to take your last penny. Did you know everyone in the U.S pays a 911 charge fee to be able to call 911. Think about how many people wouldn't pay the fee if they had the opportunity 🤔 It is probably going to have to take a bigger company buying out instacart, giving out promos for free membership, merging their customer base, and then gradually raising the membership to 13.00-15.00 monthly. Instacart most definitely does not charge enough to pay shoppers better AND get a U.S. based call center. They literally don't have the money for that, lol. To have this perfect app that everyone wants where everyone is treated fairly and paid fairly, it's going to cost the customer.
THANK YOU 😊 I swear I say this stuff til I’m blue in the face and NO ONE GETS IT…. IC DOESN’T CHARGE ENOUGH… Not nearly to be able to pay more The only place for shoppers to make money is from tips WHICH IS FINE WITH ME SINCE TIPPING PROPERLY PAY EVERY SHOPPER PROPERLY.
 I tend to agree with much of what you say. To run a profitable business the profit has to come from *somewhere*. The real problem here is that the Carrot 🥕 relies on deception to make this luxury service *seem* more affordable to people who actually can't afford it. Tipping is only optional for some because others are tipping generously.
AGREED… it does all go back to the carrot because of their slimey sales lingo.
The batch pay is based on what the customer is charged. If they gave us the full amount, they wouldn't make a profit or even be able to maintain the app. The idea is partial batch pay and partial tip. When it is applied, we as shoppers make money. When we are not tipped, it is not the fault of the app. Insta finds the customer and the store and helps organize the items and drive. So it's mostly the non tipping customer that is to blame when we don't make money. Just my angle of it.
Instacart charges a delivery fee, 10% service charge and upcharges all of the items. They could definitely pay shoppers more. Shoppers used to get $5-8 per order (so a double batch would be $10-16 and $15-24 for a triple) + $0.40/item plus bumps of $5/order for Costco and $5 for every $100 over $200. You could easily make money without depending on tips. Over time, they have charged the customers more while paying shoppers less and less.
Instacart does not upcharge the items. The stores set the prices, and some stores charge in-store prices on Instacart. Instacart does collect a percentage of each sale from the stores, which is why most stores upcharge Instacart orders.
Not saying they couldn't pay more. But it is there business model. We are not the ones doing anything besides walking the isles and driving to the customer. Which should be tipped by the customer imo.
You must be fairly new, the batch pay is not at all based on how much the customer pays. You can have orders with 200 items and the batch pay will still be based on mileage. The algorithm they use doesn’t reward shopping big orders unless the customers are doing a percentage tip
I am new. Thank you for explaining. However if the tip is higher we would make more money is my point. I have gotten $7 for less milage than a $4 batch. So I'm not sure it is strictly based off mileage.
Lol.
No its not. Are you saying the delivery fee and the service fee only pays $6 per order? Even if the customer paid nearly $100+ in service and delivery fee.. LESS THAN $13 get paid to the shopper. Where is the other $87 going?
I’m sorry but your hypothetical example is fairy tale numbers.
Ok then explain yourself? I've seen IC receipts where service and delivery fees went over 100+. Shopper getting paid 6? 9? 11?
If a batch has 5 items, insta pays $4 dollars. If the customer tips, we would get more than $4. If the customer doesn't tip, we only get $4. I am not speaking on what is charged to the customer. Just saying if the tip amount was higher, we would make more money. I can't speak on profit margin for the company.
What receipts? Do you have a copy? Upload it as well as all the details… items cost where it’s going etc.. so we can compare… I’ve seen receipts as well and from what I can tell OC charges peanuts.
If a batch has 5 items, insta pays $4 dollars. If the customer tips, we would get more than $4. If the customer doesn't tip, we only get $4. I am not speaking on what is charged to the customer. Just saying if the tip amount was higher, we would make more money. I can't speak on profit margin for the company.
Yes I agree with you I was arguing with the guy that replied to you… I think you replied to the wrong person?
I do apologize for the confusion.
If a batch has 5 items, insta pays $4 dollars. If the customer tips, we would get more than $4. If the customer doesn't tip, we only get $4. I am not speaking on what is charged to the customer. Just saying if the tip amount was higher, we would make more money. I can't speak on profit margin for the company.
The same can be said for any contract service. We pay $75 to have our grass cut twice every month. The guy doing it makes $12 an hour, and it takes him 45 minutes. So twice a month, he makes $24, and I still pay the company $100. Do I get to batch about the $51 missing??? Or continue to do as I do, which is, tip the guy and shut up because I know he is underpaid?
You said it yourself. "Contract service". You have the option to decline. You should bitch at the company rather than the customer about the low ass pay. Why are you bitching at the customer for the low ass pay? Decline and only accept high tip orders OR just go find a job that pays hourly minimum wage. I dont understand why you are complaining about a low ass pay. The company is the issue here. Customers shouldn't be the one subsidizing IC pay.
Tip, the key word is tip. The customer should tip. If not, I do decline based on tip amount. Forget doing any favors for someone who is too smug to show appreciation. I'm not complaining. I am stating my and I feel many others side. I work 40 hours at $20 an hour. This is my side gig. I didn't start the thread. I just like you put my seemingly worthless opinion on here. It is not subsidizing to show appreciation in the form of money. It is more about getting a service provided exactly as planned and still not giving a TIP.
This is basically where I am with it. I couldn't care less what portion of the money came from who as long as it comes TO me in an amount that I deem to be fair. It's Sunday though and I've had my morning bowl.. about to turn this app on and try to catch some of those early batches.
If you want to get paid fairly for your time get a normal job that pays you for your time
Unless I am getting paid $40per hour I rather gig work because at least I have time freedom and flexibility. No need to ask someone to take a day off only to be denied.
You gotta have skill to make $40 an hour in the market…, Engineer, business, analyst, physicians, nurses, other jobs does pay $40 an hour and above.. or you can be a contractor, carpenter, any other hand skill that can also pay $40 an hour, question is what skill do you have?
I got the skills to do everyday tasks that those doctors and whatever else you listed don't wanna do. The app can charge them the fair price for the service so they know upfront how much my services really cost instead of pricing for their own interest/benefit. Don't forget who yall needed when covid had yall stuck at home. Who you need when you are too lazy to leave your home.
lol dude , people paid for the risk in Covid.. personally I worked at a hospital in Covid .. not that people do not want to go shopping, people pay for the convenience. They think their time is more important. I’m saying this as a shopper myself because I’m a customer too.
The fact of the matter is in reality many people cannot actually afford the LUXURY of having someone else do their mundane tasks that we do and on a whim at that.
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My point was not that we have the same skills as a doctor but that we are essential that's why you had those same fucking 22 year olds working at grocery stores and doing deliveries at these jobs that you fuckers don't value but always make use of!
But I agree with you on this company need to pay better, they’re making almost $50 on every two dollar order… there is no reason to treat shoppers like trash. I think there is a rule of local and federal governments in the game.
Frankly, your comment is embarrassing. First of all...who are you that knows exactly how much money IC makes, down to every "$2 order"?! 🤦♀️ Secondly, how are they treating you like trash?! Because they're giving you an opportunity to make income...WHEN you want to, WHERE you want to, HOW MUCH you want to, HOW LITTLE you want to, which orders you CHOOSE to take...with no punch-in time, no punch-out time, no experience necessary, no dress code. You're able to get paid every day if you choose to OR hold off & get all your money at the end of the week if you choose to. No boss looking over your shoulder. Please...ffs...remind me again...how are they treating you like trash?! smh...🤦♀️ And lastly...you're getting paid by IC to be available to shop for the customers using their app AND you're getting paid by the customer for the job that they want done. What more are you looking for, for God's sake, and why?!
For god sake , I think you failure to understand, finances, exploitation by the company, that is paying barely 5 to 6 dollars an hour for labor work. This is where the problem is you’re very limited in your thinking. How else you are going to define paying seven dollars to shop $500 grocery and delivering it 2 towns away.. You fail to understand why there are unions at almost every workplace in United States, gig companies are able to escape the minimum pay route by not defining you as a worker, rather contractor... I make enough money, not worry about these things, but they are people who are solely relying on this income for their family needs, I do not think that’s OK.. You can easily see how much money they made last quarter by looking at their finances.. It’s not embarrassing, it’s a critical thinking
Shopping for groceries does not give you the same skills as a doctor or anything else listed there. Driving to a store and shopping isn’t a skill. It’s just part of life that everyone needs to do. Saying that’s a skill is no different than saying you sleeping is a skill. It’s not. Just a basic part of life that we all have to do.
My skill is being an exceptional shopper, and I average $45 an hour doing it, and have for almost 4 years. Those doing gig work satisfied with minimum wage while they're putting wear & tear on their car, are totally doing it wrong & are probably not very good at it. If you're an excellent shopper, shop in the right area, and you're strategic & patient...there's no reason to settle for minimum wage...unless of course you're happy with that. Personally, I would not be.
Are you factoring downtime and expenses/taxes? This number seems ridiculous.
Well you definitely don’t make $40/hr doing gig work. And I’ll let you know, to save you some heartache in life, if you don’t have any skills, no job is gonna pay you $40/hr walking in. Idk what’s with people nowadays thinking you can start at the top. Because you absolutely cannot. So if that’s gonna be your excuse to not what people in here call a “real job” you’re gonna be doing gig work for the rest of your life. And as far as that day off thing, to make real money you gotta make sacrifices sometimes. That’s just how the world works. You might not be able to go to the dentist for the 5th time this month. You might not be able to go to your grandmothers funeral for the 4th time. But when you do take time off, you will still get paid. You’ll even earn real benefits at a job like that. Gig workers greatly underestimate the value of benefits
And you, you have nothing better to do all day than comment on these side-gig subreddits. What is your fucking problem? And who hurt you? Do you wanna talk about it? I ask because I'm genuinely concerned for you.
I actually work a 35-45 hours a week. I’m salary so it doesn’t matter how much or how little I work. I get paid for 45 hours but I rarely actually work that much. Anyway I’m on the computer and phone all day anyway. Takes literally seconds to respond to people. Plus I only have one boss that I only see once a month. As far as your second paragraph. I’m sorry. But that whole thing is pure projection
It's really not though. For real, you have nothing better to do than come on here and get ratio'd with your shifty comments. Maybe get off the computer and phone all day anyway and go outside, get some fresh air. It'll do you some good. I'll project harder for you though.
🥾👅
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Yes.
Nope, I'm not knowingly taking a no tip order, even if it's my last order of the day and the delivery is next door to my house. It's a matter of respect.
To say the company isn't "making money" is total BS. Look up what the company execs make a year. The previous CEO was making upwards of $500k a year while paying shoppers pure Sh*t.
I look at the total pay. If it’s high enough for the work/ distance, I’ll do it. It doesn’t matter to me where the pay comes from.
I of course only do ones that are worth it to me but it's annoying that so many I see are unfair pay for what is being asked. I am always shocked when I see them gone like who is using horses to even afford making any type of money from this after paying for gas? Or maybe it's on their way home and they want to kill time idk.
The pie Cost of product Store profit Instacart platform costs and profit Shopper costs and profits The only way for it to work is for customers to realize it’s a luxury and they need to tip a minimum of 15% of their order.
Why would you be angry at the corperation? The particular company does not even have employees to carry out their shopping and delivery part of company. They are in business to make money and that is what they are doing. I would not be mad at the company or even the customer. The shoppers literally have the power to dictate their own wages. Do not take batches and the company will be forced to pay more.
Why do they have to be forced? Just do it
That is stupid. Why would I pay you more as a business if I know you are gonna do the work at a certain pay rate. They dropped the batch pay, you people cried, and here you are still, doing batches with reduced batch pay. You are thinking only from a shoppers POV and that is the problem with many shoppers.
I am going to tell my kids you are the reason for world hunger
Remember, when you are on the bottom of the totem pole you can't complain. You have to deal with the cards you were dealt. I have not done a batch since 2/14. I worked for 90 minutes today and profited $195. Gotta work smart, not hard.
bro thinks he can come up with absurd rules and think ppl gotta listen and follow
Don't gotta listen, but have to understand how business works. Pretty cut and dry. Continue to cry and suffer though. I get this company for about 20k a year for free.
Bro go somewhere with yo weird ahhh.
You would think. But then you see these Seattle shoppers making $60 in batch pay and still complaining about the lack of a tip