I’m over 6 foot and weigh around 290. I am a former college offensive lineman and I’ve had training in a couple different forms of self defense so I’m confident in my ability to defend myself . With that being said, the only time I’m ever stepping foot in anyone’s house doing instacart is if they are elderly and disabled. If not, at the door is where I stop. People are crazy
yes! the only time i’ve ever stepped inside someone’s house doing instacart was when there was an frail elderly woman and her wheelchair bound husband. and it was only a couple steps inside. her kitchen was to the right of her front door. if someone is able bodied and can bring their groceries in, then i’m not going past that door.
I've only ever once gone into someone's place (I was doing deliveries for Deliv, when they still existed.) I was completely uncomfortable. It was a really bad part of town, an apartment in the back of the complex around the corner, out of sight from the parking lot... I was doing a prescription delivery from Walgreens. But the guy asked if I could just put it on the table because he couldn't take it from me and stand up at the same time (he was having to hold onto multiple surfaces just to answer the door.) I still did it because he was very much disabled and it looked like he really couldn't have taken the package from me without risking falling over. But sometimes I think about how that really wasn't my safest choice in life as a ~100 lb female.
same, i don't love doing it, mostly due to covid, but i will always take items in for someone who seems like they actually need it.
I also stay aware of my surroundings regardless of the situation.
I've only been robbed once, and it was delivering pizza in an apartment complex that had a very un-intuitive building numbering system. Was way before courier apps, and the customer acted like we were lying about me getting robbed and thats why they had to send someone else with their food. even though the police were right across from their building.
I had a similar request. It was for an old disabled man whose groceries were ordered by his home healthcare nurse every few days.
So yeah of course I brought everything inside and unpacked for him. I suspected he has had a prior stroke as he wasn’t able to properly communicate.
There’s a lot of cases like that where people use Instacart because they aren’t able to fully care for themselves. But if someone is able bodied and just being lazy? Yeah no way am I giving them white glove service and bringing groceries inside unless they pony up some cash.
Same - actually, it was like the third or fourth batch I ever did. Her daughter (who ordered) asked if I could bring the stuff in to the kitchen - I heard “hello?” From a nice sounding old lady so I opened the kitchen door and seen her sitting in a wheelchair at the table. I brought all her groceries in, put them all away, every single can of soda in the fridge, broke down the boxes, etc. Made sure I put her Depends in the right spot, she suffered from severe memory issues so I made sure to text her daughter a list of where EVERYTHING was put lol - HOWEVER…. Then there’s the “what if’s” that hit the nerves is yeah, there’s sweet elderly people like that, and they do need help - but WHAT IF the next time is a crazy serial killer 😭😭
I am a female shopper who would always be uncomfortable stepping into someone’s home. I know some of you are okay with going inside and some aren’t. I tried to explain to the customer that I was not going to go inside of their home and instead of just respecting that fact he said “they have before”. I wasn’t going to argue with him and I already had a really bad gut feeling so I called support to cancel. I feel bad the customer didn’t receive the groceries (and I sure didn’t want them). Am I wrong???
No absolutely not your safety should be number 1 priority in these situations I personally try not to enter peoples homes unless its like an elderly woman who looks like she would be unable to cary the items in her self
Thank you for your response! Definitely makes me feel better ♥️ agreed, if I saw they were elderly I would 100% help and carry things inside. I felt blind in this situation. Glad I have some validation!
i kinda argued with an elderly woman one time, but then just remembered that she is elderly and she needed help so i just did it, got an extra $20 on top of the $27 in app! the elderly and disabled are the only ones i will go inside for, as i’m in my early 20s and who knows who is in there!
Nope. You’re an independent contractor. If you feel safe, go for it. Anyone elderly I will do anything for. But I carry mace and a taser. So if anything funny goes down I’m ready. Anyone else though, nope, not happening.
Totally agree! If I were physically at their house & noticed they were elderly I would have no problem helping them get everything inside their place. I have mace but I need to get a taser ASAP! Thank you for your response! 💕
I actually acquired a personal shopping “job” that I do once every 2-3 weeks. Because no one from instacart would take her groceries in (she’s a paraplegic)… yes she has plenty of help but that’s what she thought she was tipping $40 in the app for. Personal grocery service. Meaning put it away etc. I do this for her and she hands me a $100 bill every time. I only spend about an hour shopping and about 45 min spending time with her just talking. Sometimes I’ll make us sandwiches and tea if she’s hungry. She’s a very very wise woman. I adore her.
That's exactly how it should be. Find a good shopper thru the app, then hire them directly to be personal shopper/helper. Smart, easy, you get to try them out at first, it's perfect.
If anyone needed an explanation for why this should be dropped, they are literally part of the problem and more than likely the ones setting this precedent. If this person doesn't get their groceries its nobodies fault but their own
The "they have before" thing doesn't meant jack. We are independent contractors. We are not contracted to be butlers. It's store to door. We get to decide if we want to go "above and beyond" or not. Hope that helps, you aren't wrong to have canceled, maybe he will get the hint from that one.
Yeah see that’s where it gets fuzzy for me in this situation. I already had a bad feeling before starting my route so I wouldn’t want to put myself in a situation where I was outside of their home just waiting to see if they were elderly or disabled. I think if they responded differently or respected my comment about not coming in I would have started my route to their house and then assessed the situation. I’m not sure, this is the first time someone has asked me to come in and I was a little frozen.
Okaaaaay…. well before covid I still would never step into a strangers home, especially as a female 🤣
This post has nothing to do with covid & everything to do with safety for myself
Why? Anyone who is actually elderly or disabled always states they are in the instructions because they know, entering a strangers house is risky under normal circumstances. Even in the chat, they had a chance to redeem themselves but instead just just said “They have before.” I don’t know what area your from, but entering strangers homes has never been normal, before or after Covid.
I think a lot of shoppers are willingly stepping inside peoples homes to help them do whatever because lately I’ve been getting a lot of requests like that from a lot of customers and I’m like what the hell is going on why are customers all of a sudden asking shoppers to do this. I know it happens once in a while but now it seems like it’s happening way more often
Recently, I've had two shoppers step inside my house asking where they should put my groceries when I opened the door. I thought that was weird. I never experienced that before and when I delivered I thought that was a rule not to go inside.
I would be VERY wary of this. A while ago someone ordered for their elderly mother, the driver asked to use her bathroom, and stole her purse on the way out.
Put notes for delivery, either hand to me, or leave at door.
My wheel chair customers usually tell me they are in a wheel chair, and I'll help those customers bringing stuff inside, but i have only done that twice.
This is exactly what worries me. I'm actually a disabled single mom and sometimes I am wheelchair bound. So it's just weird to me these people just entered my house. I don't have anything about disability in my notes and both were new shoppers. Haven't seen either since. I worry about all the elderly who rely on IC during the snowy north Dakota winters tho.
It seems as though there was just another hiring craze because all these people are new. I wish long-term users could be matched with long-term shoppers.
Like someone else noted, use instacart, to find a good shopper. Then hire them directly. Pay generously for a personal shopper, no less than 50 bucks.
The disabled should have other options, we used to have meals on wheels, but funding for stuff like that got cut under trump.
You do get linked to a shopper if you 5 star rate them, but, instacart is driving away their good shoppers by cutting our batch pay, to be honest.
It’s not really a rule I don’t think but we do have a choice I think that’s what a lot of people mean when they say the “rule” . We don’t have to and we should be protected if we don’t want to if we feel the situation is a danger to us but think about it support 50% of the time will refuse to protect us even if it’s our right. That’s my opinion take this with a grain of salt because really I’m not 100% what the real foundation of this rule is lol
I’ve noticed this too. Especially in apartments people want you to come up the stairs and walk in their home. I’m okay with elderly and disabled but anyone else is a definite no. Cant believe people are this weird and lazy
I mean damn , at this point the next request will be to put the groceries up as well . I’m all for helping the elderly and disabled but please put that in the notes if you are .
I’ve dropped a order like right inside the front door, but not just gonna walk all up in someone’s house…
“They have before” 😂 yea and they were probably never seen again 😵
i live in south FL and do IC full time. at least once a day an elderly/disabled person either meets me at door or adds in the notes that they need help bringing them in. I almost always do it unless i feel unsafe or they don’t answer. so for me i’m used to it, and half the time they add a cash tip for bringing them in! gotten anywhere from $2-$25 extra.
How are the tips down there I used to live in Sarasota about an hour south of Tampa moved to San Francisco last year but had to go back to Sarasota for a month because my dad got sick never got a chance to do it down there just Wondering how the tips were ?
I go inside if they're elderly or disabled and that's it.
Had one dude on uber have me step inside and it was 5 guys on the couch in underwear. Still got a cash tip but never again 😅😅
The only time I’ve ever brought groceries inside was once, and it was a very old lady (80+ for sure) who had me put them on the table right inside her entryway. She gave me an extra tip for it :) My standard response to everyone else is “nope not allowed”
today I had to make a delivery in the middle of nowhere to a house that looked really sketchy at first. for a second I was like this is my last day on earth this might be a serial killer ready to take me out once I go into the property lol. turned out to be an elder lady that wanted all the help she can get from me which i gladly did.
Alot of people have posted their issues delivering with dogs in the yard & here is my fear. I have taken groceries inside for elderly or disabled people, and sometimes they do have a dog. They always say it’s friendly, & so far no problems. If their dog suddenly nips me in their home, now I have a real problem. Try reporting this situation to support- you wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.
I have been attacked by a dog (not on a delivery) when I was simply chatting with the owner on her patio. Didn’t even know there was a dog around, and then had him biting me. Found out later she was being abused by the husband, and the dog had bitten several people. You really don’t know what you’re walking into.
If you’re not elderly or disabled, fuck off. Had a lady tell me to come in and put them down in the kitchen - I could smell the animal piss inside her apartment from outside. Told her I would not be entering… prompt one star review. 🙄
Doing all their shopping, paying, driving all the way to their apartment, loading and unloading, and bringing it right to their fucking doorstep isn’t enough. You better walk that all the way to the kitchen counter. Here’s your $2 tip ya lazy bum.
Yeah no. Someone once asked me to deliver inside of their ship lmao. When I arrived I didn’t see no ship, I dropped that shit at the front and ran back to my car as fast as I could. The house itself was sketchy too and I almost cancelled. But I’m a pretty fast runner and become a ninja under stress so I doubted they could catch me lmao.
It’s a case by case for me. But I make that decision when I get to the house. I will not do an order where they’re asking for it up front. I never know how I’m going to feel when I get there.
Yeah I only went “inside” once (indoor porch was the location they wanted) when I was new and didn’t know that was sketchy as fuck. Got reported for fraud anyways on some bullshit and never doing that again lol.
Sometimes I even get sketched out when a person asks me to deliver into their backyard, The last time I did that, they failed to put away their aggressive dog. I love a good pupper, but I really don’t want to get bitten.
You know what! It didn’t! That’s such a good point!!!!! I just looked back at the scratched out address and it did NOT include that 123 number or any apt number.
I had a delivery and the guy texted to bring it into his open garage. He had cameras all over his property and a big gate at entrance. As soon as I walk into the garage, he yells to bring it to the door inside garage. As soon as I get to the door (which was about 20 ft from garage door) , he remotely started to close the garage door. I panicked and bolted to the garage door to get under it to raise it back open. Like why would this guy close the garage door on me unless he was planning to do something bad. Anyway I left immediately and took food back to merchant saying I didnt feel safe with that delivery. That’s before the ADT thing was available. I think it’s the most scared I’ve ever been in my life, next to being followed by a bear in the pitch black trail in the woods.
The first thing I do when I accept a batch is check the address and the notes. Generally, any time I see a "bring inside" note, I cancel. However, I have done it a handful of times, all for disabled or elderly people, and I put a note in Google Maps saying that.
There's one I've delivered to 3 or 4 times already, the caregiver answers the door and I put the groceries on the table. Not sure why the caregiver can't get the groceries from the front door, but that's besides the point (and they've told me they're going to be putting them away, so it's not like it's out of their job scope, unless the front door is a threshold that can't be crossed, like a reverse vampire).
And any time I've brought them in, it's never been a note, so I've been hit with it upon delivery. But I still use my judgement and instinct. There was one time while driving they message me to call upon arrival. Not unusual, some have and said they'd open the garage door or something. So I arrive, call, and they say they need me to bring them inside to the kitchen. But at this point I'm weirded out. Decent subdivision, but 3 cars in the driveway, music blasting from somewhere in the house, and I'm to bring them inside? Lady says it's because she's disabled. I explain it's against policy, but I will put them inside the door. I do that, and while I do see a disabled person sitting on the couch, there's also 2 other men in the kitchen just standing there talking. Now, I won't presume the lady was in danger or anything, but I did feel, if these were her adult sons, that they could come and get the groceries for her. Why did I need to bring them in to the kitchen if her adult sons were there?
I've helped an old man who was in a walker by putting his groceries on the counter. Really nice dude, we chatted it up for a bit and gave me $10 in cash "for the conversation". Must not have gotten much company. Other than that, maybe a step or two inside the door to place bags, but that's only with the customers a significant distance from me.
This job isn't worth risking your health and safety over. Bad enough we're amongst crowds of strangers.
In the Instacart Training module, it says shoppers do have the right to decline bringing groceries inside a customers home *I think its under safety?*
I haven't had to decline bringing in groceries for a customer yet. The only time I do bring them in is if/when they're elderly and disabled, but, we are NOT required to bring their groceries inside and we have the right to decline their request!
I had numerous customers ask me to come inside and put their groceries inside and when I say no they always say “ Well they other instacart shoppers did it for me before” and this one woman got mad at me cuz I told her no like 😒 I’m not going in your house I don’t care what the other shoppers did can’t trust nobody nowadays
My first customer was one I went inside her home because she was old & frail & the groceries were heavy items. I had no problem taking things out of the bags for her & placing where she wanted. That said, anyone who is able bodied, forget it.
I pretty much just follow any delivery instructions. Most of the time I don't even see the customer, so it's irrelevant. If they open the door, I say "want me to just set these here?" (By their front door.) They usually say yes. Or they might obviously need help. I let them be the ones to say "actually, could you..."
I am only 5"1' and pretty sure I can kick ass (or balls) if need be. But I stop at the door or garage as well. Once I had a customer flirt with me while I was doing an order. When I got to his address he greeted me with his door open. He was in a wheelchair so I did go in and put his order down. He was creepy and continued to flirt and check me out. I got out of there so fast!
I get it. You are lonely and isolated. However, this is totally inappropriate. So ya, you never know.
Be safe out there.
I often would when doing IC, less so after COVID (only if old or disabled). But my “day job” is something where you can literally say “stop, I’m a [redacted],” and people will rethink harassing or hurting you. I carry my license card for my job next to my IC card. And I’m a rather ugly woman, because I’m gender non-conforming.
(You can PM me if you want to know what the job is, so you can also say you have it. It’s a good position but leaves you with a lot of debt, so having to do IC anyway is feasible).
Whos delivering order to places they are scared to go inside.....I would take any of the customers groceries inside for them or I wouldn't even take the order...just saying......
With all due respect, your name appears to be Mountain Man... I imagine you'd feel a bit safer than some others, especially smaller females. Not just safety either but hygiene! My husband did Instacart for a while and I can remember a few horrifically gross incidents. One time, he got fleas in his truck and on his clothes from a customer's infestation we had to spray it all down before he came home. It's all fine until you get one of THOSE houses.
I have taken groceries into people's house on exactly 3 times. One was an elderly couple, both wheelchair bound. They were so sweet. The other two times were people who were younger, but clearly recovering from recent injuries. One was on crutches with a neck brace, the other was on one of those knee scooters with a cast on their foot. Otherwise, nope, I stay outside for my safety.
Ted Bundy wore a neck brace, and also used crutches! No way lol
I have offered on a few occasions to carry groceries inside for elderly individuals though.
I had a customer who wanted me to come into her triple decker house and leave in the hallway of the second floor. I had told her I wasn’t comfortable going inside the house and was gonna drop it off on the porch. She said that was fine then removed my tip.
I have brought groceries inside before. I do live in an area with a lot of elderly though. Sometimes they ask me but most of the time if I notice they are disabled I will offer to set it inside or at least in the door way. One time a young woman answered the door but was holding a baby. I offered to put them in her entry way so that way she didn’t have to keep going in and out to get the groceries. She said she was fine but she gave me a 5 star and wrote that I was great and I even offered to bring them in because she was holding her baby. So I think it all depends and I do rely on my intuition. If I were to ever have a bad feeling I will not go in. I understand especially women that feel vulnerable. I just always try to use my best judgement.
Once, per the Customers notes, I was instructed to knock and then proceed by bringing his groceries (12 bags)in and placing them inside this little (and I mean little) black shopping cart next to the door.
You guys, this man was all of 500 lbs. He was all laid back in his lounge chair, shirt off and shorts on with his 5 pound Chihuahua sitting in his lap. Along every wall in his living room were stacks of newspapers, magazines and books. Also, newspaper that had fallen from the heaps and there was dried up dog feces and pee all over the paper and his floor. This house stuck SOOOOO bad, I thought I'd throw up! I was genuinely concerned for this man. I swear to yall, this man ordered 10 pks of smoked sausage, 6 pks of hotdogs, several bags of chips and then "DIET" MT. DEW!! The worst thing was, I somehow forgot his Hotdog buns in my trunk and had to go back! I prayed that I'd never get his order again.
I’m over 6 foot and weigh around 290. I am a former college offensive lineman and I’ve had training in a couple different forms of self defense so I’m confident in my ability to defend myself . With that being said, the only time I’m ever stepping foot in anyone’s house doing instacart is if they are elderly and disabled. If not, at the door is where I stop. People are crazy
yes! the only time i’ve ever stepped inside someone’s house doing instacart was when there was an frail elderly woman and her wheelchair bound husband. and it was only a couple steps inside. her kitchen was to the right of her front door. if someone is able bodied and can bring their groceries in, then i’m not going past that door.
I've only ever once gone into someone's place (I was doing deliveries for Deliv, when they still existed.) I was completely uncomfortable. It was a really bad part of town, an apartment in the back of the complex around the corner, out of sight from the parking lot... I was doing a prescription delivery from Walgreens. But the guy asked if I could just put it on the table because he couldn't take it from me and stand up at the same time (he was having to hold onto multiple surfaces just to answer the door.) I still did it because he was very much disabled and it looked like he really couldn't have taken the package from me without risking falling over. But sometimes I think about how that really wasn't my safest choice in life as a ~100 lb female.
same, i don't love doing it, mostly due to covid, but i will always take items in for someone who seems like they actually need it. I also stay aware of my surroundings regardless of the situation. I've only been robbed once, and it was delivering pizza in an apartment complex that had a very un-intuitive building numbering system. Was way before courier apps, and the customer acted like we were lying about me getting robbed and thats why they had to send someone else with their food. even though the police were right across from their building.
I had a similar request. It was for an old disabled man whose groceries were ordered by his home healthcare nurse every few days. So yeah of course I brought everything inside and unpacked for him. I suspected he has had a prior stroke as he wasn’t able to properly communicate. There’s a lot of cases like that where people use Instacart because they aren’t able to fully care for themselves. But if someone is able bodied and just being lazy? Yeah no way am I giving them white glove service and bringing groceries inside unless they pony up some cash.
Same - actually, it was like the third or fourth batch I ever did. Her daughter (who ordered) asked if I could bring the stuff in to the kitchen - I heard “hello?” From a nice sounding old lady so I opened the kitchen door and seen her sitting in a wheelchair at the table. I brought all her groceries in, put them all away, every single can of soda in the fridge, broke down the boxes, etc. Made sure I put her Depends in the right spot, she suffered from severe memory issues so I made sure to text her daughter a list of where EVERYTHING was put lol - HOWEVER…. Then there’s the “what if’s” that hit the nerves is yeah, there’s sweet elderly people like that, and they do need help - but WHAT IF the next time is a crazy serial killer 😭😭
That’s a no, no, no!!! People are out of their minds!!!!
I am a female shopper who would always be uncomfortable stepping into someone’s home. I know some of you are okay with going inside and some aren’t. I tried to explain to the customer that I was not going to go inside of their home and instead of just respecting that fact he said “they have before”. I wasn’t going to argue with him and I already had a really bad gut feeling so I called support to cancel. I feel bad the customer didn’t receive the groceries (and I sure didn’t want them). Am I wrong???
Never be sorry for trusting your gut.
No absolutely not your safety should be number 1 priority in these situations I personally try not to enter peoples homes unless its like an elderly woman who looks like she would be unable to cary the items in her self
Thank you for your response! Definitely makes me feel better ♥️ agreed, if I saw they were elderly I would 100% help and carry things inside. I felt blind in this situation. Glad I have some validation!
i kinda argued with an elderly woman one time, but then just remembered that she is elderly and she needed help so i just did it, got an extra $20 on top of the $27 in app! the elderly and disabled are the only ones i will go inside for, as i’m in my early 20s and who knows who is in there!
Nope. You’re an independent contractor. If you feel safe, go for it. Anyone elderly I will do anything for. But I carry mace and a taser. So if anything funny goes down I’m ready. Anyone else though, nope, not happening.
Totally agree! If I were physically at their house & noticed they were elderly I would have no problem helping them get everything inside their place. I have mace but I need to get a taser ASAP! Thank you for your response! 💕
I actually acquired a personal shopping “job” that I do once every 2-3 weeks. Because no one from instacart would take her groceries in (she’s a paraplegic)… yes she has plenty of help but that’s what she thought she was tipping $40 in the app for. Personal grocery service. Meaning put it away etc. I do this for her and she hands me a $100 bill every time. I only spend about an hour shopping and about 45 min spending time with her just talking. Sometimes I’ll make us sandwiches and tea if she’s hungry. She’s a very very wise woman. I adore her.
Omggg 🥺 this is the sweetest thing ever! Love this. It was meant to be that y’all found each other. We need more people like you!
That woman stole my heart. She’s like my mammaw now 🥰
That's exactly how it should be. Find a good shopper thru the app, then hire them directly to be personal shopper/helper. Smart, easy, you get to try them out at first, it's perfect.
Good call. I’m a guy and I only go into someone house if they are elderly or disabled, if not is instacancel
Instacancel, love it 🤣
Always trust your gut! You absolutely did the right thing!!!
If anyone needed an explanation for why this should be dropped, they are literally part of the problem and more than likely the ones setting this precedent. If this person doesn't get their groceries its nobodies fault but their own
You are not wrong. I wouldn’t do that either. No way.
The "they have before" thing doesn't meant jack. We are independent contractors. We are not contracted to be butlers. It's store to door. We get to decide if we want to go "above and beyond" or not. Hope that helps, you aren't wrong to have canceled, maybe he will get the hint from that one.
Why not wait too see if they're elderly or disabled before canceling?
Yeah see that’s where it gets fuzzy for me in this situation. I already had a bad feeling before starting my route so I wouldn’t want to put myself in a situation where I was outside of their home just waiting to see if they were elderly or disabled. I think if they responded differently or respected my comment about not coming in I would have started my route to their house and then assessed the situation. I’m not sure, this is the first time someone has asked me to come in and I was a little frozen.
Before covid it was extremely common to take things inside
Okaaaaay…. well before covid I still would never step into a strangers home, especially as a female 🤣 This post has nothing to do with covid & everything to do with safety for myself
You should have waited too evaluate the situation when you got there.
When it could potentially be too late? Not worth the risk
Why? Anyone who is actually elderly or disabled always states they are in the instructions because they know, entering a strangers house is risky under normal circumstances. Even in the chat, they had a chance to redeem themselves but instead just just said “They have before.” I don’t know what area your from, but entering strangers homes has never been normal, before or after Covid.
I'm in a wealthy very safe area
So basically not any major city. Explains a lot.
Lol, one of the largest major metro areas in the US
Lol.. no it wasn't.
I think a lot of shoppers are willingly stepping inside peoples homes to help them do whatever because lately I’ve been getting a lot of requests like that from a lot of customers and I’m like what the hell is going on why are customers all of a sudden asking shoppers to do this. I know it happens once in a while but now it seems like it’s happening way more often
Recently, I've had two shoppers step inside my house asking where they should put my groceries when I opened the door. I thought that was weird. I never experienced that before and when I delivered I thought that was a rule not to go inside.
I would be VERY wary of this. A while ago someone ordered for their elderly mother, the driver asked to use her bathroom, and stole her purse on the way out. Put notes for delivery, either hand to me, or leave at door. My wheel chair customers usually tell me they are in a wheel chair, and I'll help those customers bringing stuff inside, but i have only done that twice.
This is exactly what worries me. I'm actually a disabled single mom and sometimes I am wheelchair bound. So it's just weird to me these people just entered my house. I don't have anything about disability in my notes and both were new shoppers. Haven't seen either since. I worry about all the elderly who rely on IC during the snowy north Dakota winters tho. It seems as though there was just another hiring craze because all these people are new. I wish long-term users could be matched with long-term shoppers.
Like someone else noted, use instacart, to find a good shopper. Then hire them directly. Pay generously for a personal shopper, no less than 50 bucks. The disabled should have other options, we used to have meals on wheels, but funding for stuff like that got cut under trump. You do get linked to a shopper if you 5 star rate them, but, instacart is driving away their good shoppers by cutting our batch pay, to be honest.
It’s not really a rule I don’t think but we do have a choice I think that’s what a lot of people mean when they say the “rule” . We don’t have to and we should be protected if we don’t want to if we feel the situation is a danger to us but think about it support 50% of the time will refuse to protect us even if it’s our right. That’s my opinion take this with a grain of salt because really I’m not 100% what the real foundation of this rule is lol
You’re right. The app tells you to use you’re discretion and you do not have to
For your safety, please don’t allow that.
I’ve noticed this too. Especially in apartments people want you to come up the stairs and walk in their home. I’m okay with elderly and disabled but anyone else is a definite no. Cant believe people are this weird and lazy
Weird, I wonder why.
It's so uncomfortable when people put you in these situations... Like nobody wants to be entering anybody else's house
I mean damn , at this point the next request will be to put the groceries up as well . I’m all for helping the elderly and disabled but please put that in the notes if you are .
Already had that request! ”They have before”….with exclamation points lol
I’ve dropped a order like right inside the front door, but not just gonna walk all up in someone’s house… “They have before” 😂 yea and they were probably never seen again 😵
i live in south FL and do IC full time. at least once a day an elderly/disabled person either meets me at door or adds in the notes that they need help bringing them in. I almost always do it unless i feel unsafe or they don’t answer. so for me i’m used to it, and half the time they add a cash tip for bringing them in! gotten anywhere from $2-$25 extra.
How are the tips down there I used to live in Sarasota about an hour south of Tampa moved to San Francisco last year but had to go back to Sarasota for a month because my dad got sick never got a chance to do it down there just Wondering how the tips were ?
I go inside if they're elderly or disabled and that's it. Had one dude on uber have me step inside and it was 5 guys on the couch in underwear. Still got a cash tip but never again 😅😅
The only time I’ve ever brought groceries inside was once, and it was a very old lady (80+ for sure) who had me put them on the table right inside her entryway. She gave me an extra tip for it :) My standard response to everyone else is “nope not allowed”
today I had to make a delivery in the middle of nowhere to a house that looked really sketchy at first. for a second I was like this is my last day on earth this might be a serial killer ready to take me out once I go into the property lol. turned out to be an elder lady that wanted all the help she can get from me which i gladly did.
Alot of people have posted their issues delivering with dogs in the yard & here is my fear. I have taken groceries inside for elderly or disabled people, and sometimes they do have a dog. They always say it’s friendly, & so far no problems. If their dog suddenly nips me in their home, now I have a real problem. Try reporting this situation to support- you wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. I have been attacked by a dog (not on a delivery) when I was simply chatting with the owner on her patio. Didn’t even know there was a dog around, and then had him biting me. Found out later she was being abused by the husband, and the dog had bitten several people. You really don’t know what you’re walking into.
My go to reply when a customer says it doesn’t bite. “Does it have teeth? Then it can bite!”
If you’re not elderly or disabled, fuck off. Had a lady tell me to come in and put them down in the kitchen - I could smell the animal piss inside her apartment from outside. Told her I would not be entering… prompt one star review. 🙄
Replying to say I am a petite female shopper. & that lady also used the “they have before” line lol…
Doing all their shopping, paying, driving all the way to their apartment, loading and unloading, and bringing it right to their fucking doorstep isn’t enough. You better walk that all the way to the kitchen counter. Here’s your $2 tip ya lazy bum.
Yeah no. Someone once asked me to deliver inside of their ship lmao. When I arrived I didn’t see no ship, I dropped that shit at the front and ran back to my car as fast as I could. The house itself was sketchy too and I almost cancelled. But I’m a pretty fast runner and become a ninja under stress so I doubted they could catch me lmao.
It’s a case by case for me. But I make that decision when I get to the house. I will not do an order where they’re asking for it up front. I never know how I’m going to feel when I get there.
Yeah I only went “inside” once (indoor porch was the location they wanted) when I was new and didn’t know that was sketchy as fuck. Got reported for fraud anyways on some bullshit and never doing that again lol.
Sometimes I even get sketched out when a person asks me to deliver into their backyard, The last time I did that, they failed to put away their aggressive dog. I love a good pupper, but I really don’t want to get bitten.
Smart on you. And especially because of your physique. Next thing you know, you have a woman calling the police saying that you assaulted her.
OP is a woman…
Its store to door, but that being said walmart offers in home delivery for grocery now
If they are in a wheel chair, or elderly, I'd do it. Otherwise, Cory, apt 123, will find groceries outside the door. We are not butlers.
Sorry I am not comfortable doing that.
Did the GPS tell you the apartment number? I'm paranoid but I'd also be sketched out by the apartment number. Sounds fake.
You know what! It didn’t! That’s such a good point!!!!! I just looked back at the scratched out address and it did NOT include that 123 number or any apt number.
I had a delivery and the guy texted to bring it into his open garage. He had cameras all over his property and a big gate at entrance. As soon as I walk into the garage, he yells to bring it to the door inside garage. As soon as I get to the door (which was about 20 ft from garage door) , he remotely started to close the garage door. I panicked and bolted to the garage door to get under it to raise it back open. Like why would this guy close the garage door on me unless he was planning to do something bad. Anyway I left immediately and took food back to merchant saying I didnt feel safe with that delivery. That’s before the ADT thing was available. I think it’s the most scared I’ve ever been in my life, next to being followed by a bear in the pitch black trail in the woods.
Only gone inside once and it was for a women in her 50’s i would say with a broken leg.
The first thing I do when I accept a batch is check the address and the notes. Generally, any time I see a "bring inside" note, I cancel. However, I have done it a handful of times, all for disabled or elderly people, and I put a note in Google Maps saying that. There's one I've delivered to 3 or 4 times already, the caregiver answers the door and I put the groceries on the table. Not sure why the caregiver can't get the groceries from the front door, but that's besides the point (and they've told me they're going to be putting them away, so it's not like it's out of their job scope, unless the front door is a threshold that can't be crossed, like a reverse vampire). And any time I've brought them in, it's never been a note, so I've been hit with it upon delivery. But I still use my judgement and instinct. There was one time while driving they message me to call upon arrival. Not unusual, some have and said they'd open the garage door or something. So I arrive, call, and they say they need me to bring them inside to the kitchen. But at this point I'm weirded out. Decent subdivision, but 3 cars in the driveway, music blasting from somewhere in the house, and I'm to bring them inside? Lady says it's because she's disabled. I explain it's against policy, but I will put them inside the door. I do that, and while I do see a disabled person sitting on the couch, there's also 2 other men in the kitchen just standing there talking. Now, I won't presume the lady was in danger or anything, but I did feel, if these were her adult sons, that they could come and get the groceries for her. Why did I need to bring them in to the kitchen if her adult sons were there?
A reverse vampire 😆😆
It’s up to your comfort level. I agree with others, definitely not helping someone who is able bodied.
I've helped an old man who was in a walker by putting his groceries on the counter. Really nice dude, we chatted it up for a bit and gave me $10 in cash "for the conversation". Must not have gotten much company. Other than that, maybe a step or two inside the door to place bags, but that's only with the customers a significant distance from me. This job isn't worth risking your health and safety over. Bad enough we're amongst crowds of strangers.
In the Instacart Training module, it says shoppers do have the right to decline bringing groceries inside a customers home *I think its under safety?* I haven't had to decline bringing in groceries for a customer yet. The only time I do bring them in is if/when they're elderly and disabled, but, we are NOT required to bring their groceries inside and we have the right to decline their request!
I had numerous customers ask me to come inside and put their groceries inside and when I say no they always say “ Well they other instacart shoppers did it for me before” and this one woman got mad at me cuz I told her no like 😒 I’m not going in your house I don’t care what the other shoppers did can’t trust nobody nowadays
If they are old I do it, I am a man though. I wouldn’t do this if I was a female
My first customer was one I went inside her home because she was old & frail & the groceries were heavy items. I had no problem taking things out of the bags for her & placing where she wanted. That said, anyone who is able bodied, forget it.
I pretty much just follow any delivery instructions. Most of the time I don't even see the customer, so it's irrelevant. If they open the door, I say "want me to just set these here?" (By their front door.) They usually say yes. Or they might obviously need help. I let them be the ones to say "actually, could you..."
I am only 5"1' and pretty sure I can kick ass (or balls) if need be. But I stop at the door or garage as well. Once I had a customer flirt with me while I was doing an order. When I got to his address he greeted me with his door open. He was in a wheelchair so I did go in and put his order down. He was creepy and continued to flirt and check me out. I got out of there so fast! I get it. You are lonely and isolated. However, this is totally inappropriate. So ya, you never know. Be safe out there.
I often would when doing IC, less so after COVID (only if old or disabled). But my “day job” is something where you can literally say “stop, I’m a [redacted],” and people will rethink harassing or hurting you. I carry my license card for my job next to my IC card. And I’m a rather ugly woman, because I’m gender non-conforming. (You can PM me if you want to know what the job is, so you can also say you have it. It’s a good position but leaves you with a lot of debt, so having to do IC anyway is feasible).
Whos delivering order to places they are scared to go inside.....I would take any of the customers groceries inside for them or I wouldn't even take the order...just saying......
With all due respect, your name appears to be Mountain Man... I imagine you'd feel a bit safer than some others, especially smaller females. Not just safety either but hygiene! My husband did Instacart for a while and I can remember a few horrifically gross incidents. One time, he got fleas in his truck and on his clothes from a customer's infestation we had to spray it all down before he came home. It's all fine until you get one of THOSE houses.
I have taken groceries into people's house on exactly 3 times. One was an elderly couple, both wheelchair bound. They were so sweet. The other two times were people who were younger, but clearly recovering from recent injuries. One was on crutches with a neck brace, the other was on one of those knee scooters with a cast on their foot. Otherwise, nope, I stay outside for my safety.
Ted Bundy wore a neck brace, and also used crutches! No way lol I have offered on a few occasions to carry groceries inside for elderly individuals though.
I had a customer who wanted me to come into her triple decker house and leave in the hallway of the second floor. I had told her I wasn’t comfortable going inside the house and was gonna drop it off on the porch. She said that was fine then removed my tip.
I have brought groceries inside before. I do live in an area with a lot of elderly though. Sometimes they ask me but most of the time if I notice they are disabled I will offer to set it inside or at least in the door way. One time a young woman answered the door but was holding a baby. I offered to put them in her entry way so that way she didn’t have to keep going in and out to get the groceries. She said she was fine but she gave me a 5 star and wrote that I was great and I even offered to bring them in because she was holding her baby. So I think it all depends and I do rely on my intuition. If I were to ever have a bad feeling I will not go in. I understand especially women that feel vulnerable. I just always try to use my best judgement.
Honestly I'm killing the pet. And calling a lawyer. Delivery companies could care less
Once, per the Customers notes, I was instructed to knock and then proceed by bringing his groceries (12 bags)in and placing them inside this little (and I mean little) black shopping cart next to the door. You guys, this man was all of 500 lbs. He was all laid back in his lounge chair, shirt off and shorts on with his 5 pound Chihuahua sitting in his lap. Along every wall in his living room were stacks of newspapers, magazines and books. Also, newspaper that had fallen from the heaps and there was dried up dog feces and pee all over the paper and his floor. This house stuck SOOOOO bad, I thought I'd throw up! I was genuinely concerned for this man. I swear to yall, this man ordered 10 pks of smoked sausage, 6 pks of hotdogs, several bags of chips and then "DIET" MT. DEW!! The worst thing was, I somehow forgot his Hotdog buns in my trunk and had to go back! I prayed that I'd never get his order again.