Updated September 1, 2025

What Bad Shoppers Stand to Lose (and How to Avoid Being One)

I’ve been an Instacart customer for a long time, and until today, I never had an issue. Every order I placed was delivered quickly, the items were fresh, and the shoppers I interacted with were polite and communicative. My trust in the platform has always been solid. The problem isn’t InstaCart—it’s bad shoppers.

And today, I had my first real run-in with one.

The Order That Went Wrong

It started out like any other order. At 12:38 pm, I placed a simple 9-item request. Nothing outrageous—just a few essentials, including frozen ice cream. At 1:00 pm, a shopper accepted the request. So far, so good.

But then… nothing.

By the time the order was finally delivered, it was 3:00 pm. Two hours had passed for a nine-item list. To make matters worse, the shopper never once responded to my messages. I reached out through chat to ask for an update, especially because of the ice cream, but my messages were ignored. No reassurance, no explanation, just silence.

When the order arrived, I wasn’t even surprised at the delay anymore. What bothered me wasn’t just the wait—it was the complete lack of communication.

Understanding the Gig Hustle

Before I go further, let me make something clear: I understand that gig workers often need to “stack” orders to make the job financially worthwhile. I support that. I’m not unrealistic. Shoppers are trying to maximize their earnings by juggling multiple customers at once, and I respect the hustle.

But there’s a line between being smart with your time and disrespecting the customer. A reasonable delay? Sure, I can live with that. Maybe an order that should take 45 minutes ends up taking 75. No problem. But two hours for nine items, with zero communication? That’s where it crosses the line.

The truth is, customers are often more forgiving than shoppers think—if you communicate.

How Instacart Responded

I decided to contact Instacart about the situation. To their credit, they were professional and quick to resolve the issue. They made sure I was satisfied as a customer. I have no complaints about the platform itself.

But that didn’t change how I felt about the shopper.

The damage had been done. And for shoppers out there reading this, let me be clear: this is what you stand to lose when you don’t communicate, when you don’t respect the customer’s time, and when you treat their order as secondary to your own schedule.

The Real Cost of Being a Bad Shopper

Here’s the part that really stings for shoppers: tips.

I always tip. In fact, for this $50 order, I added a $10 tip upfront. Why? Because I value good shoppers. I know not everyone tips, and I want to do my part to show appreciation. For me, a good shopper is worth their weight in gold.

But this time, I retracted my tip. I took it from $10 down to one cent. Yes, one penny.

Why? Because if you can’t even be bothered to acknowledge my messages, if you leave me hanging for hours with melting ice cream, then you haven’t earned my money. I also left an honest review and requested that Instacart block this shopper from handling any of my future orders.

That’s the real cost of being a bad shopper. It’s not just one bad tip. It’s the permanent loss of a repeat customer, and the long-term damage of poor reviews.

What Good Shoppers Do Differently

Here’s the thing: the shopper didn’t need to deliver my order in record time to keep my tip. He didn’t even need to deliver it perfectly. All he had to do was communicate.

Good shoppers understand that customers want to feel acknowledged. A quick message like:

• “Hey, just letting you know I picked up your order and I’ll be working on it soon.”
• “I’m handling another order at the same time, but I’ll keep you posted on progress.”
• “Running a little behind, but I’ll make sure everything arrives fresh.”

That’s it. One sentence could have saved the tip. One sentence could have kept me from writing this.

Instead, silence cost this shopper $10 and a customer for life.

Why Communication Is the Golden Rule

Delivery drivers and personal shoppers need to understand something: communication is your biggest asset. You can be slower, you can stack orders, you can even make small mistakes, and customers will forgive you—if you stay in touch.

But when you disappear, customers feel ignored and disrespected. That’s when tips vanish. That’s when reviews turn negative. That’s when you lose long-term income.

Think about it this way: the gig economy is built on trust. Customers trust strangers to shop for them, pick fresh items, and bring groceries to their door. If you break that trust by ignoring them, you break the foundation of the entire system.

How Shoppers Can Avoid Losing Out

For shoppers who want to succeed, here are the basics:

1. Acknowledge the Customer Immediately – As soon as you accept an order, send a quick hello. It sets the tone.
2. Be Honest About Delays – Customers aren’t unreasonable. If you’re stacking orders, just say so.
3. Check the Chat Regularly – Even if you’re busy, glancing at the chat every few minutes shows respect.
4. Respect Frozen and Perishable Items – Treat ice cream, meat, or produce with care. Customers notice.
5. Don’t Vanish – Silence is the number one reason customers leave bad reviews.

None of these tips take more than a few seconds of effort. But they can make the difference between a $1 tip and a $10 tip—or between a repeat customer and a lost one.

Final Thoughts: Respect Pays

Being a gig worker isn’t easy. The pay isn’t always great, and shoppers often have to hustle hard to make it worthwhile. I respect that. But bad habits—like poor communication and ignoring customers—can destroy your earnings faster than you realize.

For my shopper today, the cost was immediate: a $10 tip turned into a penny, plus a negative review, plus being blocked from my future orders. But the bigger cost is long-term. Bad reviews pile up. Customers remember bad experiences. And Instacart itself pays attention to shopper ratings.

So here’s the takeaway: don’t just deliver groceries. Deliver respect. Communicate. Be honest. Stay professional. Because when you do, customers will tip more, rate you higher, and request you again.

That’s how you turn a side hustle into steady income. That’s how you become the kind of shopper customers trust.

And that’s how you avoid being the subject of stories like this one.

Don’t be the shopper who lost $10, a customer, and their reputation—all because they couldn’t send a single message.