Instacart

I started using them by chance last summer. 1 – 2 deliveries per week. They always made mistakes in the orders which happens, and which was ok because they made up for it with top notch customer service. By top notch I mean: swift, and efficient. Unfortunately their service had been going downhill since earlier this winter: in addition to the fact that they raised the delivery fee to $ 5.99, the response time to resolve issues became about 5 times slower. Their shoppers are undertrained and are not informed about the difference between instacart’s prices and the stores’. The last shopper promised that I would be charged x amount for a couple of items, and based on that I purchased a few of each. Unfortunately the receipt and the charge were totally different. The shopper misled me, and no I’m not willing to pay those ridiculous prices at jewel through instacart when I have all these stores down my street.

Love it. We’ve used it once, had Whole Foods delivered to our door. We will use again.

I really enjoyed my time with instacart as a shopper but due to miscommunication and misunderstanding on instacarts behalf my platform with them was deactivated. Did not get a fair trial.

My rating is solely based on my experience with their support team. I heard about instacart while using yummly app, and thought of giving it a try. The signup process was quick, and overall website is well laid out. I added everything I needed to my cart, but before checking out I decided of looking for a coupon as the checkout screen showed me an option of using a coupon if I have one. I googled for «Instacart coupons» and found a few coupons. The first coupon I tried worked, but then I found a better one from the same site and wanted to use that (both these coupons were for first order only). However, the website gave me no option to do that. So, I decided to get in touch with their support team. After exchanging multiple emails, I got the following response from the support guy — «It appears the code you are attempting to use is from a third party site. We are not able to honor the functionality and validity of said codes.» and «It is not possible to remove this promotion, we are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.» These sound like nothing more than just lame excuses as the coupon I wanted to use definitely had a better offer than the one I was stuck with. After this somewhat unexpected experience, I decided to check on Unilocal,to see how others feel about Instacart. Well, after reading a few reviews and seeing an overall rating of 2.5 stars, I don’t think I lost anything by choosing not to use their service. For me, support team is the only experience that such online services have with the customer. And mine was not a pleasant one, in spite of being fairly patient with them (4 days before I got the final response). I am sure I will refrain from using their service in near future.

Don’t waste your time signing up for this service. I spent 45 minutes logging in my items; paid for them; and then expected the delivery. I did not receive the items I ordered, instead they sent an email saying the account was fraudulent! WTH!!! NO phone call, NO request as to why they made this claim, just cancelled.
Instacart cancelled the order about the time it was due to be delivered to my home. If you call customer service and inquire as to why the account was listed as fraudulent with no explanation, they will tell you they can’t help you until some from another department gets it and reviews in it 24 hours.
This is insanity at its best. A complete waste of time. I will happily continue my Peapod account.

Instacart enticed me some promotional offers, and there was nothing to lose so I gave it a try. I’m not sure if my experience would have been as good if I was ordering more complicated things, but I was just restocking non-​perishable essentials like coffee, tea, granola bars, chips, etc. My shopper started picking my order within a few minutes, and I received notification about a substitution (1 out of 12 items), which was pretty close/​acceptable to me. A text was sent when the driver was on his way with an ETA (10 min. ahead of 2 hour time frame).
Some of the stores have marked up prices, but the available stores that offer the same prices as in-​store are displayed, which is fair. Delivery cost is $ 5.99 for orders over $ 25 or $ 9.99 for orders $ 10+ plus tip. After reading a few articles, it’s unclear whether the tip goes to the shopper or driver, and Instacart is vague citing that it varies by region. I hope that covered «my shopping team.»
This definitely a time-​saving and convenient experience for people who are pressed for time or don’t have cars. Another plus is that it provides more shopping options than your regular Jewel or Mariano’s. Although Plum Market is not far from where I requested delivery, it was off-​route so I normally wouldn’t make the trip, but they a nice selection of local, natural and organic items that Whole Foods doesn’t carry that I had to order online in the past. Since I have a car, and there are grocery stores than open very late or even 24 hours, I’m not sure if I’m the customer for this, but I would keep it in mind when in a time crunch and/​or I don’t want to leave the house.

Well… instacart, you could be so great. But you’re not. You’re kind of the worst in fact. My order is never right. My hands clench up when I start getting my first round of texts from my shopper.
«They’re out of… blah blah… everything…never ever do I have an order that actually has exactly what I want. I get weird substitutions, plus subs that are double the price. I get produce that’s on its way out. Meat that expires that day.
If I’m spending a $ 20 fee, which is usually what it ends up being, I want what I order. I don’t want a $ 25 chicken or $ 16 worth of organic milk.
Two days ago, I received two gallons of conventional milk, but was charged for 4 half gallons of organic milk for $ 16. It’s still not resolved.
Dear Instacart. I’m out. I just deleted your app.

I used Instacart for a year and I can honestly say not «once» was my order ever correct. My sister lives in San Fran and tells me how great it is; they bring her tons of samples and mistakes are rare. I had to wonder if we were talking about the same service! I’ve had orders late, I’ve been called by my shopper to tell me WF is out of turkey (yes, turkey) at which point I asked him to put the person at the deli on the phone who quickly cleared that up.
I could go on and on with my nightmare experiences but the bottom line is… I should have gone to the store myself and saved a lot of time, headache and aggregation. Whatever San Fran is doing, Chicago needs the use them as a model bc everyone I know has given up on this awful service.

First I’m a fan. I use Instacart all the time and for the most part its great for living in the loop. I do wish they would shop at the store that I shop at, so that I could consistently rely on specific products and brands. But, that is another story.
I’m writing this because Instacart Chicago has stopped tipping the drivers from the tip we leave at check out. So, if I give a 20 dollar bill to cover the shopper and the driver the shopper is getting the whole tip. I verified this with the driver and Instacart. I’m expecting the deliveries to start going down hill. The delivery drivers for Instacart are using their own cars and paying insurance for using their cars for business. I can’t say I know what the delivery drivers are paid, but they cant be so much that tips don’t matter.
This has become an inconvenience for me having to be home for a delivery and to have cash on hand to tip the driver. Plus, its a pain when you have two shoppers. Even more so, when you have a driver who also shopped for an order.
I hope that this message gets out, so that Instacart users know there has been a change in the tipping process.

I was taught that when you are wrong you own up to it. If you are factually incorrect (heaven forbid!) you fix that error immediately. If you hurt another’s feelings, you apologize and make darn sure you change your actions so it does not happen again.
So, here goes–
I was wrong and incorrect in my initial appraisal of the advantages of using Instacart.
I have changed my ways, purchased a year long pass for delivery, and am a devoted customer.
What changed?
Instacart offers more stores from which to choose in my area. The addition of stores has caused pricing to become a bit more competitive. Additionally, if I am not finding the prices I want, I have options for my order.
I now have stores that sell groceries with no markup. Pretty fantastic!
I have found that some stores, that do markup, have items at less than shelf price. For example, I can purchase a certain produce item for at least $.50 less through Instacart than if I were to go to the store.
I also have adjusted my expectations. I place exact substitutes for every item. I expect NO ONE to be a mind reader or guess what I would choose. I don’t leave it up to chance. If they don’t have what I want, don’t purchase anything. Thanks!
I will admit, the system is a bit buggy and I find it irritating that the only *help* is an email option. HEY, HEY! They fixed this with updates!!! You can now chat OR call! How awesome!
I’m pretty happy with my service and shoppers. I love not having to lug groceries in and out of a car –something that is pretty difficult in my world. Instacart makes my life easier :)

Holiday shopping time and work is chaotic so I decided to give this service a try so I could save a little time which in the end I didn’t at all.
Ordered 19 items, one of which was a special request since it wasn’t listed on their website and the shopper said they couldn’t find it? I even went on Target’s website to verify the item (a pharmacy staple) was in stock before placing my order, which said they had ten, and to get it’s full description for the shopper?
They delivered a couple of the wrong items, right brand but the wrong style when I didn’t ask for any substitutions for any of the items I ordered. I thought they were suppose to text me to verify replacements but I never received any updates other than my special request item not being found. So I ended up going back to the same store the following day and found the right items that were incorrect and my special request item which was supposedly unavailable?
The online ordering process was simple enough, I even removed a few items before my delivery with no problem. Delivery was on time too but the shopper just dropped off items at my front door and walked away, didn’t say hello or anything which I found a bit rude. I understand it’s the holidays and I am sure they are busy but a simple hello would have been nice.
In summary the company was fine they refunded the items which were substituted incorrectly, they also offered to redeliver the correct items but since I had to go back to the store anyways to get my special request item I chose the refund. The shopper however didn’t seem to care much about their work performance which left me sour on ever using this service again.

What a terrible service. Set up my account and ordered 34 items. Very easy to order, nice interface. OK, lost my half complete order for no reason but hey. In the process was told that one — only one — item was noted as often unavailable.
Came to check out and found that 90% — literally — of my order was either out or needed to be substituted. How does a grocery delivery service via a major grocery store have NO chicken broth? NO lemons — just bags of organic ones. NO red bell peppers. NO half-​and-​half except low fat?
Why do they offer products that they don’t have? Complete waste of time. Never again.

Ok I’ve been using this company awhile now and wanted to update my review because it’s been a life saver and such a convenience over the last few months. The ease of the app is what’s really great– I can place my order and schedule my delivery all on my commute to work, it’s genius. The shoppers are always quick and seem to really try to accommodate/​find what you’re looking for and I appreciate that. Overall I’m a very happy customer and appreciate the convenience and flexibility this service offers. They even go to Petco now which is awesome if you need to grab food for your dog too.

Who else will deliver 5 cases of Ice Mountain water, 4 – 24 roll packs of toilet paper, 5 cases of beer, some kale, an organic apple and a years worth supply of Cinnamon Toast Crunch to your River North 30^th floor highrise door for $ 5 (YES delivery is only $ 5!)?
I was just surprised that just because I gave the driver the wrong address and once he found me just loaded the bulk cargo on a cart, told me his time in the loading zone was up and he can’t afford to get ticketed or towed, wheeled the cart through the main entrance and took off.
The nerve!

My delivery was somehow diverted and I didn’t receive it. There is no phone number you can call for assistance, I received texts from the «shopper» accusing me of fraud and it was twelve hours before I received an email reply from Instacart. There solution was we’ll redeliver or refund your money and give you a ten dollar credit. I had been depending on that delivery for guests. I had to add shopping to the list of things I needed to accomplish before my guests arrived. Instacart was a convenience I was willing to pay for so that I could receive my guest well and enjoy their visit. It became a nightmare I won’t soon forget. I do not recommend them. The extra cost is not insignificant and when they accuse you of fraud it really is adding insult to injury. Let the buyer be aware!

The ordering process went smoothly enough, or so I thought. When the time came for the food to be picked up, I realized there was a problem: somehow the order had been scheduled for pick-​up instead of delivery. I realized this when the store called to talk about substitutions and said the order was ready for us to pick up. I’m still confused about this, which was made even more confusing by the text message updates I was receiving saying the order had been picked up and then that the order was being delivered, even though I was on the phone with the store right then and already knew that wasn’t the case.
An hour later, the store called back and said that someone from Instacart was going to their store to pick up my order. There were two things that were substituted, and one thing that they didn’t have which I’d asked not to be substituted, but everything else had been there. The order total originally was $ 46.49, but when I looked at the charge on my bank account, it said $ 56.44. An hour and a half later, the Instacart employee arrived at my apartment to deliver the groceries. I mentioned the overcharge to her, and she said I would have to email Instacart to get it fixed.
Once I got my groceries, I immediately knew something was wrong because I had ordered two 12 packs of soda cans, and the bags weren’t nearly heavy enough. Before the employee left, I told her that there were things missing. I then checked my order and saw that the 12-​packs were marked as «found,» which meant they should be there. However, she didn’t have them and even admitted that she hadn’t checked the order to see if everything was there before leaving the store with it. She said she would go back to the store and pick up the missing items, so we’ll see if that actually happens.
Lastly, I checked over the two substituted items and made sure everything else was in the bag. Everything else seemed to be there, although I was pretty confused at some of the portion sizes for items. For example, I’d ordered a box of crackers, and the picture displayed a 12 pack, yet I received a 6-​pack. Also, the bananas were $.30 each, which was definitely pricey. The two items I received as substitutes weren’t really anything close to the original item I’d chosen, so that was disappointing.
Overall, I would not recommend this experience to anyone. I’ve ordered several times from Prime Now and had zero issues. If there comes a time when Prime Now has everything I need, I will definitely just order from them instead.

I’m working my way towards becoming a hermit and Instacart is really helpful in that pursuit.
Living in the loop without a car makes grocery shopping a bit of a hassle. I love being able to do my grocery shopping online from home or work or really anywhere. In my area I can get Instacart deliveries from Whole Foods, Mariano’s, Jewel, Petco, Costco, and a couple other places. There is a mark up for some of the stores but not for Whole Foods, which is my usual choice anyway.
One huge plus for me with Instacart is being able to get groceries delivered within 2 hours (most of the time). I can decide what I want for dinner while I’m at work and place the order to be delivered when I’m walking home from work. It’s soooo convenient. The price for delivery isn’t too bad either, especially compared to Peapod. I chose the «unlimited» delivery for a year for $ 99, which is a really great deal for someone like me who wants fresh food a couple times a week (some weeks).
My only issue with Instacart is that a few times the deliveries have not been within the time window I picked. But! They gave me a credit towards future purchases. Aside from that I’m really happy I’ve found Instacart.
Pretty soon I’ll be able to be a full blown hermit, and I have Instacart to thank for that.

I love having things done for me and I don’t have a car. So schlepping my grocery’s around is low on the list of things I’d rather be doing. Ergo I love instacart.
The user interface is super easy to navigate. Love the option of several stores and the fact that I’m doing it all online away from in-​store temptations means I’m usually making healthier choices.
There are tons of coupon codes out there for your first order. And after that, the delivery costs aren’t really that bad. Especially if you think of it in terms of time spent shopping and costs of an über or public transit both ways.
Not sure what constitutes an acceptable tip percentage, however. So I’m not sure if that brief flash of disgust on the delivery lady’s face was because of my unkempt apartment or my miserly tip amount? The world may never know…

The idea: great.
The cost: pricey if your order is less than $ 35
The execution: poor.
When I choose a delivery time it’s usually for good reason– I’m not available during other times. They have twice delivered my groceries before my desired delivery time. Unfortunately I wasn’t available. Instead of apologizing for their error, the delivery person said «well I’m not going to wait around for you to get here, I guess I can take it back to whole foods– they’ll have to re deliver later tonight». He made it seem like I was putting HIM out.
I’ve also had strawberries with mold and the wrong item delivered.

I guess the most appropriate place to start is with a comparison to Instacart’s main competition: Peapod.
Pros of Instacart over Peapod: delivery is significantly cheaper (in most cases) and almost always faster. Instacart allows you to choose from five or six stores, including one for your pets. Instacart lets you select replacements for items that might be out of stock, and you can request that they call you to discuss replacements. And the biggest pro, for me anyway, is Instacart lets you add the tip up front and put it on your card. With Peapod, better have cash. That can be a nuisance. The shoppers have always been extremely pleasant with both services.
Areas where Instacart falls a little short: prices and sales. Peapod has an extensive list of specials and sale items. Instacart has nothing of the sort. No sales, no specials, and it can occasionally be a touch more expensive than in-​store prices. And that’s really the only shortfall that I’ve found with Instacart. Everything else is aces.
Overall, I love Instacart and will continue to be a regular user of their service.