InstacartReviews 2,492

I had a horrible experience with the first purchase as an Instacart + member. The shopper delivered a ridiculous replacement for an item that I had ordered, without even notifying me. The replacement that shopper brought was nowhere even close to what I had ordered. I used a 40% off coupon for this first order. Of course they did not charge me for the order, however I lost the coupon which was much more valuable. Instacart customer service offered a ridiculous $10 credit on my account. I simply asked that they somehow reinstate the value of the coupon that I had lost (which wasn't my fault). Customer service would not do this. The $10 credit they offered is nowhere near the 40% off coupon that I had. We exchanged 10+ emails and they simply kept avoiding my question. Not to mention that even the $10 credit they offered is not in my account either but I no longer care about it. The worst customer service for paid membership ever!
Shopping on this website is not worth it: they have higher prices for the same items then the stores, they charge service fees, they charge delivery fees, and they want us to pay tips as well…. You may end up being double then going to the nearby grocery store.

Never again will I ever use instcart. This is the second time I've experienced having money taken out of my bank account for an order that I've never made

After I went live with this negative review, I heard from Instacart. They penalized the shopper by "removing him from my account..." instead of taking accountability.

Not only that, they did not refund the delivery fee as requested.

I've been shopping for Instacart for over 2 years, starting right as the pandemic hit. I don't think customers know what we do for them & for the small cost. I completed an order of 127 items at BJs wholesale large items 2 trips in my car the payment was $40. I shopped for over an hour, checked put, paid, boxed 127 items, loaded my car x2 found delivery address & unloaded groceries for customer all with a smile on my face & a thank you. Some shops are difficult especially if items are out of stock. Then we need to rely on the customer to respond to replace or refund item. This part is crucial because it effects your overall bill. If you don't respond replacements can be made... I try to refund. It's all in your instructions while ordering. Add replacements that you want. Refund only. Most shoppers want to get you the right items, replacements or refund. To do this job you can't be shy about hard work & you must be resilient & a good communicator or you won't survive. Then we move on to the tip portion where customers often reduce tips for out of stock items. So you shop for an hour, & complete the shop to get less money than you had agreed on even though you did the work. Then there are the customers that reduce the tip just because... everything found & delivered they just didn't want to pay. I have had several customers state items were missing even though the items were in the order... showing in delivery photo. This happens regularly. The lower rating the less shops you get & the less money you make. So I try hard to contact all customers & ensure were on the same page. Instacart is great for elderly that have trouble with mobilization, sick people, those without a vehicle or those that just don't want to shop but just as with anything else it xan be abused by anyone. Understanding the system & how it works will eliminate some of the issues. If you have a lot of out of stocks you can contact Instacart & have the items reshaped without delivery fee. This eliminates the refund issues. Talk to your shoppers we are here to help. Stay grateful for this system & what it offers it can be lifesaving. Appreciate your shoppers & how hard we work... consider when you go shopping & put yourself in the shoppers shoes. I am sorry for bad experiences they happen... new shoppers take a minute to figure it out, old shoppers make errors... life happens. As a shopper I value my customers & try to make sure they are happy with the shop... communication is the key.

Don't use this service if it is avoidable. You will just be disappointed. It's not worth the headache

I paid for a monthly Instacart Family account to get "free delivery". One time they delivered my order to the wrong address because their delivery person couldn't tell North from South. They refunded and redelivered to the correct address and recharged me for the delivery. Several times I have had missing food, which makes you wonder if the drivers are stealing an item they want. Also, problems with spoiled food a couple of times. This last time was the final straw. They would not refund me for a missing bagged salad stating "too many returns". So after paying a service fee, a mandatory tip and monthly membership, Instacart chooses to blame and punish customers instead of removing a tip or two from a bad delivery shopper. Horrible customer service, too many bad food items, too many missing items, one too many wrong delivery address. I'm done for good!

I don't know why I kept letting my membership renew for a fee when it was obvious after only 2 deliveries that this was the epitome of a total crud business and app. I say "after 2" because - somehow - miraculously, the first delivery was really great by a guy who grabbed groceries for me and was prompt, personable, and polite. He also got the things that I ordered. Some of these people - I swear it's true - accept a delivery, tell the app their shopping for your items - and then BAM tell you that they can't get your items (because the store is closed, because the store doesn't sell alcohol after 11pm (even though alcohol is sold in California til 2am and the specific store in question definitely sells til 2am)), etc, etc. Then the driver sends a text saying "they stop selling alcohol at 11pm; I'm on hold with the help desk. Do you want me to cancel the order?" I said "yes please" and then - GET THIS - the driver doesn't cancel it, but instead reschedules it for the following morning. What a complete joke and waste of time! Do what you want, but I'd think twice about utilizing this app and business!

Instacart has given me nothing but issues. They kept my 106.00 from a missing order and refuse to pay me back!

Would give 0 stars if possible. Order was delivered to wrong address and had to speak with 4 people and provide the same information just to be told that because it was over $100 they couldnt process for 48 hours to refund my money. Received an email that it would be 5-10 days for refund.
The picture they provided was if someone elses porch! They give groceries away to people that dont order and then give you the run around when you try to get assistance.
Utterly unacceptable.

They will give you a refund on one order but if you have issues after that your on your own. You take the loss. The customer. Not the company. I will never use this service again until they start treating customers the way they should

I don't like using these instacart or things like this; but I had too. I am quarantined. I had the same person for the last two times. I gave the guy an extra tip and excellent star rating in hopes it would make him feel better. Instead he gets me ripped off by picking to dissimilar products and didn't even ask. He just threw two things in and didn't care. I looked to see if I was able to avoid this guy; but no. Instacart has it set up to where their shoppers can do whatever they want. Quarantined or not I'll do my own shopping; what a huge let down. I hope they get rid of this crap. It literally is just a way to vent and take more money from you.

Please please please use this only when you're desperate. They don't care about you at all. I've been using this for a year, I'm very lenient when people make mistakes. But I have reached my limit...
- Missing items ALL the times, I repeat, missing at least 1 item in EVERY single order, all they can do is refund, and act like you're crazy when you're asking for another solution. WE don't need the money back, we need our food.
- Customer service is EXTREMELY robotic, they will give you a refund and a half $#*! apology, they don't care how the f you can get the missing items on your own, (there are service fee and shipping fee if you place another order for the missing items), the lady in the chat once told me the only solution is ME placing another order after I explained to her how that was not fair and impossible.(I have no car during the day, and service fee + shipping fee is over $6 each time for me and I only need the 1-2 items that they missed)
- Lazy shoppers, they will never spend time to ask for your item, though you know the store has it in stock all the times, they would just replace with a half $#*! one, or refund the money (like why did I use the service for you to only buy half of the things I need for a recipe?)

I put $200 in credits in the app because I've never been fazed by any service before. Worst decision of my life!

Used them a lot and it has gotten really bad. Yesterday received 25% of my order and two bags of someone else's groceries. Instacart would not remove heavy order fee, delivery fee nor service fee. One out of 3 bags were mine. I'm done

Basically I only received 1 pk of cookies I didn't want after paying for 2 & Instacart won't refund me.

I decided to shop for myself and not use instacart today. Today I witnessed a shopper trying up the grocery till line with his two separate orders using his own optimum card for groceries that we're not his own. What is the point for instacart having me upload my optimum card or costco card to my instacart account if the shopper receives the valuable points? The Superstore in North Van till worker proceeded to tell the instacart worker he is not allowed to use his own optimum card for groceries that we're not his own, the instacart shopper ignored her and walked out. I chat with instacart to complain, the told me don't worry and I asked for evidence that my points cards for all my orders collected the points, the instacart chat customer service ended the chat.

Bought groceries from Kroger on-line and the shopper charged two items, both obviously for their dinner, to our order. The charge, over $22 on a $80 bill was VERY Noticable, so we complained to Kroger's manager, who informed us the employee that shopped was NOT a Kroger employee, and in fact, the shopper company was NOT EVEN Kroger. We cancelled out Kroger account on the spot, had them delete all our data, and have never shopped at Kroger again, nor any other on-line grocery shopping service. The Kroger company deliberately withheld info about their on-line shopper service, violated our confidence in them, and NEVER produced satisfactory remedy for this act of theft.

I used the Instacart delivery option for the first time through my local grocery store. I ordered at 12:43 and was told upon placing the order to expect my delivery by 2:43. I received a text about 2 that my shopper started gathering my items. She was nice enough to message me about one of my items not being available and what I would like to substitute it with. She checked out a little before 3 and my delivery estimate was about 3:25. I get a text at 4:24 telling me that my delivery was delayed because I was one of 4 orders being delivered at the same time by this shopper. She assured me that it would be delivered by no later than 5:10. What a joke that was! It didn't arrive until 7:13! Next time I am doing pickup instead.