Customer Who Only Tipped $3 On A $140 Instacart Order Expected Shopper To Carry Groceries Up 3 Flights Of Stairs
Some people argue that tipping is optional, but this woman deserves a good one after shopping for 27 items and being expected to haul them upstairs.
@jackie1761 / TikTok After an Instaca cart shopper picked up a $140 grocery order for a customer and delivered them to her house, she was asked to carry all of the bags up three flights of steep stairs all on her own.
However, what is even more appalling was the tip she received, which was far less than 20%. The shopper confronted the unreasonable customer, asking her if she really believed that she deserved that tip after all of her hard work.
The customer only tipped $3 on her $140 order and expected her Instacart shopper to carry her groceries up three flights of stairs.
Instacart is a popular online grocery delivery and pickup service that allows users to order groceries and other household items from local stores through a mobile app or website. An Instacart shopper then picks up your groceries and delivers them to your house.
Like any customer service, it is generally considered customary and appropriate to provide a tip. The tip usually depends on how many items your shopper picked up and how far the drive is from the store to your home. An acceptable tip is usually anywhere from 15-20% of the order total.
When an Instacart delivery driver named Jackie picked up a customer's groceries, she was surprised to learn that the customer expected her to haul all of the items in her $140 order up three flights of stairs when she delivered them.
“DO NOT LEAVE MY STUFF OUTSIDE ON THE GROUND!!!” the customer wrote in the note section of her Instacart order app. She also asks Jackie to call her when she arrives.
Photo: TikTok
The customer’s home is atop a flight of wooden stairs on the third floor of an apartment building. “THE NERVE OF THIS LADY,” Jackie wrote in the text overlay of a TikTok video she posted regarding the incident along with a screenshot of the customer’s request.
The most absurd part of all was the fact that the customer only tipped Jackie $3 to pick up her $140 and 27 item order, deliver them to her home and carry them all up three flights of stairs. That’s why when Jackie arrived at the building, she refused to bring them up herself and left them at the bottom of the stairs.
The customer, who was watching her from the top of the staircase, then informs her that she no longer “deserved” the extra $3. “Why don’t I deserve it?” Jackie yells up at the woman while videotaping her. “I shopped for all your food, you want me to bring it all up this?” she says gesturing the staircase.
She then asks if she believes that $3 is even an appropriate tip for someone who shopped for 27 items of groceries, delivered them to the home, and was expected to carry them up three flights of stairs. “Do you think it’s a good tip?” she repeatedly presses the customer, who dodges the question, telling her if she wants to leave the items on the ground that it’s fine, but she won’t be earning a tip.
“I’m leaving them on the ground, you’re lucky I even dropped them off!” Jackie hollers. “You're welcome!” she includes a photo of all of the grocery items she would have had to carry up the stairs, including three water jugs, three boxes of canned sodas, and five brown paper bags filled with different items.
Photo: TikTok
Some TikTok users agreed with Jackie, believing that the customer should have tipped more considering all that she was doing for her.
“If you want somebody to shop for you AND bring it up all those stairs you better tip more than $3. Especially three twelve-packs of soda. They’re ungrateful” one user commented.
“I tip a minimum of $10 on delivery. A $3 tip is extremely low regardless of stairs or not,” another user shared.
However, other users noted that tipping is optional and $3 may have been all the woman could have afforded to tip.
“Tips are voluntary so you can’t get upset,” one user pointed out. “I'm sorry but what if she is a mom on welfare and only had enough for shipping?” another user wrote.
Others pointed out that she may have not been able to go to the grocery store herself and get all of the items upstairs since she may be injured or have young children to look after.
Tipping on Instacart is generally considered optional. However, it is important to note that tipping is an important source of income for many Instacart shoppers. They often rely on tips to supplement their earnings, as they are independent contractors and may not receive a fixed hourly wage. By tipping, you can show appreciation for their hard work and help support their livelihood.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.