Instacart Shoppers Lured With Big Tips Only to Get Scammed

Instacart customers are switching their tips post-delivery to pay less to shoppers is one of the new tactics to get groceries fast without spending much.  

Instacart Policy Scams Workers 

Annaliisa Arambula recently shared her experience with CNN Business, talking about an encounter with such a customer, as well as sharing a little bit on how the app itself works. 

Arambula saw an order with a big tip - $55, with the store being just down the street, she decided to complete the request, and all seemed well – until she checked her earnings an hour later and noticed that the tip was entirely missing, with only a message saying the “customer modified the tip post-delivery.” 

Instacart clients have begun using this flaw in the app to get their orders faster – by offering big tips to get workers to pick up their order and bring it over, and then changing the amount to zero. 

While not all customers are employing this tactic, the bait-and-switch has been becoming a common occurrence among Instacart customers looking to get their deliveries quick, much to the shoppers’ frustration and anger. The infuriating part is the fact that people would exploit a situation like this when they risk their health to deliver people their groceries. 

A spokesperson for Instacart told CNN Business that a large majority of clients in March did not touch their tips at all after delivery or instead adjusted it upward, also saying that Instacart had recently removed the “none” tip option, so those who want to get their products without paying extra would have to change it to $0 manually. 

Instacart is an up-and-coming delivery company currently expanding its services due to the increased demand coming about as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The company announced plans to add another 300,000 full-service shoppers in North America to deal with the influx of orders, but it seems like Instacart hasn’t covered their bases well, leaving a loophole for customers to scam those delivering the goods.