With people across the country self-isolating, many are depending on grocery deliveries to reduce their exposure to coronavirus and keep their cupboards stocked. One service people are using in Instacart, but there seems to be some trickery going on with orders. Shoppers for hire are being lured to do jobs with the promise of big tips. Once the job is complete, the tip sometimes disappears or is modified to a lesser amount.
In one case, a shopper was initially given a $55 tip and when the delivery was complete, the shopper received $8.
How it works: Shoppers accept a batch of orders, but before they do, they can see the items requested, the store location, the payment from Instacart, and the tip being offered. Customers can change a tip for up to three days after the delivery is done.
During the pandemic, Instacart has seen a surge of orders, like other delivery services. In fact, in March, Instacart announced it looked to hire another 300,000 full-service shoppers in North America. Instacart has seen a 300-percent-plus increase in demand, CNet reported.
So why the increase in tip adjustments?
An Instacart spokesperson declined to answer the question about tip bait-and-switch. However, the spokesperson said that most people in March adjusted their tip upward or did not adjust their tip after delivery. The company recently removed the option to tip nothing, forcing users who want to tip nothing to manually change a tip to $0, CNN Business reported.
“It’s truly evil to bait and switch in this type of environment,” said Bryant Greening, an attorney and co-founder of Chicago-based law firm LegalRideshare. A few dozen Instacart shoppers and drivers have reached out to his firm to voice concerns over the practice, Greening told CNN Business. “Their livelihood and well-being are on the line. When these shoppers and drivers see a high tip, it’s an opportunity for them to put food on the table, so they’re more willing to take a risk on their health to achieve that goal.”
