Some people here use Instacart for delivering groceries regularly, I think, but some don't. I had my first Instacart delivery yesterday and here are my impressions, based on many years (about 12) of experience with online ordering through Safeway and sometimes Albertson's.
The fees seemed reasonable but I wasn't aware that there's always a $2 service fee, which is added to the tip that is also added on automatically. The service fee is 5% of your order total or a $2 minimum, and the tip seems to be optional and adjustable according to what you'd like to tip.
The delivery charge (not including the two $2 charges just mentioned) was $5.99 for this small order. I've searched all over the Instacart Website to find how the delivery fee is calculated but all I've found is that it varies according to the size of your order--and the time of day you want the delivery. Busy times have an extra fee added on but I'm not sure how much that could be. I paid a total of $9.99 for service--which isn't a high fee for a grocery delivery, IMO. What I usually pay is 10% of the total paid for groceries. The Safeway charges anywhere from $10 to $12.
The ordering was easy, and every item I wanted was pictured, with information that I wanted clearly available. The order was delivered quite punctually, and it was an order to be delivered in less than 24 hours. I had a choice of delivery times, with one-hour windows.
The shopper was also the person delivering the order. She even called me while shopping with a question because the stores was out of an item. However, when she got here, she'd neglected to get one item on the list. Since the list consisted of only 7 items, that may not speak too well for Instacart, but mistakes do happen, and in this case I was able to do without that item. I hadn't been charged for it. She would have been willing to go back to the store for it (Safeway would never do that).
Also, she parked in an assigned parking space in this building's parking lot but people often make that mistake here. Since she was here for only a few minutes, it was OK.
I was glad that she came by car. Safeway deliveries pull up here in a gigantic van, obviously containing many other shoppers' deliveries (I've peeked inside and seen them).
Except for the one omission, everything was correct and got here just fine, and the bill was OK.
They did take more than they needed from my debit card. They explain that they do that and that they'll adjust the bill ("within 7 days"). The $60 they debited is still sitting in my account as "pending" but the total charge was $44.52.
Instacart must be quite popular. I've looked at its Website a few times in the past and found only about 2 or 3 stores listed for my Zipcode. Now there are 11.
I was very pleased with Instacart and would definitely use them again, when the service I regularly use is having its holidays and snow days.
The fees seemed reasonable but I wasn't aware that there's always a $2 service fee, which is added to the tip that is also added on automatically. The service fee is 5% of your order total or a $2 minimum, and the tip seems to be optional and adjustable according to what you'd like to tip.
The delivery charge (not including the two $2 charges just mentioned) was $5.99 for this small order. I've searched all over the Instacart Website to find how the delivery fee is calculated but all I've found is that it varies according to the size of your order--and the time of day you want the delivery. Busy times have an extra fee added on but I'm not sure how much that could be. I paid a total of $9.99 for service--which isn't a high fee for a grocery delivery, IMO. What I usually pay is 10% of the total paid for groceries. The Safeway charges anywhere from $10 to $12.
The ordering was easy, and every item I wanted was pictured, with information that I wanted clearly available. The order was delivered quite punctually, and it was an order to be delivered in less than 24 hours. I had a choice of delivery times, with one-hour windows.
The shopper was also the person delivering the order. She even called me while shopping with a question because the stores was out of an item. However, when she got here, she'd neglected to get one item on the list. Since the list consisted of only 7 items, that may not speak too well for Instacart, but mistakes do happen, and in this case I was able to do without that item. I hadn't been charged for it. She would have been willing to go back to the store for it (Safeway would never do that).
Also, she parked in an assigned parking space in this building's parking lot but people often make that mistake here. Since she was here for only a few minutes, it was OK.
I was glad that she came by car. Safeway deliveries pull up here in a gigantic van, obviously containing many other shoppers' deliveries (I've peeked inside and seen them).
Except for the one omission, everything was correct and got here just fine, and the bill was OK.
They did take more than they needed from my debit card. They explain that they do that and that they'll adjust the bill ("within 7 days"). The $60 they debited is still sitting in my account as "pending" but the total charge was $44.52.
Instacart must be quite popular. I've looked at its Website a few times in the past and found only about 2 or 3 stores listed for my Zipcode. Now there are 11.
I was very pleased with Instacart and would definitely use them again, when the service I regularly use is having its holidays and snow days.
Comment