So, Instacart, we need to talk. Because apparently, we have a fucking problem.
And this isn’t something that happened just once. It’s happened twice now. Twice, Instacart has delivered groceries to my house on a day that we did not have the delivery scheduled for.
Let me explain what I mean.
When you order groceries through Instacart, you’re given the option to schedule your delivery for a particular date. That’s part of the service. You pick the day that works for you, place your order, and expect your groceries to arrive when they’re supposed to.
Seems pretty straightforward, right?
Well, apparently, not always.
On two separate occasions now, our groceries have shown up on a day other than the one we scheduled. And do you know what makes this even more frustrating?
We received no heads-up. No advance notice. No warning that the delivery date had changed. Nothing!
Instead, the delivery driver showed up on a day we weren’t expecting our groceries.
Now, thankfully, on both occasions, someone was home to receive the delivery. So, in that sense, we got lucky.
But here’s my question: What the fuck would have happened if nobody had been home?
What if we had been out running errands? What if everyone in the house had been at work? What if nobody had been available to receive the groceries?
Then what?
Would the groceries have been left outside? Would we have had to deal with missing or spoiled food? Would we have had to contact customer service and spend time trying to figure out what the hell happened?
I don’t know. Thankfully, we haven’t had to find out.
But that’s precisely the problem. A delivery service shouldn’t be putting customers in that position in the first place.
And look, I want to be fair here. I understand that unforeseen circumstances can happen. Maybe there aren’t enough shoppers or drivers available on a particular day. Maybe the delivery schedule is overloaded. Maybe there are logistical problems behind the scenes that customers don’t know about.
I get it. Shit happens.
I’m not expecting Instacart to operate in a perfect world where nothing ever goes wrong. I understand that plans sometimes have to change.
But if a scheduled delivery needs to be moved to a different day, the customer deserves to know about it in advance!
That’s not an unreasonable expectation. That’s basic customer service.
If Instacart knows that an order can’t be delivered on the day the customer selected, then communicate that information. Send a notification. Send an email. Contact the customer through the app. Whatever the appropriate method is, just make sure the customer knows what’s happening.
And whenever possible, give people at least a day or two of advance notice so they have time to adjust their plans.
Obviously, there might be emergencies or last-minute situations where that much notice isn’t possible. I understand that, too. But even then, Instacart should communicate with the customer as soon as it knows there’s a problem.
Don’t just change the delivery date without telling anyone and expect everything to work out.
Because here’s the thing: when customers schedule deliveries, they’re making plans around those deliveries.
People have jobs. People have appointments. People have errands to run. People have other responsibilities. Not everyone is sitting at home waiting for a delivery to show up whenever a driver happens to arrive.
That’s the entire point of scheduling a delivery in the first place!
You’re allowing customers to choose a date that works for them. So, naturally, customers are going to expect that date to be honored.
And if something changes, they deserve to know.
I also want to make something clear. This isn’t about me blaming every Instacart shopper or driver for everything that goes wrong. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes in either of these situations. I don’t know whether the problem originated with the driver, the scheduling system, the logistics, or some other part of Instacart’s operation.
I’m not going to pretend I know something I don’t.
But from the customer’s perspective, the experience is still frustrating. We scheduled a delivery for a particular day, and our groceries arrived on a different day without any advance warning.
That’s a problem that Instacart needs to take seriously, regardless of where the breakdown occurred.
And honestly, I think that’s the bigger issue here. Customers shouldn’t have to wonder whether the delivery date they selected actually means anything.
If I schedule my groceries for Friday, I should reasonably expect them on Friday. If Instacart can’t make that happen, tell me! Give me the opportunity to make other arrangements.
Don’t leave me guessing.
Don’t assume someone will be home.
And don’t make the customer discover that something has changed only when the delivery driver shows up at the door.
Instacart, I’m asking you to take a closer look at how scheduled deliveries are handled. Make sure the system respects the dates customers select, and if a delivery date has to change, establish a reliable process for notifying customers as early as possible.
Because two unexpected deliveries are two more than I’d reasonably expect to deal with.
And while I’m glad someone was home on both occasions, that doesn’t excuse the lack of communication.
A scheduled delivery should mean something. And if you can’t honor the schedule, the least you can do is tell the customer.
It’s really not that complicated.
Sincerely,
A frustrated customer who would appreciate receiving groceries on the day they were actually scheduled to arrive.
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