‘Make an update to the app’: Woman receives Stop & Shop Instacart delivery. Then she begs Instacart to let customers request female shoppers
A woman who tried her luck with an online grocery shopping service was dismayed to discover she had been paired with a male shopper—and was even more disappointed to discover how poorly he'd done.
The video documenting the shopping fail came from creator Sammieellenclare (@sammiellenclare). It has gotten more than 2.9 million views as of this writing.
After expressing her anger to start the video, she said, "If you are not the CEO of DoorDash or Instacart, keep scrolling. This is not for you."
She then made her request to decision-makers at those companies. "I am begging you to make an update on your app where I can request a female shopper," she said. "I'm gonna need that to happen."
The reason? Her male shopper went one-for-five in selecting the correct items
Instead of a half-gallon of store-brand milk (something she's reasonably sure that store would never run out of), she got what she called a "quarter-gallon" of Tuscan milk.
Then, she moved to the next item. "I ordered a Chopped Caesar salad kit. I got the Ultimate Caesar salad kit," she said. "And I'm not going to lie, I was expecting this because you have to look slightly harder for the Chopped Caesar salad kit, and a man would never. He would just pick the one he sees first."
Similarly, she got a mozzarella log when she wanted mozzarella pearls. She also got butter with canola oil instead of the garlic and herb spread she desired.
"Now I have a third container of butter in my fridge," she complained. "And I actually messaged him and said, 'Hey, can you just not substitute that one and refund me if you can't find the garlic and herb?'"
The shopper, however, delivered on store-brand Italian seasoning.
"I just think we should make it to where men cannot be shoppers for Instacart or DoorDash," she said, adding, "but that would be discrimination."
It could be worse
Past Daily Dot stories have documented male shoppers who failed to meet the requests of Instacart customers.
In one case, a woman who ordered Cheez-Its got Iams cat treats instead. Commenting that she didn't even have a cat, she theorized that the shopper just tried to find a snack of the same color.
"You picked some because it was yellow," she marveled. "I ain’t joking."
In another instance of Instacart insufficiency, a male shopper delivered a much smaller tomato than the beefsteak tomato the customer requested. They also misread a large mayonnaise and a small ranch request as one for a large ranch and a small mayonnaise.
"This is why when I get a male shopper, I cancel,” the customer observed.
Commenters have their say
People coming to the video assured her she wasn't alone.
"I ordered tampons & was substituted white mushrooms," one shared. "I have been telling this story for like 4 years because I am still not over it."
"I got a pack of permanent markers in exchange for tampons," another said. "They weren’t as absorbent and a little uncomfortable when sitting."
"A man substituted my ground beef for a watermelon and I’m still confused about it," someone else reported.
Not everyone who came to the site had a negative experience with Instacart or DoorDash. However, one who reported a great encounter said it was with a female shopper.
"I had a lady dasher who once asked if I wanted parmesean because it was on sale and she thought it would go well with what else I had ordered," they wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via email and TikTok direct message. It also reached out to Instacart and DoorDash via email.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘Make an update to the app’: Woman receives Stop & Shop Instacart delivery. Then she begs Instacart to let customers request female shoppers appeared first on The Daily Dot.