Some Positives But Not Enough To Want To Stay - Shift Lead Instacart Employee Review

2.0
Apr 27, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Not a ton of micromanaging from the higher ups Flexible scheduling; good with request offs

Cons

Poor pay for everything required in the job Terrible benefits; no communication from HR pertaining to questions asked about benefits Very limited sick time and no other paid time off including no holiday pay or vacation pay. And holidays are a must. Managers are given no power or authority; their voices are not heard Very bad work/life balance once you make it to a salaried position. You'll be at work constantly. They do not care. The bottom line is always first and they will run you into the ground to get what they need. You are not a priority.

Explore other reviews about Instacart

5.0
Mar 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Batch pay and promotions are top notch, especially here in Olney. I've worked in St. Louis, MO, Sparta, IL, Carbondale, IL and Mount Vernon, IL. My favorite has been Olney. I won't reach Diamond status like I did in St. Louis, but the rewards are better in the smaller communities. Instacart cares about their drivers.

Cons

Batch pay could be better.

2.0
Jun 21, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Fun going out and talking to people. You will interact with people everyday. You control how much you get paid. Lots of flexibility in the time between accepting an order and traveling to the store and beginning to shop. It isn't pedal to the metal to get to the store like DoorDash is. You can also cancel batches after accepting as long as you keep your rate under 15%. This is different from DoorDash where your rankings will suffer if g.t. 2% cancellation rate.

Cons

There's a learning curve and it takes a while to learn each chain of stores' items. Once you become proficient at one store, the algorithm will lowball your offers relative to other less-experienced Instacart shoppers. Overall, Instacart shoppers likely get paid similar or less than the store's regular employees.

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