What your Shipt shopper wants you to know (but won’t say to your face)

I've recently reached my 200th shop with Shipt. Somewhere along the way, I went from an occasional shopper to someone who kinda knows what they're doing. I'm celebrating this milestone the only way I know how, writing about it.

For the most part, Shipt Shoppers are trying to be as nice as possible to our Shipt members. While we send tons of texts back and forth with you during a shop, there’s a lot we’re holding back. There are a lot of things we wish we could say candidly. Since I can’t spill the tea with all of you personally, I decided to share what we wish you knew in this blog.

11.       First of all we’ll start with tips. Yes, you are supposed to tip. I know it says that it’s optional, but it really shouldn’t be. I feel like an acceptable amount to tip is about 10% of your total bill. So, if it’s $192, go ahead and round up to $20. If it’s just $68 worth, a $5 tip should suffice. Also take into account how much work the shopper had to go through. Several heavy items like water or dog food, a long route from the store, and several substitutions are all reasons to up the tip up a little from the standard amount.

22.       There is such a thing as too big of an order. There is an actual person who has to not only pick out, but also put in their car and deliver to you. Consider breaking huge orders (over 40/50 items) into two separate orders. Another thing… you don’t really need three cases of water at the same time do you? We don’t mind big orders, but don’t make things unnecessarily hard on us.

33.       You set the tone for the drop off. We can’t read your mind. There's often an awkward point when I approach the front door when neither of us know what to do. If you’d rather we left the items at the door, just say so. We’re also happy to drop the items off on the kitchen counter. Porch drop offs are totally cool too if you aren’t dressed.

44.       Help unloading totally isn’t expected but is more than appreciated. You’d be surprised how few people help their shoppers unload items. I love it when parents send their teenage sons to grab a bag. It’s also very helpful if you help me unload the grocery bags from the tote bags I bring in. Honestly, it’s a little awkward just having you watch me and a little help goes a long way.

55.       Be close to your phone when you’re expecting a delivery. If you set a delivery time of 4-5, that means we’ll start shopping around 3:30 or even earlier if it’s a big order. You’ll need to be available to text us from that time so we can contact you if the store is out of anything. There’s nothing worse than stalling while you wait for the member to text back.

66.       This is something shoppers may or may not want you to know, but I’ll spill it anyways… The prices you see in the app are not the ones we see in the store. With the exception of Target. Since Target bought Shipt, they do not mark up any of their prices. At any other store, the prices in the Shipt app will be higher. Also, the sales found in the store may not coincide with what specials the Shipt app goes by. So, don’t ask us questions like, how much is ____? Or get the BOGO items because it may not ring up as you expected.

77.       Don’t be afraid to ask for special requests. We seriously don’t mind adding items to your order, as long as it’s not a million things or after we’ve checked out already. But any and all information you give will make our job easier. Send us a pic of the item in the Shipt app or tell us what area of the store it’s in.

88.       Know the rules and don’t ask us to break them. Things we can’t deliver: gift cards, alcohol, tobacco products, and propane tanks. We also can’t give you the paper receipt. Don’t put us in the awkward position of telling you no. Just because a shopper has broken the rules in the past, does not mean we’re willing to chance getting fired to do it for you.

99.       We can’t ask you deliver an order before the delivery window, but you can ask us to deliver early if possible. It’s seriously helpful when I get this permission from a member when I’m ahead of schedule. It means we don’t have to kill time and you get your groceries earlier.

110.   No, you can’t request a specific shopper, but the ‘member match’ system does increase the chances of getting the shopper you liked again. If you really clicked with a great shopper, rate them well and give good feedback (communicates well, etc.). Also, ordering consistently at the same time every week will increase your odds.

111.   USE THE NOTES. This is a really under-used feature of the Shipt app. I love when members put in the notes section how ripe they want their avocados or where a weirdly placed item in the store is. Other ways to use it: note that you don’t want an item to be substituted, note what substation you’d want- if they’re out, get this instead, or preferences on how thin to cut your deli meat. Also make use of the delivery notes. Even if it’s something as simple saying ‘Red house on the corner.’ I deliver a lot at night and this is very helpful. But especially if you live in an apartment, PLEASE list the number, gate code if there is one, as well as directions to your apartment.