An Instacart shopper on TikTok claims that a customer “tip-baited” him, changing the tip after delivery from what appeared to be a nearly $50 tip to just $18.
The video was created by @romeshopper1, attracting more than 28,000 views in six days on the platform. In the clip, the TikToker lays out the tip-baiting scenario, noting in an on-screen caption, “Instacart needs to fix this!”
Filming himself in front of a screengrab of the order in question, the shopper says, “So this happened to me yesterday on Instacart. Order originally paying close to $60, grabbed it, picked it up, communicated with the customer. She communicated back, pretty relatively easy order, going seven miles … delivered the order. She said, ‘Thank you so much.’”
@romeshopper1 let me know in the comments how many times this happened to you! #instacart #instacartshopper #shipt #doordash #doordashdriver #uber #ubereats #sparkdriver #viral #foryou #foryoupage #fyp #fypシ ♬ original sound – romeshopper1
However, @romeshopper1 says a problem arised about 30 minutes after delivery.
“The tip go decreased by $30,” he claims. “So there I waited ’til the next day to see if she somehow gave me a bad rating, because this is the second time this has happened to me.
But the shopper says the customer gave him a five-star rating.
“She just decided to just tip-bait me,” he recalls. “And like I said, this is ridiculous. It only happened to me twice ever. The first time, the person gave me a bad rating, but this one was just like an obvious tip bait.”
He concludes the video by calling on Instacart to take action against this.
According to Instacart’s website, “Tips are optional but a great way to show your shoppers appreciation and recognition for their excellent service. 100% of your tip goes directly to the shopper(s) shopping and delivering your order. For orders where 2 shoppers fulfill your order, the tip is split evenly between them.”
It goes on to say, “Instacart suggests a default tip based on a number of factors, such as order attributes and your tip history. The minimum default tip is 5% of your order total.”
Still, Instacart allows customers to modify their tip after delivery. “You can increase your tip up to 14 days after delivery or reduce your tip up to 2 hours after delivery,” the site reads.
According to a fellow Instacart shopper who regularly posts on TikTok, the company will pay out tips to shoppers that are completely removed by customers. However, the TikToker (@thatgiglife) says Instacart will only make up for $10 of the tip, and only for those whose tips are reduced to zero.
So, in @romeshopper1’s case, Instacart would not make up for the tip-baiting he experienced.
In the comments, viewers also debated the practice.
“This shouldn’t be an option for them after they tip,” one fellow Instacart shopper said. “This happened to me as well.”
In response, another user asked, “So what if there’s a legit reason to decrease the tip? What if the delivery person is rude or throws bags in the yard or doesn’t deliver all items?”
“Then maybe this driver doesn’t need to do deliveries,” the shopper responded. “But I am talking about my situation, not your cow jumped over the moon scenario!”
Another Instacarter recalled, “I had a customer lie and say I didn’t deliver her groceries but she gave me a five-star rating.”
The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Instacart via email.
