Instacart allows customers around the United States to have groceries delivered to their homes. However, things don’t always work out as seamlessly as that brief description may imply. Instacart customers have complained about everything from strange replacements to theft, while drivers have shared their negative experiences with picky customers and stingy tippers.
Sometimes, an Instacart customer will cancel an order after the shopper has already completed the requested shopping. In these cases, the company generally gives the shopper one of two options: first, they must return the items, or second, if they’re lucky, they get to keep everything they bought.
In the former cases, this can leave the shopper with more work to do and less pay for doing it, as one TikTok user noted in a viral video from July 2022. That said, in the latter cases, drivers are ecstatic.
This lucky occurrence recently happened to TikTok user A.P. (@aplitty58), who joyfully recounted the experience in a video posted to the platform.
@aplitty58 $600 WORTH OF FREE GROCERIES This is crazy #CapCut #lesbiansoftiktok #couplestiktok #viral #howto #pov #blackgirltiktok #sidehustles #instacart #instacartshopper #costco #insane #unbelivable #crazy #money #free #groceries#grocerieshopping #grocerystory ♬ Trap Mafia – Lastra
“So, we got a nice order back here for free,” she says in the video, which has over 91,000 views as of Tuesday morning. Other parts of the video show the groceries she received at no cost, which include large amounts of Cheez-Its, Oreos, Coca-Cola, and more.
As A.P. herself noted in comments, this experience is not typical for Instacart drivers.
“We usually never get this lucky,” she stated.
However, some commenters alleged that they too had been given free groceries as a result of an Instacart mixup.
“This happened to me before and it was nice till I had to carry it to my third floor apartment,” recalled a user.
In contrast, others recounted the times when Instacart made them return a large order.
“My customer didn’t give correct address info but instacart told me that i should return whole groceries to where I shopped,” wrote a commenter. “You’re lucky.”
“They usually tell me to return the stuff now,” added another.
Still, a few more users were dismayed by what they considered a small amount of groceries for such a sizable sum of money.
“The fact that is 600$ worth of stuff is just sad tho,” offered a user.
“Literally not a lot for 600,” echoed a second. “Inflation is ridiculous these days.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Instacart and A.P. via email.
