Male Instacart shoppers have been accused of using weaponized incompetence—or intentionally carrying out tasks poorly to get out of them—when fulfilling orders.
One Instacart shopper at Target was accused of this after letting a woman take over shopping for his customer after he was unable to find the frozen garlic bread. Other Instacart customers complained their male shoppers couldn’t find clearly in-stock items or made nonsensical substitutions, like substituting lemons for kiwis.
That’s why when TikToker @thehagtress found out that a man would be shopping for their Sephora order, they considered canceling it. The TikToker, who uses they/them pronouns, soon learned they should have went with their gut.
In a video that received over 218,000 views, @thehagtress shares their predicament.
“Guys, I had to Instacart some last-minute gifts for my co-workers from Sephora, and it’s a boy shopper at Sephora,” they say. “Do I just cancel the order at this point?
The TikToker says they already know they will receive items they didn’t ask for.
@thehagtress Oh this is the bad place
♬ original sound – The Hagtress
Viewers remained optimistic, sharing that they hope the shopper locates a store employee and asks them for assistance.
“I’m hoping he just finds an employee and has them fill your list,” @dizzybabygirl68 wrote.
“Used to work at Sephora. Most guy instacart drivers would just show us the list and have us pull all the items. Fingers crossed for you!” @readthesyllabus shared.
“I’m a boy instacarter whose been sent to Sephora and I literally just grab the nicest sales person I can find and have them lead me around,” @professionaldilettante said.
But in a follow-up, @thehagtress shares that the shopper, Jonathan, seemingly did not seek help from a worker.
The customer shares they placed an order for four candles, a discovery set of fragrances, and a skincare set. The TikToker says they also made sure the items were in-stock via the app.
Jonathan, however, claimed the items were not in the store, according to @thehagtress.
The TikToker says that while the app was telling them “many” of the items were in-stock, they gave Jonathan the benefit of the doubt. “He tries to replace the candles with a set of three,” @thehagtress continues. “I need four for all of these Christmas presents.”
So, @thehagtress says they asked Jonathan if he could get another set of three or check for sets of four.
They say Jonathan told them there were no sets of four in the store—despite the app telling them there were many sets of four in stock.
The TikToker says that Jonathan also replaced the skincare set they wanted with a discovery set and then later told them there were no discovery sets in the store. “‘I’m confused because you did just replace that skincare set with a discovery set of perfumes, so what’s happening?’” the TikToker recalls asking.
Jonathan, clearly confused, then told the customer Sephora doesn’t carry any skincare sets, @thehagtress says.
A frustrated @thehagtress says they tried to get Jonathan back on track by reiterating they just need four candles and a discovery set of perfumes. Jonathan, they say, let them know he has seven candles—one pack of three and two packs of two—in hand. So @thehagtress tells him just to take the two packs of two so that they can get the four candles.
The customer says Jonathan then asked them if they’d like two discovery sets of perfume, to which they said “No.”
Something odd then happened.
@thehagtress says the Instacart app told them that their shopping was “complete” before telling them that the shopping will be started shortly. “Who completed the shopping?” @thehagtress questions. “I was under the impression the shopping was completed, so why is my order being shopped? Did Jonathan just steal my Sephora order? Or did he get tired and go, ‘I’m just going to let somebody else do it?’”
@thehagtress then shares their thoughts on male Instacart shoppers. “I don’t think men should be legally allowed to be Instacart shoppers, especially at retailers that sell primarily makeup and makeup-type things,” they say.
@thehagtress Replying to @Taylor Spliff 🍃 ♬ original sound – The Hagtress
@thehagtress shared a happy update in their third video. The content creator holds up their black and white striped Sephora bag containing their order. “Miss Jaqueline came through,” they happily say, revealing their second shopper turned out to be a woman who successfully fulfilled most of the order.
Jaqueline found “everything but the skincare set,” according to @thehagtress. The TikToker says Jaqueline confirmed with a store associate that the skincare set was actually out of stock.
@thehagtress Replying to @Fleetwood Mac Miller ♬ original sound – The Hagtress
@thehagtress told the Daily Dot they don’t have access to a car and are disabled, so they have to rely on Instacart. While the frustrating back-and-forth with Jonathan lasted roughly 30 minutes, they have no choice but to continue using Instacart.
“It is the only accessible way for me to get groceries and necessities during an ongoing mass disabling pandemic,” they shared via TikTok direct message. “Disabled People who rely on delivery services deserve the same access to materials that people who are able-bodied have.”
