Anyone here work for Instacart, Doordash, Uber...?

[TAC]

Anyone here work for Instacart, Doordash, Uber...?

Would you be willing to share your experiences?

Is it your main job? If yes or no, how many hours do you work?
Not asking your income, but could you share some averages in terms of making money?
Do you report to anyone? How do you register/sign up for do this?

Do you consider yourself Self Employed, or do you consider yourself an employee of whatever company you are doing work for?

I am truly fascinated by the gig economy.

[Stadler]

Career change?

I better not see you on Ridiculousness; the Ring cam is the greatest invention since sliced bread simply because it catches all these people scratching their nuts or taking sips out of drinks or eating French fries before delivering the food to the buyer. 

[TAC]

Career change?

No not at all.


I went to Lowe's this morning and there were literally NO registers open. There was one kid watching the 4 selfscans. I was kind of pissed. I don't work here. I shouldn't have to scan my own items. It was unclear if that was how they scheduled it to save money, or if they had staffing problems, as most places do.

The reflex that Fogeys have is that nobody wants to work anymore. In general, I actually don't believe that to be true.
The gig industry is fascinating, as it really wasn't a thing, or at least the thing that it is now, before the pandemic. So I generally dispute the notion that nobody wants to work. Our missing grocery store clerks, our missing waitresses, have been picked up by this new industry, and also Amazon has  majorly increased their workforce as well.

So what I was really wondering is...what's the draw?

[Cool Chris]

I imagine for many it is flexibility, those who do not need or want an 8a-5p M-F work shift. They need the income, but in a manner that enables them to pick and choose their hours.

I have noticed that at Lowe's myself, though for work I primarily go to Home Depot. The self-scan lanes tend to move faster as it is usually someone buying 2-3 things in those lines, and with some clerks it ends up being more efficient to just do everything yourself.

[El Barto]

The reflex that Fogeys have is that nobody wants to work anymore. In general, I actually don't believe that to be true.
The gig industry is fascinating, as it really wasn't a thing, or at least the thing that it is now, before the pandemic. So I generally dispute the notion that nobody wants to work. Our missing grocery store clerks, our missing waitresses, have been picked up by this new industry, and also Amazon has  majorly increased their workforce as well.

So what I was really wondering is...what's the draw?

I don't buy into the notion that kids don't want to work anymore. I think that kids, quite correctly, don't want to need to work. All the time. At a specific location. For rigid hours. Feeling like it's critical for their own survival. That has always been the case for me, from kid to old fuck. I'm honestly quite happy with my work, but the fact that I have to get up at 0815 tomorrow knowing it'll suck to be there at 0900 where I'll have little to do sucks. It's the mandatory and arbitrary aspect of work that people object to.

The flexibility of the gig economy certain changes that. I've only used Uber.  I won't use food delivery apps as a courtesy to the places I want to support. But those Uber drivers seem to always work pretty hard. Some more than others, but the ones who do it for a living bust ass and have learned to work the system. I'll have people get within three minutes of my locale and they already searching for a Lyft gig. And yet, if you're an Uber driver you can be the one guy who likes to take people to the airport at 0430. You can be the guy who takes drunks home at 0200 when the bars close. You can work 9-5 while the kids are at daycare. You can work 18 hour shifts to get 4 day weekends. You still have to work, but you can work on your own terms. That counts for an awful lot.

I went to Lowe's this morning and there were literally NO registers open. There was one kid watching the 4 selfscans. I was kind of pissed. I don't work here. I shouldn't have to scan my own items. It was unclear if that was how they scheduled it to save money, or if they had staffing problems, as most places do.

The cashiers are always down on the side the contractors go to. They actually need service. Regular customers like me and most people not named TAC would just as soon not have to deal with them. The only time I'll deal with a cashier is if I have a lot of produce. She knows the PLUs so I won't have to take time to look them up. And even then only if they're open waiting for a customer. Also, Lowes has the bet self checkout terminals I've come across. Hands down.

[jingle.boy]

Career change?

No not at all.


I went to Lowe's this morning and there were literally NO registers open. There was one kid watching the 4 selfscans. I was kind of pissed. I don't work here. I shouldn't have to scan my own items. It was unclear if that was how they scheduled it to save money, or if they had staffing problems, as most places do.

Shit dude, this is no different than pumping your own gas.  Or do you only go to 'full-service' stations.

C'mon man... technology and progress.  I think stores like this should always have 1 full-service cashier available, but I got no problem with the self-serve aspect of things.  I just wish it was reflected in the prices a little more, rather than the profits of these companies.

[jingle.boy]

Also, everything EB said.

[King Postwhore]

Tim, after you ring yourself out go take a break in their breakroom.  When they ask if you should be in there, tell them you rang yourself out so you thought you were an employee.

[hefdaddy42]

Career change?

No not at all.


I went to Lowe's this morning and there were literally NO registers open. There was one kid watching the 4 selfscans. I was kind of pissed. I don't work here. I shouldn't have to scan my own items. It was unclear if that was how they scheduled it to save money, or if they had staffing problems, as most places do.

Shit dude, this is no different than pumping your own gas.  Or do you only go to 'full-service' stations.

C'mon man... technology and progress.  I think stores like this should always have 1 full-service cashier available, but I got no problem with the self-serve aspect of things.  I just wish it was reflected in the prices a little more, rather than the profits of these companies.

All of this.

[Stadler]

Career change?

No not at all.


I went to Lowe's this morning and there were literally NO registers open. There was one kid watching the 4 selfscans. I was kind of pissed. I don't work here. I shouldn't have to scan my own items. It was unclear if that was how they scheduled it to save money, or if they had staffing problems, as most places do.

Shit dude, this is no different than pumping your own gas.  Or do you only go to 'full-service' stations.

C'mon man... technology and progress.  I think stores like this should always have 1 full-service cashier available, but I got no problem with the self-serve aspect of things.  I just wish it was reflected in the prices a little more, rather than the profits of these companies.

Not really commenting to you, Chad, but the "rather than the profits of these companies" comment rankles.  It's a common comment here and elsewhere (at least you didn't add the obnoxious "obscene" before "profits").  Grocery stores run a profit margin of 1% to 3%; when I was at GE, the appliances division had the lowest profit margins of any of the divisions and they were at about 6% but weren't at all happy about it.    I have never worked at a company that would have been happy with 1% to 3%.   Lowes averages around 6%, though was around 10% last year, as was Home Depot.  Even that is a bare minimum; I can't get a project approved with a projected gross margin of less than 20% without some explicit approval.

One, businesses are in the business of making profits, so there's that.  And two, it's not like they are lighting cigars with hundy's while we as customers are being pick-pocketed on our way out the door.   I'm with Bart; I almost always go to the self-service kiosks.  Starting to do that at McDonald's, too, (though I use the app 99% of the time I go there).   The ONLY time I use "people" is if I'm ordering something that is non-standard.  Or I have a question.   And honestly?  I could give a rat's ass about my prices being $0.015 less because a human didn't type in the price for me.   They STILL have people on the floor to answer my questions.

[El Barto]

They STILL have people on the floor to answer my questions.

This is an interesting point. At a place like Lowes or HD, people out on the floor answering questions and telling you where to find something are more important than people managing 4 more registers.

[King Postwhore]

They STILL have people on the floor to answer my questions.

This is an interesting point. At a place like Lowes or HD, people out on the floor answering questions and telling you where to find something are more important than people managing 4 more registers.

Counterpoint, those in a Lowes or Home Depot on the floor are less knowledgeable than a mom and pop store.  Same goes for cashiers.  Some people like to control there own checkout.  Though I see Tim's point when it comes to businesses.  How can they staff less while still maintaining the income they receive.  More for less in their minds. 

[jingle.boy]

Career change?

No not at all.


I went to Lowe's this morning and there were literally NO registers open. There was one kid watching the 4 selfscans. I was kind of pissed. I don't work here. I shouldn't have to scan my own items. It was unclear if that was how they scheduled it to save money, or if they had staffing problems, as most places do.

Shit dude, this is no different than pumping your own gas.  Or do you only go to 'full-service' stations.

C'mon man... technology and progress.  I think stores like this should always have 1 full-service cashier available, but I got no problem with the self-serve aspect of things.  I just wish it was reflected in the prices a little more, rather than the profits of these companies.

Not really commenting to you, Chad, but the "rather than the profits of these companies" comment rankles.  It's a common comment here and elsewhere (at least you didn't add the obnoxious "obscene" before "profits").  Grocery stores run a profit margin of 1% to 3%; when I was at GE, the appliances division had the lowest profit margins of any of the divisions and they were at about 6% but weren't at all happy about it.    I have never worked at a company that would have been happy with 1% to 3%.   Lowes averages around 6%, though was around 10% last year, as was Home Depot.  Even that is a bare minimum; I can't get a project approved with a projected gross margin of less than 20% without some explicit approval.

One, businesses are in the business of making profits, so there's that.  And two, it's not like they are lighting cigars with hundy's while we as customers are being pick-pocketed on our way out the door.   I'm with Bart; I almost always go to the self-service kiosks.  Starting to do that at McDonald's, too, (though I use the app 99% of the time I go there).   The ONLY time I use "people" is if I'm ordering something that is non-standard.  Or I have a question.   And honestly?  I could give a rat's ass about my prices being $0.015 less because a human didn't type in the price for me.   They STILL have people on the floor to answer my questions.

Not really commenting to you, Bill, but the validation/justification of high prices comment rankles.  I'm thinking more of stores like Wal-Mart, where people are checking out dozens of items at a time, and expected to do it all themselves with a tiny little 2x2 platform to place their entire cart, all while hoping there isn't a glitch in the scanning (which there often is).  Look, they are offloading cost on to the customer, and keeping all of that savings. 

BTW, Lowes last quarterly filing showed a 14.7% Operating Margin.  Walmart Gross Profits - 23.7%.  So yeah, they've got some room to pass some of their savings along to the customer.  But, just like any public company, shareholders are the most important constituent.

[cramx3]

Career change?

No not at all.


I went to Lowe's this morning and there were literally NO registers open. There was one kid watching the 4 selfscans. I was kind of pissed. I don't work here. I shouldn't have to scan my own items. It was unclear if that was how they scheduled it to save money, or if they had staffing problems, as most places do.

Shit dude, this is no different than pumping your own gas.  Or do you only go to 'full-service' stations.

C'mon man... technology and progress.  I think stores like this should always have 1 full-service cashier available, but I got no problem with the self-serve aspect of things.  I just wish it was reflected in the prices a little more, rather than the profits of these companies.

Hey man, we only have full service stations here 

[Lonk]

Hey man, we only have full service stations here 

To be honest, one of the few reasons I avoid gas stations in Jersey

[MinistroRaven]

Anyone here work for Instacart, Doordash, Uber...?

Would you be willing to share your experiences?

Is it your main job? If yes or no, how many hours do you work?
Not asking your income, but could you share some averages in terms of making money?
Do you report to anyone? How do you register/sign up for do this?

Do you consider yourself Self Employed, or do you consider yourself an employee of whatever company you are doing work for?

I am truly fascinated by the gig economy.

No, but if I go to the USA that would be my sort of income, I have friends making 120K and more each year working through those apps (and a couple more)

[Stadler]

Hey man, we only have full service stations here 

To be honest, one of the few reasons I avoid gas stations in Jersey

Me too; I find that annoying. 

[King Postwhore]

Anyone here work for Instacart, Doordash, Uber...?

Would you be willing to share your experiences?

Is it your main job? If yes or no, how many hours do you work?
Not asking your income, but could you share some averages in terms of making money?
Do you report to anyone? How do you register/sign up for do this?

Do you consider yourself Self Employed, or do you consider yourself an employee of whatever company you are doing work for?

I am truly fascinated by the gig economy.

No, but if I go to the USA that would be my sort of income, I have friends making 120K and more each year working through those apps (and a couple more)

Really?  That seems extremely high for a food drop off service.  If so, I'm quitting my job. 

[Lonk]

Really?  That seems extremely high for a food drop off service.  If so, I'm quitting my job.

If you think about it, not really that high. Most of these drivers work more hours than the regular 40hrs/week. Plus, in busy places where there are many deliveries (think of busy cities), they can easily do 5-10 deliveries an hour, or more. Not saying all of them make that much, but I can see how some of them can if they work in busy area for more than 40 hours/week.

[cramx3]

Anyone here work for Instacart, Doordash, Uber...?

Would you be willing to share your experiences?

Is it your main job? If yes or no, how many hours do you work?
Not asking your income, but could you share some averages in terms of making money?
Do you report to anyone? How do you register/sign up for do this?

Do you consider yourself Self Employed, or do you consider yourself an employee of whatever company you are doing work for?

I am truly fascinated by the gig economy.

No, but if I go to the USA that would be my sort of income, I have friends making 120K and more each year working through those apps (and a couple more)

Really?  That seems extremely high for a food drop off service.  If so, I'm quitting my job.

Yeah I don't buy that unless you work 24/7.  I'd guess 40-50k max for a 40 hour work week. But then you don't get any benefits and you have to pay for your car.  I feel like every time I talk to one of my drivers they are complaining about not getting enough money from the app (but it's been awhile since I've had such a conversation with a driver).  IMO, it's best as a side gig to supplement a full time job with benefits. Earn a bit extra spending cash on the side when you are bored basically. 

[Grappler]

My former neighbor did this.  He told me he was in the air force (he was younger than me and in his mid-late 20's, so I'm guessing he washed out after 4 years).  He drove for Uber and did a lot - making trips from 50 miles north of Chicago to O'Hare airport.  When business travel died in 2020 due to the pandemic, he switch to Uber-Eats and did food delivery.  He claimed to be going to a community college to get some sort of degree.

He was of the millenial generation and came off as very unmotivated in life, both career-wise and as a home-owner.  I don't know how he could try to support his wife and child while being an on-demand delivery driver, but that's all that he aspired to be. 

I did read that someone in my town earned about $15K to $25K by being an Uber driver, though he was honest and said that you have to put in a lot of hours in order to make that much. 

[El Barto]

Like I said, if you learn to really play the game well you can do alright. Have two phones on your dash so you can alternate Uber/Lyft and have your next job lined up before you finish your current one. This is important at airports. Switch from driving to food delivery during lunch and dinner hours would probably help. There are certainly nuances to pick up. Driving drunks at 0200 might help from a supply-demand standpoint, but you might also do better during rush hour when the surge prices kick in. You can wait at the airport for a return fare, but you've got to weigh that against the time on your parking ticket. The guy I asked about it said he could wait about three minutes and then it was better to leave the airport and find somebody else. Take pictures after every ride so insulate yourself from fraudulent claims. Honestly, 125k seems too high, but people can certainly make a decent living at it.

[bosk1]

Anyone here work for Instacart, Doordash, Uber...?

Would you be willing to share your experiences?

Is it your main job? If yes or no, how many hours do you work?
Not asking your income, but could you share some averages in terms of making money?
Do you report to anyone? How do you register/sign up for do this?

Do you consider yourself Self Employed, or do you consider yourself an employee of whatever company you are doing work for?

I am truly fascinated by the gig economy.

Yeah, I know several people that do these, including a couple of people in my household.  EB is on the right track--when you learn to work the system, you can make some pretty good money.  The key is volume and keeping yourself busy during your shifts.  Time spent waiting, or extra time filling that instacart order for a customer 20 miles away that you feel sorry for, are killers.  The other key is tips.  The wage/commission itself doesn't make the job worth it.  It's all about the tips.  And while we can have a whole debate on tipping economy/tipping culture (which I believe we have before), it's what these workers rely on to make their money.  So that again goes back to the "volume" issue.  You really have to be fast and efficient because (1) it increases the volume of jobs you can fill, and (2) it keeps the customer happy with the delivery time, which often increases tips (or, at least, usually keeps the customer from "tip baiting" where they promise a certain tip up front, and the worker sees the total amount for the job and factors that into the decision on whether it is worth taking, only to have the customer revoke the tip after the delivery is made). 

Regulation of the industry has been a mixed blessing/curse.  As with any industry, there are potential abuses.  The companies themselves (Insta, Uber, etc.) have all the leverage and power, which makes it easy for them to abuse, so regulation is needed.  On the other hand, that regulation has forced the companies to make certain changes that make their operations more expensive, which increases the cost to customers, which causes some customers to not use them, which means lower volume for the workers, which makes it harder for the workers to earn as much, etc.  It's interesting to observe as an employment lawyer, where I get to see firsthand some interesting dynamics.  On one hand, those companies technically are breaking some basic labor laws, but those laws just don't make sense in the context of their businesses and actually end up hurting the workers they are designed to protect.  On the other hand, many of those laws that have forced them to change certain practices (when they get sued and actually have to then make resulting changes), those changes often do end up hurting both the workers and the customers.  It's one of many instances I see in my line of work where I think to myself, "Yeah, I can see why someone in the Legislature might have thought this law was a good idea and was needed to protect workers from certain abuses.  But in practice, this is a disaster and is the dumbest thing ever because the narrow problem it arguably solves is outweighed by the dozen more it creates."

[TAC]

Thanks Bosk for all that. I didn't realize that your area was in employment law. That's interesting.

I would never say these people don't work hard. I see tons of Instacart people in my store. They're usually face down in their phones, going pretty fast through the store, usually being quite rude and basically unobservant to anything else going on.
They'll also let you do their shopping for them,. Fuck that. God forbid you tell them where ONE thing is. They'll then give a y a slideshow of the rest of the order expecting you to show them. Who shops for these people? Have they never been in a store before??


To me, they seem to be working hard to not have a job, if that makes sense. I get out of bed to go to wok because I have to get there by a certain time. If it was left up to me, should I get up now or grab a couple of extra hours more sleep, I'd never get to work.

[El Barto]

To me, they seem to be working hard to not have a job, if that makes sense. I get out of bed to go to wok because I have to get there by a certain time. If it was left up to me, should I get up now or grab a couple of extra hours more sleep, I'd never get to work.

Exactly. That's the point I made last night, and more power to them. Frankly, you and I are the suckers. 

[Lonk]

To me, they seem to be working hard to not have a job, if that makes sense. I get out of bed to go to wok because I have to get there by a certain time. If it was left up to me, should I get up now or grab a couple of extra hours more sleep, I'd never get to work.

Exactly. That's the point I made last night, and more power to them. Frankly, you and I are the suckers. 

I get it, there are certain professions that require a schedule and for the worker to be present. But yeah, workers are starting to realize that the 40 hours a week, 9-5 thing is not really necessary in some fields.

[King Postwhore]

To me, they seem to be working hard to not have a job, if that makes sense. I get out of bed to go to wok because I have to get there by a certain time. If it was left up to me, should I get up now or grab a couple of extra hours more sleep, I'd never get to work.

Exactly. That's the point I made last night, and more power to them. Frankly, you and I are the suckers. 

Ain't that the truth?! 

[bosk1]

Thanks Bosk for all that. I didn't realize that your area was in employment law. That's interesting.

I would never say these people don't work hard. I see tons of Instacart people in my store. They're usually face down in their phones, going pretty fast through the store, usually being quite rude and basically unobservant to anything else going on.
They'll also let you do their shopping for them,. Fuck that. God forbid you tell them where ONE thing is. They'll then give a y a slideshow of the rest of the order expecting you to show them. Who shops for these people? Have they never been in a store before??


To me, they seem to be working hard to not have a job, if that makes sense. I get out of bed to go to wok because I have to get there by a certain time. If it was left up to me, should I get up now or grab a couple of extra hours more sleep, I'd never get to work.

Well, I can't speak for the people you've interacted with.  But to put a couple of things that you mentioned into perspective:

1.  Moving fast, head down, into their phones:  I'm sure there are plenty out there that are rude, just because there are rude people doing all kinds of stuff.  But the majority that I've seen, including my family members, are moving fast, head down, looking at their phones because they're focused on getting the job done quickly because, as I said above, speed and efficiency are the only ways to make it worthwhile.  Having been on some trips with them, I can tell you that the app doesn't make it easy, because it frequently lists things in the wrong locations, doesn't necessarily group things by location, etc.  So you are looking at your list and simultaneously trying to map out in your head the most efficient way to get all the things you need as quickly and efficiently as possible.  It sucks time to grab an item in aisle 3, the next one on aisle 16, and next one on aisle 2, etc.  But that is how the app sometimes will list the items.  It's a different type of shopping than your casual grocery store stop when you are shopping by yourself.  I don't think most of them are rude.  They're just intensely focused and trying to move fast.

2.  Asking for help:  Yeah, I get that that can be an annoyance.  Sometimes, people that do this for a job don't initially have a clue how to shop because they haven't done it much for themselves.  Sometimes, they aren't familiar with a store they get sent to for an order.  And sometimes, customers will ask for obscure items or items the shopper has just never purchased for themselves and never thought about purchasing, so they have no clue where it might be.  (and speaking honestly, there are times when you would think an item would logically be in a particular aisle and it's in a completely unrelated one)  Add to that the fact that an item might no longer be stocked so the shopper can't find it, or the app says it is in a particular aisle (depends on the app and the store--sometimes that info is there and sometimes it isn't) when it is in a completely different one.  Again, not saying there aren't people who take advantage and want you to tell them their whole list.  But on the flip side, there are legit reasons why they might want help.  And if they need help with a few items, if they are being efficient, they will grab, say, the 15 items then can find, and then save the 5 they can't until the very end, so that they have a "list" of items they need help with.

3.  And as far as working hard to not have a "real job," for many, it's a second (or third) job, or they need a part time job with hours flexibility because they are full time students, or stay at home parents, or whatever.  I know someone doing it who was a stay at home mom raising the kids their entire childhood, and now has 2 kids in college.  She is trying to help the family by adding to her husband's income to help the college bills, but she has been out of the workforce for 2 decades, so it's hard to get back in and make decent money, and this is a good temporary solution to temporarily earn some cash.  People have lots of reasons, and it isn't all hipster millennials who don't want to work (I'm exaggerating and being tongue in cheek with that description). 

[TAC]

Well, I am exaggerating when I say most of them are rude. I mean, there are plenty that are, but..

And I've defended these people as hard working, hence my comment "working hard". To me, the constant hustle of it seems very stressful. I'm way more comfortable reporting to work where my tasks are pretty much laid out for me, and I don't have to worry about infrequent activity on an app.

Your friend who is the mother, well, in the past, she may have worked the "mother's hours" at a store, or maybe waited tables at night. This way, if her kid is sick, she doesn't have to call in sick, which can be a pain in the ass in itself, she merely has to not take any orders. I totally get that.

Whenever people say nobody wants to work, I'm the one pointing at these kinds of jobs to show that that is actually not a true statement.

[jingle.boy]

On the matter of asking for help (and point 2 above that Bosk made), I routinely have to ask where shit is (cream of tartar ... wtf is that even used for?!?!) that mrs.jingle puts on the list - and I do the food shopping 50% of the time!

[TAC]

On the matter of asking for help (and point 2 above that Bosk made), I routinely have to ask where shit is (cream of tartar ... wtf is that even used for?!?!) that mrs.jingle puts on the list - and I do the food shopping 50% of the time!

It's one thing for a customer to ask where something is...for some reason, the most popular request is where are the bread crumbs..

I also realize that the store gets the sale for all of the instacart orders, so I know the store benefits if these people can get in and out. I don't mind answering a question, but sometimes these people can be a PITA.

[King Postwhore]

Above the middle isle in the frozen food section.   Exactly where you'd expect bread crumbs to be. 

[El Barto]

Above the middle isle in the frozen food section.   Exactly where you'd expect bread crumbs to be. 

Down here you can expect stores to rearrange a lot of stuff every few years just to keep people guessing. In my younger days I inventoried grocery stores to pay the bills, and I've still got a decent grasp of how things get grouped together. Cream of tartar should be with the spices, but some stores might put it with the baking stuff, which is quite oddly on the same aisle but across from the various cooking oils. Still, plenty of other things get shuffled around with not much rhyme or reason. Not to mention stuff that gets deshelved and stuck on end-caps or displays. The impossible to find items are always the stuff on hang-strips. Worse still are the regular grocery products that get stocked with meats dairy for paid promotional consideration. You gonna buy the English muffins stocked with all of the regular bread stuff, or the ones from the cooler next to the eggs; surely they're fresher, right?

So yeah, I rarely bother to ask somebody where something is, but there are plenty of oddball things I might have to really look hard for.

[King Postwhore]

Even with the same grocery companies their Floorplan are different. You get accustomed to your go tons layout, then when you go to a store 2 towns over its nowhere near where you thought it would be.

[bosk1]

Even with the same grocery companies their Floorplan are different. You get accustomed to your go tons layout, then when you go to a store 2 towns over its nowhere near where you thought it would be.

I won't even work with anything outside of my "go tons" layout.  After all, it's just heavier.