My Top 10 Favorite Things 🌟

I thought it would be fun to share what I love most about my new job. There are many perks of being a shopper/driver for Instacart.

Today I will share with you my favorite aspects of my job, there are many positives.

This list is in no particular order.

Let's get started...

Although I've lived here in WV all of my life (30 years) and have been driving for 15 of those years, I still do not know every square inch of this city and the surrounding areas. I know my way around pretty well, but I am still learning about new roads every single day that I work. I've seen some pretty cool places and driven on some awesome curvy roads that my car just loves to escape upon. I imagine that doing this in a new city would make learning your way around an area so much easier than normal.

I mentioned driving in the last one, but let me further iterate here. Driving fast is one of my favorite things in the entire world. It just so happens that this job pays you more the quicker you are able to complete your tasks. This means that If I can shave 5-10 minutes off every drive, I could make an extra $25 a day. Not only is more money and better use of my time a good thing, but I absolutely love driving to and from the stores and customers' homes. Paying for gas and putting more miles on my old car isn't the most ideal thing, but getting to drive like I love to makes it all worth it.

I really did not expect the Instacart Driver app to have so many statistics to look through. I absolutely love how it keeps track of each individual order every single day of all week. This allows me to create my Instacart Financial Reports, which I release every Monday. There's something about seeing how much you will earn for each batch before you even accept them that is satisfying. Even more so when the customer decides to increase your tip or you manage to get it all done way quicker than expected.

I am a people person and this job puts me in the public eye. I am able to talk to random people shopping at the store (often other Instacart workers), and I'm getting to know the store employees, plus the customers themselves sometimes come outside to meet me. The last part leads me into getting to help others. The customers are either very well off financially, taking care of multiple children, don't have a car, are stuck in a wheelchair, or some other circumstance. Most of these people really appreciate what I'm doing for them. I avoid the zero-tip orders, so I stay away from most of the bad actors. I've made some people's day just by communicating with them through text or even bringing their groceries inside and to the kitchen counter for them. It is rewarding to know my job actually means something.

You may think that this job wouldn't require much effort, but it does when you are as competitive as I am. You have to be waiting on the app to be the first person to see the best orders. Organizing multiple orders at once can get confusing if you aren't very careful. Memorizing where items are in the store will cut down on your time shopping and increase your hourly wage. Figuring out which item is the best replacement for a customer or whether to refund something can feel like a crunchtime decision. I definitely do not feel like an automated drone like I felt in my previous line of work. The harder I try with this job, the better the pay. It pushes me to be better and I love that.

Working for somebody and being told what to do is one of my least favorite things to experience. Most of the time supervisors have no idea what they are doing and it's like taking orders from somebody who has never experienced what you are doing. Plus, I really just don't like being told what to do in general. I know how to make good decisions and can look out for myself. Instacart may be a company, but I have little to no contact with them unless there is a major issue. It's quite nice to not have to meet strict standards or be made to feel like a simple wage slave.

Wearing an ugly work uniform is pretty degrading to me mentally. If I look lame, I feel lame. When shopping I can wear whatever I like. This means I can show off my collection of 30+ basketball jerseys or many other fashion items in my wardrobe. I can also dress like a complete bum if I'm feeling lazy that day or in a rush. I never have to stress over what I will wear, because there are no rules in place.

Some people may ask me, why do you go to the gym all of the time? What are you training for? Mostly it is so my body feels healthy and strong rather than weak and in pain. It also turns out that increased strength can be very useful in life outside of the gym. Carrying groceries is one way that I for sure get to use my strength. I love when a customer is amazed that I carried 20 bags in two arms and also managed to get a few 24pks of water with some bird seed over my shoulder. All of that up a steep set of stairs and onto a front porch in just one trip. I can't imagine doing this job if I was weak and out of shape. I'd be wasting so much time walking back and forth from the car to customer houses.

Making money is the number one reason I started working for Instacart. I didn't realize there would be so many other benefits. The pay is also better than I was expecting. Here in WV, anything over $20/hr is good. Most days I'm well above that and have even managed to match my former hourly wage of $25/hr with USPS. I've made almost $40/hr in one day already. The more familiar I get with the process of shopping and delivering, the higher my earnings seem to go. The sky is the limit and it is so much more fun than making the exact same amount every single week. The unpredictability of it all just keeps me from ever feeling bored.

Having a set work schedule feels so restrictive to me. There are so many other things I wish to do in life than work nonstop. Being able to swipe to go online and start working at any time truly is a blessing. I can work as little or as much as I want and the job will always be the same. If I am sick, I just don't turn the app on that day. If I need a vacation I take one. Some days I want to work early and others late, and sometimes both. I get to decide when I'm working and this keeps me from feeling like my job owns me and rules my life.

So many good things, but also some bad 👍👎

I hope you enjoyed getting a closer look at what I love about working for Instacart. Their driver app provides me with the tools and customers that I need to make some pretty good money. All while having fun doing it most of the time. Although the job, of course, isn't perfect and there are some things I don't love about it.

Stay tuned for another post in the future where I will be discussing the top things I hate about working for Instacart.

Thanks for reading today folks!