One of the worst things that can happen to an Instacart Shopper is being deactivated from the platform. Imagine you wake up at 7am, make a nice and healthy breakfast, pack your waters for the day, and when you open your Instacart app to pickup your first batch, you suddenly can't go online... well luckily, there are some ways that shoppers can now get their accounts reactivated. In this article we are going to go over all of the ways you can try to get your account recovered so you can begin earning again!
Before we get into everything, I want to mention that Driverly's Premium Membership plan includes reactivation services. When you signup for Driverly Premium, you get helpful tips about earning more money, tips for prepping for taxes, exclusive content and reactivation services. Once you signup for Driverly, you get access to the Driverly portal which has instructions on how to get our services. Driverly will write a letter on your behalf to help get your account reactivated. Not only for Instacart, for every major gig app!
The best thing about Instacart is the fact that they pay you so much money to just shop for customers. It’s such an easy job, and can be so fun with great perks! However, one of the worst things is that they can deactivate you from the app at any given moment. How horrible! All your hard work and high rating for them to just deactivate you, it’s such a sad reality to accept once you’re locked out of your account.
Why Does Instacart Deactivate Shoppers From The App?
Taking too long to complete orders
Delivering to the wrong address
Stealing food from customers
Background check
Being rude to customers
Not replacing items correctly
Background check issues
Violating Instacart's Terms of Service
1. Taking too long to complete orders
Since Instacart customers are able to choose when they want their groceries, Instacart takes the time of the delivery seriously. Instacart is also very strict with drop off times because some customers pay extra to get their items earlier. They are so strict that if you do not drop the groceries at the estimated time given, then your account faces possbile deactivation.
The time you are given to drop off the groceries is not a wild guess on their part. Instacart has a intricate model to calculate how much time it should take you from accepting the order to when the batch should be delivered. The equation that they use also takes into consideration the possibility of you having multiple batches.
If you are going to be late due to possibilities out of your control, communicate this with your customer and with Instacart Customer Service to possibly have your tardiness forgiven.
While being late for one batch may not be a big deal, if you are late for multiple orders they will assume you are not a responsible shopper and they can ban your account.
2. Delivering to the wrong address
Customer complaints are a huge contribution to deactivated Instacart shopper accounts. If you deliver your customer's groceries to the wrong address, you can be sure you will get a complaint.
Maybe you are in a situation where you are delivering to a house on a busy street and you are rushing to drop off the groceries. Maybe you have already been trying to find that apartment for 30 minutes and you are tempted to drop it off at the place you think is the right one. Either way, you need take the time to make sure the house or apartment number matches the one on your app.
If you really cannot locate the apartment number, try calling the customer to verify the location with them.
It is worth every minute to find the right drop off spot because if you accidentally deliver to the wrong address, your account can get deactivated.
You should also take a picture of where you dropped off the groceries in case your customer falsely complains about where you left their items.
While there is normally a three strike policy in regards to dropping groceries at the wrong location, there have been cases where customer accounts were banned after delivering to the wrong address for the first time.
3. Stealing food from customers
Never tamper with your customer's food. Whether it's flat out stealing groceries from them or it's just taking one grape from their bunch.
Customer's receive a copy of their receipt via email after you check out their groceries with your Instacart Shopper Card. This means they can see if you paid for an item that they did not receive. If they report this activity to Instacart, your account can get deactivated.
Any other form of abuse with your Instacart Shopper Card can also lead to getting your account banned.
It might also be tempting to take a piece of chicken from that 2 pounds you have sitting in your car that your customer ordered. Don't do it.
In fact, to go above and beyond with your customer service, try finding a seal that you can use to close the bag. This can take away any doubts about whether you touched your customer's food will be dismissed.
4. Background check
You will need to provide your Social Security Number for them to run your background check. After you go through the background check, Instacart will also make sure you have a valid license.
Since there have been instances where shoppers are using Social Security Numbers that are not theirs, Instacart is thourough in making sure you are who you claim to be.
If there are any discrepancies in your background check, it can lead to deactivation of your account.
5. Being rude to customers
Your customer can be what stands between you having a job and you getting banned from the platform.
Customer communication is key in being a great shopper so Instacart heavily considers what the customer says to determine if you are following the guidelines to be a top shopper.
To avoid any disputes, always treat your customer with respect and professionalism.
Keep in mind that Instacart records the conversations you have on the app and on the phone. For Instacart to have your conversation in their system, make sure you call your customer through the app.
If you are being rude, unprofessional or inappropriate to your customers, they can report you and you can get deactivated from your account.
If you are dealing with any problems with the customer, immediately contact Instacart Shopper Customer Service so that they can help you proceed with the next steps.
6. Not replacing items correctly
There are times where the customer asks you to make your best judgement in deciding any replacements that need to be made.
If you are in a rush, it might seem the easiest to grab the closest item you think looks like the original. But just because it may look similar at first sight, doesn't mean its even close.
Here are some tips to finding the best replacements:
- check to see if there are any dietary restrictions that need to be followed (dairy free,
gluten free, organic, etc.. )
- find similar serving size
- items should have a similar price range
- double check with your customers
8. Violating Instacart's Terms of Service
Remember the Terms of Service that you probably scrolled through just so you could get to the part where you need to sign? Well it actually has some information that you should probably go back and make sure you know.
You can get automatically deactivated for violating any of the terms listed in the contract. It is also important go to go through it so you know what you can be liable for as an Instacart Shopper.
Here’s How To Get Reactivated to Instacart After You've Been Banned From The Platform
Driverly
Reach Out To an Instacart Customer Service Representative
Submit an appeal in the app
Hire a lawyer - if you really truly believe that you got deactivated over something that is wrong, you could always reach out to a lawyer who can try to reach out to Instacart for you. Most lawyers have studied the law for years and are very familiar with the way these things work. It might be advantageous to reach out to a lawyer who has experience in employment or contract work laws.
Email someone who works at Instacart - Now this may be a long shot, but hey, it's worth a shot. You can find the contact of employees of Instacart on LinkedIn.
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