It can be stressful and frustrating as a shopper when an Instacart customer reports an order missing, especially if you’ve done your job perfectly.
You may be left wondering what criteria need to be met for Instacart to consider the order missing, and what they do once they’ve made a decision.
Luckily, we’ve done all the research for you and have all the details on missing Instacart orders, actions taken, and what you can do as a shopper.
Can an Instacart Customer Report a Shopper for Missing Orders?
Instacart allows customers to report problems with orders (i.e. order is missing) once delivery is confirmed in the app.
If the customer can’t find their order or is missing items, they reach out to Instacart via chat in the app or by phone.
A customer reporting an order missing isn’t always indicative of misconduct on the shopper’s end.
Why Did an Instacart Customer Report Order Missing?
There are a few reasons why a customer may report their order missing:
- One or more items are missing
- The entire order is missing or the customer can’t find it
- The customer is falsely claiming a missing order or items to obtain a refund
Cannot Find or See Order
If you’re contacted by Instacart shopper support about a missing order — don’t panic.
It may be the case that the customer is unable to find or see the order and assumes it wasn’t delivered.
When you talk to the Instacart agent, be specific about where you left the delivery.
And if you snapped a picture, be sure to share that with the support team or direct them to the app if you submitted it there.
Fraudulent Reports for Free Groceries
Unfortunately, there may be scenarios in which customers report items or orders missing to attempt to get a refund.
Luckily, if you submitted a photo in the app at delivery, the Instacart support team can see that and quickly decide if the claim is accurate or not.
But in the end, there’s not much you can do as a shopper in this situation.
It’s up to the Instacart Care team to determine the validity of the claim and which steps to take.
What Should You Do if a Customer Reports an Order Missing?
It can be frustrating and stressful when you see that an Instacart customer reported an order missing — so what can you do?
Help Customer Find Order
You can be proactive by reaching out to shopper support and providing specific information regarding the location of the delivery.
Did you leave it at the customer’s front, side, or back door?
Or perhaps near the garage?
It may be the case that the customer just can’t find the order.
If you haven’t closed out the order yet or still have other deliveries, the customer may still be able to contact you via chat.
You can help them locate their order by confirming where you left it.
Show Photo of Delivered Items
Most of the time, you’re prompted to snap a picture of the delivery at the customer’s home once completed.
You can reach out to Instacart shopper support and let them know the photo was submitted either in the order or sent in the chat to the customer.
Reach Out to Shopper Support
Unfortunately, there may be situations where customers falsely report their items or order missing to obtain a refund.
If you’ve delivered it correctly and taken a photo of it, there’s not much else you can do.
In this case, you can contact shopper support for guidance, or simply wait it out.
Do Instacart Shoppers Get Penalized for Missing Items?
Shopper eligibility is determined by ratings, cancellation rate, and compliance with Instacart policies.
While you probably won’t be penalized for one report of missing items, you may have your account deactivated if reports like this are recurring.
Do Instacart Shoppers Pay for Missing Items?
Shoppers aren’t responsible to pay for items claimed as missing by the customer, but reports may be noted in your account.
If you’re constantly reported for missing items or orders, your account is liable for deactivation.
Will Instacart Deactivate You for Missing Items?
If there are frequent instances of customers reporting their deliveries as missing, it could prompt a review of your account from Instacart.
You may be given a warning or deactivated altogether, depending on the severity of the situation.
But if a customer reports an item or order missing once, you likely won’t be deactivated because of it.
Instacart will launch an investigation to determine the validity of the claim and make a decision from there.
It’s important to provide all the details from your trip, especially involving the location of the delivery.
Can You Report a Customer on Instacart?
To protect shoppers, Instacart allows you to rate your experience with each batch after all deliveries have been made.
If you rate it poorly, you’ll be allowed to report a rude or difficult customer, and even block them so you aren’t offered orders from them in the future.
You can also report a customer by contacting Instacart shopper support.
How To Report a Customer on Instacart
If you had a bad experience while shopping or delivering your order, there are a couple of ways you can report a customer.
Rating After Delivery
Instacart has a two-way feedback system to ensure customers can report rude shoppers or issues with their order, but also to protect shoppers from rude customers and false claims.
To report a customer after delivery, follow these steps.
- Slide the “Complete delivery” bar once you’ve completed delivery.
- Choose a rating out of 5 stars (if you want to report a customer, select the 1-star rating).
- Select the order(s) that you had a poor experience with — in this case, the customer you want to report.
- You’ll have the option to leave written feedback detailing your issues.
- Instacart will ask if you want to block that customer so you don’t see batches from them anymore — click continue to submit your report.
Contact Shopper Support
Instacart’s platform is kinder to customers when it comes to making reports.
So if you didn’t report the customer on the rating screen right after you finished the batch, you’ll need to reach out to shopper support.
Follow these steps in the app to contact support:
- Open the shopper app.
- Select the question mark in the top right corner.
- Select the headset in the top right corner to open the Virtual Care Assistant.
- Type “report customer” into the chat bar.
- Select one of the prompts, or type a custom prompt into the chat bar.
- Depending on the response, you may need to type “chat with an agent” or something similar into the chat bar.
- Once prompted, select “Connect with an agent.”
- You’ll be connected to a shopper support agent and can tell them which customer you want to report.
Wrapping Up
If an Instacart customer reported an order missing, don’t panic.
If you’ve done your job properly, Instacat should see that when they launch their investigation.
They may call you to confirm details of the order and where you left the delivery, so be as specific as possible.
The good thing is you can rate customers after you deliver every batch, so if you encounter a rude customer or have suspicions of false claims, report them to Instacart’s shopper support.
At the end of the day, an Instacart customer reporting an order missing doesn’t mean you’ll be deactivated.
But if the reports become frequent, Instacart will likely place your account under probation or deactivate you at that point.
