America is all about convenience, so why not have your groceries delivered? Grocery shopping is a time-consuming activity that many of us don’t have time for. At the very least, we have better things to do with our time than stand in long lines and hunt through dozens of aisles for the perfect item. Why not pay a professional to do this instead?
This is the value proposition of Instacart, a grocery delivery service that employs personal shoppers to pick up your groceries from local stores like Costco and Whole Foods. It’s a very convenient service, especially if you don’t have a car, live far away from the grocery store, or are too busy to pick up your groceries.
While the service is very convenient and works without a problem most of the time, sometimes you may have an issue and need to get help. Luckily, Instacart has you covered with a variety of customer service options. In this article, we’ll look at the options you have for contacting Instacart customer service, as well as answers to some common customer service questions.
Jump to:
Method 1: Instacart Help Center
Your first stop for any Instacart customer service issues should be Instacart.com. The company has a detailed Help Center where you can search for answers to support questions, as well as browse a variety of help topics, including the following:
- How Instacart works
- How to place orders
- How to track your deliveries
- How pricing works
- How to pay
- How to change your account settings
Before you contact a customer support representative, be sure to check all these help topics. Often, you’ll be able to find the answer you seek without having to create a support ticket.
Method 2: Instacart Support Email
If you’ve searched the Help Center and can’t find an answer to your question, the next step you can take is to contact Instacart via email. This is a great method if you have a non-urgent question related to your account, a previous order, or how to use the Instacart service.
You can contact Instacart email support at [email protected]. A Community Support member will get back to you about your issue as soon as they can.
Method 3: Instacart Support Phone Number
If you have a more urgent question or just prefer to speak to a live human, then Instacart also has a support phone number you can call. You can speak to customer support during the hours that Instacart deliveries are available (which vary based on your city).
To speak to a Community Support member, call 1-888-246-7822. Note that you may have to wait a bit to speak to someone, especially if you’re calling during a busy time such as the afternoon delivery rush.
Instacart Support FAQ
While the above methods are all great ways to get answers to your support questions, we don’t want to stop there. We want to answer some of the most common support questions people have about Instacart, so that you don’t even have to search the Help Center. Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about Instacart:
1. How much does Instacart cost?
The cost for Instacart depends on a few factors. Generally, you will pay a service fee of a few dollars for deliveries. If you subscribe to Instacart Express, then all deliveries over $35 are free. Of course, Instacart Express has its own annual fee of $149, so you should do the math to determine if it’s worth it. If you’re having groceries delivered every week, then it certainly is, since delivery fees tend to range between $5.99 to $7.99.
You should also keep in mind a couple other factors. First, there is a minimum order of $10. So if you’re ordering something worth less than that, then you’re better off picking it up yourself (or just waiting till you have more things you can order).
Second, Instacart also charges an extra fee during times of high demand. This is called a Busy Pricing delivery fee, and it applies any time there are more delivery requests than available delivery persons. To avoid Busy Pricing, it’s best to schedule your order in advance.
2. How can I contact my Instacart shopper about a late order?
If your order is running late (or you just need to give your shopper special delivery instructions), you can contact them via the Instacart app. Open the app and scroll to the bottom of the screen. You should then see a button that says “Chat with shopper.” Tap this to chat.
Bear in mind that if your shopper is driving, they may be unable to reply to your message for safety reasons.
3. How do I report an incorrect order or damaged item?
To report a problem with a previous order, you can make note of it when you rate your delivery. There are two ways to do this. From within the Instacart app, rate orders this way:
- Tap the “Account” icon
- Tap “Your orders”
- Tap your recent order
- Tap “Rate and tip”
- After submitting your tip, select “Rate your order”
- Select a star rating for your order
To rate an order on your computer, follow these steps:
- Log in and click “Account”
- In the drop down menu, click “Your Orders”
- Click on your recent order
- At the top of the order page, click “Rate order”
- Select a star rating for your order
If you select a star rating of 3 or fewer, you’ll have the option to indicate what went wrong with your order. An Instacart customer support representative will then follow up with you to help resolve the problem.
4. How do I apply to be an Instacart shopper?
To apply to shop for Instacart, visit shoppers.instacart.com. You can choose to apply to be either a Full-Service Shopper or an In-Store Shopper. The two have a couple differences.
As a Full-Service Shopper, you’ll:
- Be an independent contractor
- Need access to a car
- Can choose hours that work for you
- Shop and deliver orders
In-Store Shoppers, on the other hand, are:
- Part-time employees
- Don’t need vehicle access
- Have flexible schedules
- Only shop (the customers pick up the orders themselves)
Whichever you choose, you’ll need to begin by entering your first and last name, email address, phone number, and zip code. You’ll also need to meet Instacart’s shopper requirements, which you can learn more about here.
5. How do I change or update my payment method?
To update your payment method, the steps you’ll take depend on whether you’re using the Instacart app or a computer.
To update your payment method within the Instacart app, follow these steps:
- Tap the “Account” icon
- Tap “Your account settings”
- Tap “Payment Methods”
- Tap “Add credit card”
- Enter the card information and tap “Save”
From a computer, follow these steps to update your payment method:
- Sign in to your account
- At the top right, click “Account”
- Click “Your Account”
- Click “Payment Methods” on the left
- Click “New card”
- Enter the card information and click “Save Changes”
Learn more in the Instacart Help Center.
How can I bring Instacart to my city?
Instacart is currently available in dozens of cities across the United States and Canada. To find out if it’s available in your city, visit the Instacart Cities page and type in your zip code:
If Instacart doesn’t deliver to the zip code you enter, you can choose to receive email updates on when it will be launching in your city. The company uses the zip codes that people enter as a way to gauge demand for the service, so it can’t hurt to check.
Get the Instacart Support You Need
Instacart is dedicated to ensuring you have an outstanding customer experience. You now know the different ways you can contact the company with any questions, as well as how to solve some common Instacart support issues.
To learn more about how to use Instacart, check out our comprehensive guide and review.