A Friendship Made One Delivery at a Time
“If Joanna was ever to stop shopping with Instacart, it’d be like losing a family member.” — Laurie, Instacart Customer
“Laurie, it’s Joanna!”
“Joanna! I’m so happy it’s you!”
Moments later, Joanna hears the click of the bolt retract and unlocks the entryway door to the apartment complex. By the time she gets up to his floor, Laurie’s door is open wide, and he’s there to welcome her with his big, familiar smile.
Laurie has been an Instacart customer since January 2018, when a terrible bout with the flu left him unable to get to the store. Ever since this illness, he’s become incrementally weaker, and he can no longer do his own grocery shopping. Living alone at the age of 88, Laurie was worried about losing easy access to fresh groceries. It was around this time that Laurie’s son introduced him to Instacart.
As luck would have it, Laurie’s first order with Instacart went to Joanna. Joanna joined Instacart as a Mentor before its Canadian debut in December 2017. Since then, she’s become one of the top 10 fastest Shoppers in the country. But she didn’t come out of the gate running.
Laurie lets out a light chuckle as he gets to this part of the story. At the time of Laurie’s first order, as he and Joanna went through the bags, he was pleased she had brought everything he’d asked for … until he pulled out a box of Shreddies from the grocery bag. Astonished, he exclaimed, “Isn’t this a kid’s cereal?!?” Joanna had meant to grab Shredded Wheat — a similar but vastly different cereal. Together, they laughed off the blunder, and Laurie was immediately refunded on the Shreddies. He’s been teasing her about it ever since.
By his second order, Joanna recognized the items on the list and had a hunch that the order belonged to Laurie. This time, everything he ordered was delivered accurately. For Laurie, this second interaction marked the beginning of an ongoing friendship with Joanna: “[She] is a very outgoing person; it makes her easy to like.” Now, many orders later, Laurie says, “When I put in an order, I hope Joanna receives it. I know that she’ll go out of her way to make sure that she gets all of the items I need.”
For Joanna, Laurie is a great reminder to her of the value of great customer service. “I’m providing customer service to these people, so I want to give them the best experience they can possibly have with me.” Even prior to Instacart, Joanna says that she’s always enjoyed working with people and likes making a difference, no matter how small. At the start of her Shopping career, she remembers being obsessed with her metrics: “I didn’t want to be late, and I wanted the best numbers.” However, one day during a delivery to Laurie, it dawned on her that metrics were less important than giving Laurie her full attention, so she asked him, “How are you?”
After seven orders, and with each subsequent delivery, Joanna and Laurie’s friendship continues to grow. These days, Joanna stays just a little bit longer, so they can chat briefly and catch up. “I know about his family, and he knows about mine.”
When asked what it’s like when she sees an order from Laurie, Joanna replies, “I think to myself: ‘Today is going to be a good day!’” The feeling is certainly mutual, as Laurie reveals, “If Joanna was ever to stop shopping with Instacart, it’d be like losing a family member.” Instacart Shoppers really do make a huge difference in the customer’s life — just ask Laurie!
