Notes from the Field — Austin, TX
One of the best parts about working for Instacart’s Field Operations team is getting the chance to get out in stores and talk to Shoppers. As a Senior Director of Operations here at Instacart, I’m fortunate to work with a great Operations teams and analyze various data sets and reports to help us make decisions.
But data alone can only get us so far. I’ve found that talking with Shoppers face to face provides color and texture to that data. Shoppers let us know the real impact various decisions are having on them. They let us know if we’re interpreting the data we’re seeing correctly, or if there’s something missing entirely. Without talking to Shoppers, we’re only getting half the story.
We’ve taken a number of steps to make sure we are listening to what shoppers are telling us. We kicked off the Shopper Experience Council (SEC) and brought them to our Headquarters in San Francisco to understand how we can make their experience better. We review not just the scores but every single text comment that we get from shoppers on surveys about recommending Instacart to a friend, and end of shift feedback. And we also get out and visit shoppers in their cities. This allows to engage, to hear concerns, ask follow-up questions, and make sure we’re getting a full understanding of what is on shoppers’ minds.
Last week I was honored to spend some time in Austin, Texas. Austin is one of Instacart’s oldest markets; in fact, it was the 9th city we ever launched. Austin is also unique in that it is one of the few Instacart markets, and easily the largest, where the majority of orders are actually handled via our handoff model, which is when an In-store Shopper shops the order and then stages it for a Full Service Shopper to then pick it up and deliver it to the customer. As often is the case, I was impressed and candidly humbled by the Shoppers I met.
I understand that when issues occur it, sometimes all you want to do is yell at someone to get it fixed. But our Shoppers were kind, they were understanding, they listened, they provided suggestions, and most impressively, they related it back to serving customers. We’re fortunate to have such a thoughtful and committed group of Shoppers who want to provide their services on the Instacart platform.
One shopper I met asked, since we have a local Ops team in Austin, if they would be willing to support a picnic or meetup for Shoppers to connect? Yes, we can do that. Another Shopper wondered if we could help new Shoppers on the platform by having an optional session where an experienced Shopper, what we call a Veteran Shopper, can share some of the tips and tricks they’ve learned. Yes, we can do that too. An In-store Shopper asked about having more clarity surrounding what we look for when we hire Shift Leads. Yes, we can and should do that as well.
I chatted with another Shopper who was curious about how Instacart was doing both in Austin and around the country. I chatted with some Shift Leads who wanted to learn more about how we decide where to expand to next. I also chatted with Shoppers about challenges they have, such as delivering large orders to businesses that may not fit in their car, or how they’re routed on some orders. These Shoppers provided valuable and concrete examples that I can share back with our product and engineering teams.
I want to thank all the Shoppers in Austin who took time out of their day to come and chat. I hope to come back and visit soon, but next up will be Seattle in September. I look forward to catching up with our veterans as well as meeting new Shoppers in the Pacific Northwest!
