Notes from the Field — Seattle, WA
As I mentioned in my post last month, 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. Recently I had the opportunity to head up to the great Pacific Northwest to visit Instacart Shoppers up in Seattle.
Seattle has been a great city for Instacart. As many Shoppers know, Costco, one of Instacart’s nationwide partners, is based just outside Seattle in Issaquah, Washington. Seattle and the surrounding areas are also home to local favorites like PCC Community Markets, Metropolitan Market, Central Co-op, and QFC. Seattle is also notorious for rain and while I was fortunate to be spared, Instacart Shoppers shared how they have to be extra prepared almost year round as no customer wants groceries in a soggy paper bag.
As always, I carved out some time to close the laptop so I could meet Shoppers and listen to what was on their minds. The Shoppers I met with were friendly and kind as they always are. Perhaps most impressive was the sense of community and support that I witnessed first hand. One of the first Shoppers who came to chat with me was brand new to shopping with Instacart and wanted to ask a few questions about how he can get up to speed quickly and make the most of his time. Before I could even put together a thought, the other Shoppers at the table jumped in quickly with hints and tips that had helped them during their shops. Rather than talking I began writing furiously to make sure I captured this precious knowledge. I’ve shared a few bullets below that can help any new Shopper:
- Take 20–30 seconds when you enter a store to review the batch and plan out your route
- Offer to help out with bagging, this is where many items can get damaged and will help you go faster
- Communicate with your customers. Let them know when you’ve started shopping and about any replacements you make. You can even program shortcuts into your iOS or Android phone so it takes only 5 seconds
- Consider investing in a small trolly to help with those large batches
- Be extra kind to the workers at the deli and butcher counters. When you place your order, you can also politely ask if it’s alright for you to grab a few other items and stop back in a minute
Not only are these tips helpful to share, but we can investigate new ways to surface these to Shoppers so they don’t have to rely on experience (or blog posts) to learn about them.
Other Shoppers I spoke with shared specific concerns that were on their minds. Two separate Shoppers both mentioned one particular store location where there was no WiFi or cellular signal because it was an old building with lots of concrete. That’s great information to know so Instacart has already reached out to the retailer to see if Shoppers can start shopping at a different location instead. Another Shopper was unsure what the rules were regarding alcohol replacements. In case you’re curious, we can only replace alcohol if the customer explicitly says via the app or via chat what they want. Finally some In-Store Shoppers walked us through their staging area and made recommendations of how they could work better and safer if we moved a few things around. I took careful notes and have already prepared a proposal to that store to see if they’d be comfortable with a few small changes.
The next day I spent some time with our In-Store Shoppers at Costco. Again I was impressed by how innovative Shoppers and Shift Leads were on the ground. As many Shoppers know, Costco batches can get large and may not always fit neatly on a shelf. This team made custom signs and staged items directly into carts when they ran out of space, a tactic that was greatly appreciated by many of the delivery drivers when they came into to pick up the orders. The team also developed a process to regularly keep boxes around the staging area because Costco doesn’t actually use bags. Finally I couldn’t help but notice a set of bingo cards on the wall:
I asked our Site Manager Holly what this was and she said she had put together a Bingo game based on Instacart company values with each Shopper getting to mark off a square when they complete a particular task, including prizes for the winners. How cool is that?
I want to send a sincere thank you to all the Shoppers I met with and our fabulous Shift Lead and Site Manager team of Holly, Heidi, and Tonya who provided me with such a warm welcome. I’m still working on my travel plans for this October but will definitely be out in stores and am excited to meet more Instacart Shoppers.
