The Shopper Experience Council Kickoff: In Our Own Words

The Shopper Experience Council share some of their takeaways from the kickoff event hosted June 7th-8th in San Francisco.

From Michael Cunningham (Philadelphia, PA):

“The opportunity to be selected to participate as part of the SEC, and to have the opportunity to meet, ask questions, and gain insight from Apoorva Mehta (CEO), Ravi Gupta (CFO), David Hahn (Chief Product Officer), Max Mullen (Co-Founder), Sid Agarwal (Vice President of Operations), Bala Subramaniam (Product Leader), and countless others who work at the Instacart Headquarters in San Francisco was a dream come true!

The entirety of the kickoff was filled with exciting exchanges of ideas with other council members, and I saw the true passion, drive, and desire of each participant to improve their regional and national Shopper communities. We shared feedback, our personal experiences, and the experiences of Shoppers we speak with on a regular basis.

The SEC was given an unparalleled opportunity to express Shopper feedback on things they want to see improved. Our discussions during the kickoff were very enlightening but also challenging, since we all acknowledge that any action taken by Instacart, as a result of our feedback, would not only affect the current 45,000 Shoppers, but also the longevity and sustainability of Instacart for years to come.

I was also given the opportunity to address the entire company to share my unique experiences as a Shopper in the Philadelphia and New Jersey regions.

I took this opportunity to stress the importance of serving customers and Shoppers, learning and improving metrics, as well as encouraging the recognition of core values to be spread throughout the Shopper community. It was a uniquely gratifying experience to have the company recognize the entire SEC for our hard work and dedication as Shoppers and the work underway to impact positive change.

Upon reflection, it is amazing that so much happened in just two days. A bond was formed between SEC participants, with a mutual goal of enacting the change that the Shopper community is so badly seeking.

After spending 16 hours in meetings with the SEC and over 20 members of the Instacart team, I discovered my own mission: to create better communication between Instacart and the Shopper community and build a greater sense of shared purpose for improving the quality of service for our customers.

I want Shoppers to know that the SEC and Instacart corporate leadership, product, engineering, and operations teams are more aligned than ever, and will be diligently working together over the coming months.

I came to San Francisco with a sense of purpose and some unanswered questions. I left with a sense of confidence in what Instacart and Shoppers can achieve together.”

Joanna Ressi (Toronto, ON):

“The passion that I witnessed at the very beginning of the kickoff while meeting my fellow SEC members was extremely empowering. I knew immediately these voices would all be heard by the Instacart’s leadership and be directly linked to positive changes in the Shopper experience.

My fellow SEC members came prepared to chart a new course, with their vast experience and personal stories to support their ideas. Our discussions with leadership were clear and direct, and as I watched each member of Instacart leadership engage with the group, I had a deep sense that they were truly listening and truly invested in what was being said.

They followed up with thought provoking questions for each SEC member and dug into all topics to ensure our issues were being fully explored.

“It’s clear that Instacart is paying attention and that they care about Shoppers and the changes needed to be made.”

Instacart is a young company, less than six years old. It has experienced rapid expansion in the marketplace in a very short period and, to keep up with demand, the Shopper fleet has grown from 1 to over 45,000.

As with any business that experiences such enormous growth in its infancy, there is bound to be ups and downs and things that have been forgotten, fallen through the cracks, or not considered at all.

What I most appreciated about the SEC’s discussions with the Instacart executive team is that each of them recognizes and appreciates the most high priority items raised by the SEC, and they acknowledge that things need to be corrected to ensure that Shoppers continue to provide the highest quality service to our customers.

Instead of planning the future of the Shopper experience in a vacuum, Instacart has actively engaged with the SEC as a fundamental step toward integrating the Voice of the Shopper.

I have confidence that through Instacart’s renewed focus on the Shopper Experience that Shoppers will see real, tangible impacts in the structure of their work and earnings, relationship with customers and other Shoppers, and developing improved processes that will, in turn, lead to a happier working experience for Shoppers. In short, Instacart is genuinely invested in the future of its Shopper community, and the SEC is very excited and ready to be able to help lead the way!”

Click here to learn more about the Shopper Experience Council, and check out this link to read more about the kickoff experience.