I was outraged when I found out about this and made this clear to their support. They didn't even respond.

Switched to Prime Now and have never looked back:

- Has an actual consistent service level, I've had some crazy Instacart people here in Arizona.

- The tip has a default value, pre-calculated based on your order.

- No more orders where half of my items get cancelled as out of stock.

Damn, I didn't know about the tipping schenanigans. However, it's weird how different my Instacart experiences are from yours. In Seattle everyone has been top notch, friendly, and like crazy helpful. I've been using it for, I dunno, a year? And I still get free shipping + waived delivery fees when I order. I have no idea how they make any money.

I've tried Prime in the past, but I'm not in the demographic they cater too. Whole Foods isn't my scene, and while I'm not too cheap to have something delivered, I am too cheap to pay $2.30 for an organic onion.

Oh, that doesn't surprise me at all. Instacart is fine service-quality-wise in SF/NYC/Seattle areas. It's just in any other major city in the US they seem to suck quite badly..

Also Amazon cut the prices on everything at Whole Foods by like 50% a few months after buying them. I completely agree their prices before (and still on non-whole-foods brand items) are crazy.

Everything I get from Prime Now is roughly the same price as my local grocery store, and I don't buy organic junk or anything.

Ah, perhaps I should give that a shot. I'm in the Bay Area, so I assume most of the options are on the table, and I'm happy enough with Amazon's other prime services...

You do realize Amazon does the same thing?

Hard facts on the differences between Instacart and Prime Now here in central Arizona right now as a consumer:

  | Prime Now                                | Instacart                                |
  |------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
  | 2-4h Delivery                            | 5-6h Delivery                            |
  | $5 mandatory fees                        | $10 mandatory fees                       |
  | $5 tip suggested                         | $2 tip suggested                         |
  | Extremely rare to not get what I ordered | Every order _at least_ 2 items cancelled |
  | Consistent service level, professionals  | Inconsistent service, literal kids helping parents deliver my groceries WTF |

Let's pretend both of these services screw over the driver, which one are you going to order from?

Now let's compare them from the perspective of working for them:

  | Prime Now                                     | Instacart                                           |
  |-----------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
  | Accept 2-4hr work window on demand            | Accept individual orders on demand                  |
  | Guaranteed hourly wage $18 (good for Phoenix) | Paid per order only. $11/hr is reported average.    |
  | Tips contribute to base wage                  | "Tips are now totally separate" after public outcry |
  | Almost always work windows available          | Lack of orders makes most shoppers also Uber/Lyft   |

Which one of these would you sign up to work for?

I get it -- service jobs suck, and putting tips towards base wage is stupid. But to say that both of these companies are doing the same thing is like saying "because you can't leave, prison in the U.S. and Norway are the same".

Outside major California cities and perhaps NY, Instacart _sucks_, badly, and does everything in its power to fuck over the employees that literally are operating its business.