Instacart driver calls out company over customer’s canceled 125-item delivery

An Instacart worker is speaking out against the company’s order cancellation policies.

Maliyah Gibbs (@maliyahgibbs), a 21-year-old who drives for the food delivery service, says she recently received a 125-item order, which the customer canceled seconds before purchasing the groceries. After all that work, Gibbs claims she was eligible only for $7 of total pay.

After the incident, Gibbs took to TikTok to share her frustrations. Her first video, which details her original reaction, now has over 300,000 views.

“I am so mad that I’m literally shaking,” she says in the clip. “I’ve been crying.”

@maliyahgibbs

This is only part 1. @Instacart @Instacart Care Team you need to do better!! This shouldn’t be allowed to happen! #instacart #storytime #instacartshopper #instacartshopping

♬ original sound – Maliyah Gibbs

Gibbs says the order was for “like 125 items” from Central Market, a Texas-based gourmet grocery store. Despite the fact that she only Instacart only occasionally, she accepted because “the tip was really good.”

She set out to the store. After filling a cart, bagging and weighing produce, and ordering meat from the butcher’s counter, she finally got to the checkout line. Suddenly, the order disappeared.

“I literally had just scanned an item like five seconds prior,” she says.

Realizing the order had been canceled, Gibbs contacted Instacart’s customer support system, known as the Care Team. In a series of follow-up videos, she shared her alleged conversations with the company.

A text conversation, seemingly with the Care Team, shows messages confirming that the order was canceled. Beyond that, Gibbs doesn’t get much info.

“What am I supposed to do,” she texted. “I’ve done all this work and I’m not even getting compensated for it.”

As Gibbs continues asking for clarity, the Care Team accuses her of “demanding unnecessary pay” and seemingly threatens to deactivate parts of her account.

“Instacart, you need to do better!! This shouldn’t be allowed to happen!” Gibbs captioned her original video.

According to Instacart’s website, customers can cancel an order at no charge, as long as their driver hasn’t started shopping. After that, they may face a $15 cancellation fee.

Many TikTok commenters, like Gibbs, believed some of that money should go toward the driver.

“Instacart should be legally liable to purchase those groceries,” one user wrote. “Such a waste of store resources.”

“The reason I stopped doing Instacart for this exact reason,” another added.

“Okay the customer canceled it but you should be compensated for starting,” another wrote.

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