The gig economy gives workers a way to earn money on flexible schedules, but that flexibility can also leave drivers navigating disputes over tips, ratings, and customer complaints. Instacart shopper and TikTok creator Matthew J. (@mjn1982) says he recently encountered all three after completing a high-value Best Buy delivery.
Matthew described the experience in a series of TikTok videos. His posts document his claims about the delivery, the missing-order report, and the subsequent dispute over his tip and rating. His account could not be independently verified.
According to Matthew, the order came through on a Friday as a one-item Best Buy shop-and-deliver request. He said the trip covered about three miles and offered approximately $22 in total pay, including a $17 customer tip and about $5 in Instacart pay.
The delivery required a signature.
The item, which Matthew identified as a Samsung Galaxy tablet cover with a keyboard, cost about $170. He said he picked up the item at Best Buy and headed to the customer’s apartment.
Before arriving, Matthew said he messaged the customer to explain that she would need to sign for the delivery through the Instacart app. When he reached the apartment, Matthew said a man answered the door and called for the woman who placed the order.
According to Matthew, the woman eventually came to the door, retrieved her phone, and completed the required signature in her Instacart app. Matthew said his app then showed that the signature had been completed, allowing him to finish the delivery. He handed the item to the customer and left.
About an hour later, however, Matthew said he noticed the $17 tip had disappeared. Instacart’s current shopper earnings information confirms that customers can change tips after delivery, although they cannot decrease a tip after two hours.
Matthew says Instacart’s tip protection didn’t help
The company also says it provides up to $10 in tip protection when a customer reduces a tip to zero without reporting an issue with the order. That policy became important to Matthew’s complaint.
He said he contacted Instacart support expecting the tip protection to apply. Instead, he said support told him the customer had reported the entire order missing, and the order was ineligible for tip protection. “I’m sorry, what?” Matthew said in the video.
Matthew questioned how the order could have been classified as missing after the customer completed the required signature through her own app. He also said the incident affected his shopper rating.
According to Matthew, he completed only one delivery during the period in question, yet he received a one-star rating. He said the missing-order report also generated an email warning him not to let the situation happen again. Matthew said the outcome left him with only about $5 in Instacart pay for the delivery.
Instacart also commented on Matthew’s original TikTok post, although his videos do not establish that the company publicly addressed the specific details of the disputed delivery. In a follow-up video, Matthew said he contacted Instacart. He hadn’t heard back. The company removed the one-star rating. However, he said the $17 tip still had not been restored.
Another recent TikTok post highlights the risks of Instacart, this time from a consumer’s perspective. According to her post, she used $300 in grocery credits on the app, only for those credits to be refunded and the money withdrawn from her bank account instead.
Published: Aug 11, 2026 12:44 pm