A driver shared a video of receiving an Instacart offer that asked him to shop and deliver 209 units from Aldi for just over $10 tip. The driver, Will, filmed the TikTok clip while sitting in the driver’s seat of his car and speaking directly to the camera. A screenshot of the order offer appeared on the left side of the screen throughout the video.
On-screen text above the screenshot read, “Instacart wants me to carry 209 items for $10.” The offer listed batch earnings of $10.52 for a 6.0-mile trip and described the job as “1 Shop & deliver, 72 items (209 units).” Icons of baby food jars lined the bottom of the screenshot. Will said in the video, “This customer wanted me to get 209 items for $10.”
He stated that customers who place orders of this type need to be removed from the platform. Will appeared to address a possible response from viewers by noting that many people would first point out the baby food and ask whether the customer needed the items for a child.
Will addresses possible concerns about the baby food and the lack of a tip
Will said that if the order had contained only baby food and carried no tip, he could understand completing it to help the customer. He added, “cool, I can understand doing this order to help them out.” He then stated that the order was not limited to baby food and instead included a whole bunch of other items as well.
Will said that ordering this much stuff and not putting any tip on the order is just terrible. He added that the customer does not value the service or the driver enough to leave even a couple of dollars as a tip. He noted that it is an Aldi order and that people familiar with the platform know this is how many of the orders from that store appear. Tipping disputes like this are common across delivery apps, as when one DoorDash driver turned the order into a mukbang after a customer pushed back over a $5 tip.
Will described the steps involved in completing such an order. He said the shopper has to shop the items, bag them up, load them into the car, and then unload them at the customer’s house. He stated that this is not an easy job, especially when the customer orders a whole bunch of items.
He concluded the video by saying, “Just show some appreciation sometimes.” Debates over how much tipping is enough have sparked similar arguments elsewhere, including one customer who said a DoorDash driver demanded more money for a cake after receiving a $20 tip.
Viewers offered a range of responses under the video. Some focused on the platform’s pay structure rather than the customer’s tip amount. One commenter wrote, “It’s the company that’s only giving you $10 not the customer.” Another commenter claimed the customer had paid a fair amount and directed blame at the app instead. They wrote, “I guarantee the person paid good money. It’s not the person it’s the greedy app.”
Several viewers questioned why the company does not compensate drivers more for large orders. One commenter wrote, “why don’t the company you work for pay you more.” Another stated, “Tips are optional.”
One viewer explained that they prefer to tip after the delivery is complete so they can judge the service. They wrote, “I always tip after why would I tip if I don’t know what the service is? Wait staff at restaurants don’t get tipped before… you get tipped based on service.”
A frequent Instacart user said they always leave a tip and also pay for a membership, yet still believe the company should raise driver pay. They wrote, “Blame Instacart ! They should be paying you more. I order Instacart every week and I always tip . But I also pay for Instacart membership . They should pay more.”
Published: Nov 10, 2026 07:00 pm