All my friends were getting jobs, everywhere from Tropical Smoothie to Glory Days, and I wanted to join in. However, I knew that I needed a lot of flexibility this summer because I had a month-long internship, had to study for the SAT/ACT, and had signed up to volunteer at feedmore, not to mention that I still wanted some free time to relax and hangout with friends. The idea of getting a job quickly vanished. But, I still wanted to have that feeling of making my own money. So, one of my friends introduced me to Instacarting. She showed me how to work the app, scan the groceries, checkout, and deliver. Ever since, I've been hooked!
Right after my make-up AP exam (the trauma of that deserves a blog of its own), my mom and I went together for the first time and we’ve made a great team ever since. Not only has Instacarting been a great and flexible way to make money, I love that I've been able to do it with my mom (a boss at literally everything). Although it seems like stereotyping, trying to guess what type of items the customer would want based on their name, gender, and address has become like a game for us.
The first few times my mom and I instacarted together, we were still learning and confused about certain things. We were lucky enough to meet the most patient and helpful cashiers and staff. One cashier gave me a tip on how to pause the timer so that we could deliver within the time limit and another showed me how to use the instacart card. They struck up conversations with us and it was strangely nice to see and talk to strangers once again, something that a lot of us realized we missed due to The Corona Virus.
One day, we were on our way to deliver and it suddenly began to pour. I started frantically looking for an umbrella because neither of us had raincoats and we knew we would get soaked walking up to their doorway. Thankfully, I found an umbrella, but it was pouring so hard that my legs and feet would get drenched anyway. We sat in the car just waiting for the rain to lighten up. The rain didn’t listen to our concerns, so here I was carrying 2 massive bags of heavy groceries, an umbrella, and my phone all in the pouring rain on an unusually windy evening. I definitely looked crazy and like a whole mess, but I came back cooled off and with adrenaline pumping through my veins.
On another delivery, we had a sweet old woman as our customer and when I went to drop off her groceries in front of her door, she came out and gave me an extra $2 and said that she “always gives her helpers a little extra”. It was a super sweet gesture and put a smile on my face for the rest of the drive back home.
I’ve definitely developed a newfound appreciation for cashiers, delivery men, and other essential workers as well as found a great way to make some extra cash while spending quality time with my mom. I never thought this unconventional way of making money would teach me so much and be so much fun, but I'm so glad I tried it out!