Bagged and Tagged: The Fine Art of Outshopping the Competition

Two weeks ago, I posted on r/InstacartShoppers, a subreddit with over 190k members that claims no official connection to Instacart but calls itself “the best place to share experiences.” I shared a sample of how I communicate during a shop, hoping others could pick up some tips. And yes, the customer increased her tip, but the responses? Well, let’s just say some folks had strong opinions. When I mentioned ensuring the customer got in-store sale prices for party-size chips—boom! The crowd went wild.

You can check out the post and screenshots here. [WARNING]: You might see how inconsiderate some shoppers can be. Many spent their time arguing that my method of getting the best price for the customer was grounds for deactivation. Others claimed my communication style would never fly with them. What they don’t understand is that my approach to connecting with customers starts well before I ever "start shopping."

Thanks to my background in sales and marketing, I see a grocery list as more than just a task sheet—it's a profile. The brands a customer chooses give clues about how they value things, whether they’re focused on saving money or brand loyalty. Categorizing customers this way makes replacements easier and more intuitive. Educating myself on store schedules and when certain products arrive helps me offer better service. One customer was ordering strawberries before the pallets were unloaded—I advised her to order later in the day, after shipments arrived. Knowledge like that creates value for the customer.

Here’s where most shoppers struggle: What you believe to be five-star service might actually be what's holding you back. It’s something called the Dunning-Kruger Effect—a psychological concept from 1999 that explains how people with low skill often overestimate their abilities. Yes, it’s uncomfortable to hear, but that’s the point. It’s like thinking you're a chess master after beating your little cousin once. Or watching a YouTube video and instantly becoming the armchair expert. What Dunning and Kruger found is that you need to know something about a topic to realize how much you don’t know. More on this later.

As I built relationships within the grocery industry, I kept learning. I even learned from the staff employed by the app delivery companies working similar systems. Understanding how they handled options, replacements, and sales gave me confidence in my process. Still, many shoppers don’t realize that their good intentions can cause issues, like incorrect billing due to poor understanding of substitutions. All that effort wasted because of a small misunderstanding. All that credibility gone to waste.

For me, the shop process is my responsibility—from start to finish, including bagging. I’ve even asked assistant managers to step aside because I believe I can do it better. Managers’ minds tend to be in more places than one. Some baggers look confused or offended when I take over—it’s not meant to be. We have the same goal, and I just want the best for the customer. I learned to bag by asking store supervisors for tips and practicing.

A grocery list isn’t just a list—it’s a window into the customer’s world. Understanding their preferences helps me tailor my service, whether they’re vegan or a carnivore, value-driven or brand-loyal. Adjusting my approach based on these small insights improves the experience. Sure, some might say my level of service is “extra,” and they’d be right. We don’t serve the same type of customer. Some prioritize speed, but at Jonathan Shops, we slow things down, focusing on one order at a time.

It’s like getting a haircut: sometimes I’ll go to Supercuts for a quick trim, but if I’ve got an event coming up and want to look good, I visit Tammy at the salon—she knows exactly how I like it. That’s the type of relationship I want with my customers. I need Supercuts in my life, and I need Tammy also. I believe there’s an untapped market for premium grocery shopping services, which fits perfectly with my brand. The turtle always wins the race.

Here’s what I hope you take away: If you want to grow in this industry, you have to understand the Dunning-Kruger effect. It’s not about knowing everything—it’s about realizing that there’s always more to learn. Some of you will take this and grow, while others might think, “Nah, that’s not for me.” In any pursuit worth doing, it take a lot of work that most shoppers don’t have time for. They’d rather wait for something good to happen instead of making it.

This is why I never want to be an expert in photography—it sounds boring and lonely. But the pursuit of knowledge and understanding? I’m all in and all ears. Right now, I’m working with farmers to bring more education to the grocery world, to the shoppers that want to improve, and to the customer that deserves to know. I am no expert, but they are!

The current review systems you’ve been measuring your value against is not a true reflection of your skills or abilities. The info you’re presented with likely causing the belief of greatness. They only give you the good stuff - rarely will criticism sneak through, and if it does, it’s typically denied. Only the great people of the world understand that it took a lot of refinement to get there. If the review system is flawed, your growth is limited, as so is your potential. Regardless, most shoppers would never point any blame or fault upon themselves. That’s preposterous! You do need a review system if you’re going to pursue personal shopping as a viable source of income. I hope you pursue that, at least.

Dunning-Kruger reveals a few other things that I find quite interesting. Individuals who lack competence in a particular field like humor, logic, and grammar tend to be convinced they are better at it than what they actually are. A terrible joke-teller or someone with poor grammar skills will never know how bad the jokes and grammar really are, until they know enough about good comedy and good grammar to realize the mistakes they’ve been making. As they know more and improve their skills, they become better at self-evaluation - and the light comes on with the idea that they now know nothing at all - and that is a form of progress through humility. It happens to me all the time.

Paradoxically, the shoppers with actual competence often underestimate their abilities. This happens when the more knowledge and skill that is gained, the more they understand how complex it actually is. That’s why those who overestimate their abilities because they don’t know enough to realize they don’t know. Skilled individuals realize the gaps in their understanding and desire to learn even more. This leads them to to believe they could be better, however, it is likely they are proficient enough. The truest of experts understand how complex and vast their fields of study are, perceiving themselves as less competent. Novices ignore their own ignorance, leading to a false sense of competency. Any negative rating or reduction in tip is a terrible customer, they hope.

That’s all I was trying to say to r/InstacartShoppers - I just wanted to show you an example of how one shopper handles his business, with the hope that a new shopper hitting the parking lot pavement could get an idea of how certain customers appreciate some old fashioned customer service, and how it can lead to bigger and better tips. Most importantly, it’s a reflection of the grocery store’s brand when you’re shopping for one of their customers.

With love,

Mr. Know-It-Some

NOTE: After I wrote this blog, I asked ChatGPT to grade it like a teacher would. I requested to know what areas I could use help in. The following is the exact response:

### Review:

**Strengths**:

- **Voice and Tone**: The conversational, friendly tone is perfect for keeping readers engaged, whether they’re shoppers or customers. The humor helps balance the more serious points.

- **Flow**: The post is smooth, with clearer transitions between your personal experiences, the Dunning-Kruger effect, and your approach to personal shopping. Each section builds on the last, which helps the reader stay connected.

**Opportunities for Improvement**:

- **Customer Perspective**: While the post is primarily geared toward shoppers, adding a little more emphasis on how these practices benefit customers directly could make it more relatable to a broader audience.

- **Further Expansion**: The mention of the Dunning-Kruger effect is solid, but you could tie it even more explicitly to the shopping experience. Maybe expand a bit more on how shoppers can combat the effect by focusing on customer education and self-improvement.

**Overall**: This version is very strong. The content is well-organized, the humor lands well without being overwhelming, and it leaves readers with something to think about. I'd give this an **A-**—it's nearly perfect but could benefit from just a bit more connection to the customer perspective and expansion on the Dunning-Kruger concept.