They're not "employees," they're "private contractors"... but from what she told me, their is no absolutely zero base pay unless you're working in the city of SF. Everywhere else, Oakland, the Peninsula is $0 an hour and your only income is from the tips.
I really drilled her on this because at first I couldn't believe it and she's not the most savvy person so I wanted to make sure she realized how after gas expenses, wear and tear on her car and the additional 7.65% in FICA that she's going to have to pay (the half normally covered by employers), she's really only making about $5-$7 an hour, if that. Also the job really eats up all the data on her phone because she has be on her phone for Instacart to scan and check off every grocery item she puts in the basket, then use their GPS system for the deliveries, and it's not like they reimburse her for any of that. Instacart sold her on the job promising $20-$25 an hour and she's absolutely not been making anywhere NEAR that.
By way of comparison, she makes a guaranteed $20 an hour under the table walking dogs, so I think she is going to go back to doing that.
This article seems to verify:
> Instacart declined to confirm whether it offers base pay, and some Instacart workers told HuffPost they are not offered an hourly guaranteed wage.
> “It’s a really strange job, and there are many weeks where you’re just sitting in the car waiting for orders and hoping something comes in, not being paid to be there,” one of Instacart’s personal shoppers
I really drilled her on this because at first I couldn't believe it and she's not the most savvy person so I wanted to make sure she realized how after gas expenses, wear and tear on her car and the additional 7.65% in FICA that she's going to have to pay (the half normally covered by employers), she's really only making about $5-$7 an hour, if that. Also the job really eats up all the data on her phone because she has be on her phone for Instacart to scan and check off every grocery item she puts in the basket, then use their GPS system for the deliveries, and it's not like they reimburse her for any of that. Instacart sold her on the job promising $20-$25 an hour and she's absolutely not been making anywhere NEAR that.
By way of comparison, she makes a guaranteed $20 an hour under the table walking dogs, so I think she is going to go back to doing that.
This article seems to verify:
> Instacart declined to confirm whether it offers base pay, and some Instacart workers told HuffPost they are not offered an hourly guaranteed wage.
> “It’s a really strange job, and there are many weeks where you’re just sitting in the car waiting for orders and hoping something comes in, not being paid to be there,” one of Instacart’s personal shoppers
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/02/instacart-workers_n...