When COVID-19 caused me to lose my job, I decided to become a Shipt Shopper just to have something to do since quarantine started. At first, I joined just to get out of the house because I had started to go a little stir crazy. However, after the first few days, I really started to enjoy shopping for other people. In a way, I feel like I am helping people by providing this service.

I learned that early orders were the best because usually the stores are more in stock at the beginning of the day compared to later in the day. During this time of quarantine, cleaning supplies are the hardest to find. But some days, stores were out of specific yogurts, meats, and dairy products so it really depends on the day and what people want to buy.

I like that I can set my schedule daily and if I don't want to work on a particular day or at a specific time, I can take off. Shipt is what you make of it. You can work as much or as little as you want. But the more you work, the more you'll make. The bigger the order, the more you'll most likely receive from it. However, bigger orders do take longer to complete and you do have to factor in drive time in order to make the delivery on time.

I think it's interesting to see what people are buying in terms of groceries. That's one of the reasons I like being a Shipt Shopper. Each order is different which makes it interesting. While I shop for other people's orders, I can also do some grocery shopping for myself which is nice. Kill two birds with one stone.

The downside of being a Shipt Shopper is that it's very easy to get behind on orders. Some orders can start out with nine items but turn into 30 items when people add additional things that they need right before you begin to shop. The idea of substitutions also makes it difficult. If an item is out at the store, most people want you to message them before picking a substitution. If people are not answering, I often have to wait until they respond to complete the order. It can take a while but I'm thankful for the people who answer quickly.

Communication is an important part of being a Shipt Shopper. You have to be in constant communication with the people you are shopping for in order to collect all of the items they want and to ensure that they receive all items when they are delivered. Most people are extremely nice and grateful that Shipt is set up for them to use.

Overall, I enjoy it and even though it isn't exactly what I planned to be doing, it works for now.