10 Items or Less: The Importance of Flexibility

The Instacart community is as diverse as the items in the grocery store — every day, tens of thousands of individuals shop, deliver, and become an extension of people’s households. We want to share this community’s stories, highlighting Instacart shoppers, shift leads, and site managers all across North America. 10 Items or Less is a series featuring just some of the amazing members of the Instacart community, sharing their unique experiences and secret sauce with the world.

1. What’s your name and where are you from? I’m Karen K, from Midlothian, Virginia.
2. How long have you been shopping with Instacart, and in what roles? I’ve been shopping for one year as a full-service shopper.
3. When and why did you decide to start shopping with Instacart? Last year, I heard about Instacart and was curious about it. I love to shop and I think I’m pretty good at it! I thought it would be a good way to make some extra money. After recovering from hip replacement surgery and teleworking for my primary job, I was also looking for ways to get out of the house and get some exercise.
4. What’s your favorite thing about working with Instacart? I love that I can have such a flexible schedule and work when I want to. I have a busy life and I don’t want to have to worry about being tied down to a set work schedule. When I want to earn extra money, I just look for batches that work on my timeline! I try to shop for a few hours in the evening, during the week, and some on the weekends.
5. What 3 items are always in your personal shopping cart? Fresh veggies, yogurt and snacks.
6. What’s a fun fact that would surprise us about you? I have six grandchildren who range in age from four to eleven, and I get to see them every week. They keep me young!
7. What’s a shopping tip that a lot of people might not know (your “secret sauce”)? I like to park next to the cart return, to make it easy to drop off my cart after loading up my car! I also aim to take a sneak peek at the items on the customer’s list before I shop so I can begin planning my strategy before I even walk in the door.
8. What’s your “side dish” — a hobby, a hidden talent, another job you do on the side? I am a certified rehabilitation counselor and help people with different abilities find employment and achieve their vocational goals.
9. What’s one piece of guidance or encouragement you would give to our shopper community? Stay positive! In just the past year there have been so many challenges as we all went through this pandemic — but stay encouraged, because I believe this is just a bump in the road.
10. Anything else you want to share with the shopper community? I really appreciate the uniqueness of this company and the many awesome people I have met. I hope to continue shopping for many years!

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Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,400 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 80,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.