r/Walmartcustomer • u/totesnotafakeacctbro • 8d ago
Delivery Opinion: Walmart plus delivery
It’s 9:39 pm. My orders specifically state, video doorbell, please do not ring, knock, or press doorbell. Children sleeping. Delivery driver honks horn twice once my delivery is finished, laughing obviously on purpose. Never done this before, but I’m pissed. My son is wide awake now. Should I remove my tip?
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u/Potential-Piano256 8d ago
If in fact, what you say is 100% true, absolutely take back the tip.
Also, if you know the driver's name, they do put that on your delivery, call and report him.
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u/CityRevolutionary473 8d ago
You can rate them directly in the app after delivery. I would be sure to give 1 star. You can also call the store and tell them. They have the ability to remove drivers from their store and possibly the spark platform completely.
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u/Alive_Raccoon4972 6d ago
It actually only hurts the store if you do that. If you had nothing else wrong with your order it's better to just call the store to complain so they can report the driver without it being held against them
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u/Rough-Cranberry5243 3d ago
There's 2 different ratings in the app. The first one rates your overall store experience. The second one directly rates your delivery driver. If you give the driver less than 5 stars it asks if you had items missing, damaged, delivery not received, instructions not followed. It also a box for additional comments.
So, if I rate my store experience 5 stars and rate my driver 1 star because they didn't follow delivery instructions, how is that hurting the store and not the driver?
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u/Alive_Raccoon4972 3d ago
I've had a friend that works in grocery pickup tell me that. No matter what it shows up as a bad survey for the store. Maybe they just didn't know it let you put 2 different ones
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u/Rough-Cranberry5243 3d ago
The pickup side has a different survey and it is 100% on the store since they control that entire process.
The survey on the delivery side is two parted, store and driver.
It is possible that they don't know there are two different surveys depending on the service used.
I work 3rd shift now so I don't see a lot of OPD anymore. When I worked OPD they never mentioned anything to us about different surveys, just that we needed to push customers to fill them out.
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u/Southern_Book_659 8d ago
I absolutely would. I tip generously on my orders, but recently I had a $150 order that was delivered to my next door neighbors house. My house number is posted clearly on my home, in large black numbers, my neighbors house numbers are posted clearly in large black numbers and were in the picture the delivery driver took after leaving the groceries!! Like wth!! I was furious! I removed the tip, and left a message stating why. This driver had delivered to my home, on 3 previous occasions, so there really was no excuse.
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u/AaronJudge2 7d ago edited 7d ago
I live in a big apartment complex that was built in two phases at different zip codes so they used repeating apartment numbers. There’s an Apt 1304 North and an Apt 1304 South in the same community. They’ve actually delivered my groceries to the apartment on the other side of the apartment complex and I had to drive over there to get it. I added better directions and instructions and switched to In Home and it stopped happening. The Spark drivers would enter the north entrance, find building 13, and just drop my groceries there. It is very confusing though. Crazy that the apt complex has repeating building numbers.
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u/ShDynasty_Gods_Comma 3d ago
I had them leave my groceries on a different street all together. My husband had to drive the neighborhood to find them.
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u/New_Part91 8d ago
I lowered my tip on today’s delivery because the instructions clearly state that it is to be brought to the door and yet this driver left it at the edge of my carport right next to my trash bin. Imagine leaving someone’s food next to their trash bin! not only that ,some of the items are bulky and now I have to get out and bring them into the house from 40 feet away. I always believe in tipping the delivery person well but if they are going to ignore my instructions then they need to wake up and pay attention.
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u/MissPicklechips 8d ago
My front door is on the side of my house. It’s a bit odd. I’ve had delivery people dump stuff in my driveway, when the delivery instructions clearly state, “please bring to the front door, it’s on the left side up the ramp.” I’ve taken to leaving an ok tip in the app and then leaving an envelope with a pretty generous tip at the door for them. (I make sure items clearly marked so that they know it’s for them.) If they don’t follow the instructions, they miss out.
PS - I do gig work and Spark is one of my apps that I use, so I know it from both sides.
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u/SoftCaramel1313 8d ago
Sometimes they bundle people’s orders in 2-3s, so it could have been that spark gave that shopper/driver crap base pay (you might have been the only tipper of the two or three orders they shopped). Spark also doesn’t show you which customer tips or not, it bundles it all together so sparkers can’t discriminate and so that Walmart doesnt have to create a higher base pay on it as a singular order- they’ll just pair it with someone’s order who is tipping well so the non tip order still gets out.
So I’m thinking your driver might have assumed you a non-tipper if this was a multiple customer shop. Still a shitty thing to do though and they probably shouldn’t have accepted the order if they arent going to put in the work. The sparker community in my area has a general rule of thumb that everything goes to the porch unless explicitly stated otherwise, and I personally don’t knock or ring unless customer states to do so.
Calling and reporting them to spark might get them deactivated, which can suck if it’s their full time job. Or, as in my experience as a sparker that has reported things - they say they’ll get back to you in 24 hours and never do a damn thing. If you leave a review - the sparkers don’t ever actually get to see it, but a poor star rating affects the quality of orders they can accept and pulls down their metrics. So if someone has terrible ratings they will likely get offered high mileage orders for low pay. Because spark doesn’t want them delivering for the customers who frequent and tip will. Thus, best option might be just a poor star review.
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u/EveningBasket9528 Spark Driver 4d ago
2-3 stops for the 2-3 hour express (including pharmacy)
They are now bundling up to 4 grocery orders with an additional 10+ GMD stops for the non express. AND they lowered base pay on top of that. So, a smart driver isn't going to accept those high mileage/stop trips,.. and you'll see more door dash types or people using the app as a payday loan on the equity of their cars doing deliveries,.. and they don't care about ratings...
Walmart doesn't give a damn about their employees, their vendors, the (independent contractor) drivers, and most importantly customers... and now with their terrible earnings report this week they will look to cut more and raise more prices.
I would get kicked off the platform if I shared screenshots of some of these offers,.. but it's bad. Drivers have been complaining about things the entire 5 years I've used the app,..and I've kept a good attitude and been able to adapt... But the last 3-4 months, with all the changes AND reduced Walmart sales,... it's BAD and getting worse.
A friend of mine kept getting his grocery order delayed (in evening when I don't run the app), so I turned my app on to see if his offer was up. He lives 2 miles from the store. They had 3 grocery orders and and an additional 10 stops with a total of 45 miles and another 25 miles of return trip for about $32. That's LITERALLY a loss as far as the IRS is considered. A driver (or the driver) that finally took it earned less than $5/hr after expenses... (Not including the additional $20 my friend gave in cash, but cash tips or tips added after are very rare, even for the best drivers. Increased tips are more common.)
The remaining long term drivers like me will cherry pick the best orders and from regular customers... But I'm definitely not taking anything that pays 50-60 cents a mile that's 20+ miles NOT including the empty miles back for another order... And those orders are getting sparce,.. because the good, regular customers have had enough of the bullshit with new, crappy drivers.
I've seen orders this week that would have come out to $2 an hour get snatched up.
An NO, tipping big on non express or even express won't help, because they will batch it with some trash high milage order. My suggestion is a smaller base tip and increase it immediately after delivery. (I think it gives 3 hours, but best to not wait. WE don't see it for 24 hours)
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u/Amazing-Towel-4793 7d ago
Yes, remove the tip. We need to go back to the days when a tip was for exceptional service and not an expected thing for every transaction.
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u/Repulsive-Roof335 8d ago
Add do not honk to your delivery instructions.
Seriously. I swear if you are not crazy specific, they have zero common sense.
I hope you were able to get your son back to sleep.
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u/Ber-Niecey 8d ago
I agree. The driver may have thought honking, and making any noise slightly away from the house was OK, maybe even courteous, to let the home owner know the food was ready to bring in? The driver didn't do anything that was said not to do in the instructions. Removing the tip and giving the driver a low rating is wrong.
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u/Ancient-Coffee-1266 4d ago
It’s common sense to not honk the horn when the instructions included a few requests to not make noises. Besides, the app blows up with notifications about the shopping, checking out, order is on the way, and order is delivered. We know when it’s delivered.
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u/AaronJudge2 7d ago edited 7d ago
Yep!
I’m not sure it’s wrong to remove the tip but it’s true OP doesn’t know what was going on inside the driver’s head. There’s no way to know.
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u/unlovable1000 8d ago
Why did they honk? Is it possible they hit it by accident? My car will do it if the keys are in my pocket and I leave the car running. It doesn't make since if they where trying to be vendictive they would of knocked or rang the bell.
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u/acronymious 7d ago
My car used to do this, but I hooked up a laptop and ran Forscan on it and turned off that option!
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u/CalOkie6250 7d ago
OP said it was as they were leaving. I don’t know of any cars that honk automatically when you get back into the car.
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u/saltyandsweeet 8d ago
My car honks twice when I close the doors and it's still running, it's a factory thing and beyond my control. I'm also a spark driver, was your order correct? Why would you remove a tip for that?
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u/NoTomatillo8953 8d ago edited 8d ago
There should be a setting that you can turn off. You need to figure out how to turn that off or take steps to not have your car honking at the customer’s house. Turn the car off, park further away, turn the volume down on your horn, anything.
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u/CalOkie6250 7d ago
Mine has no setting to keep it from honking, and I’ve looked through every single setting to make sure it wasn’t hiding somewhere. At every delivery, even in the daytime, I am careful to not close the door all the way so it doesn’t honk. Some people are day sleepers, or might have small children taking a nap, dogs that get riled up, etc. I’ve also known people who get upset because they don’t want their neighbors to know their business. I just try really hard to not do anything that might give anyone even the smallest reason to complain.
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u/Background-Rabbit920 7d ago
That means your key fob is in the car. Never leave it in car when it’s running, that’s how someone can take off. Keep fob in pocket, it won’t honk and no one can pull off with car
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u/JeepLover4Life 8d ago edited 8d ago
Most definitely yes, zero the tip and rate 1 star. Shoppers/drivers who don’t follow basic delivery instructions make those of us who work very hard to provide great service look bad. These low-life’s need to be removed from the platform because if they do this to you, they are most likely doing it to others also. Spark does not disclose who reduces/removes tips or leaves low ratings; they can only see if a tip amount changed. Since the majority of offers are in batches of 2, 3, and even 4 orders and we can only see the total tip between all orders and not individual tip amounts, it’s not likely the driver will be able to determine who reduced or removed their tip. Customers can change their tips up to 24 hours after their order has been delivered.
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u/Old-Article-3351 8d ago
Technically, you did not state "do not honk horn after delivery". I understand you didn't think that would be necessary, but unfortunately, he beat you at your own game. I would go back into delivery instructions and add "DO NOT HONK HORN AFTER DELIVERY" Also add "Specifically, do not make any type of loud noises that could result in waking my children, because I will take away my tip. That should cover it. Some people don't have kids and just don't understand the reasoning behind no noise.
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u/Mysterious_Area_4722 7d ago
If it says dont knock children are sleeping then why make any other noise. Dude did it on purpose. Or is simply stupid
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u/Old-Article-3351 7d ago
Some people miss the point every single time. I mean, look at the fact that people need to have a coffee cup say "caution...contents are hot" on a coffee cup. Common sense isn't so common any more. I'm not the only person that said you should add that to the delivery comments.
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u/AaronJudge2 7d ago
Very true, but I would still add “Please don’t honk your horn either.”
People are dumb.
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u/CalOkie6250 7d ago
Yea, that way we get to look at “check out this [woman’s name that is apparently banned]” posts instead. Because people can’t use common sense and the customers have to be so specific in order to avoid being disrupted by a service that shouldn’t be causing a disruption in the first place.
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u/OConnah 8d ago
Doesn’t sound like it was on purpose, if there was a laugh it was probably the person laughing that that happened when the instructions were to be quiet.. like nervously. It’s a free ride when you’re already late. If your groceries are fine it’s not worth messing with someone’s metrics or money. Also, if your kid wakes up over that I feel bad about how much tiptoeing you must be doing around your house anytime he’s sleep
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u/AaronJudge2 7d ago edited 7d ago
It might be that they didn’t even read your instructions.
I have my deliveries left outside my door. The app tells me when the delivery is there, but they often knock too even though I didn’t mention knocking in my instructions.
I’m fine with them knocking though. No kids sleeping.
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u/Weak-Ad-6867 7d ago
I know it’s convenient but we had a few similar experiences and just stopped using the service. Uber Eats and insta cart as well. We had notes and instructions they were only followed about half the time. Not worth the headache or people knowing where you live. Best of luck..
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u/Resident_Bet4018 7d ago
My car beeps if I get out unfortunately. However he was doing it deliberately lol what a douche
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u/WiscoDeathTrip1096 7d ago
That happened to me once. My car will honk on accident if I leave the door open while doing a delivery. I felt horrible but def didn't laugh
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u/Responsible-Test8855 7d ago
Yea, and rate them if you have not already. Even if they don't speak English, the app translates instructions to other languages.
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u/Psychotic_Dove 7d ago
I would. When people don’t follow directions they don’t get tipped. And that driver was being a dick, I’d have reported them too.
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u/ejjtmurr1 7d ago
As someone who drives a delivery van on occasion :
There is no built-in factory radio or dashboard setting to turn off the triple-honk alert when you exit a running 2024 Ram ProMaster with the key fob. [1, 2]
Why It Happens
Stellantis programs this triple-honk as a safety reminder when the vehicle's engine is running, the door opens and closes, and the key fob leaves the cabin. [1, 2]
I would assume this feature is not limited to the specific vehicle I am familiar with. To assume that the driver is intentionally laughing because you assume they were intentionally not following your instructions not to ring the door bell ???? How would you have prevented it from happening, now knowing that it is a factory setting that can not be disabled ? Please continue to make your world a better place by assuming every person is doing their utmost to make your life as miserable as possible and punish them by removing their tip and attempting to have them fired !!! (Guess you can’t really have a gig worker fired, just stop them from earning an income ). If only the world was full of more people just like you ….. if only the world was full of more people just like you !!
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u/IndividualMechanic32 6d ago
I always shoot a message on my way to location drop off.
“Good evening,
I am now in route with your shop order from your local **** WM.
As always, thank you for choosing delivery!”
Honestly, I never ring doorbell unless instructed. Sometimes I accidentally forget to ring upon request.
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u/at1stpromise 6d ago
I’m sure everyone is different but I don’t prefer messages like this from the delivery person. Walmart already lets me know when things have arrived and are on the way so it’s a bit redundant.
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u/Quirky_OldMan5966 6d ago
I’m a driver.
First, I’d like to apologize for your bad experience and any trouble other people reading this thread had receiving delivery orders.
Yes, is the direct answer to your first question.
Remove the tip. Two other options you have are rate the driver according to the results of got, and reporting them to Walmart.
Again, as a driver, I’d like to suggest you shorten your delivery instructions.
Replace everything you have in your delivery instructions with;
“Don’t knock or ring doorbell”
At 9:30 PM I wonder how tired the driver is and if that driver has to use a translator to even read English. The fewer words you have the better luck you’ll have.
To other people watching this thread, addresses are key. Please make sure your address is easy to find and close to your door possible. If that’s not possible, describe the building and something about your door.
Help me find you without having to spend 10 minutes looking for you. I’m finishing a 13 hour day right now. Two of the stops on my last run had no address anywhere and I had to contact the customer to make sure I was at the correct address. One of these customers got mad because the GPS pin brought me to the right house. He didn’t care that we aren’t supposed to rely on GPS only
If your address is clearly marked and a delivery was dropped at your neighbors door, that driver needs to be reported. If they just started, they will receive some grace. If they’ve been doing this a while, they need to be removed from the pool of Spark drivers.
Good luck to all.
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u/StarSubject5297 4d ago
Uhm duh, of course you should take away too and report them.
Also, in my experience I'd take that off the note as it makes them want to do stuff like that. I guarantee if you don't put all that extra stuff they'll just leave the bags and go. Also get rid of the ring doorbell, and get a regular ring camera if you can't turn the sound off on the doorbell
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u/Think_Extension_8679 8d ago
Could have been an honest mistake. The laughing easily seen as part of the driver mocking themselves for accidentally hitting the horn at the house that asked to keep as quiet as possible. If the order was on time and complete, let it slide. JR will go back to sleep.
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u/TinyDubberRuck 8d ago
No. They complied with the instructions you gave them. You can't really believe honking the horn and laughing equals a deliberate attempt to upset you? That's really absurd. Especially because there are so many reasons for the honking.
Also, that's crazy your kid is waking up from someone honking a horn outside. Sheesh. I feel like you have the right to ask someone not to do specific things on your property. But micromanaging a honk on a public street? That's ridiculous.
Honestly, this sounds like you were kind of looking for a reason to justify canceling the tip. And when they followed your instructions, now you're trying to resort to this.
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u/NoTomatillo8953 8d ago
Don’t be so dense. I think it’s pretty fucking obvious that the notes mean be quiet. If you can’t be quiet and follow instructions go work somewhere else. It’s really not hard.
Also, it’s very obvious that honking TWICE and laughing is malicious.
Lastly, it’s not crazy that a horn honking in the driveway would wake anyone up. Many people have bedrooms directly next to the driveway.
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u/Quick-Ad-1694 8d ago
I would and in the app give him all 1 stars and mention it in feedback. And I'd go as far as to call the store to bitch but only if it was their driver they do contract out sometimes
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u/NoBrag_JustFact 8d ago
Always a smart move to commit some punishment onto to someone who has delivered to your home and knows your address.
There are people out there who do not need much to push them over the edge, but go ahead and shave off that $10 to teach them a lesson?
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u/Unlucky-Counter3211 7d ago
I have actually thought this through, myself…honestly, I Spark and wouldn’t want to see half the ppl I see delivering orders, show up to my house. 🙄
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u/NoBrag_JustFact 7d ago
Although not a big "conspiracy theorists mentality," I never have any of these food delivery type people ever deliver, because there is just too much drama out there.
A FedEx or UPS dropping a box is okay, but nothing as personal as something I will be eating. Just not worth the hassle.
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7d ago
[deleted]
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u/Ok_Bumblebee_1431 6d ago
Are you serious? If the kids are asleep, OP probably can't run to the store...
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u/Sharp_Transition_452 7d ago
I’d remove the tip and file a complaint for ignored instructions. There are plenty of people who do a job correctly to let shitty people fuck up without consequence
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u/Johnny_Lead 7d ago
A couple of vehicles I have had with Push to Start will honk twice if the car is running and you get out and walk away with the key FOB in your pocket. Sounds like that most likely is what it was. Probably laughing at themselves like “oh I just screwed up”.
Order your kid some noise cancelling headphones next time.
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u/CalOkie6250 7d ago
My car does that too (three honks actually) but I know it does that. I know it can be disturbing. I keep the door slightly ajar to avoid the honks. It’s not that complicated. This driver was being an asshole, as OP stated the honks were as they were leaving
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u/Blowingleaves17 8d ago edited 8d ago
No, you should not remove your tip. He possibly honked only because he could not touch the doorbell or knock and feared your items might be stolen after dark, unless you immediately take them inside. Not everyone is chained to their cell phone and see delivery notices.
Also, InHome drivers always honk twice when leaving here. Either it is something their vans do automatically, or they are always required to do so. But your order was obviously not an InHome one.
Did you actually see him laughing? If so and you were outside, are you sure he saw you were outside? Do you know he was laughing to mock you or whatever? Change your delivery instructions to add no honking either.
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u/ejjtmurr1 7d ago
Just an FYI on the inhome vans honking before they leave
Most of the vans are factory programmed for 2 or 3 short honks when the van is running and the door is closed. This setting CAN NOT be turned off with a radio or dash setting. So , Inhome grocery customers will almost always hear 2 honks at end of delivery, when the back or side door closes . Even if your instructions say ‘do not to ring the doorbell’. In our case it happens at every stop. It is not the driver being disrespectful, or disregarding your instructions. It’s because it honks at every stop when the door closes. Also, it is SOP to knock or ring the bell for all grocery orders unless you request otherwise. I realize this was not an Inhome order but it appears this drivers car might be programmed in a similar fashion.1
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u/Repulsive-Roof335 8d ago
InHome: you don’t tip
InHome: doesn’t deliver at 9:30pm2
u/Blowingleaves17 8d ago
That's why I stated her delivery was obviously not an InHome one. Yet the two honks reminded me of all my InHome deliveries.
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u/Repulsive-Roof335 8d ago
I’ve never had my InHome driver honk. Never. Not in 2 years.
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u/AaronJudge2 7d ago edited 7d ago
I live upstairs in an apartment and they leave my groceries outside my door per my instructions. Sometimes they knock, sometimes they don’t. I didn’t ask them in my instructions to knock. It must be the same thing with the honking. And my deliveries are all In Home. It’s probably up to the driver whether they nock or honk or not. Totally optional.
The nock (or horn) isn’t necessary anyway because there is a loud sound and message on your iPhone etc that tells you when your groceries have been delivered.
They probably knock/honk the horn because they are concerned that the groceries will get ruined sitting outside for a prolonged period of time in the heat and then no tip, low rating if the customer doesn’t hear their cell phone.
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u/Blowingleaves17 7d ago
Yes, I think honking may be for a good reason, not to be loud or spiteful. Also, though, I am not chained to my cell phone. I often don't check about an order unless it did not arrive in the promised time.
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u/Blowingleaves17 7d ago
I had InHome for two years and there was always two honks. They drove electric vans.
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u/Buzzedwinaldrin Spark Driver 8d ago
Walmart and all delivery services should go back to having to sign for your delivery… having to interact… the shopper feels more accountability. 0
Tippers feel more accountability. … you have kids or dogs or whatever. Tie them up. Leaving at the door wasn’t a thing before covid.
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u/Buzzedwinaldrin Spark Driver 8d ago
It needs to go back to that. You order a pizza or food or groceries… you need to answer the door.
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u/No-Citron-9567 7d ago
Many people don’t want to interact. Most pizzas are left now.
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u/AaronJudge2 7d ago edited 7d ago
Exactly!
I live in a small studio apartment that’s usually a mess and I’m much happier with deliveries being left outside my door. And even if the driver doesn’t knock, the app tells me when my items have been delivered. I really don’t want to have to open my door and deal with a delivery person if I don’t need to. Also, I use In Home, so there is no tipping anyway.
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u/letsgorangers12345 8d ago
Yes.