Instacart driver found all 36 items in just 12 minutes — but one detail about who delivered the order led to a one-star rating
In the professional world, opportunities, rewards, and recognition are to be given based on skill, expertise, and other factors. It is what employees expect. Unfortunately, an Instacart worker, who goes by u/shall6262, shared in a Reddit post on Thursday, October 29, 2026, that a customer overlooked his efficient service and gave him a 1-star rating for an unbelievable reason. After receiving an order, he found and bagged the items in a few minutes. To his surprise, the low rating had nothing to do with how he had handled the order.
The man noted that he found all 36 items the customer had ordered within 12 minutes. He quickly bagged them and completed the order, only to receive a 1-star rating. He later learned that the shopper had requested a female professional because they didn’t feel safe with men. So when he arrived to deliver the package, they were disappointed that a female driver was not sent. Due to this sole factor, they gave a low rating. The worker was undoubtedly upset. He had done a meticulous job and, in turn, received nothing but bias.
The concern behind the customer’s request was understandable, but that didn’t mean they had to ruin his rating because of it. Readers also questioned why sexism came before skill and performance in the professional world. u/LegitimateBoss4193 wrote, “Talk to support and imply discrimination so they take it seriously.” u/BlueWhaleIC added, “That’s wild and unacceptable.” u/Pvillekid69 noted, “That’s rough, never thought someone would get a bad rating for that.”
Despite living in a modern era, sexism, judgment, and bias based on race, appearance, and personal preferences continue to hinder fair and professional interactions. Whether it involves a job role, a type of service, or even a conversation with customers, some still choose to be outdated and petty. In another instance, a woman who applied for a landscaping job was undermined solely because of her gender.
The manager reached out, cautioning her that the role “is very physical and demanding as we are a hard landscaping company,” and suggested that unless she was a bodybuilder, she would not be able to manage the workload. Refusing to back down, the woman replied to him, addressing him as “Muscle Mark” and adding that she had as much experience in bodybuilding as he did, which was likely none.
She then mentioned that her years of experience in the business, including “building retaining walls in 40-degree heat,” were enough to handle what he called hardcore work. She also told him that the projects she had worked on before were far more physically demanding and that, after researching his company, she was certain that the workload was nowhere close. However, she ended her email by stating that she no longer wanted to work with the organization because their thought process and bias were something she couldn’t put up with. “What I do find challenging is working with small-minded individuals such as yourself,” she wrote. She concluded by wishing the company luck in finding its ideal “bodybuilder.”
You can follow u/shall626 on Reddit for more stories.