Contrary to her claim, she’s not just an Instacart worker.
Independent contractors have been a blessing ever since democratized service systems were put into place. From food delivery, shared-ride services, virtual assistants, and even grocery services, our lives became much more convenient.
Even more so, it was a way for children with elderly parents to make sure that their loved ones are always stocked and supplied. It was during this chance encounter, however, that one user encountered an Instacart worker that will change their life.
Jessica Higgs picked up an order for a woman buying groceries for her father.
Her order specified for Higgs to just leave the bags on his porch. In her TikTok video that garnered over 16 million views, Higgs said that she has always been the type who follows instructions such as these.
When she got to the place, however, Higgs felt that something was not right. She felt a nagging feeling that was urging her to open the door.
She just felt that something was wrong.
“I got there and something was telling me, ‘You’ve got to help this man out,’” she said in the TikTok video. “You’re not supposed to go inside someone’s house, but I used my judgment and I brought the groceries inside.”
Setting aside her usual professionalism for a moment, she stepped in and brought the man’s groceries in. It was then that she confirmed her hunch.
She realized that the elderly man was sick.
At that point, Higgs knew she couldn’t just leave. While usual Instacart deliveries just ask their partners to leave the bags and take a picture, Higgs can’t find it in herself to do that. So, risking looking very unprofessional, she sent a message to her client.
She told her client that if she tagged the order as complete, she cannot message her again in any way. Taking this one chance to say something, Higgs explained the situation.
“He’s not doing good. He’s sick.” She explained “There’s a propane tank in there. I was in there maybe five feet and I got dizzy. And I said, there’s got to be a leak.”
Her client then told her that she was sending her son to check on the tank.
She also changed her tip of $14 to $100, a way to thank Higgs for going the extra mile for her father. She also commented on Higgs’s service, which made the Instacart worker emotional.
In the video, she shared that it wasn’t the tip that made her cry. It was the fact that with her simple action, she saved a man’s life. She showed the comment on TikTok.
“Thank you so much. Once my son went to check on my dad it turned out it was definitely was leaking, you definitely saved my dad and my younger son’s life!!!” the comment said.
TikTok users commented on Higgs’s video, showing their appreciation for people like Higgs.
At one point in the video, she said that she’s “just an Instacart worker”. To which, model Bella Hadid said “You are not ‘just an instacart worker’!!!!!! U R helping people every single day in ways u probably don’t even know. Thank U for being U!!!!!!”
And if there’s one thing that Higgs wanted for people to take away from her experience, it’s “If you see something, say something,” because you’ll never know whose life depends on it.
Watch how an Instacart worker became a hero after listening to her gut.
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@jessicahiggs3 @Instacart #28DaysOfEucerin #fyp
