Meet Lynn Laing, a long-time Madison resident who has quietly been building her own little empire as one of Shipt’s earliest and now most successful shoppers.
When I talk to others about Laing or think back on our interview together, so many positive adjectives come to mind. Kind, generous, hard-working, considerate, helpful, and attentive are just a few that many would label her.
She’s found her sweet spot as a Shipt shopper and is blessing our community through her work.
For those who are unfamiliar, Shipt is a grocery and household delivery service where customers pay a small fee (either monthly or annually) for someone else to shop for their orders. Customers place orders online or via the Shipt app, select a delivery day and time, and are then paired with a shopper. All that’s left for the customers to do is wait for their items to show up at their door!
Getting Started with Shipt in Madison
Laing first applied to work for Shipt in September 2015 after seeing an ad that Shipt was launching in our area. She’d never heard of the business before (it was less than a year old at the time).
“When I started looking into it, I thought ‘I could do that! That sounds fun,'” shared Laing.
After retiring from working on staff at CrossPointe Church for 10 years, sending her youngest of three children off to college, and adjusting to her husband’s frequent remote work, she needed something to add some spice to her life.
“It was a little intimidating at first,” Laing laughed. “But I threw myself out there and did it.”
She shared that in the early days of Shipt, shoppers had to market themselves entirely because no one had ever heard of Shipt. She created her own flyers, posters, and more.
“I was essentially building my own business and shopped all hours. Whenever there were orders, I would shop.”
Laing shared that in the early days, Publix was the only store that had a partnership with Shipt, but in 2017 Kroger was added. This brought her a lot more customers, but her business really boomed in 2018 when Target acquired Shipt as a wholly-owned subsidiary.
“Anywhere there was a Target, there were now Shipt shoppers.”
Moving On Up
In 2018, Laing was invited to be on the Shipt launch team and was flown to Denver to help launch the business in the area.
Though her business has grown by leaps and bounds – she’s completed over 7,000 orders to date – she says that she still has a lot of customers who have been with her from the beginning.
“I try to limit myself now to the Madison and Athens area, though I still have a few people I shop for in Huntsville.”
How Shipt Works for Customers
- Become a Shipt member. (Use this affiliate code for $10 off your annual membership.)
- Order through the Shipt website or app.
- Depending on your zip code, you’ll have access to different stores.
- Select the day and time of delivery.
- Receive your order (and tip your shopper of course!)
- Rate your shopper highly so that you are more likely to be paired with that shopper again.
Laing says that although there isn’t a way to request a certain shopper, she will often give out her number to her “regulars” so that they can text her when they’re about to put in an order (she is then able to accept and shop for the order).
“I really like shopping for regular customers because I get to know their likes, dislikes, allergies, and what they’d be okay with me substituting.”
Laing is also known to throw in a few goodies to simply brighten others’ days, such as fresh flowers, snacks for children, and more.
“I have met the neatest people doing this job. I love my personal interactions with my customers. I really consider it my ministry as well, especially right now. I may be the only smiling face or adult that some of these sweet people see right now. I love being able to help elderly people put away their groceries or just put a smile on people’s faces.”
What Other People Say about Laing
“She’s obviously the perfect Shipt shopper, but more than that… she actually gifted me a Shipt membership when I had my daughter. As a tired mom of a newborn and a five-year-old, being able to grocery shop on my phone while my little one was napping and having someone deliver groceries to my house at whatever time I needed was a God-send!! She’s the sweetest!” – Megan Shumate
“She is such a joy! Every trip she brought the kids a treat, and me fresh flowers! She lights up the place when she delivers and we always looked forward to her visit! Not only that but she always looked out for the best options/produce/sales – I mean the most phenomenal customer service I’ve ever received and it has been CONSISTENTLY like this for several years now!” – Kelsi Parker
If You Want to Work for Shipt in Madison as a Shopper
When asked what advice Laing would give to those who are considering becoming a Shipt shopper, “I would say go for it. You need to be very good at time management, and you really need to enjoy people in order to do the job well.”
She adds that being detail-oriented is extremely important so that you make sure to get the order just right.
“Don’t bit off more than you can chew because your quality of service will suffer. There is just no way to do a million orders. I will only do two at a time, and that’s only if the circumstances line up just right.”
Ready to sign up for Shipt? Use this link to receive $10 off your membership!
More From Madison
Teen Brothers Launch Business “The Bro Shop”
All About Well Estates by Rachel Brown Homes: A Micro Boutique Luxury Community
All About Bigfoot’s Little Donuts on County Line Road
