Question from Instacart Shopper about Replacements/Refunds

Been shopping Publix for years on Instacart, I’ve talked to a few Publix folks about this (all in produce because they’re usually always out here). When we replace or refund an item does it come back as a negative on the store and that department?

I’ve been told they get a report and have to verify it was out of stock or not but sometimes it’s hours after the order was done and it could have been restocked or a truck came in, etc.

The Instacart app always says “Many items in stock” even if the store employees verify for me their quantity is zero so that doesn’t matter.

Can’t really change if an item is there or not, all I can do is ask if the shelf is empty. I’m polite about it and am good at checking end caps and front displays first and knowing the weekly BOGOs. I do get mixed reactions, some folks are eager to check/help and some seem downright irritated, can’t really control that either I guess except just be polite and actually ask about it and not shove a phone in their face.

Do associates care about it from a metrics standpoint or is it something that the managers get dinged for? I’m sure many items marked out of stock by some lazy/inexperienced shoppers are there, maybe in a different location, or in the back.