In honor of National New Friends Day, meet one shopper-customer duo in Detroit, Robert and Janell, who have built a true friendship on the foundation of their Shipt connection.

Meet Janell: she’s logged over 12,000 Shipt orders throughout the Detroit metro area and knows the inner workings of retail aisles like the back of her hand. An empty nester with a wedding on the horizon, Janell has been a Shipt Shopper for nearly four years and is known to approach each and every order with an upbeat, ‘can-do’ attitude. Throughout her time Shipt shopping, there’s one customer who is just too special to have anyone else shop for him - Robert. 

“I have been delivering to Mr. Robert for close to four years - I deliver to him every week," said Janell. 

Now, meet Robert. A few years ago, Robert signed up for Shipt as he didn’t like the in-store shopping experience and was eager to try a same-day grocery delivery service. After placing his first orders, he noticed that Janell was repeatedly showing up as his Shipt Shopper. Much to his delight, Janell was laser-focused on order accuracy, ensuring that Robert’s favorite products and brands arrived at his doorstep exactly as requested. Falling into a cadence of weekly shops and drop offs, they began to develop a rapport - asking each other about their days, weeks, families, holiday plans - and a budding friendship was born.

“I adore her. She’s become a friend and she's meticulous about her work - prompt and fast,” said Robert. 

Building upon the existing foundation of their relationship, Robert depended on Janell and Shipt in a way that he hadn’t previously to support his shopping needs, especially at the beginning of  the pandemic. 

“All of a sudden, Janell messaged me saying that there was no toilet paper in any nearby grocery store. What am I supposed to do? Two days later, I get a text to check my front door - there, on my doorstep, is a big package of toilet paper that Janell went out and bought completely on her own and brought over. I was a wreck," said Robert. 

Recently, Robert experienced the difficult loss of his cat. Noticing that Robert’s weekly cat food orders disappeared, Janell reached out to check in on him, and he noted that he did not plan to adopt another cat as he wasn’t ready…

“... but then I got his order one week, and it had cat food in it. So I text him, ‘There’s cat food in this order - is this right, Robert?’... and he goes, ‘Well, I got a new cat!’ Luckily, I knew exactly what products Robert preferred for his cat, so it was like getting back in the groove," said Janell. 

“She’s very conscious of what I want, and even though I can enter in backup products when placing my order, she’ll send me a picture of all substitute products to pick exactly what I want. I feel confident when she’s shopping for me, because she knows me now," said Robert. 

Over the course of their four-year friendship, the world has changed - their connection, however, has not. 

“She’s just delightful. We always catch up with each other and check on how our families are doing," said Robert. 

“I know his kids’ names. We talk literally about everything," said Janell. 

Shipt often hears shopper stories of excellence, kindness and compassion - but it is the friendships like that of Robert and Janell that are the pinnacle of all that we strive to be. This National New Friends Day, it’s important to recognize and appreciate the moments of connection that make us human - and Shipt is proud to foster a community of individuals who develop relationships that show how every person counts.