# surprise/Extra blocks and lateness?



## dizie (Aug 15, 2016)

I always see these surprise blocks with like 15-20 mins travel time to show up. I live 30-40 mins away from the warehouse (depending on traffic)

What if I accept the block and be late?


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## nighthawk398 (Jul 21, 2015)

Well the system let's you check in your to 15 min after your start time


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## dizie (Aug 15, 2016)

nighthawk398 said:


> Well the system let's you check in your to 15 min after your start time


So I can be 15 mins late?


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## LLXC (Nov 22, 2016)

dizie said:


> So I can be 15 mins late?


No, it's 15 minutes before or 5 minutes after.


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## dizie (Aug 15, 2016)

Sad... There's no way I can make it if they release the blocks with just 15-20 mins to spare


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

dizie said:


> Sad... There's no way I can make it if they release the blocks with just 15-20 mins to spare


Its just one of the downsides to living far away. Blue vest release those blocks because they know there are people who sit in the parking lot and refresh.


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## oicu812 (Aug 29, 2016)

The app knows exactly where you're at. Your location services on your phone has to be on when you're using the app. That way the app knows when you are within the radius of your delivery address.


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

oicu812 said:


> The app knows exactly where you're at. Your location services on your phone has to be on when you're using the app. That way the app knows when you are within the radius of your delivery address.


This doesnt stop them from sending you a notification even though you couldnt make it on time.


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## dizie (Aug 15, 2016)

Shangsta said:


> Its just one of the downsides to living far away. Blue vest release those blocks because they know there are people who sit in the parking lot and refresh.


Really???? wow...


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## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

<------------------- New monogram for Amazon Flex app


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## marioramirez1973 (Oct 9, 2016)

Yes this is true , Last night i was driving home and i was showing my son how to refresh the app ...boom a 10to12 block showed up i just accepted with looking at the time , i was 15 minutes away for a at 9:45 for a 10pm ... i could not forfeit cause you need to do it 45 minutes before , i u truned and booked it , Needles to say i hit the arrived as soon i could .10:05 .... the app said get ready scan... when i went to scan NO GO .... i had to restart the app and then it said i was late , the Supervisor overrode it and i went on my merry way .

Today i got an email telling em i was late . wrote back , explained what happened they said it will not reflect my record .

So i learned 2 things ...LOOK before accepting and COMMUNICATE with the supervisors and when Amazon cause they all know whats up .


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## UberPasco (Oct 18, 2015)

oicu812 said:


> The app knows exactly where you're at. Your location services on your phone has to be on when you're using the app. That way the app knows when you are within the radius of your delivery address.


The app only knows where you are when you are officially 'on' a block. From check-in to well done. This is a privacy issue that they are not willing to try to negotiate around legally. They can't even tell where you are when you are travelling to check in.
I would love to have that feature enabled.


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## nighthawk398 (Jul 21, 2015)

LLXC said:


> No, it's 15 minutes before or 5 minutes after.


oh wow guess I was wrong


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## X Drive LV (Sep 4, 2016)

marioramirez1973 said:


> So i learned 2 things ...LOOK before accepting and COMMUNICATE with the supervisors and when Amazon cause they all know whats up .


If you take a moment to "LOOK", the block will likely be gone.

The workaround to this is clicking the "my GPS isn't working" feature as you are hauling butt to the warehouse about 3 minutes after the block is scheduled to start, essentially checking in when you are en route. My warehouse is very chill, and the warehouse manager is the one who told me this trick. It's the only warehouse I have worked out of, so I don't know how other managers are personally. Our warehouse is a PrimeNOW-only warehouse, opened specifically for our area. The warehouse staff is great as long as you have their back.

My managers don't care if we are late as long as we arrive within 30 minutes of accepting a "surprise drop". _Hanging out at the warehouses is a good idea_, as our managers will actually tell us when they are about to drop a block. So those of us waiting in the waiting room actually get the best chance of picking up these blocks. Still, I never seem to get more than 35 hours a week, and realistically I rarely get more than 30 hours.



UberPasco said:


> The app only knows where you are when you are officially 'on' a block. From check-in to well done. This is a privacy issue.


This is obviously and assumption, and it is just simply _not_ true. The app knows where you are _every moment_ _the app is running_. Despite your assumption, there is no privacy issue here, as in order to use the app you have to agree to this. It's a developer app, and bypasses your privacy preferences when you install it. The Terms you must accept in order to use the app tells you as much. Their servers know where you are at all times the app is running on your phone. If privacy is a concern, be sure to close the app completely between uses.


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## UberPasco (Oct 18, 2015)

X Drive LV said:


> This is obviously and assumption, and it is just simply _not_ true. The app knows where you are _every moment_ _the app is running_. Despite your assumption, there is no privacy issue here, as in order to use the app you have to agree to this. It's a developer app, and bypasses your privacy preferences when you install it. The Terms you must accept in order to use the app tells you as much. Their servers know where you are at all times the app is running on your phone. If privacy is a concern, be sure to close the app completely between uses.


Sorry, it was assumed that any reasonable person would understand that I was not speaking about metadata, but human beings accessing 'outside the block' info in real time.


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

UberPasco said:


> Sorry, it was assumed that any reasonable person would understand that I was not speaking about metadata, but human beings accessing 'outside the block' info in real time.


they know where u are when u check for blocks... & they will come outside the warehouse to see if it is one of **THEIR** guys checking in the parking lot......there is a guy at my warehouse,,, the supervisors mocked him for checking for blocks at the gym lol @ such ugliness



X Drive LV said:


> If privacy is a concern, be sure to close the app completely between uses.


t still runs in the back ground


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## X Drive LV (Sep 4, 2016)

UberPasco said:


> Sorry, it was assumed that any reasonable person would understand that I was not speaking about metadata, but human beings accessing 'outside the block' info in real time.


I see.

I'm not being an antagonist here, but IMO, no"reasonable person" would discern that "the app" really = "human beings".

If you mean the warehouse managers don't know where you are when you're not on a delivery block, then that may be true. But Amazon does know where you are anytime the app is running. And the App has to be running when you are grabbing a block, and when you check-in.


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## X Drive LV (Sep 4, 2016)

flexian said:


> t still runs in the back ground


Perhaps on Android, but on iOS when I close the app it's not gathering any data. After it's installed, you then have privacy controls again, and I've also blocked it from accessing any stored data, and it can only access device identifiers and real-time data. So when the app is closed, it's not collecting any data. I use a Galaxy to grab blocks because the Android Flex app refreshed the screen with a tap as opposed to Apple's swipe feature. But I don't keep any data on that Android anyway


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

X Drive LV said:


> But I don't keep any data on that Android anyway


location data...


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## chopstick (Aug 3, 2016)

I have been late to my block at-least 5 times. All you have to do is say you're there when you're on the way by hitting the question mark and selecting "I'm at the address but my GPS isn't working." Then arrive at the warehouse at your liesure. Personally, I've never had a single warehouse worker give me any lip about it, even when I was 30 minutes or more late. Amazon don't care as long as you take their bloody packages.


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## UberPasco (Oct 18, 2015)

flexian said:


> they know where u are when u check for blocks... & they will come outside the warehouse to see if it is one of **THEIR** guys checking in the parking lot......there is a guy at my warehouse,,, the supervisors mocked him for checking for blocks at the gym lol @ such ugliness
> 
> t still runs in the back ground


<sigh>
My info comes directly from an implementation manager whose main responsibility is tweaking delivery area coverage and driver scheduling algorithms for each new area. (i.e., he is *the guy* we can blame on the changes in block durations, at least in the east ). I spoke to him when I was 'concerned' about the issue in the OP and asked why they couldn't use GPS to block offers from being taken with no chance of being on time.
The ONLY info that ANY Amazon employee has 'outside the block' is that you have accepted (or are scheduled for) a block.
Additionally, they will use the GPS data to deactivate if you show 'arrived' but are not at the WH. It has to be requested by the WH (or scheduler) but it has been done.
Believe what you will. I am Prime Now, but he made no such distinction in his explanations.


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## FUberX (Feb 1, 2015)

dizie said:


> I always see these surprise blocks with like 15-20 mins travel time to show up. I live 30-40 mins away from the warehouse (depending on traffic)
> 
> What if I accept the block and be late?


There's some people here who sit in the parking lot all day. Waiting for those moments. That's how they hit 40 hours a week.


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## LLXC (Nov 22, 2016)

UberPasco said:


> Additionally, they will use the GPS data to deactivate if you show 'arrived' but are not at the WH. It has to be requested by the WH (or scheduler) but it has been done.


I think all the dispatchers at my warehouse are too lazy to enforce this. Eventually, they will have to when their cost per package delivered doesn't keep dropping cause of cheaters.


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

UberPasco said:


> Believe what you will.


with my eyes i saw on the hotwheels computer a map w a driver's house on it......then it refreshed....was he checking in from his house then before driving to wh?....no....and he saw it too....ur trust in amazon is naive 2 me but u seem well connected so i wont knock whatever u have going w them,,,,, believe what u will.....


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## X Drive LV (Sep 4, 2016)

flexian said:


> location data...


Fair enough, but the device is only powered on when I'm at the warehouse snagging blocks. To my point, however, I do not keep any personal data on that phone: contacts, signed-in personal email, photos, etc. It's a block-grabbing device only.


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## X Drive LV (Sep 4, 2016)

LLXC said:


> cause of cheaters.


Cheating requires an initial intent.

If you grab a block that starts within less than 45 minutes, you cannot exactly forfeit it, so it's called _necessity_. If you are rarely scheduled, and the only option you have is to snag blocks that go so quickly you can't take a moment to read them and be sure you want them, then you have to do what you have to do.

This is probably why the manager told me to do it that way, and "doesn't care" if we're a little late.

At our warehouse, when you arrive for a block, there is a line of people before you anyway. It's rare I have a cart within 20 minutes of arriving.

That being said, I fish for blocks at the warehouse 95%+ of the time.

Cheaters, to me, are the people who take extra numbers for their buddies who arrive after you and leave with a cart before you. Cheaters are the guys who sit in the waiting room with 2 individual devices, both on a block, earning $36 per hour plus tips.

The _old guard_, who the managers drop blocks for are kind of cheaters. But it's more like they've earned their place having been there so long and the managers watch their backs because they are reliable. My brother in law works for Amazon in a warehouse in DFW (technically 'logistics' rather than Prime NOW), and he encouraged me to get friendly with the supervisors because they have the ability to add blocks for drivers who have already had a block that day. They only have to fish the first block, and after that they are in the supervisor's system for that day. They can either drop blocks to everyone, or drop same-day blocks to specific drivers. They can't schedule you out for blocks, but they can string the blocks together up-to a total of 8 hours worked in a single day. They rarely do it, but they do do it.


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## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

X Drive LV said:


> My brother in law works for Amazon in a warehouse in DFW (technically 'logistics' rather than Prime NOW), and he encouraged me to get friendly with the supervisors because they have the ability to add blocks for drivers who have already had a block that day. They only have to fish the first block, and after that they are in the supervisor's system for that day. They can either drop blocks to everyone, or drop same-day blocks to specific drivers. They can't schedule you out for blocks, but they can string the blocks together up-to a total of 8 hours worked in a single day. They rarely do it, but they do do it.


No they dont have ability anymore to add block/s for certain individuals, they can drop blocks for everyone they can over ride lateness and thats it on drivers part. This info is from many supervisors I talked to.


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

FlexDriver said:


> No they dont have ability anymore to add block/s for certain individuals, they can drop blocks for everyone they can over ride lateness and thats it on drivers part. This info is from many supervisors I talked to.


since when?????? that is good news if true



X Drive LV said:


> If you grab a block that starts within less than 45 minutes, you cannot exactly forfeit it


sure ya can 



X Drive LV said:


> and he encouraged me to get friendly with the supervisors


so reliabilty and old guard earning-it has nothing to do with it.......


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## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

X Drive LV said:


> .... It may also be possible that different regions with different needs have different capabilities.


Sorry I cannot comment on that as I just have info pertaining to my WH only


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## X Drive LV (Sep 4, 2016)

I understand now, you're one of _those_ people. 


flexian said:


> so reliabilty and old guard earning-it has nothing to do with it.......


Entitlement issues aside  In the same paragraph that _you selectively quoted_ I also said:


X Drive LV said:


> But it's more like *they've earned their place* having been there so long and the managers watch their backs *because they are reliable*.


Regarding forfeiture of blocks within 45 minutes, you're right! Anyone _can_ do it. Anyone _can_ also jump off a cliff without any safety equipment, completely naked while singing show tunes as they likely plummet to their ultimate demise; but _why would anyone_ do something that has an immediate and clearly known adverse reaction to them and their well-being (financial or other)?


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## X Drive LV (Sep 4, 2016)

FlexDriver said:


> Sorry I cannot comment on that as I just have info pertaining to my WH only


Fair enough. I haven't been inclined to test it at my Warehouse. If I moved to Texas it's my understanding I wouldn't be able to work in his warehouse either due to anti-nepotism rules. So it's just about working hard to get the blocks  Thanks for the response.


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## flexian (Aug 16, 2016)

X Drive LV said:


> Regarding forfeiture of blocks within 45 minutes, you're right! Anyone _can_ do it. Anyone _can_ also jump off a cliff without any safety equipment, completely naked while singing show tunes as they likely plummet to their ultimate demise; but _why would anyone_ do something that has an immediate and clearly known adverse reaction to them and their well-being (financial or other)?


maybe checking b4 u click is like having a parachute? or maybe they just accept that hitting gps button is cheating and move on......or they dont call other ppl cheaters....or complain about other ppl....

one thing i dont get,,,,, if it is about old guard earning it why would u getting friendly w supervisors have any effect....or was it just bad advice.....



> > So it's just about working hard to get the blocks


how much longer u guys gonna keep this up? even limepro gave up the charade middle of Dec.


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## dizie (Aug 15, 2016)

X Drive LV said:


> That being said, I fish for blocks at the warehouse 95%+ of the time.


How long do you stay at the WH? How often do you refresh?


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