# Pretty Upset With Amazon Flex



## throwawaygg (Sep 2, 2016)

So I finally got a block assigned to me, first time in a month. I was happy. It was 4pm-8pm. I'm in DC. The traffic is terrible normally, even more so at 5pm on a Friday. My first 2 hour block went fine. Got back to the warehouse at 6:15. I went inside and the warehouse manager shouted at me (As he usually does) and pushed 2 big carts with about 30 large packages. (mostly the green fresh foods ones). I saw a cart sitting right there, the location was closer and it was fewer packages. I asked the warehouse manager if I could do that cart instead since the 2 over-sized ones weren't going to fit in my car and it was farther away. It was getting closer to 6:30 at this point and I knew time was going to go against me. He yelled at me, scolded me, said that I don't deserve special treatment and I don't get to cherry pick my deliveries. I was simply trying to accept the deliveries I could handle and complete safely. I took the huge shipment, another guy kindly helped fit everything in my car. (it was definitely 630 by this point). I left right away, all I did was drive and deliver. I had 6 deliveries. The first one was 20 minutes away. I delivered 4 on time, the last 2 were delivered at 8:01 and 8:12. I got an email from support a few days later about delivery expectations. I replied and told them all of this. How I felt I was put into a situation where my safety was being compromised. Support replied :

_Hello,

We reviewed the additional information you provided but this additional information does not change our original determination.

We'd appreciate your feedback. Please use the links below to tell us about your experience today.

Best regards._

I don't know. I just really hate the way the warehouse manager treats me (every-time I'm there something like this happens, he yells at me, criticizes my phone, asks me over and over if I know what I'm doing). I can't help but wonder if he treats everyone like this and I wonder if Amazon really doesn't give a shit about our health and safety as drivers.


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## aeiou_- (Jul 5, 2015)

throwawaygg said:


> So I finally got a block assigned to me, first time in a month. I was happy. It was 4pm-8pm. I'm in DC. The traffic is terrible normally, even more so at 5pm on a Friday. My first 2 hour block went fine. Got back to the warehouse at 6:15. I went inside and the warehouse manager shouted at me (As he usually does) and pushed 2 big carts with about 30 large packages. (mostly the green fresh foods ones). I saw a cart sitting right there, the location was closer and it was fewer packages. I asked the warehouse manager if I could do that cart instead since the 2 over-sized ones weren't going to fit in my car and it was farther away. It was getting closer to 6:30 at this point and I knew time was going to go against me. He yelled at me, scolded me, said that I don't deserve special treatment and I don't get to cherry pick my deliveries. I was simply trying to accept the deliveries I could handle and complete safely. I took the huge shipment, another guy kindly helped fit everything in my car. (it was definitely 630 by this point). I left right away, all I did was drive and deliver. I had 6 deliveries. The first one was 20 minutes away. I delivered 4 on time, the last 2 were delivered at 8:01 and 8:12. I got an email from support a few days later about delivery expectations. I replied and told them all of this. How I felt I was put into a situation where my safety was being compromised. Support replied :
> 
> _Hello,
> 
> ...


You don't need to take anyone's crap. You're an independent contractor. Chin check that foo.


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## JustDave (Aug 17, 2016)

What warehouse?


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## UTX1 (Dec 7, 2015)

Hi throwaway, 

Sorry to hear about your rough start. I can totally picture it, how you described.
You sound like a nice person and I'm afraid therein lies the problem.
You see, your warehouse manager is a jackass and he probably doesn't know how 
to relate to people. Unless you can be a bigger jackass than he is, you may be out of luck.
Jackasses only fear and respect other jackasses. Since I suspect that's not how it's going to go,
just be you and exact your revenge by extracting revenue. In other words, just keep
showing up and getting paid for as long as you can stand it. Expect no help when you 
send emails. The fun is already out of the gig for you. All that's left is the money.
Sorry.


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## jaywaynedubya (Feb 17, 2015)

Lol, I tell the logistics guys I'm not taking packages all the time if it's out of the way, your an independent contractor


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## throwawaygg (Sep 2, 2016)

Thank you everyone! Not sure how to tag people to reply to them.

Yeah, I had read on here about people declining a delivery because the expectations were unreasonable so I thought I could do it too. It was very hectic that night so I guess I was nervous and just wanted to get out of there and away from the logistic manager. And UTX, I am very nice, probably to a fault! I don't like it when people treat me like crap because I am very kind and respectful towards everyone. It's why I like working in a service/tip industry because people like to tip me! 

I will definitely exact my revenge by continuing to make money (Whenever I get a stupid block) and I will try to be more stern next time I feel uncomfortable about a shipment. <3


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

jaywaynedubya said:


> Lol, I tell the logistics guys I'm not taking packages all the time if it's out of the way, your an independent contractor


Same but he is clearly prime now. Different rules with Prime Now since deliveries are in a tight window.

Dear OP, Because of the DC traffic maybe driving past a certain time of day isnt worth your hassle?


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## throwawaygg (Sep 2, 2016)

Shangsta said:


> Same but he is clearly prime now. Different rules with Prime Now since deliveries are in a tight window.
> 
> Dear OP, Because of the DC traffic maybe driving past a certain time of day isnt worth your hassle?


I only get blocks assigned Friday at 5pm. I don't have luck picking up blocks because the warehouse is too far to drive if I don't have a block already assigned to me. It's a hassle, either way lol


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## jester121 (Sep 6, 2016)

throwawaygg said:


> I don't like it when people treat me like crap because I am very kind and respectful towards everyone. It's why I like working in a service/tip industry because people like to tip me!


You can be 100% certain that the Amazon warehouse guy is never going to tip you, and he isn't your customer.

So stop taking his crap, HTFU, and save your customer service skills for the actual customers.


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## throwawaygg (Sep 2, 2016)

OK but what control does he have in "firing" me? That's why I bite my tongue when he treats me badly, I don't want him to turn around and deactivate my account. Since Amazon support is clearly useless.


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## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

I spend couple of days to learn the pattern how the blocks are released at certain time of the day, when I figured it out I stay around 20 minutes away from the ware house (near at a AT&T tower so that I can get the best signal at the correct time) so that I can to grab them as I also live more than an hour away from warehouse. If I didn't get the block I go for Uber/Lyft to make some money. Its working fine for me, just a tip for you. I always avoid 4-6pm block due to traffic!


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## throwawaygg (Sep 2, 2016)

FlexDriver said:


> I spend couple of days to learn the pattern how the blocks are released at certain time of the day, when I figured it out I stay around 20 minutes away from the ware house (near at a AT&T tower so that I can get the best signal at the correct time) so that I can to grab them as I also live more than an hour away from warehouse. If I didn't get the block I go for Uber/Lyft to make some money. Its working fine for me, just a tip for you. I always avoid 4-6pm block due to traffic!


Damn! I thought it was rough 30 min from the warehouse.


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## JustDave (Aug 17, 2016)

FlexDriver said:


> I spend couple of days to learn the pattern how the blocks are released at certain time of the day, when I figured it out I stay around 20 minutes away from the ware house (near at a AT&T tower so that I can get the best signal at the correct time) so that I can to grab them as I also live more than an hour away from warehouse. If I didn't get the block I go for Uber/Lyft to make some money. Its working fine for me, just a tip for you. I always avoid 4-6pm block due to traffic!


What hours are the hours they release the blocks? I live about 40 minutes away, my sick dog and traffic caused me to get there 10 minutes late, I open the app and it said to go home that I am free. Then again, I accepted it because I enjoy it more than Uber


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## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

JustDave said:


> What hours are the hours they release the blocks? I live about 40 minutes away, my sick dog and traffic caused me to get there 10 minutes late, I open the app and it said to go home that I am free. Then again, I accepted it because I enjoy it more than Uber


Every market is different for posting blocks, you have to spend some time refreshing the app for sometime to learn the pattern. As for Uber, its my free time gig I don't like to be ripped off by uber that is why I prefer Flex over it.


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

FlexDriver said:


> Every market is different for posting blocks, you have to spend some time refreshing the app for sometime to learn the pattern. As for Uber, its my free time gig I don't like to be ripped off by uber that is why I prefer Flex over it.


Yup sometimes I finish and there are more blocks. Sometimes I finish and there is nothing. There is some luck in this game. Sometimes it depends when you finish.


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## flexology (Jan 28, 2016)

Did you call the customer to see if they cared or not that the deliveries would be a couple of minutes late? That might help cover you a bit, because then if the customer says they don't care, and you deliver a bit late, and then you get that e-mail, you can reply saying that there is no doubt in your mind that you met the customers' expectations 100%.


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

flexology said:


> Did you call the customer to see if they cared or not that the deliveries would be a couple of minutes late? That might help cover you a bit, because then if the customer says they don't care, and you deliver a bit late, and then you get that e-mail, you can reply saying that there is no doubt in your mind that you met the customers' expectations 100%.


With Prime Now you are graded on on time deliveries whether the customer approves it being late or not.


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## flexology (Jan 28, 2016)

Shangsta said:


> With Prime Now you are graded on on time deliveries whether the customer approves it being late or not.


True, but some people on this forum have found it to be the case that if you explain yourself somehow, Amazon will once in a while send back an e-mail saying it won't be reflected in your record.


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

flexology said:


> True, but some people on this forum have found it to be the case that if you explain yourself somehow, Amazon will once in a while send back an e-mail saying it won't be reflected in your record.


That may be true but also remember our contract recently changed.


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## Uber48208 (May 4, 2016)

flexology said:


> True, but some people on this forum have found it to be the case that if you explain yourself somehow, Amazon will once in a while send back an e-mail saying it won't be reflected in your record.


This indeed happened to me on my first block... I picked it up 35 minutes before it started and was 20 mins away in rush hour traffic - I followed the Delivery App's GPS to the front entrance of the Ford Motor Company's Parts Warehouse which is on same property (didn't understand at the time)... I drove aimlessly for 10 minutes before I found the Amazon warehouse with three minutes + 5 late mins to spare... it took me asking two vests where I was supposed to go and 3 mins into my 5 mins of late time, I got to the gate only to find the security guard had left his post to take a break... at that point, I called Amazon Support and by the time he came out, I was past the 5 mins late...

Got to the dock, worker told me not to sweat it and gave me the route without any issue... the next day, I got the CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS email and replied back explaining what happened above... along w/ screen shot of my call log to support... I did get that reply that it won't reflect my record and thanking me for the explanation... that was last Thursday for what it's worth.


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## DaniqueNice (Sep 20, 2016)

throwawaygg said:


> So I finally got a block assigned to me, first time in a month. I was happy. It was 4pm-8pm. I'm in DC. The traffic is terrible normally, even more so at 5pm on a Friday. My first 2 hour block went fine. Got back to the warehouse at 6:15. I went inside and the warehouse manager shouted at me (As he usually does) and pushed 2 big carts with about 30 large packages. (mostly the green fresh foods ones). I saw a cart sitting right there, the location was closer and it was fewer packages. I asked the warehouse manager if I could do that cart instead since the 2 over-sized ones weren't going to fit in my car and it was farther away. It was getting closer to 6:30 at this point and I knew time was going to go against me. He yelled at me, scolded me, said that I don't deserve special treatment and I don't get to cherry pick my deliveries. I was simply trying to accept the deliveries I could handle and complete safely. I took the huge shipment, another guy kindly helped fit everything in my car. (it was definitely 630 by this point). I left right away, all I did was drive and deliver. I had 6 deliveries. The first one was 20 minutes away. I delivered 4 on time, the last 2 were delivered at 8:01 and 8:12. I got an email from support a few days later about delivery expectations. I replied and told them all of this. How I felt I was put into a situation where my safety was being compromised. Support replied :
> 
> _Hello,
> 
> ...


I would've just said the packages won't fit in your car, not that it was farther away. I've seen first hand, people grabbing a bunch of different numbers and then looking over orders as they come out just to get a more desirable route, especially when it comes to Amazon Fresh because there are no tips. There are some lazy and conniving drivers at the Springfield warehouse. Unfortunately, there are some drivers that make the good ones look bad. I've heard the managers complain about 'these drivers' and I just always correct them to say 'some drivers' because I try and do my job the right way, without any issues. Definitely speak up for yourself and don't let anyone make you feel bad about caring about your safety.


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## flexology (Jan 28, 2016)

Shangsta said:


> That may be true but also remember our contract recently changed.


Yeah, I see what you're saying, but at the end of the day Amazon only sends out those "Customer Expectations" e-mails because if they called them "Amazon Expectations" e-mails the drivers might start fitting into an employee classification instead of IC. And it seems like neither the drivers nor Amazon really want that to happen.

So with that in mind I believe it is worth stating that the fundamental fact is this: Amazon does not speak for the customers. Only the customers speak for the customers, and if they verbally agree to something (and if you call via the app, Amazon has a recording of the call) then it is 100% clear that you have met the customers' expectations 100% of the way.


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