# How do Instant Offers effect blocks?



## bacchustod (Jan 24, 2017)

So, Instant Offers are beginning in Columbus next week, but i finally got a few Reserved blocks next week for Hot Wheels. How will IOs effect blocks that I have? I figured something was up since I had gone over a month without seeing blocks to suddenly receiving 3...


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## dkcs (Aug 27, 2014)

They are starting nationwide next week... You can expect to make less in tips (less orders) and to drive longer distances for each delivery. If you are on a block you are going to be there to pick up the scraps that all of the instant offer drivers turned down.

As stated in the email, instant offers are given priority over drivers waiting on a block.


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## rozz (Sep 7, 2016)

dkcs said:


> They are starting nationwide next week... You can expect to make less in tips (less orders) and to drive longer distances for each delivery. If you are on a block you are going to be there to pick up the scraps that all of the instant offer drivers turned down.
> 
> As stated in the email, instant offers are given priority over drivers waiting on a block.


That sounds terrible. Do you know if IOs count towards your daily/weekly? Also, no email received here yet.


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## dkcs (Aug 27, 2014)

I've seen the email go out for LA and Austin and I believe Columbus for starting next week. Currently it is running in Irvine, CA. and Portland, OR and the drivers I've spoken too do not like it (at least the vet drivers don't, the newbies have no clue).

I'm not sure if it will count against the weekly cap or what happens if you accept an offer and drive all the way to the restaurant only to find out the order was canceled. I'm going to assume that it will drop out of your itinerary as it does now and you won't be paid for it. I've found the Flex app can't update you in real time so if an order gets canceled often you won't discover it until you are at the restaurant to do the pickup when the system refreshes. Amazon seems to lack the ability to push updated info to the Flex app when you are in the gps module driving.


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## bacchustod (Jan 24, 2017)

dkcs said:


> They are starting nationwide next week... You can expect to make less in tips (less orders) and to drive longer distances for each delivery. If you are on a block you are going to be there to pick up the scraps that all of the instant offer drivers turned down.
> 
> As stated in the email, instant offers are given priority over drivers waiting on a block.


Thanks. I knew something had to be up with me suddenly going from no Reserved offers in over a month to 3 in one week, all hot wheels. To good to be true. Oh well, i guess this gig is coming to an end for me this weekend...


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## soupergloo (Jul 24, 2015)

dkcs said:


> I've seen the email go out for LA and Austin and I believe Columbus for starting next week. Currently it is running in Irvine, CA. and Portland, OR and the drivers I've spoken too do not like it (at least the vet drivers don't, the newbies have no clue).


my sister also got it and she works out of San Diego. nothing has changed in the Bay Area yet, but I know they already struggle to get drivers to pick up restaurant blocks out here, so instant offers are going to be even worse.


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## bacchustod (Jan 24, 2017)

soupergloo said:


> my sister also got it and she works out of San Diego. nothing has changed in the Bay Area yet, but I know they already struggle to get drivers to pick up restaurant blocks out here, so instant offers are going to be even worse.


Just the opposite here in Columbus. It's as hard to get a restaurant block as it is to get a warehouse block. Drivers, like myself, who focus exclusively on Hot Wheels are going to get screwed in this process. I knew something was up when I received offers for 8hr restaurant deliveries on back to back days, then sure enough an hour later the instant offer email came out. I guess I could just sit and collect $144 next Saturday, even if I don't get pick up offers.


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## soupergloo (Jul 24, 2015)

bacchustod said:


> Just the opposite here in Columbus. It's as hard to get a restaurant block as it is to get a warehouse block.


I think it's because the Bay Area is ground zero for a lot of these platforms and there are *a lot *of other restaurants platforms where the money is simply better than Amazon's hourly and they don't have to deal with all the bullshit that Amazon comes with.


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## damphoose (Jul 6, 2017)

If they are still giving out blocks I’m going to take them, if they want to give priority to instant offer and pay me to sit, I will sit and not burn gas, wear on my car and collect my money.

In my area 99% of Amazon food orders tip. I have yet to try another platform that makes more than Amazon. Postmates use to be better than Amazon when they were doing those do X deliveries get ,$100 every weekend. I don’t get those offered anymore. I have tried every platform available in my area and always come back to Amazon.

Uber published some stats recently for Eats for Seattle. From notification to drop off it takes about 35 minutes to do a delivery. I found that number to be accurate. I can get two deliveries done per hour, sometimes 3 but not often. Based on what I make now with the hourly I cannot see instant offers paying more unless each one is about $12-$14.

I like the freedom of not having to go to a waiting area but nothing else about it is appealing. My guess is they will pay more at the start then scale it back over time.


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## soupergloo (Jul 24, 2015)

just sitting, as always


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## bacchustod (Jan 24, 2017)

soupergloo said:


> just sitting, as always


Shocking to see that. Those blocks would be gone in a nanosecond here...


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## Bygosh (Oct 9, 2016)

bacchustod said:


> Shocking to see that. Those blocks would be gone in a nanosecond here...


Here as well but thats the difference between a small and big market.


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## icantdeliverhere (Jan 7, 2018)

soupergloo said:


> just sitting, as always


I hate SF hotwheels...whom ever runs that shit show there sucks balls. when the 24hr blocks used to come out they would throw a list of blocks seconds just before the hour. I hate that they flood the offers pages. 20 is the max and you have sit there and decline each 1 ..... but they have to be a smart ass put back the same block hour but just a different location.



bacchustod said:


> Shocking to see that. Those blocks would be gone in a nanosecond here...


b/c no one wants to drive to Daly City back into the City just for a drink...true story...BRUH....


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## soupergloo (Jul 24, 2015)

icantdeliverhere said:


> I hate SF hotwheels...whom ever runs that shit show there sucks balls. when the 24hr blocks used to come out they would throw a list of blocks seconds just before the hour. I hate that they flood the offers pages. 20 is the max and you have sit there and decline each 1 ..... but they have to be a smart ass put back the same block hour but just a different location.


hahaha it's true, and this is what I mean about dealing with Amazon's bullshit. they purposely post multiple blocks at the exact same time making it impossible to get the one you actually want - that in itself would push someone to want to use a script to get blocks!

not to mention, you can only check-in from the intersections given by Amazon now, but they send you all over the damn city (and in some cases to a completely different city at least 45 mins away); it could take you an hour to do just 1 delivery and _maybe_ make $5 in tips.

and just wait until you get nothing but orders that are already late because the previous driver sat on it for too long and they simply don't have enough drivers doing restaurants to pass it off to in a timely manner only to eventually get the boot from Amazon for consistently being late on them.


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## bacchustod (Jan 24, 2017)

soupergloo said:


> and just wait until you get nothing but orders that are already late because the previous driver sat on it for too long and they simply don't have enough drivers doing restaurants to pass it off to in a timely manner only to eventually get the boot from Amazon for consistently being late on them.


This happens ALOT in Columbus too, but my favorite is the late orders with multiple pickups from the same restaurant with deliveries on opposite sides of the city, but due to be delivered at the same time...double late deliveries...can't make this stuff up...


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## rozz (Sep 7, 2016)

It's not that people don't want to do restaurants. I would love to but what they have going on is SO f****** up that it makes it impossible to like no matter what they pay. We have dispatchers who have no idea what it's like out there. The sad part is it hasn't changed at all in a year. There's only so many people you could use and dispose of before the service goes to shit.


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## dkcs (Aug 27, 2014)

Best advice is to just void restaurant deliveries in total. I've noticed tips going way down now as well. I used to get a consistent $25/hr for deliveries now it's down to around $22-$24 per hour for deliveries and the orders are smaller now. I did a 4 hour block the other day and ended up with a total tip amount of $1.70 over 5 deliveries! None were even late except for one where the restaurant gave my order out to the driver of another delivery company so I had to get the customer to cancel his order and replace it hoping I wouldn't get retagged for the order but I did. 

It's just not worth it for all of the miles driven!


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## bacchustod (Jan 24, 2017)

dkcs said:


> Best advice is to just void restaurant deliveries in total. I've noticed tips going way down now as well. I used to get a consistent $25/hr for deliveries now it's down to around $22-$24 per hour for deliveries and the orders are smaller now. I did a 4 hour block the other day and ended up with a total tip amount of $1.70 over 5 deliveries! None were even late except for one where the restaurant gave my order out to the driver of another delivery company so I had to get the customer to cancel his order and replace it hoping I wouldn't get retagged for the order but I did.


I stopped doing warehouse deliveries because i always ended up with stops that were 30+ miles away. On top of that, the areas that the deliveries went to were generally bad tipping areas. I still average about $25/hr with Hot Wheels. My last few warehouse deliveries were right aound $20 with much more mileage on my car than with Hot wheels...


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## Transporter316 (Jan 12, 2018)

Sometimes I will rent a car real cheap to save mileage and wear and tear on my own vehicle sometimes it's a good practice


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