# Interesting response from help when I asked why my offers have stopped coming completely.



## amazonflexguy (Nov 19, 2016)

I asked if I had been switched off or red lighted and got a very interesting response from the help desk.

Let me start by saying I have for about 3 weeks now been picking up 2 4 hour blocks a day. 9am and 4pm shifts. I noticed others were picking up regularly as well.

No more 10pm blocks but like clock work 24 hours before I would get offers. then one day the offers stopped coming, and the other regulars told me the same. nothing for 5 days straight.

Strange enough the hub was pushing 100 plus cars out on days I wasn't offered anything.

So this lead me to ask support. have I been red lighted? did I do something wrong? I'm not getting any offers.
Here's the response:
They told me that flex is a part time gig and your not guaranteed blocks each week. 
It's as if they were telling me ya you got shut off because you were working more then part time. ironicly enough 1 hour later I started receiving offers again for the next day.
I was told by a flex driver that they hired 400 new drivers and that they cycle the drivers for training purposes. like drivers 1-100 get offers this week and 201-300 this week and so on.
I would like to hear your thoughts, stories and knowledge


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

Some of that is believable -- Amazon was sued a year ago by Flex drivers who argued they were employees. In Seattle a new law suit was filed recently for flex drivers to be treated as employees.

I could see them limiting the number of blocks people get or only doing offers to new drivers. But I dont buy that they are stopping anyone from getting blocks at drops. I have never involuntarily gone a week without working.

Some people get upset when they dont get offers. This is a grind, figure out when your warehouse drops blocks and grab them. At my warehouse I see the usual suspect of regular drivers sometimes I see new drivers sometimes but if you grind for blocks you will get them.

We would be foolish to try to turn a gig into a job. Sometimes its really slow but thats how it goes as an independent contractor. 

1. get a real job
2. find a new gig
3. keep grinding so flex works for you

Those are the choices


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## silentguy (Oct 27, 2016)

I don't expect the scheduled blocks or reserved
offers. I have never gotten them. 

I just fish for blocks It's work but I usu get a few. Not enough to make it a real job though.


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## Bobonyx (Oct 7, 2016)

silentguy said:


> I don't expect the scheduled blocks or reserved
> offers. I have never gotten them.
> 
> I just fish for blocks It's work but I usu get a few. Not enough to make it a real job though.


I have only gotten scheduled blocks once since I started almost 2 months ago. I try to pick up blocks all week, as long as I can make an Xtra $200-300 a week I'm happy.


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## silentguy (Oct 27, 2016)

I do think making friends or being friendly with the reasonable Blue Vests helps. 
Another guy told me they gave him 2nd route on his return to WH as they knew him and he had a good reputation


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## ZoomZoomFlex (Nov 10, 2016)

In my fifth week and I've never got any reserved blocks. So I doubt the cycle theory is accurate. If so, I would have got at least one reserved block. WH employees know me by name and I am cool with all of them. What I do know is the past few days DLA5 (Riverside) has been slow. Yesterday I was told there were total of 20 Flex drivers scheduled. What I thought was odd is when I entered the WH I was behind two white vans. If that slow (was told they had 600 drivers out of DLA5), why would they call in the white vans and not give the work to Flex drivers? Today, I had to return to the WH after my route and while talking to one of the employees I was told they did not even have enough routes today and they sent 2 Flex drivers home with 4 hours of pay. Also, no blocks have been released for tomorrow as I was typically getting a next day block in the morning while on route. When I started 5 weeks ago, there would be multiple morning and afternoon blocks (even got alerts). Since a week and half ago, seems like the only open block is the first morning block at 9am and since the past two updates never got an alert. It may pick up soon with Black Friday around the corner, but due to the change and challenge of getting blocks (being a phone slave 8-10 hrs/day checking), I am just going to work full time at the Amazon Fulfillment center; Seasonal, but hope to stay on permanent.


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

I think the white vans get priority because they have a contract with Amazon.


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## amazonflexguy (Nov 19, 2016)

The white vans do get priority. They bid for packages and from what I hear it's like 3 bucks a package. Which is cheaper then using a flex driver unless the flex route is more then 30 packages or so. If a flex route has 10 packages then they are paying you 7.20 a package. Plus the white vans are guaranteed a specific amount of volumebecause of there contract


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## FlexDriver (Dec 5, 2015)

amazonflexguy said:


> The white vans do get priority. They bid for packages and from what I hear it's like 3 bucks a package. Which is cheaper then using a flex driver unless the flex route is more then 30 packages or so. If a flex route has 10 packages then they are paying you 7.20 a package. Plus the white vans are guaranteed a specific amount of volumebecause of there contract


That is NOT true. If they are paying them $3 a delivery than it is cheaper to get it delivered thru Flex Guys which carry a load of avg 50 pck per 4 hr block and pays them $72 that is $1.44/pcg its almost half. Secondly in most of the markets White vans guys were replaced by Flex guys in the beginning of the program in Dec 2015 but due to drivers not showing up and other s#it load of problems white vans are gradually coming back. *This is called KARMA*


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## amazonflexguy (Nov 19, 2016)

ZoomZoomFlex said:


> In my fifth week and I've never got any reserved blocks. So I doubt the cycle theory is accurate. If so, I would have got at least one reserved block. WH employees know me by name and I am cool with all of them. What I do know is the past few days DLA5 (Riverside) has been slow. Yesterday I was told there were total of 20 Flex drivers scheduled. What I thought was odd is when I entered the WH I was behind two white vans. If that slow (was told they had 600 drivers out of DLA5), why would they call in the white vans and not give the work to Flex drivers? Today, I had to return to the WH after my route and while talking to one of the employees I was told they did not even have enough routes today and they sent 2 Flex drivers home with 4 hours of pay. Also, no blocks have been released for tomorrow as I was typically getting a next day block in the morning while on route. When I started 5 weeks ago, there would be multiple morning and afternoon blocks (even got alerts). Since a week and half ago, seems like the only open block is the first morning block at 9am and since the past two updates never got an alert. It may pick up soon with Black Friday around the corner, but due to the change and challenge of getting blocks (being a phone slave 8-10 hrs/day checking), I am just going to work full time at the Amazon Fulfillment center; Seasonal, but hope to stay





FlexDriver said:


> That is NOT true. If they are paying them $3 a delivery than it is cheaper to get it delivered thru Flex Guys which carry a load of avg 50 pck per 4 hr block and pays them $72 that is $1.44/pcg its almost half. Secondly in most of the markets White vans guys were replaced by Flex guys in the beginning of the program in Dec 2015 but due to drivers not showing up and other s#it load of problems white vans are gradually coming back. *This is called KARMA*


Your location must be busy because the loads here currently are 10 to 20 packages and on a trip up to 40. 1.44 a piece is if they give you a lot of boxes. Flex is not there main source for delivery. It's a last resort kind of thing. Bottom feeders. What ever the white vans can't take. The white vans get big loads and after they load the flex drivers come in and take routes with often 10 minutes travel between each package. Smaller amounts of boxes but more spread out.


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