# Reserve Block Games...



## Amsoil Uber Connect (Jan 14, 2015)

So I'm up early tapping away. Then @ 7:30 a Reserve block shows and grab it right away not knowing it was a reserve at the time. Then ask, so when is the email going to come ?

At the same moment that the Weekly Summary Report email comes, so does the email for the reserve block. It is now 9:55am. Nearly 30 minutes - 2 and a half hours late. And the reserve block email is time stamped 7:31. 

Merry Christmas Amazon.


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## oicu812 (Aug 29, 2016)

I got 2 reserves today. Declined both. Notifications in app came after I already declined them.


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## Brandon Wilson (Aug 13, 2017)

I used to get reservations 10am every Friday before that duty got turned over to a central dispatch. I have no idea what time the reserved options go live anymore sense the notifications for it are iffy. I typically decline or forfeit them anyway to get a better time.


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## soonsoon (Aug 15, 2015)

Richest company in the world with the largest servers. Ever since I started this gig, the notifications are never on time just like this Flex gig..every change they make it's always downhill and never benefits the drivers.

It's obvious this Flex programs is on the back burner with incompetent people running it. One of the managers at my station once said regarding all the changes that didn't make sense.."it looks good on paper" lol...looney tunes.

Ever since the beginning, CSR has been crap and still is..matter of fact I would even says it's gotten worse. Here's a money saving tip for Flex...use Alexa, can't be any worse and imagine all the money they'll save. Morons.


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## oicu812 (Aug 29, 2016)

Flex is on the back burner is because of lazy and/or incompetent drivers returning way too many packages. If Amazon's numbers are to believed, van drivers return less than 5% of the packages while flex drivers return >10% on the average. Who would you want to deliver packages to customers if you were Amazon? Van drivers also deliver 2-3 times the volume of packages in a day for about the same pay as a flex driver who does two 4 hour blocks.

If you work DLA8 soonsoon, you can see the piles of flex returns every day. There are so many returns, that packages are left on the ground after filling up the 4 or 5 carts. And that's by 1-2pm.


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

oicu812 said:


> Flex is on the back burner is because of lazy and/or incompetent drivers returning way too many packages


Ironically on the Facebook for Vegas some people call drivers who leave packages at the door (i.e. do their job) incompetent because they aren't like, totally and completely hidden from the street. Considering how often that's the case here I wonder how many some of these drivers bring back...hell one person the other day said he'd bring back anything where someone wasn't actually home.


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## dkcs (Aug 27, 2014)

CatchyMusicLover said:


> Ironically on the Facebook for Vegas some people call drivers who leave packages at the door (i.e. do their job) incompetent because they aren't like, totally and completely hidden from the street. Considering how often that's the case here I wonder how many some of these drivers bring back...hell one person the other day said he'd bring back anything where someone wasn't actually home.


That sounds like a driver who has been burned for a few DNR's.

It's a common ploy to contact Amazon and report packages as missing. Anything under $500 is almost always an instant refund for the customer and a ding against the driver. There are even forums like /r/shoplifting over on Reddit where people give the best tips and advice on how to do this.

Taking a picture does nothing to protect you as a driver. Hell, you could film yourself handing the package to the customer and if they called it in as missing Amazon would still refund them and ding you for the missing package! And I'm not joking...

And the only extra step required for packages over $500 is the requirement by Amazon that the customer files a police report to be reimbursed. Many police departments even allow one to file such reports online now and they are never followed up on in big cities.

If you are a logistics driver it is just a matter of time until you get hit with a few DNR claims. I even had a person call one in on me for a restaurant delivery after I handed them their food!


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## CarmenFlexDriver (Jun 21, 2016)

How about the email about "reserving blocks for black friday and cyber monday"? I saw the email about 20 minutes after it was sent. Said "just open up the app and select a block".....hmmm......opened app and, well, just like normal.......empty screen?! 
Maybe a push notification might have been better AHOLES at amazon!! WTF???

Anyone noticing some "jiggering" around with weekly summaries now? Rate going down inexplicably? 
Mine has. Not even delivering much and completing all deliveries, no missing package emails and rate is now 98%?

So.....they are doing a lot of shady bullshit right now.


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## dkcs (Aug 27, 2014)

I had reserve offers but they were always for the blocks no one wanted.

Sorry, I'm not doing a 5AM Fresh delivery when I was out to 12:30AM delivering the same night! Amazon can keep those reserves...

My ratings make no sense either. Amazon must be using special math to come up with these ratings.


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## CatchyMusicLover (Sep 18, 2015)

dkcs said:


> That sounds like a driver who has been burned for a few DNR's......
> If you are a logistics driver it is just a matter of time until you get hit with a few DNR claims. I even had a person call one in on me for a restaurant delivery after I handed them their food!


Sure I've gotten plenty of them over my 16 months doing this. But to go to the point of returning anything where they aren't home seems like a MUCH faster way to deactivation, but that's just me...


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## dkcs (Aug 27, 2014)

Like so many things with Amazon you are damned no matter which option you choose. As a driver you are expendable and have no value to the company.


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## bacchustod (Jan 24, 2017)

I have an 80% reliability rating?? They said I forfeited 3 blocks within 45 minutes. I contacted support to ask them when these happened. They responded that they were unsure and that my report would reflect that I'm not being penalized. That was 3 weeks ago. My latest report? 80% reliability. No forfeited or missed blocks...


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## CarmenFlexDriver (Jun 21, 2016)

bacchustod said:


> I have an 80% reliability rating?? They said I forfeited 3 blocks within 45 minutes. I contacted support to ask them when these happened. They responded that they were unsure and that my report would reflect that I'm not being penalized. That was 3 weeks ago. My latest report? 80% reliability. No forfeited or missed blocks...


 That's a pretty extreme example but i've been hearing this more and more. Do you still see offers?
Might be how they do some of the "soft blocking" and keep their asses out of trouble for just deactivating.

My rating has gone down 2 weeks in a row with 100% deliverable and no missing packages. I've had 1 missing on my weekly
summary for months now and never goes away. If I did 100% for all my last deliveries rate should go up not down??
100% rating for the 16 or so months doing this gig.

And be careful with 2 devices and block notifications.

Seems I only get the first one, then no more so have to keep an eye on your calendar. 
And they just pulled this one........my emulator accepted a block for 11am at around 10am.
Forfeited as it was dmi3. Got the forfeit notification. 
Luckily I always switch back and forth to phone. Launch app on phone 10 minutes later and
notice my home screen is odd looking, no text "you don't have delivery work scheduled" but also no
block. Look at calendar and the block I forfeited is still on my calendar on phone. Had just a few minutes to 
get it forfeited before the 45 minute period.


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## bacchustod (Jan 24, 2017)

It hasn't effected my ability to see or get blocks, but I do worry they'll use it as an excuse to deactivate me. I only use 1 phone and it's not rooted, so I think the only issue with getting blocks, for me, is as difficult as it has always been. I see plenty of blocks, but Amazon clearly hasn't followed though on folks being deactivated for using these alternate methods of securing blocks. It's as strong as it was before any emails...maybe stronger.

I would say too that I only try to work about 20hrs a week and usually have 6 or fewer blocks a week, so it doesn't seem plausible that I would have forfeited 3 blocks in a weeks period and they can't show me when these supposedly happened.


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## CarmenFlexDriver (Jun 21, 2016)

bacchustod said:


> It hasn't effected my ability to see or get blocks, but I do worry they'll use it as an excuse to deactivate me. I only use 1 phone and it's not rooted, so I think the only issue with getting blocks, for me, is as difficult as it has always been. I see plenty of blocks, but Amazon clearly hasn't followed though on folks being deactivated for using these alternate methods of securing blocks. It's as strong as it was before any emails...maybe stronger.
> 
> I would say too that I only try to work about 20hrs a week and usually have 6 or fewer blocks a week, so it doesn't seem plausible that I would have forfeited 3 blocks in a weeks period and they can't show me when these supposedly happened.


 Good to know that even when our ratings go down you can still see blocks. But there is something going on with the ratings for sure.
They seem to be doing things to trip up drivers as I noted in the 2nd half of my post.

Just to note....the 2nd half of that post about the calendar problem wasn't aimed at you. I tried to make a separate post but seems they combine them when you post 2 in a row.


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## Brandon Wilson (Aug 13, 2017)

CarmenFlexDriver said:


> That's a pretty extreme example but i've been hearing this more and more. Do you still see offers?
> Might be how they do some of the "soft blocking" and keep their asses out of trouble for just deactivating.
> 
> My rating has gone down 2 weeks in a row with 100% deliverable and no missing packages. I've had 1 missing on my weekly
> ...


Your rating will reset after you deliver 500 packages from the start of your first missing/late package. From experience it's incredibly difficult to even drop to 99% much less 97% that can cause deactivation. I didn't get my first late package until I took a 6:30-9:30 and it only happened because I reattempted a delivery after 9. I didn't know a reattempt could count against me, it could have gone back to the station.


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## CarmenFlexDriver (Jun 21, 2016)

Brandon Wilson said:


> Your rating will reset after you deliver 500 packages from the start of your first missing/late package. From experience it's incredibly difficult to even drop to 99% much less 97% that can cause deactivation. I didn't get my first late package until I took a 6:30-9:30 and it only happened because I reattempted a delivery after 9. I didn't know a reattempt could count against me, it could have gone back to the station.


Yeh....I know how the rating system works, been flexing for 16 months or so. Never had less than a 100% rating until the last month or 2. 
Just started seeing the ratings go down and seems it's not just me.


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## Placebo17 (Jan 20, 2017)

I realize now if you return packages without attempting to deliver, they count that against you. So let's say your warehouse messes up a route giving you too many packages, if you don't attempt to deliver all the packages, the ones you return will count against you. So if a block is 3 hours but it takes you 4 or 5 hours, you have to at least attempt to deliver. 

Some people say well you can email support and ask for adjusted pay but if you do this you'll get a deactivation email saying you're slower than other drivers. 

The way they rate have changed so be careful with returning too many packages that have not been attempted.


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## Cynergie (Apr 10, 2017)

oicu812 said:


> Flex is on the back burner is because of lazy and/or incompetent drivers returning way too many packages. If Amazon's numbers are to believed, van drivers return less than 5% of the packages while flex drivers return >10% on the average. Who would you want to deliver packages to customers if you were Amazon? Van drivers also deliver 2-3 times the volume of packages in a day for about the same pay as a flex driver who does two 4 hour blocks.
> 
> If you work DLA8 soonsoon, you can see the piles of flex returns every day. There are so many returns, that packages are left on the ground after filling up the 4 or 5 carts. And that's by 1-2pm.


This. Amazon is about making $$$ every day. The brand and PR image is irreversibly damaged when customers fail to receive their packages (for whatever NSL/UTA/BC and or concession losses reasons. Whenever drivers return packages to the WH, Amazon fails to deliver on it's guarantee. And given its "customer first" motto, Amazon will likely refund/reimburse the irate customer for its driver deliver failures. Which of course, hurts their bottom line. Because you can't make profit when you're throwing unnecessary money out the window to placate customers.

That 10% is an alarmingly high number if true. Amazon is well within its prerogative to change up the game and shift more deliveries towards its more accountable IC drivers. They have to protect their @$$ in profitability just like any other company. Drivers who typically return packages at the end of their shift deserve deactivation IMO. Especially since they're indirectly screwing over their peer Flex driver's ability to make money.


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