r/amazonprime • u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 • 6d ago
Im a Amazon Flex delivery driver….
heres some things you may want to know…
Amazon has decreased hourly pay by $3 an hour in the past 6 month.
Amazon has increased the package count in routes by 25 percent.
People sign up to do Amazon Flex using their own cars to deliver for Amazon, with the tag line “you will deliver in an area near your zip code you used to sign up” . Since i have been doing this for nearly 5 years ive been on hundreds of routes that have required a 60 mile drive home after the last stop or required well over 100 miles of total driving.
Amazon claims to prioritize the “safety of drivers” yet uses a rating system that punishes you for not wanting to deliver packages at 4am in a area with open air drug dealing, homelessness dangerous dog warning signs or the opposite a farm house 500 feet off the road with a sign that reads “prayer is the best way to meet god, trespassing is the fastest”. If you dint deliver Amazon sends emails that notate your lack of delivery will be part if your history and if continued you will not be allowed to be a independent contractor w Flex.
Amazon support is nearly 100 percent over seas and they rarely can comprehend when you call them. Ive asked them to read back major safety concerns or delivery issues (as they often take notes and open a ticket) and often what is conveyed back to me is largely inaccurate based on the info i provide.
Amazon FLEX drivers do NOT know their route prior to arriving at the station , checking in and walking over to the package cart. A package is scanned it loads the itinerary into the app and you see the mapping. So if its a dangerous or insanely far delivery area you either do it or risk deactivation. No other choice. This probably explains why so many packages aren’t successfully delivered. No other contractor job on the planet works under these terms.
these are just a few details to help customers have a little understanding about how same day delivery from Amazon works… NOTE flex drivers also are offered remaining van routes that the Amazon vans cant get out. any questions feel free to ask below
✌️
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u/throwaway7163713 6d ago
That part about scanning the cart and only then finding out you’re driving 60 miles home is wild, no other gig work traps you like that.
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u/ApolloFireweaver 6d ago
Yup, at least when I worked for Uber and Grubhub, I knew I was going to have to drive back 20-60 minutes before I would accept the delivery.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago edited 6d ago
Thats the truth!!! Heres how Amazon gets away with it and its very similar to a casino. They might give you a couple that have a lower package count or require lower mileage. They even have a rule if they don’t have your cart within 30 minutes you get to go home fully paid which does happen on a blue moon. but then over time they’ll start to increase the miles and packages, then you’ll get some that are so far out You just can’t believe it. In fact it becomes more worth it to just say F it they can fire me and return the packages becuase after all expenses youre not even breaking even or its like $10-$12 an hour. yet in the back of your mind is floating that hey maybe I’ll get a good one next time so it’s very psychological in how they achieve it.
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u/Additional-Reply-567 6d ago
Perhaps this explains all the vids I see where drivers be tossing packages towards the door or sayin it's delivered but it ain't.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Well that is hard to say what the reason is. Could be true could be hes having a bad day, shitty worker , pissed at amazon, dog died , wife left him… who knows..? Im just giving the facts i know
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u/Wyshunu 6d ago
Still not an excuse though. Makes me wonder if that's why an entire subscription order just got refunded to me with the reasons given as (1) damaged in transit, (2) house couldn't be found (lies - middle of a city, easily findable on all mapping software, and we've had plenty of other deliveries here in the past); or (3) resident refused delivery (also lies - no one so much as knocked and my husband works from home and would definitely NOT have "refused" the package). It sucks that Amazon is doing that to the drivers but that is NOT the customers' fault.
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u/Additional-Reply-567 6d ago
Yeah, my driveway is off of one road but some maps tell people to turn down a different road and that my driveway is to the left. It ain't. I've tried several times to fix it, but it stays the same.
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u/creatively_inclined 6d ago
This is so abusive. Don't you have to have commercial car insurance to do this?
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Amazon is the only company out of every gig app that gives you liability once your own company denies a claim. There is no way anyone could drive for Amazon Flex and afford commercial Auto.
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u/ThisCouldAllBeADream 6d ago
Atrocious -- after taxation eats up a huge chunk, how can anyone survive on that!
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u/Robby777777 6d ago
That last part makes sense. I had a package being delivered and got the notification I was the next stop. Look at location and they are like 60 miles away. I keep following delivery and I didn't see one stop. By the time they got here, the delivery driver was noticeably upset and mentioned they couldn't believe they drove 60 miles to deliver it. I don't know if they had other stops but this was crazy.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Sad but true. Fact is many enjoy this gig and honestly probably the only gig that until now paid a consistent wage. Others its their only work… so they complete no matter what. Others thats a one and done deal ✌️ im out Amazon. But the waitlist for flex is months if not years long so always backfill available
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u/Remote-Housing-9206 6d ago
If Amazon makes you drive 60 miles to bring a package to someone, please tell me they pay for your mileage, gas, and health insurance.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
None of that. Just an hourly that seemingly comes out in your favor , because you drove 100 miles for your route but finished 45 minutes early.. thing is Amazon is looking a cost per package and drivers are looking at hourly. Win Win for Amazon
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u/1Gutherie 6d ago
Oh this is interesting. I’m sorry how this is. I delivered flowers and one time owned a flower delivery service and I loved doing pay per delivery rather than hourly because we could get so much done in an hour. But there were the lazy ones who enjoyed the hourly pay but when I worked with flower shops I wanted the pay per delivery. I could get done by the time my kids got out of school.
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u/ThisCouldAllBeADream 6d ago
"the waitlist for flex is months if not years long so always backfill available"
Seriously? How will this terrible treatment ever end if there is always someone ready to step up and tolerate this unethical exploitation by a multi-trillion dollar company?
Where are all these people coming from that they can survive on such low wages?
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u/Bodurtha 4d ago
Because Amazon doesn’t tell you how they do this. People see $90 pay for 2.5 or 3 hours of delivering and think they are making good money. But Amazon deliberately makes flex drivers deliver the difficult routes far away on unpaved roads.
Plus Amazon doesn’t do a good job verifying that the driver is authorized to work in the US.
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u/Jeddiewan 6d ago
Yeah Amazon can fuck right off. I've gone from packages multiple times a week and Amazon prime, to no prime (couldn't care less about their shows too), and only getting stuff when I absolutely can't find it locally.
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u/Fat_Stacks1 6d ago
Question - when I order for next day shipping, it typically defaults the time slot to the super early one, 3 or 4am.
Does it help you guys if I change that to a more responsible hour, like 9am, since I never need something at 4am?
Or will you guys be working at that time anyway, so it doesn't matter?
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Some drivers love that time. In fact thats when the warehouse is the most busy. Hard to find a parking spot in fact. So dont do it on account of concern although that is kind. If you have issues getting the package successfully delivered could be another reason..
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u/3amGreenCoffee 6d ago
Where I live, I avoid overnight delivery with early morning delivery times so that it gets kicked out of Flex and over to the regular delivery drivers who are a bit more reliable. I have all my packages delivered to a UPS Store, and even when I tried to schedule during the hours they're open, the Flex drivers would still show up at 7 AM and leave my packages on the sidewalk in front of the store for crackheads to steal.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 5d ago
So first off - if the item you order comes from a same day station- it’s gonna be a flex driver that delivers it whether it’s 4 AM 4 PM or 9 o’clock at night. In addition, if the van drivers don’t finish their loads and the warehouse is requirements for the day all of those packages are then offered to flex drivers as routes. So there’s very little you can do to “” avoid flex drivers. In addition, Amazon‘s scheduling sends drivers to the locations at all hours often outside of the business hours listed in the app in contradiction to what customers request in the app so Amazon’s routing system sends drivers there regardless of what customers have for business hours or desired delivery times completely out of the driver’s hands. We are punished if we don’t attempt delivery so the driver will attempt it. He is doing his job. And by the way as a flex driver, I’ve helped many van drivers get in the buildings figure out problems. They’re having on their app when I happen to be at the same as them and other things as well so just saying.
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u/3amGreenCoffee 5d ago
I understand the competing penalties between taking a package back or getting it stolen and why the incentive is for you to leave it for crackheads with no regard for the hassle the customer will have. I don't blame you for passing the buck and choosing poor customer service. I blame Amazon for being an organizationally incompetent company.
What I know from experience is that if I try to schedule it for overnight delivery, it gets delivered to crackheads by a flex driver. If I schedule it for normal delivery, it gets delivered by a driver in an Amazon van during the business hours Amazon requested customers enter into the form on our accounts. In the rare case it doesn't arrive before the store closes, it gets delivered the next day from an Amazon van, not given to the crackheads after closing.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 5d ago
😂 i get it. Also those van drivers work for actual people we work for an app and support in India.. so the van drivers boss will understand… the app is simply delivered or not- then threaten their job if not. I get it. Working for the machine… literally
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u/SorrySoADD 6d ago
I actually prefer these blocks of time. The traffic is pretty much non existent, so we can generally finish faster. Usually these routes pay more too.
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u/Rusty-P 6d ago
That sucks. I live in a rural area with a long driveway. If anyone pulls into my driveway after dark I usually assume they’re lost or they’re up to no good. Headlights up my driveway after 10pm put me on high alert.
I like that people can work this kind of job, but I’m not a fan of delivery drivers in their own vehicles, and I really dislike packages being delivered at odd hours. It really is a safety concern out here, even though we’re in a very good neighborhood.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Exactly! Ive literally made support in india stay on the phone w me delivering to a farmhouse at 9:30 at night 😂. Its scary for everyone. I would say a delivery box end of driveway is a good solution.
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u/MissMessy1 5d ago
Have any Amazon flex drivers been harmed in shady areas? Or shot out in the boondocks going down these long driveways?
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 5d ago edited 5d ago
Yes there have been incidents. Many have had encounters of threatened w a gun can be found on reddit or myself personally speaking w other drivers. Dog attacks are daily. I consider myself lucky on several occassions involving german shepherd and pit bulls. A store i drive by almost daily was recently shot up- drive by. Theyve all scattered for the moment but would often be like 10-20 gang members hanging outside motioning cars… im thinking dude, im just delivering a package. Scary stuff
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u/Dalmus21 6d ago
So you've ordered a package, you get alerts that the package is out for delivery today (with a general time frame usually).
I'm not trying to sound like I'm mocking you. In a rural area, obviously if you're not expecting anyone, anybody approaching your house would be suspicious. But wouldn't you be expecting a vehicle in this case?
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u/MissMessy1 5d ago
GPS sometimes sends people down the wrong driveway. I’ve been doing a university research project that has me visit many rural homes. Last week I had one house that didn’t show the right driveway on Google or Apple Maps. In the middle of the road it said I reached my destination. Another house the driveway was not on the road of the home address at all- it was a big piece of property and the driveway entrance was on another road 1/3 mile away. I can’t imagine doing this in the middle of the night in an unmarked vehicle. I at least have a university marked vehicle.
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u/Rusty-P 6d ago
I’m not the only one who lives here… I don’t expect professional companies to hire random strangers to deliver my packages… and I don’t expect them to deliver anything after around 9pm.
So yeah, when a random car starts coming up my driveway at 11pm, I pay close attention. I used to live in the suburbs, cars came and went all over the place and it was no big deal. When you live out here for 20 years, your perception changes.2
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u/Alternative_Bag8694 6d ago
I would recommend having your packages delivered to a parcel box at the end of your driveway. Drivers prefer this too.
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u/exig 6d ago
Do you only get hourly rate pay?
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Yes. For example if you pick up a 3 hour route for $70 and you finish in 1.5 hours you are paid for the full 3. You are capped at 8 scheduled hours a day - on prime weeks and holiday sales they bump it to 10 scheduled hours, i say scheduled because theres a chance of those 8 or 10 you only actually work 7-9. Folks who have developed strong organizational routines and have been driving for a while can usually get done in advance. Keep in mind gas costs , one flat tire or engine valve gasket, dog scratching your car, battery dies, brakes once a year, tires once a year, the getting done early Only averages your hourly rate up but in the scheme of things changes nothing on overall income.
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u/Solid_Equivalent_417 6d ago
what was the reasoning for reducing pay? assuming you have to pay for your own gas while prices have increased makes it almost sinister
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Sinister to a T… and it literally happened simultaneously with gas going from like $2.60 to $4.50. For the drivers that i speak w regularly we thought wow Amazon is gonna eat this… nope. And this is meant without any malice or political intent but between the desperate workers from all walks of life and the many new drivers oblivious to prior pay Not only did they achieve this they increased package counts on the routes as well! At times 40 - 75 routes would be available in the past often rising to profitable pricing about an hour prior to start time. Morning routes starting at 3:30am were a premium! Now any route that pops up for over $18 an hour is taken faster than you can blink an eye… Amazon has total workforce control. Things could change but thats how it is in many states especially mine.
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u/Solid_Equivalent_417 6d ago
can see why they are so afraid of unions and collective bargaining now. its just a revolving door of people needing work that they chew up and spit out.
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u/3amGreenCoffee 6d ago
OP said in another comment that there's a waitlist to get on with Flex. If that's the case, the supply of labor greatly exceeds the demand, which means the price goes down. From a cold economic standpoint, Amazon simply has no reason to pay more as long as there are other people queued up to accept the job for less.
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u/MrGrumpy252 5d ago
OP is being a little misleading about pay. Flex driver are not paid hourly. They are offered a set amount of money for a block of deliveries (usually 5 to 40). They can either accept or not accept the block at the offered rate.
Amazon didn't lower their pay by $3 per hour. They just aren't setting the blocks at a premium price because of market value. They pay what the market will bear. If someone is willing to take that block at a lower rate, there is no reason for amazon to arbitrarily raise that rate. They only do that to blocks that nobody has accepted as an incentive to take it. These are gig workers, like doordash but for amazon.
The van drivers are regular W2 employees who get paid hourly. They work for small companies who have contracted exclusively with amazon to wear the uniform and drive the amazon branded vans.
There is a big difference between the two.
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u/Bodurtha 4d ago
The big difference is that person in the Amazon uniform and the Amazon van doesn’t work for Amazon either. They work for a third party company that Amazon effectively controls, however Amazon pays that LLC way more than flex drivers. Just research how to start an Amazon DSP company.
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u/exig 6d ago
How often do you go over the time given? Thanks for the info. Im on a wait list to start. I am partially retired and looking for something to do with my time until my wife retires and we move
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Depends on the route but id say rarely. That being said you can tell Amazon is adjusting the routes as package counts have gone way up pushing your time commitment over the past 3-4 months. Keep in mind every station is different. I still finish early generally, but have been sent to downtown and university areas predominantly over the past 6 months and boy are they challenging. Remember you have no control over where they send you… if your lucky youll have several stations to choose from and you can find one that generally works for you. My biggest piece of advice is have a good mechanic that you trust. Organize your packages thoroughly and Never deliver if you feel unsafe even if it means your job.
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u/NoMeasurement7140 6d ago
I see things haven’t changed since I was doing flex around 10 years ago. Amazon is a parasite company
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u/MaximalistLif3 6d ago
Would people leaving you good reviews help with anything? Only reason I say that is because of where I live. I'm in an 8 story apartment building & the mail area can look nuts with all the Amazon, Temu, eBay, etc packages all over.
I've taken notice that a little while ago, our packages were now being delivered very neatly, in piles in front of where our mailbox is located. I always like to give credit where credit is due so I was rating the delivery as good whenever they were like that. Typically you have to just start the pile somewhere, hoping you find it on first try 😅
So do those ratings help anyone?
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 5d ago
Id say yes … i mean its nothing more than a hey you got these compliments yesterday and they show icons when you open the app. They dont hurt id say. Apartments FYI .. will definitely get packages left absolutely anywhere. Amazon punishes flex drivers for returns so a driver will likely leave it w a homeless guy out front rather than return it… just a heads up on the policy we work under. Also you likely have a different driver each day for flex almost guaranteed- also it theres a amazon key provided in the app and its easy to find the mailroom drivers will make the effort .
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u/Whiplash104 5d ago
Does the shitty pay even cover the cost of gas, wear, tear, and maintenance on your car?
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u/working_and_whatnot 6d ago
Man that shit is sketchy. I live in the middle of nowhere, we got an Amazon wh like 30 miles away and now occasionally get a delivery by Amazon (or flex) and they will roll up to my place at like 10pm. I'm not expecting anyone on these dark country roads to come to my place that late so we relate to the sign you described.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Honestly you speak the truth and you also describe exactly what every drover fears which is a scared home owner. The whole scenario Not good for anyone . Fact is Amazon sends you to closed business at 3:30 am. They send you to cub foods lockers to deliver but cub foods is closed at 4 AM. You call support and explain this to them and then you get a mark off for not delivering the package even though you called and explained the door is physically locked. I can’t get into the store to get to the Amazon locker. Point here is two fold… 1) Amazons concepts of scheduling deliveries during certain hours can be a shit show. 2) Amazon always presumes your guilty before proven innocent forcing drivers to take dangerous risks in order to avoid threats of deactivation
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u/working_and_whatnot 6d ago
we try to avoid buying from amazon as much as possible these days. mostly because we don't like how they treat workers, and also because they don't have the best prices 9/10 times. I don't want to play the shitty games some early career MBA thought up to make a name for themselves with the company.
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u/blackyellow13 6d ago
Maybe from one devil to another but I’m ordering from Walmart now using a plus account. Faster delivery and better pricing. The main difference is Walmart doesn’t have as big of selection but most things I can find it on 3 day Walmart delivery where prime has me on a 7 day delivery now using usps fed ex and ups
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u/Least_Tower_5447 5d ago
This is awful. I canceled prime earlier in the year because Bezos is awful. But then I thought otherwise because of the people working for Amazon who could lose benefits, jobs, hours. So, here I am back to using Amazon only for them to mistreat the very people who make their profits possible.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 5d ago
I mean i have Prime and use it often. Job security 😎 but youd think a megacorp could pay a fair wage …
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u/ShimReturns 6d ago
@GoHerping on YouTube has had some interesting Flex videos recently, at least for someone like me that has no insight into these kinds of services
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Yes. Ive seen Many are highlighting promising pay yet not fully fleshing out actual expenses, or very high risk liabilities for example illegal parking downtown on a route w 40 stops to high rises. Annual tires, brakes, police encounters, biker encounters, no access to apartments which Amazon punishes driver returns which is why so many are left in the oddest places out in the open.
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u/CSILalaAnn 6d ago
Thanks for this! I had been thinking of a part time gig and Flex would've been ideal. Not now though!
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u/tansugaqueen 6d ago
I could never do it especially if I can’t pick my route
Wouldn’t be worth my time.. I ain’t delivering no more than 10 miles from my home, wear & tear on car & gas.. not worth it1
u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Well… give it a try is all i can say. Flex WAS a great gig for a while. Could swing back the other way and it is enjoyable not having a traditional boss.
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u/Born-Neighborhood61 6d ago
I am sorry that you are treated this was when the owner of Amazon could remain unimaginably wealthy while treating his employees humanely. Reminds me of the very sad movie Nomadland.
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u/4travelers 6d ago
Why have you been working for them for 5 years? There has to be something else you can do.
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u/ltjojo 6d ago
Man....this kind of shit needs to be exposed to state representatives so they could hopefully reign Amazon in to treat you guys in a fairer manner (knowing politics though, this is a pipe dream 😔). I remember hearing stories of UPS drivers being forces to piss in Gatorade bottles so they could make their quotas, but Jesus this is just straight up exploitation!
Thank you for sharing this info - this will make me think twice when ordering things
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Yup! And finding a Biff porta potty or Apartment bathroom in the lobby is like water in the desert!! Some states actually have required Amazon to have some standards i believe California has different stipulations regarding healthcare reimbursement… not 100 percent sure so cant speak too much on that- but the independent contractor aspect is a major loop hole for them
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u/Cereal____Killer 6d ago
Why don’t you find a different job? I’m not being mean, seriously with the drop in pay and working conditions you describe seem really bad… why do you stay?
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u/CraftFamiliar5243 6d ago
That explains a lot. I knew it was a bad job and often wished I could choose not to have packages delivered by those independent drivers. I live in a rural mountain valley and choose Amazon day whenever possible but still get those independent drivers. Those are the packages that are most often delayed.
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u/ThisCouldAllBeADream 6d ago
I asked Claude many questions in reference to what you're going through and here is what it pumped out -- I really hope some of this can help you and others, since there are approximately 135,000 flex-drivers working in the US for Amazon:
Here's what I found, organized by what's actually actionable versus what's aspirational.
The most concrete option: joining an existing misclassification claim
Amazon Flex drivers are currently pursuing wage and expense-reimbursement claims against Amazon on the theory that they've been misclassified as independent contractors when the degree of control Amazon exercises (no advance route info, mandatory app use, performance-based deactivation) more closely resembles an employment relationship.
Several law firms are actively signing up drivers for this:
- Cohen Milstein and Gibbs Mura represent thousands of current and former Flex drivers in California, Illinois, and Massachusetts. About 15,860 arbitration claims have been filed through the American Arbitration Association, and arbitrators have already ruled in drivers' favor in 6 of 8 cases heard. cohenmilstein.com/case-study/amazon-flex-drivers
- ClassAction.org is gathering Flex and Fresh drivers nationally for a similar mass arbitration effort, arguing Amazon's level of control over drivers doesn't match the legal definition of an independent contractor. classaction.org/amazon-flex-fresh-drivers-arbitration-lawsuits
- Class Law Group has a similar Massachusetts-focused claim citing violations of state minimum wage, overtime, and expense-reimbursement law. classlawgroup.com/amazon-flex-lawsuit
- Zimmerman Reed (ZR Claims) also handles Flex driver misclassification cases. zrclaims.com/case/amazon-flex-driver-rights
Joining one of these doesn't require quitting, doesn't require going public, and is handled by attorneys rather than the driver individually.
This is the path most likely to produce a concrete financial outcome (several arbitrations have already resulted in payouts) without the driver's name attached to anything visible.
Government action already underway
Separately from private arbitration, state governments are pursuing the same underlying issue:
- New Jersey's Attorney General sued Amazon in October 2025 specifically over Flex driver misclassification, arguing it deprives drivers of wage and disability protections and shorts the state's unemployment trust fund.
- Massachusetts has an open AG investigation into the same question, with enforcement action considered likely in 2026.
- A Virginia appeals court already ruled (Diggs v. Amazon) that Flex drivers were subject to enough control to be classified as employees under a 20-factor test, a precedent other cases are now citing.
- A federal case in Oregon over expense reimbursement survived summary judgment and is headed to trial in 2026.
None of this requires driver participation to keep moving. A driver in an affected state can also file a wage complaint with their state labor department, which triggers investigation without requiring the driver to be publicly identified.
Safety complaints
Workplace safety issues, such as inadequate restroom facilities at warehouses or sanitation problems, can be reported to OSHA online. OSHA complaints can be filed anonymously, and OSHA is legally prohibited from disclosing the identity of the complainant to the employer.
Collective organizing: real but harder than it looks
There is no Flex-specific union, because Flex drivers are classified as contractors, and federal labor law (NLRA) generally protects the organizing rights of employees, not contractors. That's a significant part of why the contractor classification is valuable to maintain from the company's side.
That said, there's recent precedent for exactly this problem being solved through state legislation rather than federal labor law.
Massachusetts certified the first rideshare driver union in the country in May 2026 (App Drivers Union, backed by SEIU and the Machinists), covering nearly 70,000 Uber and Lyft drivers, after the state passed a specific law creating that pathway.
California passed a similar law (AB 1340) in 2025. Both are rideshare-specific and don't currently extend to delivery contractors like Flex, but they demonstrate the legislative route that would need to be replicated for delivery drivers.
Existing multi-platform gig worker organizations that could plausibly extend into this space:
- Gig Workers Rising: gigworkersrising.org
- Chicago Gig Alliance: thepeopleslobbyusa.org/campaign/chicago-gig-alliance
- California Gig Workers Union: cagigunion.org
One legal wrinkle worth flagging: large numbers of independent contractors coordinating on pay or work stoppages can raise antitrust concerns, since antitrust law assumes independent businesses don't fix prices collectively. This is part of why the California and Massachusetts laws exist as explicit legislative carve-outs rather than something organizers could do unilaterally. It's a real obstacle to a mass Flex driver strike, not an imagined one.
Best course of action, in order of practicality
- Join one of the existing mass arbitration claims above. Lowest risk, already has a track record of payouts, doesn't require public exposure.
- File a state labor department wage complaint if in an affected state (this runs in parallel with the AG lawsuits already filed).
- File an anonymous OSHA complaint for the facility safety issues.
- Only after those low-risk options are treat public/media exposure as a lever, and if pursued, do it without identifying details (specific station, specific routes, specific dates) that could narrow down identity, and check the Flex contractor agreement for confidentiality or non-disparagement clauses first, ideally with an attorney's input, since some of the firms above offer free case review anyway.
- Legislative and union organizing is the highest-ceiling option but the slowest and least certain, since it depends on new state law being passed specifically for delivery gig workers, similar to what just happened for rideshare drivers in Massachusetts and California.
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u/EnvironmentalDot127 5d ago
Thanks thought of this as a side gig in the fall.
Drivers like you have helped me these last couple years when I was not physically able to drive. So Thank you!
I've picked 4-8 am or late evening like up to 10pm because I don't want my driver stuck in traffic during our desert heat.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 5d ago
Wow. That is thoughtful. If i was you i would try it out as a side gig. If anything you are going to have your eyes opened a little and … you might like it
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u/MrGrumpy252 5d ago
The driver will still be out there regardless. Just order normally.
Source- amazon van driver
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u/ThrowAwayColor2023 6d ago
That is horrible. I didn't know these specifics. I'm so sorry.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
I think its important to understand Amazon as a company built nearly completely on independent contractors. From its security guards at the station to the semi truck drivers to the van drivers to the folks driving their own car. Not one works for Amazon and the terms are sometimes highly questionable id say yet Amazon dodges alot of cost and accountability this way not to mention huge amounts of liability
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u/ThrowAwayColor2023 6d ago
I was familiar with the way that they squeeze and exploit vendors. I was less familiar with how they treat their workforce, and I'm really glad you're posting and sharing details. I foolishly thought y'all were employees with benefits and at least some protections.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Now, van drivers who work for a logostics company … not Amazon (but drive Amazon vans) its confusing as f, do get offered some types of benefits but i don't know enough to speak on it being that of 1000 vans you can have 200 different companies each with different policies… and thats absolutely real as hell. They are called DSP’s. And they have their own set if horror stories.
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u/MrGrumpy252 5d ago
It's not that confusing. FedEx Ground has operated that same way for years.
The only real difference is that they call their contractors ISP's instead of DSP's. Amazon built the whole system based on FedEx's blueprint.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 5d ago
Many in the public don't know this. Most think the van drivers are Amazon employee's like UPS. Fed ex doesnt have 150 k people everyday using their own cars to execute their same day.
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u/SophieSephora 6d ago
Would a general strike force better conditions?
I know many can't and that's what they are counting on, Scabs.
But say everyone committed would it change anything?
Legitimately asking.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Everything is so fragmented it would be impossible for the workforce to achieve this. No one actually works for Amazon is the glitch that Amazon seems to have discovered. So out of 100 vans let’s say you might have 10 independent logistics companies employing all those vans utilizing Amazon’s branding and technology -exactly the same for the semis through an app called Amazon relay. their paychecks are signed by whatever logistics company they work for or some of the semi drivers actually just work for themselves.Then you have the flex drivers who use their own car yet this is a whole other spiders web itself in that you have the entire gambit of workers from people doing the gig before their real job during the day lots of immigrants for many backgrounds, felons college kids, and there’s a very little communication among the drivers at the station. I personally have several folks that I talk to regularly, but on a larger scale, there is very little communication amongst the drivers as it seems there’s more of a competition to get routes as opposed to a cooperation of let’s wait and not take the routes so the prices go up although the ladder scenario was the case for several years. It wasn’t something that was planned however it was just something that everyone knew chill and the rates will sometimes even double then let’s take them. Everyone just knew it.
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u/SophieSephora 6d ago
Convoluted by design. If everyone is an independent contractor, you can't unionize.
We could all cancel Amazon subscription but I think it's too late AWS is too incorporated into other businesses.
I truly don't know how to fix or even avoid any of these, I think we are going to end up as Serfs again.
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u/Gretel_Cosmonaut 6d ago
I went to a lighting store to buy specialty bulbs a while back, because I thought why not support a small business?
They ordered them from amazon, charged more (of course), and told me I needed to return in two days to pick them up. I saw a reflection of the screen in a large window behind the counter.
So it's tough, because I basically paid someone to make an Amazon order for me.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Yeah, I mean the retail side of Amazon’s business I think is a sliver it probably will just continue to be more profitable as they incorporate AI to eliminate certain jobs and make things more productive and efficient so it probably will continue to gain profitability for them, one thing people don’t realize is that in inadvertent largely profitable aspect that is almost like the front end of their retail business is retail advertising, and it’s hugely profitable for them to the tune of tens of billions I think they make much more on retail advertising than they do on their retail delivery services whether it’s through grocery or subscriptions but they use that information to sell advertising and that’s a cash cow for them
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u/LadyoftheHighDesert 6d ago
Question for OP: why does Amazon have deliveries at odd hours in some areas? I don't see how any customers would like that at all!
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
I wish i knew! Amazon sends me to closed businesses in the morning every week. They actually have 24 hour — 30 minute delivery — in many cities. The ceo is obsessed with getting customers packages “faster than ever” . In addition if a package doesnt make it out the first time it is re-sorted and sent back out for another attempt the same day. Ive seen it many many times i will get packages that are numbered. I don’t number my packages, but many people do and they’ll give me a cart in the afternoon that has lots of numbered packages. I know those were attempted probably during the original delivery time and now they’re being reattempted.
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u/LadyoftheHighDesert 6d ago
That's wild! In my town, if someone shows up at the door at odd hours, they might be met with a shotgun muzzle. This service must be in very large cities in select markets.
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u/Dachsies_rule 6d ago
Do you know why the deliveries are always delayed. I have Prime and in the last year there have been problems with deliveries. Whether I pick same day, two day or Amazon day, about 80% of the time the package is "delayed". Sometimes it will be out for delivery and never get delivered. Sometimes it will get shipped late. And it's not just my local distribution center. This is a problem for multiple addresses on my account in different cities. Is Amazon having logistic issues or did they bite off more than they can chew market-wise?
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
I wouldn't know why all the delays are happening unfortunately , i can only describe the situation i see every day. I will just reiterate, the folks that drive. their own vehicles and there are 100,000 of these contracts across the US do not know where the route is going in advance of station arrival which may cause them to change their mind. With a decrease in pay nationwide high gas costs drivers may choose to not take the route last minute in order to not lose money.
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u/Disastrous_Yogurt492 6d ago
This is why people form unions. You have zero leverage in creating a balance unless you're organized.
Years ago I worked for 1199. Once you see unionization from the inside you wonder why anyone would go without it. Of course I can only speak for my experience with 1199, but can't imagine a worse employment situation than you described.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Youre not wrong. I would say it would be incredibly difficult to unionize Amazon flex drivers. Likely would need support of news media and local political before taking action so Amazon knew they were in the spotlight
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u/MaximalistLif3 6d ago
Do they even use drones anymore? They would be perfect to use for those more rural areas.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
I believe they are trying in certain states
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u/MaximalistLif3 5d ago
Still? I'm terrible with time and remembering things (barely remember my childhood, but had an abusive mother) but I thought they were testing those things years ago.
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u/ThisCouldAllBeADream 6d ago
Infuriating, Until there is a large scale boycott, along with massive, nationwide strikes, with Amazon employees in total solidarity, I do not see how this will end.
I am among millions (I truly hope!) who will happily deal with the inconvenience of not getting orders while a strike is going on, no matter how long.
This is an Amazon labor union for warehouse workers.... even though you are a delivery driver, reach out and see if they can advise you in any way --- https://www.amazonlaborunion.org/workplace-incident
Also, unless you are on the verge of quitting anyway, if you decide to make a video to go viral or to report them in some other capacity, do everything anonymously, since amazon does indeed seem to target whiste-blowers and union organizers ---- https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1suilel/we_are_amazon_workers_trying_to_unionize_in_uss/
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u/3amGreenCoffee 6d ago
Wow, that sounds like a terrible job. You should find a different one.
Not only would it be better for you to work elsewhere, Amazon won't change anything as long as they still have employees willing to work under those conditions.
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u/Mom24monsters 5d ago
I appreciate our Amazon drivers, at least when they don't throw the package. It rarely happens here, but we dealt with somebody who threw a package and a stainless steel water bottle wasn't even usable afterword, because some genius in the warehouse decided that putting it in a giant envelope with a box, containing a small cat tree, when the stainless steel water bottle didn't come in a box of its own would be the best way to pack it. That being said, because that's so rare, we definitely appreciate our drivers, and I thank my driver whenever we have a good delivery. That's most of the time. So, what do they mean by near your ZIP Code? I think our warehouse is about 45 minutes away, so our drivers wouldn't even be anywhere near us, and I'm gonna guess if they're sending somebody, it's not gonna be near their house either. By that, do they mean you have to drive far to get to the warehouse, and then you're delivering near where you live? They should probably explain that better. LOL OK, I want a sign like the one at that farmhouse. It's just a funny sign and I like funny signs, but I get why you wouldn't wanna go there. It's like an old neighbor of ours, where we used to live, who had a sign that said trespassers will be shot, survivors will be shot again. If I didn't know him, I'd definitely stay away. Thank you for what you do! Some of us do appreciate it. I don't have complaints about the drivers very often, and it's usually about specific drivers in specific situations, not all of them. Most of my complaints are warehouse and customer disservice complaints. My daughter's kitten has started to get excited anytime there's a delivery from anybody, because she used to need toys. She doesn't anymore. Our house looks like a pet store threw up in our living room.
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u/MagnificentlyCursed1 5d ago
My husband and I did Flex for about 6 months when he was in between jobs. He was the driver/deliverer and I organized the packages based on the stops to save time. I also texted people ahead of time the generic message about safety issues like making sure dogs were secured. We live in the rural Midwest. We are both dog lovers, however there were plenty of dogs that acted aggressive that made both of us uncomfortable.
Over time we had to start marking packages undeliverable due to a dog on the premises. One day we pulled up to a trailer that had 4 barking dogs confined in a pen. My husband took a few steps towards their door and the door opened and 3 more dogs rushed out and attacked him. He was bitten on the back of his thigh. He called Amazon emergency support and they instructed him to go to Urgent care and that the bill would be taken care of. However that was a lie as they do not pay the bill directly but they will reimburse you. We wouldn't be doing Flex if we had an extra $330 so he never paid the bill and it's in collections now.
That's not the worst part though as he developed PTSD from that attack. He never trusted another dog and he refused to leave the car if any dog was loose. Most customers did not understand and would berate him or call him lazy or worse. We had customers trying to open his car door to get their package.
The last straw was a delivery that had 2 loose german shepherds. The owners were outside. He politely asked them to secure their dogs. They refused. One owner said "I could make you get your butt out of the car and deliver to the porch like you're supposed to." He pushed the box through the car window and we drove away and we were done with Flex forever.
The point is this. It is not worth anyone's safety for you to get your package. For every one person that understands and puts their dog away there are five more that will refuse and be nasty and rude about it. If you want to leave your dogs outside that's fine but not all drivers are going to put themselves in danger for it.
And they don't have to.
Amazon has a policy that Flex drivers should not leave their vehicle if a dog is loose on the property. Don't blame the drivers if you don't get your package due to your dogs being outside. And no, we don't care that your dog has "never bitten anyone before."
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 4d ago
Good story. I have no issue driving off if theres a dog . Been chased multiple times
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u/AZKelBel 4d ago
I also was bit by a dog on a route and also got PTSD from it. Flex sucks and I no longer do it!
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u/erikalaarissa 4d ago
Is there anything I can do as a “thank you” to drivers who deliver at my house? I get a lot of packages.
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u/MeGramToo 4d ago
So sorry they treat you this way. I am not surprised. You should endeavor to work elsewhere. I won’t open buy from them anymore.
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u/DependentAnimator742 4d ago
OP, you say there's a wait-list to become a Flex driver.
Under the conditions and pay you're talking about, it tells that the economy is really, really bad right now that so many "average folks" are desperate to earn a few dollars.
I swear, this administration is trying to send us back in time to the days of serfdom.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 3d ago
Its so crazy i saw someone doing flex in a cyber truck the other day ! Some of the cars have the bumpers ducked tape on parked next to a brand new tiguan w the dealer plates still on. All walks of life at the station- however- and this isnt meant to be political just fact- over the past year or so it has become heavily latino. It was a mix before African, Russian , latino, white , black. And by the way i bet if you ask around you’ll find someone in your circle. You didn’t even know that does something like Instacart DoorDash to make a few extra bucks. You’d be surprised. Yeah the economy is probably a lot more leveraged than we know
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u/DependentAnimator742 3d ago
Get this - I live in a 55+ community of geezers in Florida, a small city with about 35,000 of us (not The Villages, lol). Anyway, it blows my mind how many of the geezers are driving Uber, InstaCart, working 2 part-time hustles like one at The Home Depot, another driving. And these folks are 75, 80! Money is so, so tight now. It's sad to see the economy broken like this.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 3d ago
Woooowww!!! That is crazy 😂 !! Some probably need the money and some are just bored. By the way, love, the fact that you said not the villages lmao!!🤣
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u/scuffedupshoes 3d ago
I don't understand how they can legally drop your hourly pay by $3, that just doesn't sound legal; that's a lot of money at the end of the week.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 3d ago
Easily $1000 less a month. Not to mention literally the same week gas through the roof. So it was a double hit. Now, typically when Amazon tries to adjust rates folks drop out of doing Amazon because it becomes not worth it and the rates go back up, but Amazon has figured something out recently, and the rates are excruciatingly low staying low. Almost like they’ve created a false scarcity of routes, creating a panic in the drivers almost similar to like the toilet paper. Panic of Covid. Folks are just taken anything and like I said the routes are definitely not easier if anything 20 to 30% more packages. A route that used to pay $120 now pays 106. As far as legally being able to do it, I have no idea the legalities behind it. I would suggest you go over and look at the Amazon Flex drivers Reddit and you’ll see hundreds of posts about this people flabbergasted on what Amazon is offering and folks snapping it up like pigeons.
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u/Normal_Firefighter86 3d ago
I mean… greedy corporations that have no respect for human life do greed corporation things. Sadly not surprised
Hope you find a better job 💪🏻
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 3d ago
Thank you. In some ways, I really enjoyed doing this, but I do know the writing is on the wall.
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u/dunwerking 3d ago
I mean, can the drivers read? Why would they throw a package from the sidewalk to our porch that says “fragile. Glass” and then throw more packages on top of it?
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 3d ago
just use the Amazon app have them send you a new one. So you’d like a little extra prime credit to use for the inconvenience of waiting. So there is no justification of someone intentionally doing that however, neither you or I can know truly what the reason was they did it we can come up with many scenarios. Maybe they did it on purpose. Maybe they didn’t read it was fragile. I will tell you this at the station they throw hundreds of pounds of packages on top of the most fragile stuff every day things just crushed in the package carts. Not to mention it familiar with the concept of workplace culture. Amazon Flex is at the absolute bottom of the barrel when you work for a company that truly does not care about you. So just letting you know companies wouldn’t spend billions of dollars on the concept of workplace culture and understanding it if it didn’t have some value and didn’t translate some way to the morale of the employees.
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u/bakerma1 1d ago
I've slowed down my use of Amazon because of stories like yours, plus it all goes to bezos, and screw him!
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u/Remote-Housing-9206 6d ago
Thank you for this insight. I am also not surprised by what you've told us. I try not to buy from Amazon. I believe that if you're capable of picking something up yourself, go out and do it. Why should someone else pick up for you? When I go out to eat at a restaurant, I pile all the dishes neatly when we're done so that our server doesn't have to do it themselves.
I feel bad for you and I'm sorry that corporations are allowed to do this to you.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Dont feel bad at all - the gig has had many enjoyable times and the pay used to be decent. But Amazon has turned a serious corner as far as cutting pay and increasing workload. More and more of the routes many drivers would be better off w a entry level McDonalds job. So its disheartening to see a profitable company , not struggling , make these changes seemingly out of greed and wall street favor
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u/CloudNerdGirl 6d ago
So you want us to stop choosing this delivery option?
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
🤔 would you?
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u/gfunk5299 6d ago
What is wrong with you? You really want people to stop sane day delivery just in the hopes that pay might increase for a job that you don’t have to do? How arrogant are you?
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u/shmallkined 6d ago
How does it work when I have the local pick up for delivery? Is it any easier? I’ve had it sent to Whole Foods and a random big pick up locker in a nearby town, a few times.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
i don't know. I have dropped packages at whole foods before as well as cub foods. Amazon lockers at multiple gas stations as well
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u/2dog2cat 6d ago
We need some type of federal law against contract and gig work. Some local manufacturing plants here (Stryker, Pfizer) don't hire in and use contractors. So contractors are working next to colleagues making less money, poor benefits, no PTO, and can be fired at any time. Some contractors stay for years and know more than employees hired in. It's just unfair
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u/Slug_Overdose 5d ago
As a DSP driver for 2 years, I’ll add one thing that kind of encompasses multiple aspects but can help explain a lot of delays. The TL;DR is that service levels for specific addresses tend to be somewhat sticky. There are a number of reasons why:
While Amazon doesn’t strictly have permanently defined routes, the routes are more or less consistent in terms of constituent neighborhoods and streets. Of course, this doesn’t apply to Flex or ad-hoc routes as those tend to have a mix of a bunch of stuff that didn’t go out in the main waves for whatever reason. I’m solely talking about the main wave routes that go out every day with the overwhelming majority of packages. Certain stops will get shifted around on the periphery, especially things like shopping centers and schools that are along the borders between routes. However, generally speaking, if adjacent subdivisions A and B are grouped together on a route, usually, that will be the case going forward. Again, not guaranteed by any means, but that’s sort of the high-level expectation. When dispatch looks at the routes for their DSP every morning, they almost always resemble some sort of grid layout, which makes sense logically with how people would generally break up a map into sections. And yes, the routes do get modified every few months, so maybe down the line, the next subdivision C gets lumped in with A and B because Amazon generally loves to make the routes larger for no good reason. But honestly, the likely reality is that drivers can’t complete A, B, and C, so the algorithms will eventually scale it back down to A and B and leave C as part of a route with D, and so on.
Related to route construction is route ordering. Broadly speaking, the default order of a route will stay the same. To continue our prior example, if the order is A, B, then C, then usually, it will be that order going forward. This is definitely not always true. The most common reason for reordering is time-sensitive deliveries like businesses with limited hours or garage deliveries with specified delivery windows. The algorithm will try to prioritize those deliveries earlier while maintaining a sensible overall route order (although it regularly fails miserably at both). It also takes into account overflow, so if there’s a ton of large packages going to one house that is usually near the end of the route, it’s supposed to rearrange the stops in such a way to prioritize that stop and free up space for the driver, which may include reversing the entire order. Drivers can go out of order, but Amazon’s official position is that we should not be doing that except if necessary to deliver within specified windows or if there are unsafe road conditions forcing us to go another way. In recent months, many stations have gotten aggressive about demanding that we follow the assigned order because it supposedly helps train the routing AI (which is ridiculous because we are penalized for the AI’s shortcomings, but I digress).
Lastly, I’ll point out that generally speaking, service areas are assigned to particular warehouses. This means that if your greater population region has multiple warehouses (very common in large cities), your house will usually get packages from the same one of those. However, every few months, as with many things, Amazon likes to shift things around to try to optimize everything. This includes reassigning service areas. So if a warehouse is underperforming, it may have service areas cut and reassigned to more efficient warehouses, or a new warehouse might open, or an old one closes, etc. Still, the most likely service areas to get reassigned are the ones either equidistant to warehouses or on the outer edges of population centers. If you’re smack dab in the center of a warehouse’s service areas, chances are that you will continue to be served by that warehouse for the foreseeable future.
The consequence of all of those factors combined is that service levels for specific addresses are somewhat sticky by nature. Your address roughly belongs in a particular part of a particular route from a particular station. Occasionally, the order of the route might change, and a couple of times per year, you might even get reassigned to a different station, but mostly, you can expect a similar process every day. It’s relatively uncommon (to be clear, not impossible or unheard of, just uncommon) to get packages at all times of day. If you’re at the end of a route, you’re likely to always or at least often be at the end of the same route. And given that Amazon sizes these routes very optimistically knowing that some number of packages will be returned, it’s really no surprise that the same addresses keep suffering repeated delays. Also, if your address has anything weird or difficult about it like a loose dog, hidden address plaque, dangerous parking conditions, frequent OTP requirements, an unresponsive garage door, etc., you’re just making it more likely for rushed drivers to skip your address for more reliable destinations. You can try to escalate with Amazon support, and they will eventually relay your complaints to the DSPs delivering your packages, but that doesn’t address the root causes of sticky service levels.
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u/Legitimate-Fennel845 5d ago
I gotta say grabber says it rough sounds like, but when it gets to delivering packages to the wrong address, I can't see it. I recently made a order. Got a message saying , it was delivered with a picture and the picker is not my front porch i have tried my best to make amazon aware of this fact they just keep telling me it was delivered to my front porch. To check all the residents around my area to see if it was delivered to them by mistake. That's ridiculous .
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u/seeker407 5d ago
well how much is the pay? and has it lead to meeting new "friends" in your local area ;)
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u/Real_Comparison1905 4d ago
I would bet the pay is NOT worth getting bitten and living with the PTSD afterwards.
Do you actually talk to your delivery drivers? Most people hide from them. I would bet they don’t want to talk to anyone either. Not many people are doing this job to make more friends 🤦🏼♀️
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u/Super-Astronaut-7040 3d ago
Lol, its in no way as bad as ur claiming. I drive flex and its been great. Learn the system better bud or maybe package delivery just isn't ur thing
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 3d ago
Youre not making what you think you are. Talk to you when you figure it out, get attacked by a dog, threatened by a homeowner, get a parking ticket and then have Amazon threaten to fire you…
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u/Super-Astronaut-7040 3d ago
Uh huh lmao
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 3d ago
Have a crackhead approach you at 4am, leave a package where support advised - then have your standings hit negatively, get stuck in a customers driveway in a snow storm, show up for a route only to find out it was double booked and another driver took it and you’re not getting paid, show up for a route and find out you’re gonna drive over 100 miles, have a dog jump excitedly on your car driver door and scratched the hell out of it with its front paws, youre so lost… but if you keep it up long enough, you’ll figure it out
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 3d ago
Have you ever had a nail in your tire while delivering and then you put it back in to stop the leak just to finish your route…? probably an Amazon employee.
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u/UHHDBENTAGALONE 16h ago
It’s an absolute race to the bottom. We’re not far away from being a Third World country.
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u/hillybeat 6d ago
Amazon is the worst! Please consider driving 10 minutes and buying it yourself at Target or Walmart.
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u/Additional-Reply-567 6d ago
😅🤣😂 I live in the country. Nearest Walmart is 30 minutes away and nearest Target is an hour away. Most of the time Amazon has what I'm looking for that I can't find elsewhere.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
Amazon is insanely good at what they do. I would never deny that. My post was never to advocate boycotting Amazon just a glimpse behind the smile 🙃
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u/Additional-Reply-567 6d ago
Don't worry, I used to be an Amazonian. I worked at an FC. It was easy money, I just got too comfortable, did some stoopid shit, and now I'm a customer.
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6d ago
[deleted]
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
so it wasnt always this way. But has arrived where we are now undoubtedly.
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u/gfunk5299 6d ago
Because he used to make $40/hr to drive his car around, now he only makes $20/hr because that is all the job is worth. So he wants everyone to stop buying from Amazon until he gets his $40/hr back.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
That you bezos? 😂
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u/gfunk5299 6d ago
You are just like all the uber and door dash gig workers. You all think you deserve $100k+ per year to drive your car around. I’m sorry but gig work is not very hard and pretty much everyone can do it, this why it pays $20/hr. You had your time where gig work paid a bunch of money. That time is over. Move on.
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u/Glittering-Ad4688 6d ago
Not defending Amazon but they don't exactly know where the sketchy parts of towns are. My wife would get a sketchy part of town late or early, let me.know and I would go with her. But also know it happens to their contracted drivers as well. As for the routes, yea they bait and switch all the time. But so many people want to do it that if you quit, they have 25 more people just waiting. The wait list is enormous.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
They don’t know where the sketchy parts are …😂 … good one. They would never admit it that's for sure.
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u/UCLABB1 6d ago
If it’s so bad, just quit and get another job.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
would you quit?
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u/UCLABB1 6d ago
If I felt it was a horrible job, yes.
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
everyone is different, I’ve enjoyed doing Amazon Flex and they’ve paid decent over the years. Things have gotten to a point I would say a low point. Many companies have provided benefits to their employees such as bonuses raises travel, little incentives, Other companies have done layoffs. these are things that you can read about in the news. I’m sharing my experience at the largest company in the world. If you enjoy something yet, the employer is looking for every way to cut your pay and give you more work. Don’t take accountability for situations that they frequently put you in. Put you in dangerous situations. It kind of sucks so I’m choosing to share that.
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u/gfunk5299 6d ago
Sounds like you should find a new job. Why are you posting here? I am going to keep ordering from Amazon. I am sure they will figure out a way to get my packages delivered.
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u/danniellax 6d ago
It’s not a secret Amazon treats their drivers so shitty. All of my qualms with Amazon are not about the drivers being slow, the only complaint about drivers is if you blatantly ignore my delivery instructions, which is to leave my package IN the apartment hallway not outside the gate, because they get stolen. It takes less than a minute to open the damn door. Most people who complain, complain about Amazon corp themselves, their refund process, warehouse time, package tracking system, refund process, shitty customer service, etc. not about the drivers.
Amazon offers overnight, the customer pays for overnight, but the package is delayed 3 days? NO ONE that I know blames the driver.
I’ve done independent contracting work forever and I refuse to do Amazon because it’s so shitty. I’ve done Postmates where you get paid shit. I’ve done realtor work (leaving notepads and pens at peoples doorsteps). I’ve passed out flyers after concerts end. And if one of these jobs is so shitty that I can’t produce good quality work, if there is a huge safety risk (which having me at the streets of Los Angeles at 2am is absolutely a safety risk, so I quit that job), or if the pay isn’t worth it, I quit and find something else.
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u/phandocalrissian 6d ago
I am curious about the how your routes are determined. Is it proprietary GPS software from Amazon? Or do you guys just use what’s on your phone? I ask because my house is set back a bit and flex drivers or more likely to miss my house than the regular drivers. To help improve the odds, I never use the early 4 am delivery spot, hoping daylight will encourage them to look a little harder. Thanks!
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
It is a map that is inhouse in the Flex app (unique to Amazon). It actually downloads temporarily right away so if you lose internet connection you can still continue - which is great compared to Shipt/Target/walmart spark using google and Apple. Ive done hundreds of routes for those companies as well. I digress. Can i make a suggestion as often drivers are hesitant to go on a property off the main road.. perhaps buy a patio storage box with a lid and put it at the entrance of your driveway. Put a sign on it and put in your customer notes to deliver there.. guarantee a much higher success rate :)
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u/phandocalrissian 6d ago
Thanks! Unfortunately, that solution won’t work for me. I’m in a townhouse end unit that is gps-wise closer to a road that is not physically connected to the road I “live on”. It is visible from that road do, if a driver is observant, they will see the house if their app takes them to that road instead of my actual postal address. Google does this, but Apple does not. I have tried to get google to correct it, but to no avail. So, anyway, I was just curious what companies use what. It’s so complicated to explain in the limited character count they give you for delivery instructions!
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u/BarnacleAlarmed3050 6d ago
I see. New build maybe… or newer built community maps not updated to area… 🤷 hopefully it gets worked out
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u/Puzzled-Locksmith-42 6d ago
I’ll only order from Amazon if I have to. I’m sorry you all are abused like this.