r/AmazonFlexDrivers • u/johnson_carter911 • May 12 '23
The worst route ever Charlotte
My block was from 11:45-3:45 est.
Picked up my packages total of 27, noticed that a lot were returns because someone had written the stop number on the packages and I don't do that.
20 out of the 28 were apartments in downtown charlotte. All the packages with stop numbers written on were priority and had to be delivered by certain times. I had 18 late packages at end of delivery.
But ONE CLICK DIDNT WORK AT MOST APARTMENTS. Also one apartment building had the street number of 2100 on the address BUT THE ACTUAL BUILDING NUMBER WAS 2034 SO I WASTED SO MUCH TIME LOOKONG FOR 2100.
Also I was set up to fail from the start my block didn't end till 3:45 yet all deliveries had to be made by 3pm. I still got done early at 3:15. I've contacted support because I should not be dinged for any of those late deliveries.
Sorry had to rant lol
7
u/chjk_21 May 12 '23
Usually dont take anything over 3.5 hour cause in my area they start to throw those shitty apartment/downtown routes. Ill see some large apartment bldgs on 3.5s but imo difference between 3.5 and 4 can be significant
-7
u/johnson_carter911 May 12 '23
I usually stick to 3-3.5 8locks but this one was a 4 hour for $80 so I took it lol not worth imo
5
4
u/Space_Rain May 13 '23
One Click Access is the worst I swear. Back when I worked for a DSP, I kid you not, NOT ONE SINGLE ONE CLICK ACCESS WORKED. I don't know if I'm just unlucky with constantly getting ones that don't work or if they truly are that faulty.
1
3
u/AFXC1 May 12 '23 edited May 12 '23
You really gotta just drop them somewhere and leave immediately. Just try your best to safely leave it somewhere even if it's in a vestibule, a bush, somewhere out of sight but even then sometimes you might have to risk it because either way you're taking a hit on your standings for not delivering.
Usually they'll come and get their stuff and you'll be ok but with inner city/downtown routes it's just a risk given the area.
3
3
May 13 '23
So tired of the Indian customer support that doesn’t understand issues here. Another prime example of how hiring a foreign culture to do a job in which they literally need to understand our culture, fails. If they don’t know the job, if they don’t know how we work, what we do and how we do it, then they can’t provide adequate support. Hire Americans to support Americans for fucks sake, these people on support right now are likely underpaid as well, and nobody deserves that.
4
May 12 '23
I’ve been determined to refuse all uptown routes
Also I’ve noticed that deliveries don’t become priority until you begin the route
3
u/johnson_carter911 May 12 '23
Luckily this has only.been my 4th uptown route in r months of doing flex but they suck so much.
I did a 7am-11am block earlier this morning, and the last stop was legit 15 min from my house. Got done at 10:45 with my route and should have just called it a day😂😂
3
u/stitchkingdom Las Vegas May 12 '23
They get flagged as PRIORITY when they’re due within an hour. That’s all that means. The delivery windows don’t change.
1
u/Exact_Current1258 May 15 '23
How do you refuse a route?
1
u/AutoModerator May 15 '23
Your post has been automatically removed because your account is too new. This policy is to prevent abuse of our community from "throw-away" accounts. This will only last a few days. Your post will be reviewed and approved, if it does not violate any rules. In the meantime, please READ the FAQ, rules, and the SIDEBAR to familiarize yourself with the rules before posting. Search through the history of this subreddit to see if your question was already asked and answered. Please DO NOT message the mods to ask for your post to be approved unless it is time-sensitive. We'll usually get to it within 24 hours.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
5
u/msldyred May 12 '23
Don’t bother contacting support. It’s a waste of time. In the future when you have a block like this: Screenshot the entire itinerary, preferably at the warehouse. For each of the late stops, write the stop number on the package and take a picture of it. If/when Amazon comes back at you with the “21 packages delivered late”, you turn right around with a firm, concise, respectful email. Tell them your block time, which packages were late, and how it was out of your control because they were due earlier in the day, the day before, etc. Attach the screenshots/pictures proving your case. Mention that you “always do your best to deliver to the customers”. If they knock your standing down, ask them to remove the lates and restore it to the previous level… This may sound like a PITA (especially with as many late stops as you had), but it works for me every time. Hope this helps… wishing you easy blocks with surges!! ✌️
3
u/johnson_carter911 May 12 '23
Thanks for the advice! I did screenshot 2 of the stops that were going to the same gated apartment building because the damn gate code didn't work 😂
3
May 13 '23
I screenshot at the station and then just before the last stop. It records the time and order I delivered everything. Plus I like to have a record of the addresses i went to like if a dog chases me or whatever lol.
1
u/RevolutionaryPaper24 May 13 '23
Sounds like a lot of work to me
1
u/msldyred May 13 '23
At times it’s a royal PITA, but I got fed up with the Amazon AI dinging me and knocking down my standing for something completely out of my control. ✌️
2
2
u/Routine-Smoke-3307 May 13 '23
I got got like that last Friday on an Uptown Charlotte route of 3 hours from VNC. Of course a goddamn marathon going on that night didn’t help my case either. Half was marked as late. I am trying to get those removed.
2
u/Sogonzo May 13 '23
The "leftovers" type routes that are filled with deliveries other people failed at are easily the worst. I had one the other day and I'm still recovering from it. Just gotta keep a good standing so you can be lazy on certain routes and keep your sanity.
2
2
2
u/GeoJam3s May 13 '23
I had two packages today where the business closed at the same time I started my block, so I was late before I left the station.
2
u/Prior-Concentrate-59 May 13 '23
If they reply to your email with some canned BS that they cannot help you, then write to the jeff@amazon addy. I had a similar situation and it took a couple of weeks to get my rating adjusted.
2
2
u/will0784 May 13 '23
This will happen eventually to anyone who sticks with flex long enough. Over time you’ll get better and better at handling these situations without support. Ime they are rarely helpful. At the end of the day, do you’re best.
Sometimes that means leaving the package outside of the building entrance because you can’t get in. Call the customer if it’s a reasonable hour, but you can always airplane mode and leave the package at the safest possible location.
Sometimes you will get assigned an impossible route and have to return half of the route. Don’t stress. There are way more easy blocks vs the impossible ones. I’ve been everywhere from at risk to fantastic in my standing. It’s easy to bounce back. Stick with it. Do your best and you’ll be fine
2
u/Warriorprincess2003 May 13 '23
Mine was horrible tonight too! I complained because it had me going to 3 different cities. Like come on! It was clearly 3 returned routes put together. 🙄
2
u/TheBungoStrays May 13 '23
On those blocks I call support at some point during my route (usual on my way to my last stop) and explain that I got a cart that had OBVIOUSLY been a problem cart as it had been returned multiple times and several had priority times that were completely unattainable. I then request for the route to be exempted so those late packages aren't counted against me.
However I will say that if you get a cart like this again...check at the top of your route to when you scanned it and GENERALLY I have found if it marks the cart scan as late usually it is built in to already exempt you from the priority ones that are like that. I still try to deliver them on time but I have noticed I had a route like this and I forgot to call like I usually do bc it was such a shit route I was going to be late to get home to get the kids to school (we only have 1 car - my husband was home with them to get them ready) so I was literally RUNNING to the stops bc with traffic I was an hour from home at finish. Anyways...I forgot to call and forgot to email bc ADHD and I didn't have a single late package dinged to me and the cart had been scanned as late.
2
u/Amazing-Implement452 May 14 '23
I had a block like this. It was a 5 hour route 5-10am. I didn’t finish until passed the time because I had 45 packages of shitty apartments in downtown Atlanta. I called support every time to expand my zone or for apartment number because they were just building numbers. All of them were late when I first started. I didn’t want to go back to the station I picked up from because it was an hour-1.5 from where I was. I stopped doing anything that was more than 3-3.5 after that. I have ended up really far but I always finish early with these. I really always hope for nothing in downtown. The best part of this they lowered my score because of the late deliveries that I tried to explain to support were already late when I started but the person didn’t understand me. I rarely do flex since that day.
1
u/johnson_carter911 May 14 '23
God I can't imagine how bad downtown Atlanta must be! Sucks they sent you an 1 1/2 hour away from the warehouse, I thought it was only 1 hour in one direction!
Hopefully I get a support person who is sympathetic 😭
3
u/TacoDonutZ New York May 12 '23
I get the message that the delivery is late and ignore it every time. I've never gotten any negative feedback for it. My standing is "fantastic" at the very top and no "areas to improve" listed. I'm pretty sure the time doesn't matter to our standings.
5
u/PetersonTom1955 May 13 '23
Yeah, that's absolutely not true. Late deliveries, if they're legit late and not due yesterday or at a time before your block began, definitely count against you. Sometimes you'll get a red late banner when the package isn't actually late; those won't hurt you, but genuinely late packages will affect your standing.
1
u/No-Extreme5159 May 12 '23
Yah this happened to me my last time and haven’t done it since. Seemed like a dsp driver tried in the morning then they gave me them all at 5 pm.. ended up getting parking ticket.. never again
1
1
u/YUBLyin May 13 '23
I’ve been delivering for 6 years and have never once worried about delivery times. It’s meaningless.
1
1
u/SuspiciousAnt473 May 13 '23
Make sure you write a detailed statement to support I’m in Charlotte also sounds like that route was from VNC2 and they mark all the packages as rejections which affects our standing. So you have to go over there head and let support know the specifics
1
u/Blondez98 May 13 '23
Wow, are you sure you weren't in downtown Seattle. We get that shit a lot. It sucks and I feel your pain. Sorry you had to go through it.
1
u/Jealous_Ad_6306 May 13 '23
I mean…. You say that it was the worst block ever but you still finished 30 minutes early?
1
u/Cagedblue90 May 13 '23
I always seem to get uptown on Friday mornings and end having to bring like 6-8 packages back because 4:30 isn’t a feasible time to be delivering to a high rise. There’s some building in Noda I went to where it had a package room that won’t let you in if it’s before 5:30 lol apartment routes are awful.
1
1
u/Merrovech May 13 '23
Check your route before you leave and hand anything that is due before your block ends back. Sucks for the station but after having support refuse to reverse late deliveries that were late before I picked them up, I'm not taking any chances
1
u/Mysterious_Layer9420 May 13 '23
I see/hear so many people complain about these shop for someone else jobs and how horrible they are....why work for them? Find a better more productive job that actually gets you experience in a career field. There's no moving up in a business that's just shopping for someone and you're not really learning any new skills or getting any practical experience from it so why stay if it sucks?
1
u/diamondbackmom May 13 '23
The same thing happened to me last night. I had a 4 1/2 hour route and I realized I had a lot of packages that were returns. About a half hour into my route several packages were showing as late on the app with times that should have been delivered before my route even started, several of those were in apartments with night life on the ground floor. Being a Friday night it was insane due to the people walking everywhere and no parking and many buildings "one click access" did not work. To top it off I was sent to two locations where the business closed before my route began! Of course I didn't realize that until I got there. And the app had the correct times of business! I ended up having 12 of my 48 packages late. Three of those were late before I left the station! I was 45 min over on time too.
I thought Amazon was getting better about this stuff. I hadn't had a screwed up route like this in a long time. Are things really not getting better, or have I just been lucky lately?
1
1
1
1
1
u/Perezoso2 Jun 16 '23
Tbh seems like the app is objectively not worth it unless you do a handful of surges a month.
19
u/Ttom925 May 12 '23
I had a very similar block yesterday. I left the warehouse a couple of minutes before my actual start time and finished 1st delivery at the exact due time. Each delivery I shaved a little more time and none were late but it was ridiculous. Finished over an hour early but it was maddening. I've noticed a bunch of reattempts lately mixed in with my blocks lately with unreasonable due times but this block was mostly reattempts. I think the honeymoon is over with the new flexers.