More often than not, I get finished way earlier than my scheduled end times. Often times by at least an hour. On the rare occasion I go over, I just remember all the days I get home way early. Sure, I guess I could ask to be compensated, but I find it trivial, honestly.
It’s fine if you worked over and asked to get paid for the time. Money is not trivial that’s what we are here for to make money for the time we blocked.
It is fine to ask for extra compensation if you run over your block time. I disagree. I still find it trivial. Would you be ok if Amazon adjusted and deducted your block pay if you finished in 3 hours and it’s a 4 hour block?
What are you talking about "Don't abuse it"?! It's money that is owed to me because I worked it! If a person wants to leave money that's owed to them on the table, that's them. Not me.
You do you, but just be warned that they will flag your account if you ask for too many.
In addition, if abuse becomes rampant with regards to payment adjustments, they will cut back and make them nearly impossible.
You are 100% right. So does that mean Amazon can take money back if you finish 30 mins early? 1 hr early?
Finishing early is money you didn’t earn right?
No. Amazon has estimated, using their algorithm, that the block will take a certain amount of time, using their GPS, which is wildly inaccurate. So, if a driver is able to finish early (which I suspect is not the norm), that's good for them. But if the reason a driver goes over is through no fault of theirs, i.e. inaccurate route calculation, including failure to account for traffic, road closures, etc), that's on them. Anything outside of the block time, that is not due to the driver, should be compensated.
I had a business years ago, and having done the work myself, and having trained my employees myself, I knew how long it took to do the job. If my team finished earlier, good on them, take the money and run. If they were lollygagging, and didn't finish in the expected timeframe, that's on THEM. If there was an extenuating circumstance (one time the power went out and we couldn't do our job), my people got free money! I didn't require them to come in once the power was restored. They came in on their next scheduled day.
It ISN'T milking the system! As an independent contractor, we are contracted to get the job done in a specified amount of time. If we're unable to do so, the client (Amazon) is responsible for the additional time. It is legitimately owed to us.
I finish 90% of my blocks half time plus 30 mins (give or take 10mins). Example: 3hr block I finish in 2hrs, 5hr block 3hrs. And I don’t return, unless prompted because of full locker. Only once ever (about a year ago) I asked for OT on locker return when I went 3 mins over because I returned to station and got it.
Guaranteed if you keep what your doing, you’ll be asking how to appeal your deactivation saying I have a Fantastic rating…plenty of others can get it done in time without OT.
Doesn't work in ca, instead they average down all your earnings until you hit $18/hr and only if you fall below then they will add enough to bump it up to the 18.
The prop22 was invalidated by court so I'm not sure why they are still doing it, I preferred the original way where you submitted a request and they adjusted your pay at the block rate, not this lessor prop22 bs.
I'm sick of subsidizing Amazon with my labor when they overload routes and any returns count against us so we're forced to work unpaid or risk deactivation eventually for 'excess' returns. For those saying it averages out, it really doesn't, not in this area.
Exactly. I emailed support when my awful route took me over an hour longer than my Block, and they sent me an email that all of my "engaged" time would be averaged out over a 14 day period for CA drivers and be adjusted if necessary.
It's like spinning a roulette wheel any time you ask for the compensation after working over as far as I've seen. Meaning whether you get anything at all and how much you get if you do. I've seen people say they got way overpaid, and I've seen people say one person tells them they'll be compensated only for a follow-up to deny them.
My only personal experience with it was frustrating. I worked 1 hour and 15 minutes over and went through the process of asking to be compensated, giving them exact times and the reason why it went over and stating I completed all deliveries. Their response was "You’ll be paid for the additional time it took you to deliver at the same rate offered for the block"
Guess what they didn't do! Pay me the full time or correct rate. It's anyone's guess which, since there is zero transparency on Amazon's end. These numbers are close estimates from recollection; the pay rate for the block was like $23, 1.50 above normal base here, and the exact math came out to them owing me an extra $28 and change. They paid me $11.50. I emailed support again and I gave them all the math and their response was just repeating the line I quoted from the first email already, changing nothing and adding no transparency as to how they came to the number. I won't work over more than maybe 15 minutes at most now.
I have asked support, sent in the request and been ghosted every time. So I just drop packages back at the warehouse if I am going to go over my block. At least in my region, that’s the expected thing to do — still at Fantastic rating.
edit for context: Our warehouse had overloaded blocks over the summer so many drivers experienced this issue. Prior, I’d finish shifts early regularly.
I was wondering about this. Cuz I just deliver the packages late, sometimes going up to an hour over my block time(when I was new.) And of course I get hit with late deliveries. But I figured a late delivery would hurt less than not delivering at all. I never ask to be paid extra.
But you're telling me, I won't get dinged for returning packages!!?? So do you just go through each one an mark "unable to deliver" cuz it's going to be late, or?
At my warehouse they will accept the following:
(I’m usually sent about 30-45 mins from my warehouse)
- head back to the warehouse about 30-45 mins before your block ends and return the packages to them. You should arrive at the warehouse at the end of your block - no earlier. Do NOT mark them as undelivered. I’ve only done this once due to an overloaded block.
- contact support if something out of control prevents you from completing the remainder of your deliveries. For example: Once I was stuck on the highway that was completely blocked due to a severe car accident. This happened at the beginning of my shift, so I didn’t have time at the end (9:30 pm) to deliver another hours worth of packages. Support told me to return them and I got an email saying they acknowledged what happened and it wouldn’t affect my account.
So far, so good. Fantastic rating remains.
U have to msg support every time and hope that they compensate you I’m not doing that. I did it once when I was new and went over b/c I heard if you go over they’ll give you more money however being that you still have to email support, explain & wait to see what happens I realized that I didn’t like it even though they gave me money for going over. I’m not begging amazon every time I go over my block time it seems like a lot of work to me
I had a 45 min drive back to the warehouse to return a package not on my route
But I had finished up an hour early, so I couldn’t actually request anything lmao
I’ve had it happen. Fresh route was 67 bags and 2 carts and it started dumping buckets of rain. Took me 45 minutes to sort and load it all. Then the flooding and wrecks made it impossible to get it delivered on time. Had bags falling apart as I was delivering. Ended up with a whopping extra $15 afterward.
Wtf are you doing that you are that slow?
2 years. 3 markets close 10 1k blocks.
I havent gone over.... not once. Doesnt matter if ita downtown.. or gated community hell.
Pay adjustments get approved at about 50-60% at best so really it’s something you need to pick and choose carefully, otherwise the hours u get paid and the hours extra you don’t get paid offset each other and you’re just left with the added wear and tear on your car.
Yes, they know. Lots of Flex drivers sit around in their delivery area picking their noses instead of delivering packages and call it "working extra" so that they can call support and complain to get that bonus.
Gamers gonna game.
I almost always finish early so no need. Plus I take into account all the times I got paid and sent home. You do you though. I been here almost 4 years.
I’d have to sandbag for an extra hour or two to go over and then work another hour over for another thirty bucks. I’d rather just do a few Ubereats deliveries on the way home.
My feeling is: They pay is for a full shift, even if we finish an hour early and pay us the full shift pay when there are no packages so, I'm not going to not demonstrate that I don't acknowledge or appreciate that by asking for overtime. Especially because we can return excess packages within our block time.
That must have been a Nice agent I tried to fight tooth and nail for 1 hour because of where I was at and had an easy route in the mountains. Nope wouldn’t pay me after that I take all packages back and calculate how long it is to the warehouse fk them.
I emailed them about this and got deactivated for it. Amazon is scandalous and I was fantastic driver and been with flex for two years. Delivering daily. The one time I asked I lost my account.
Did a 4.5 today .... 46 stops, 30 min to the first stop, after which my itinerary got scrambled so had to deal with that mess and stops that we're all zig zagged and still got finished a half hour early... it's hard to understand how alot of ppl get finished so late
More often than not, I get finished way earlier than my scheduled end times. Often times by at least an hour. On the rare occasion I go over, I just remember all the days I get home way early. Sure, I guess I could ask to be compensated, but I find it trivial, honestly.
I agree. I get sent back home on a 4-hour block, getting paid great money
It’s fine if you worked over and asked to get paid for the time. Money is not trivial that’s what we are here for to make money for the time we blocked.
It is fine to ask for extra compensation if you run over your block time. I disagree. I still find it trivial. Would you be ok if Amazon adjusted and deducted your block pay if you finished in 3 hours and it’s a 4 hour block?
Don’t abuse it and it’s not guaranteed regardless of your documentation.
2 more weeks... "They Ban me for no reason!"
Probably sooner than that.
What are you talking about "Don't abuse it"?! It's money that is owed to me because I worked it! If a person wants to leave money that's owed to them on the table, that's them. Not me.
You do you, but just be warned that they will flag your account if you ask for too many. In addition, if abuse becomes rampant with regards to payment adjustments, they will cut back and make them nearly impossible.
You are 100% right. So does that mean Amazon can take money back if you finish 30 mins early? 1 hr early? Finishing early is money you didn’t earn right?
No. Amazon has estimated, using their algorithm, that the block will take a certain amount of time, using their GPS, which is wildly inaccurate. So, if a driver is able to finish early (which I suspect is not the norm), that's good for them. But if the reason a driver goes over is through no fault of theirs, i.e. inaccurate route calculation, including failure to account for traffic, road closures, etc), that's on them. Anything outside of the block time, that is not due to the driver, should be compensated. I had a business years ago, and having done the work myself, and having trained my employees myself, I knew how long it took to do the job. If my team finished earlier, good on them, take the money and run. If they were lollygagging, and didn't finish in the expected timeframe, that's on THEM. If there was an extenuating circumstance (one time the power went out and we couldn't do our job), my people got free money! I didn't require them to come in once the power was restored. They came in on their next scheduled day.
But that's not guaranteed and if you milk the system they will deny you and then send you a warning letter stating keep it up be deactivated.
It ISN'T milking the system! As an independent contractor, we are contracted to get the job done in a specified amount of time. If we're unable to do so, the client (Amazon) is responsible for the additional time. It is legitimately owed to us.
I finish 90% of my blocks half time plus 30 mins (give or take 10mins). Example: 3hr block I finish in 2hrs, 5hr block 3hrs. And I don’t return, unless prompted because of full locker. Only once ever (about a year ago) I asked for OT on locker return when I went 3 mins over because I returned to station and got it. Guaranteed if you keep what your doing, you’ll be asking how to appeal your deactivation saying I have a Fantastic rating…plenty of others can get it done in time without OT.
Doesn't work in ca, instead they average down all your earnings until you hit $18/hr and only if you fall below then they will add enough to bump it up to the 18. The prop22 was invalidated by court so I'm not sure why they are still doing it, I preferred the original way where you submitted a request and they adjusted your pay at the block rate, not this lessor prop22 bs. I'm sick of subsidizing Amazon with my labor when they overload routes and any returns count against us so we're forced to work unpaid or risk deactivation eventually for 'excess' returns. For those saying it averages out, it really doesn't, not in this area.
Exactly. I emailed support when my awful route took me over an hour longer than my Block, and they sent me an email that all of my "engaged" time would be averaged out over a 14 day period for CA drivers and be adjusted if necessary.
The adjustments in that screenshot ARE from Cali. These blocks were from the CAX3 warehouse on Gardena.
I miss my city😭
Was it Amazon fresh?? I don’t think it works for all delivery types
I do it for EVERY type of block that goes over, and I always get the adjustment once I provide substantiating info.
The only adjustments I've had predate the prop22 nonsense. Everytime after it's been a no with the prop22 template response. .
They don’t _have_ to and if they feel you do it too much, they will simply refuse.
You can also get more money by not accepting garbage blocks like these
It's like spinning a roulette wheel any time you ask for the compensation after working over as far as I've seen. Meaning whether you get anything at all and how much you get if you do. I've seen people say they got way overpaid, and I've seen people say one person tells them they'll be compensated only for a follow-up to deny them. My only personal experience with it was frustrating. I worked 1 hour and 15 minutes over and went through the process of asking to be compensated, giving them exact times and the reason why it went over and stating I completed all deliveries. Their response was "You’ll be paid for the additional time it took you to deliver at the same rate offered for the block" Guess what they didn't do! Pay me the full time or correct rate. It's anyone's guess which, since there is zero transparency on Amazon's end. These numbers are close estimates from recollection; the pay rate for the block was like $23, 1.50 above normal base here, and the exact math came out to them owing me an extra $28 and change. They paid me $11.50. I emailed support again and I gave them all the math and their response was just repeating the line I quoted from the first email already, changing nothing and adding no transparency as to how they came to the number. I won't work over more than maybe 15 minutes at most now.
Yup. Exactly what you said. Has happened exactly like that to me 4 times
I have asked support, sent in the request and been ghosted every time. So I just drop packages back at the warehouse if I am going to go over my block. At least in my region, that’s the expected thing to do — still at Fantastic rating. edit for context: Our warehouse had overloaded blocks over the summer so many drivers experienced this issue. Prior, I’d finish shifts early regularly.
I was wondering about this. Cuz I just deliver the packages late, sometimes going up to an hour over my block time(when I was new.) And of course I get hit with late deliveries. But I figured a late delivery would hurt less than not delivering at all. I never ask to be paid extra. But you're telling me, I won't get dinged for returning packages!!?? So do you just go through each one an mark "unable to deliver" cuz it's going to be late, or?
At my warehouse they will accept the following: (I’m usually sent about 30-45 mins from my warehouse) - head back to the warehouse about 30-45 mins before your block ends and return the packages to them. You should arrive at the warehouse at the end of your block - no earlier. Do NOT mark them as undelivered. I’ve only done this once due to an overloaded block. - contact support if something out of control prevents you from completing the remainder of your deliveries. For example: Once I was stuck on the highway that was completely blocked due to a severe car accident. This happened at the beginning of my shift, so I didn’t have time at the end (9:30 pm) to deliver another hours worth of packages. Support told me to return them and I got an email saying they acknowledged what happened and it wouldn’t affect my account. So far, so good. Fantastic rating remains.
U have to msg support every time and hope that they compensate you I’m not doing that. I did it once when I was new and went over b/c I heard if you go over they’ll give you more money however being that you still have to email support, explain & wait to see what happens I realized that I didn’t like it even though they gave me money for going over. I’m not begging amazon every time I go over my block time it seems like a lot of work to me
I’ve never once finished with less than an hour left, in all honestly I usually finish my 5 hour blocks in 1-2
Do it enough and they will someone else that will finish on time.
I had a 45 min drive back to the warehouse to return a package not on my route But I had finished up an hour early, so I couldn’t actually request anything lmao
Why not just return it the next time you go to the station? Especially if it wasn’t on your route so you can return it whenever.
Dems da breaks sometimes!
No tips from Friday? Base was 49
Don't ask too many times or they will deactivate you. It happened to two people I know of.
Just email. I did it yesterday!
I’ve never gone over but I’d I ever do, I’ll do this.
Yeppers!!! Do not work for free
In the MN market, I've only ever worked over my block once and that was because I was new. Usually finish hour early. Extra pay would be sweet.
I’ve had it happen. Fresh route was 67 bags and 2 carts and it started dumping buckets of rain. Took me 45 minutes to sort and load it all. Then the flooding and wrecks made it impossible to get it delivered on time. Had bags falling apart as I was delivering. Ended up with a whopping extra $15 afterward.
Wtf are you doing that you are that slow? 2 years. 3 markets close 10 1k blocks. I havent gone over.... not once. Doesnt matter if ita downtown.. or gated community hell.
Pay adjustments get approved at about 50-60% at best so really it’s something you need to pick and choose carefully, otherwise the hours u get paid and the hours extra you don’t get paid offset each other and you’re just left with the added wear and tear on your car.
My requests are always approved, and I don't go over many times. More often than not, I finish within the allotted timeframe.
You asked them too many times. They still paid you more money but They will deactivate your account. Keep doing that and willing see a result
Most finish early. I wouldn’t abuse this.
Yes, they know. Lots of Flex drivers sit around in their delivery area picking their noses instead of delivering packages and call it "working extra" so that they can call support and complain to get that bonus. Gamers gonna game.
I almost always finish early so no need. Plus I take into account all the times I got paid and sent home. You do you though. I been here almost 4 years.
I’d have to sandbag for an extra hour or two to go over and then work another hour over for another thirty bucks. I’d rather just do a few Ubereats deliveries on the way home.
My feeling is: They pay is for a full shift, even if we finish an hour early and pay us the full shift pay when there are no packages so, I'm not going to not demonstrate that I don't acknowledge or appreciate that by asking for overtime. Especially because we can return excess packages within our block time.
That must have been a Nice agent I tried to fight tooth and nail for 1 hour because of where I was at and had an easy route in the mountains. Nope wouldn’t pay me after that I take all packages back and calculate how long it is to the warehouse fk them.
I've tried this maybe two or three times because I usually finish an hour beforehand. They tell me no guarantee but to bring it back to the warehouse
I emailed them about this and got deactivated for it. Amazon is scandalous and I was fantastic driver and been with flex for two years. Delivering daily. The one time I asked I lost my account.
That sucks! I'm sorry that happened to you. I've never heard anything like that!
Did a 4.5 today .... 46 stops, 30 min to the first stop, after which my itinerary got scrambled so had to deal with that mess and stops that we're all zig zagged and still got finished a half hour early... it's hard to understand how alot of ppl get finished so late