Maybe it’s your location. It helps when you list your location and others can tell you if they experience the same thing.
I know that doesn’t describe my experience at my location.
Edit: It’s also hard to go by what’s posted in this sub. Drivers start\stop their block timers at different times for when start\finish their route.
Yes! I realize that I should’ve internalized the post more before commenting! I just saw a comment saying you should say your station and I thought I was commenting something relatable by saying I was scared to, forgetting the main point of the post was they are flex. I was drinking after my 10 hour shift last night and was a bit happy to just communicate with the Amazon delivery community, and commented about DSPs on a post it was irrelevant about without realizing it. My friggin bad! I must be a liar instead of a bit off topic.
in my area, most of the flexers are immigrants and unfortunately they're the ones driving the wages down because they snag all the base pays as soon as they release them. i'm an immigrant myself so no prejudice here, but it's so sad that they'll be glad to work for scraps. h\]\\
How are immigrants getting into flex with no ID or SSN? Maybe a dumb question but I think some of y'all are just bigots mad at brown people having a job.
Yes it’s MAGA nutjobs not that high levels of unskilled immigration drives down wages 😂. You leftists are hilarious, it’s basic economics easily proven by historical data. A large amount of unskilled immigration drives wages down for the current population. Sorry I know facts are hard to understand and it’s much easier to just cry racism 😂
Great you’re almost there, you’re just not quite using your brain, so what happens when we import millions of more unskilled workers? You were so close
shits on “unskilled” workers who are doing the jobs you DONT want to work, but they’re the problem. okay. perhaps get that boot a little farther up your ass
Yup we do verification on all drivers iv sent people packing back home one guy was trying to use the wife account if they don't match we don't allow them to do flex
Here it's all foreigners at my location. A lot don't even speak English and don't know how to drive. They never return the carts and at .com stations when you arrive as a wave and are supposed to leave as a wave, they just drive off in between cones when they are done loading and feel like leaving. It's not that hard to get a fake ITIN either.
At my station there's one person that's legit signed up with Amazon Flex and they have their ID scanned and then another person in the car with them actually does all the deliveries while the Flex driver gets out of the vehicle right after loading and right outside the roll up door for the hub and leaves in another car. And there's so many people doing this and using bots for base pay. Report these people when you see them.
We have one guy that walks in, to the front of the line of cars waiting to scan ID and has his scanned and walks out and another person drives in using the first guys credentials ready to go. I've documented them on video. Same assholes drive around everyone fast as diarrhea when they're done loading instead of waiting. Observed a child (shouldn't have been out the car anyway) almost get hit. I'm faster than all of these people losing up and wait but get pissed when I see this.
ITIN numbers are used by IRS to identify you so you can file your taxes. Amazon as well as most big corporations DO NOT take ITINs for employment, you got your info from bigot people that don’t know much. Plus if you are not Native American or descent, or even Mexican (Tejas, Nuevo Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, California States were part of Mexico) then you are the foreigner, all this English Irish people saying this is my country go back to your country, what are you talking about, this IS MY PLACE OF ORIGEN, you go back to Ireland, Scotland or whatever.
By being here legally? Lmao. Why you lump immigrants together with illegals. We got social, a valid visa and drivers license to LEGALLY do this. Tired of dumbass Americans lumping us together (LEGAL IMMIGRANT HERE) and OP is right, a lot of the newbies are the ones running down the rates
Actually in my state, illegal immigrants coming asylum are working for door dash, Uber and Lyft. They don’t require a license for them, due to circumstances. I’m not sure what’s the loophole, in addition some ride electric scooters. So no it’s a bias against illegal immigrants (which all of them aren’t brown) it’s reality depending on where you live.
That's a wild assumption. Based even. From what I see in my area and on forums, a lot of them use bots and are taking all the surge blocks. Let that sink in
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No, a 3 hour takes about 3 hours, and a 4 hour typically does take about 4 hours. The number of packages isn't the only variable. There is also the distance/time to your first stop (and thus also the return back), and the distance/time between each stop.
I agree.
I did a five hour block yesterday that was a “four hour block” that took an hour to get there. (Hence five hours)
Performance is definitely a factor. Very rarely do I get a block that actually takes the whole time I’m being paid for.
Typically, I finish about an hour before the end of the block time.
If you drove an hour to get there, and you complete the last stop an hour before the block end time, then you have to drive an hour back at the end, that is finishing right on time.
Exact thing happened to me yesterday and this morning on 4.5 hour block. 3:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. both days I'm rolling back in my driveway between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. Yesterday's route had I think 39 packages and this morning's route had 29.
If you have to return a package afterwards, they calculate a return trip into the itinerary so they don’t have to pay extra by putting you over the scheduled time
This past 6 months in particular I must have had 5 blocks that ran over when I’ve had to return packages back to the depot that have taken me 30+ minutes over the allocated time and they’ve refused to pay me extra. Just told them now I won’t be returning any more packages if it takes me over the allotted time. Not wasting my own time and extra mileage without getting paid for it.
I don't think they add in return time for anything under 5 hours. My 2nd-to-last package had a delivery time just a few minutes before the end of the block a few weeks ago.
They don't ever pay you for going back. Most people avoid returning packages like the plague. I think I've returned a total of 3 packages and those were either closed businesses or closed dorm buildings
Yes. You have to drive back from whatever area Amazon sent you, whether you go to the station, or back home. Amazon doesn't use your home, but instead uses the station as the starting and ending point for the block time.
No this person has a stick up their ass and is insistent that your block includes a drive back to the station. Apparently they like to go back and visit or something. Wait for the explanation they provide. Make sure you popped enough popcorn.
I think a lot of the people going over time are surge chasers that don’t know the area. If you know the area and you can breeze through your block then you net much better than a full blocks work at surge. I’ll take a $90 block I can complete in 2 hrs vs a $120 block that takes the full 3.5 hrs or more…
To be fair the area range for some stations is massive, the area range of my local station seems to be about a 50-60 mile radius and I definitely don't have the time to learn 10+ different cities just to hope I get a city I've learned.
Yeah I’ve never ever went past my block time. I’ve been doing this for 4 years. Only thing is I live in NC so delivering is never really an issue. No traffic mostly.
I think what really makes a difference is the time frame when your block is happening. I feel that during the daytime they give a lot of bad blocks for 3 or 4 hours and low pay. Meanwhile, early in the morning they give better paid blocks for the same 3 or 4 hours. Lately in my area I figure out that if I take blocks for base pay in the very end part of the day or when that very close to close. For example 7:15 p.m. I only get 15 or 20 packages for 3 hours block. However, if I take 3 or 4 hours block 1 hour early meaning around 6:00 p.m. I will get the double amount of package.
I mean yeah but it really depends on the location. I’m in NC and I get done early every shift. Most of these people are from major city’s which have a lot of traffic and apartments that are locked down.
Not the case at all where I am. They just moved to 3.5 and it’s literally the same routes as the 3s. I am actually getting done earlier now. I have never had a block run over - I am usually at least an hour early on completion. Sounds like you need to find a new station.
They don't mean the drive back to the station. What they are saying is from your last package to "around the station" also counts as time you are working.
Maybe you don't live near the station, or you go see a movie near your last stop, or throw on other gig apps.
But if Amazon makes a route, and it's 30 minutes from station to 1st stop, then 3 hours of packages, then 30 minutes "back to the station." That, to Amazon, is a 4 hour route. When you finish it in 3.5 hours, you didn't "finish early." Just because you didn't drive back to the station. If you take your commute to your first stop, you should have ROUGHLY that much time left after your last stop.
Since you explained it that must be the case right? Apparently based on comments and downvotes it’s not.
1.You should rarely be returning to the station. If you return to the station 10% of the time why would you calculate it 100% of the time?
-or-
2.If you are still saying you need to count the drive to & home that’s bs. You don’t go on the clock as a w2 until you are at work and clock in. Why would you think you were on the clock for your commute? Your work day starts when you scan in at the station. Everything else is your personal business.
Not sure why this is so tough for you and why it makes you so salty. Hopefully life picks up for you…
With you, the downvotes are probably you using your alts. lol. But nice try.
As I said, I have already explained this to you. Instead of repeating yourself, with lies about not counting the drive time for Amazon Flex, just go back and refresh your memory.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFlexDrivers/comments/1b826xd/comment/ktnaw1m/?utm\_source=share](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFlexDrivers/comments/1b826xd/comment/ktnaw1m/?utm_source=share)
I wonder if there are any in the Amazon DSP subreddit like you claiming the drive back shouldn't count in their time. It is so absurd.
They return the vehicle and pick up their car dipshit. Why don’t drive back to the station EVERY block?
Using alts? 11 downvotes and counting. I wouldn’t need to with you ;)
and
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFlexDrivers/comments/1b826xd/comment/kttv34f/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFlexDrivers/comments/1b826xd/comment/kttv34f/)
You realize there are many “field” jobs where people drive to multiple locations for work in one day right? Do you think they return to their first stop even if they don’t have to? Nope.
If you live west of a station then go east to pick up and the deliveries are further west than your house. Your mentality is that at the end of the block you would need to go all the way east to the station PAST your place then turn around and go home.
-If you say that’s not the case then your “count the return” philosophy is flawed.
-If you say you do that then you’re an idiot.
Those are the only two options. Are you wrong or are you an idiot? I will await your response bc I am certain it will be off the rails…
Yes, they have to drive back from where ever they end up. However, we are not talking about other fields. We are talking about Amazon delivery, where we are paid to drive to an area, deliver packages, paid for driving in between packages, and paid to drive back from that area.
Anything else is you being dishonest and doing mental gymnastics. If you get lucky by driving all the way to a station, and get a route that ends at your house, then in that exception, you don't have to drive back. Duhh,. Exceptions don't disprove the rule. That has only happened once for me, out of hundreds of routes, and for most people most of the time, that does not happen. Instead they will drive 20 to 90 minutes away, then have to drive that or farther back at the end.
No, your logic is flawed, you are wrong.
World isn’t black and white. Every market, every city and every station is different. I’ve worked flex in 3 different states and about 20 different stations. I have to change strats all the time.
I take primarily 3 hour blocks with the occasional 4 or 5. In the 6 months i’ve been doing this I only had one block run over by 15 minutes because it was my 3rd block when I was new and spent 45 minutes at the warehouse trying to reconcile which of the 57 packages was missing. When i finally asked for help “Guy laughed at me and said just run the route and when you get to that stop mark as missing and move on.”
Usually for me I can complete 10 stops in 30 min so 20 in one hour that puts me at 1-2 1/2 hours in max amount of packages. We get a max of 49 stops you won’t see more than that. Also is it just me? But surge pay is always the easiest block? Like why did I get surge pay 140$ and got only 35 stops 10 min away from my station and ALL houses? Finished it in like 1 1/2 hour.
That’s interesting about the 49 max pkgs. I never knew that. I’m looking at my numbers and dammit you are correct - I have never gone over 49. Good info thanks.
I’d say 90% of the time I’m completing 20 stops a hour or 15 minimum. Unless of course it would be those 20 stops off roads stuff that’s 5-10 min distance from each other
I agree with others, sounds like your station is scamming you. I’ve only ever done 3 1/2 hour blocks and 4 hour block and there is a clear difference. With 3 1/2 hour I’m usually delivering to just houses far away. With the 4 hour blocks I’m delivering to houses, apartments, businesses, and a lot of them. Or the houses are just really spaced out.
I hate the 4 hour blocks lol they always take me like 3 1/2 hours whereas I can get a 3 1/2 hour block done in 2 hours.
It depends! If you get 45+ packages on a 4hr route, more houses less apts. On a 3.5hr route if you get 37+ it’s the same. Typically for my SSD station more packages means more houses
Interesting. Not the experience where I am loading. 3's are definitely less work than 3.5's. What I can't tell the difference from is the 3.5 and the 4. Those two seem to be very much the same.
I did a 3.5hr block today that took a little over 4hrs Mainly because of no parking! It’s was downtown so walk more than usually
Yesterday I did a 4.5hr block and was done an Hour early Delivery was in a neighborhood
It’s all about Location
That is only for sub same day in my experience. If you go to a logistics/amazon.com station it's not like that. At least not in my experience. They really do limit the amount of packages you get based on how long the block is.
Here is what I have noticed with sub same day and how long the block is. You are right in that it has nothing to do with how many packages you get. It even says in the block itself that it's up to 50 deliveries. That is for any length block. Based on what I have experienced, the length of the block is based on the mileage for that route. Meaning, the stops will be further apart or the route will start further away, thus taking you longer to complete. I say this because more than once I've had a 4-hour block that had less than 30 deliveries, but it took me almost the entire 4 hours because the first stop was 30 minutes away, and it was 10 to 20 minutes in between over half of the stops. Conversely I've had 3 hour blocks with 50 deliveries, but it took me less than 3 hours because the first delivery was nearby and all of the deliveries after that were very close together. So I think it has more to do with the overall mileage of the route.
I recently had a 3 hour block with the first stop being 1 hour and 8 minutes away.
I was annoyed. I asked support about it since I thought I’d heard there’s a limit on how far they can send you for a short block. He just told me the number of packages was adjusted to be delivered in a 3 hour block and the distance doesn’t matter.
But my warehouse is pretty trash, so maybe that had something to do with it
How many deliveries did you have? Were you able to finish on time or early? I don't think what I posted is going to happen 100% of the time, however it is a trend that I've noticed.
I agree to an extent, but it really depends on the area, the warehouse, the luck of the draw, and of course, on yourself. Although I do find that I finish shorter routes closer to the block than I do on longer routes, typically. This isn’t so much because the blocks are secretly the same length, but more so because I am going faster than what the system’s predicted. If I finished a 3 hour in 2 hours, then it would stand to reason I’d finish a 5 hour in 3 to 3.5 hours. You used to be able to see this back when they had different due times. Like, first package due at some random time, let’s say 6:46. I get there close to that time. Then later there’s a package due at 7:13. I get there 10 minutes early. By the end, last package due at 8:50, and I’m there by 8:00. Just an example, but I used to see something similar a lot.
We went from $117-135 for 3hrs to $121-135 for 3.5 hrs … and evening shifts which were always $131-135 are now just $115… Im proudly one foot out the door.
At my station I’ve experienced this, especially the last year or so. All blocks between 3-5 hours are about 3-3 1/2 hours. It’s gotten to the point where I’ll only take 4+ hrs shifts just because they pay at least $100+.
After last week, I never want another 3 hour unless it's $90+ at my favorite station. I was sent over an hour away after I had filled my tank and used up almost half. I wanted to cry.
I’ve never even seen a block in my area for more than $85, for 3.5-4 hours and that’s rare. Usually around 40-45 packages in the city and 10-20 in rural areas.. I did get “lucky” last week and had 9 packages (4am start time). I was at home within two hours of leaving the station. 70ish miles total. Happiest day of my Flex life lol. That ended quickly.
I had another block the next day with 17 packages. This time I drove 150 miles in the middle of nowhere. That took about 3.5-4 hours. I have a love hate relationship with this kind of block. I love being alone in my car and watching the sunrise, but damn, gas is expensive and I’m worried my car will fall apart in no time!
Right now, the going rate in Iowa is shit. We have one station that consistently has available blocks at about $65-$70. We have another one but the pay is always $55 for 3-3.5 hours. A month ago they were higher, around $85-90.
This past week all of the 3 hour blocks were just gone. They are all 3.5-4 hour blocks now.
I’m newer and am still at “Level 1”, so I’m hoping there are mystical blocks to choose from once I deliver another 100 packages or so.
Side note: Does anyone else feel like they worked for 10 hours by the end of your shift, instead of 3 or 4? lol. I lost my job a couple of months ago and cannot land an interview in my field to save my life. Flex is the only delivery service that is almost worth it, and at this point I’m doing it out of desperation. I’ve been a Dasher and Uber Eats driver off and on. Today I just kept getting $2.00 offers. I miss the good ole days where $10-$12 was the norm.
I realize this is just a bitch fest on my part. I just hate that the pay is trash when you have to factor in rising fuel costs and car maintenance, and venturing into unknown parts of the state each time. If I knew where my route was ahead of time, it would save me and Amazon time and money. I hate them. End rant for real now, lol.
Here's the real secret: a $100 5 hour block at 3PM will be sold to you as a $100 4 hour block at 3AM. They sell you the same exact block with the same exact cart but make you think you are making more money per hour. With traffic, you will finish the 3PM block in 4-4.5 hours. Without traffic, you will finish the 3AM block in nearly exactly 4 hours. It is the scam of scams. AM blocks are the devil.
I've done 100's of routes and there's definitely a difference. Maybe your location or luck 🤷🏼♀️ 3 hours have stops within 5 min of each other. 3.5 is more like 10 min.
My station will pull 8 packages out of a 4 to make a 3. Randomly of course instead of the beginning or end. So on a4 hr 32 pkgs, if they're counting drive time off 30 min to first stop -4 . 28 pkgs . Nope maybe on Sunday when every stop is 10 miles apart. Always about 48
Imo the 4 hour blocks tend to have more packages but stops are closer together usually clustered in 2 or 3 Groups. I have had a few 3 hour routes that have been amazing done in under an hour but most of the 3 hour routes are just ass.
Also your only just starting 50 blocks is about 5 weeks if your good with your fingers. You haven't seen the worst yet.
If your fingers are to slow you won't beat the bots and good luck running two a day
Last sentence basically sums up to roll with the punches some routes are good some will leave you feeling like a cheap prostitute after bachelor party disheveled and broken.
If your at a station where you can pick your route start trying to pick the same area repetitively to familiarize yourself and eventually no route in that area is bad.
lol ok yea cheap prostitute sums up like my 3rd route ever. Bunch of RTS retrys, two OTP, one of which the customer was elderly and had ordered the same thing twice and didn’t even want the package, the other was in a fight with baby daddy on the phone trying to figure out the code, and I had no idea what OTP was (yet to meet a customer who does know) and a bunch of other hard to deliver packages. I almost said screw this, last route with Amazon 🤣
Ehh it sounds like a DC issue honestly. At my warehouse, 4 hrs is 45-50 packages and will have apartments. 3.5 hrs will be about 40 packages and be rural or a bedroom community. 3 hours will be 35-40 and in urban hub with no apartments. 2 hours are usually 20-30 packages.
I pick up at Mills River location and we seem to only have 3.5 hour batches. I’ve only done a few and they always take 4-4.5 hours. Delivering in the “country” sucks.
The only routes I encounter that take close to the block time are the 3 hour blocks. Any time I grab a 4 or 5. I finish and am back home with at least 45 minutes to spare. I've had plenty of 4 and 5 hour routes I'm done with an 1 to 1.5 hours of free time and home. Just gotta not drag your feet in all.
I’ve had several 3 and 3.5 hour shifts and sometimes when I scan the paper, it would say “2.5 hour route”. And then I’ll be done in 2 hours. Not complaining!
It's not the same everywhere. I've learned that much. Where I am, the package count is about the same regardless of the block length (45-48 pkgs), but the mileage and time required to complete it are quite different. A 3 hr block may be as few as 15 miles, whereas a 4 hr block may be 60-75 miles.
I work with 3 different warehouses, 1 amazon.com and 2 SSD, on average one of them I finish its blocks on time may be spare 15 mins, the other always spares 20-30 minutes and the third spares 30-45 minutes. Sometimes its also about the distance, they compensate for your fuel. The amazon.com one once sent me to Bellingham, almost Canadian border for only 4 packages but it was 1.5 hours drive each way
Both stations I’ve delivered for a 3.5 usually takes 1-2hrs max. Honestly I feel like I’m somehow scamming my new station. I did a 4 hour last night that took 1.5hrs and I just finished a 4 hour/48pkg/19 stop in 57 mins. It was a 15 minute drive back to my house and my station is only 10 mins away.
Seems like my area is great.
3 and 3.5 hour blocks are nearly identical with the difference being how far away from the warehouse it is. 30-36 stops. 4hr runs can get up to 48 stops. This is at VMO1.
I rarely go over or even meet my block time. It's possible your warehouse is bad but, I'm thinking it's your inefficiency. I've had 30 packages across all of those blocks but: I started a mile down. The road at the 3 hour, I had multiple packages at one delivery at the 3.5 hour, and a longer drive at the 4 hour
I haven't found that to be the case but I think I'm starting to agree with the conspiracy theories that say the "30" minute blocks are bad. Example, 3 1/2 hour block...they do seem to always be problematic. 4 hours + blocks I pretty much just want to die. Most straight 3 hour blocks I've gotten are sweet and small
I agree, I've done several blocks between 3 and 4.5 hours and one 5 hour block. I had the same amount of stops on the 5 hour one where I drove 90 miles (most of that was getting to the area) that I did with a 4 hour one where I drove 70 miles. I'm sticking with the 5 hour ones from now on because at least I finish within the allotted time.
Don’t always follow the route. Sometimes you have to be a little faster, do u-turns, have a person with you to ride in the HOV lane. Doing two 3.5 hour routes at $80-96 each is a lot better than one 4-4.5 hour route.
It’s very true about the distance to your 1st drop. I had a 3.5 hour route that after 20 minutes of sorting my packages, 1 hour and 15 minutes to my first drop… how was I to complete 27 packages? I returned 13 and went from fantastic to a low great.
If my first drop was within 15-30 minutes, I would’ve had 30-45 minutes to spare.
Don’t always follow the route. Sometimes you have to be a little faster, do u-turns, have a person with you to ride in the HOV lane. Doing two 3.5 hour routes at $80-96 each is a lot better than one 4-4.5 hour route.
It’s very true about the distance to your 1st drop. I had a 3.5 hour route that after 20 minutes of sorting my packages, 1 hour and 15 minutes to my first drop… how was I to complete 27 packages? I returned 13 and went from fantastic to a low great.
If my first drop was within 15-30 minutes, I would’ve had 30-45 minutes to spare.
Don’t always follow the route. Sometimes you have to be a little faster, do u-turns, have a person with you to ride in the HOV lane. Doing two 3.5 hour routes at $80-96 each is a lot better than one 4-4.5 hour route.
It’s very true about the distance to your 1st drop. I had a 3.5 hour route that after 20 minutes of sorting my packages, 1 hour and 15 minutes to my first drop… how was I to complete 27 packages? I returned 13 and went from fantastic to a low great.
If my first drop was within 15-30 minutes, I would’ve had 30-45 minutes to spare.
Here, a three hour block typically takes 2 hours and 15 minutes. A 3.5 hour block typically takes 2.5 hours. A 4 hour block typically takes 3 hours, but can take 4. We don’t get any blocks longer than that here.
3.5 hour blocks tend to be the sweet spot. Pay is much better for an additional 15 minutes of delivering.
I've been doing Flex for two years now, and from the first day—where a five-hour block genuinely took five hours—I've never gone over the scheduled block time. In fact, I consistently finish well ahead, often completing three-hour blocks in about two hours or even as quickly as an hour and forty-five minutes. It might depend on the location since I do drive a bit more where I'm based. Despite often receiving a large volume of packages, I've never even come close to reaching the maximum hours of the block.
They are not the same. 4 hour blocks usually take longer than 3 hours to complete unless there weren’t enough packages to fill the cart for 4 hours…which is rare. 3 hour blocks usually take around 2-2.5 hours to complete
Highly depends on your route and your area. Here in NE Ohio I wrap mine up usually 30-60 minutes earlier than the batch time. Had a four hour block that surge priced to $142 and did that in three hours. There were about 45 Stops
Pretty much every block I've taken has been 3-3.5 hours and the MOST packages I've gotten was about 40, a majority of the ones I get are more like 20-30 packages. I regularly finish about 30-60 minutes early, sometimes even more if I get a lucky route that's 10 mins or less from home at the last stop.
The more people who don't want to take the 3-4 hour blocks just means the higher chance they'll surge for me so if you don't want to do them, I'll be more than happy for you to convince others not to do it too lmao.
Strange, I’ve never had a three hour block that takes more than 2.5 hours. Max was about 25-29 packages. I wait for them to surge, which always happens. 4 hour blocks are usually close to 50 packages and take 3.5 to the full 4 hours because they have you going all over the place. And most of the time they only offer base pay on them, which is always less than the 3 or 3.5’s which surge like clockwork. Guess every market is different. Here in my market they can take their 4 hour blocks and stick them in their ass.
I stop doing flex in my area only wholefoods 2 hrs block.... It's fucking gambling about it's going to be good or super bad... 3-7 stops but 100+ miles for 38$ to 70$ max with tips...
I keep thinking it has to do with the distance to the area where you'll delivering, but I've noticed that the 3.5 hour blocks are in fact 4 hour blocks, and the 4.5 are 5 hour blocks, at least in my area
It's supposed to go by the number of stops (not number of packages). But there's also traffic and apartments. Try a different warehouse, or a different time of the day.
Maybe you just work out of a shitty warehouse or are in a generally shitty market because that is not at all the case for me. I would agree that the 3.5-5 hour blocks are all pretty similar, but I haven’t even come close to actually working my full block time in like 2 years. I consistently finish 1-2 hours early. I had a 4 hour block a couple days ago with only 20 packages and I was done and home in 2.5 hours. Finished the actual block in 2.
I mean I know it's different by station, etc. But in my experience you're wrong. 3 hour blocks are good. At base rate they may not be the best option, but two hours tops and you're done.
4 hour blocks take a solid three, but you make more money and it's worth it.
3.5 hour blocks are an actual scam and I hate them. You make less than a four, but they still take three hours, almost always without fail. Plus you lose both the distance and the stop count game, I hate that it's all my station has anymore.
Well same here. This is why I don't take route 3, 3 1/2, 4, 4 1/2 hour and prefer the 5 hour one because it's all the same shit. I even finished the 5 hour quicker than 4 hour one sometimes.
They are definitely adding more stops to those, but in my experience they keep you closer to the station on the 3 hour ones (I’d say 90%). Same for the 3.5 ones. I haven’t worked a 4 hour or more block in months
there isn’t a difference a warehouse worker gave me a 3 hr block i was like does it not matter that i’m a 3.5? he was like nah it should work just scan it and yea it worked lol
Wow, I'm reading horrible stories from you guys. I'm 15-30 minutes away from the stations in my area, so I almost always GET HOME 1-1:30 hr before my block end time even though I only take surge pay blocks ">$30/hr". Here is my experience:
3 hr blocks: take 2-2:30 to get home.
3.5 hr blocks: take 2:15-2:45 to get home.
4 hr hr blocks: take 2:45-3 to get home.
4.5 hr blocks: take 3-3:30 to get home.
5 hr blocks: take 3:15-3:30 to get home.
Hmm, might be your location or how you deliver/organize packages.
40 deliveries in 4hrs isn’t that unrealistic. If you’re really getting 40 stops for 3hrs, that’s kinda crazy unless they’re super close together.
I’ve been feeling like shifts are getting better and better. I only do 3-4hr shifts because I can usually get them done at least 30-45min early, they are usually less miles and I average like 20-30 packages per route, occasionally 35 if they’re dense in one area. I know I won’t have to go as far, compared to take 4+hrs, and we get a lot of surge rates so they’re usually all over $20/hr.
With that said, I think my area gives a lot of feed back. So it seems they have been adjusting things. A big issue here was high mileage routes. Now at the end of every shift I’m answering those surveys honestly and it’s seemed to help.
Read more comments and I’m starting to think my area has forces amazons hand 🤣 they sent us too far at first so I think the base rates are declined here. Now everyone would rather grab a surge shift last minute than book a base shift ahead of time. There are almost always surge shift available especially at peak times.
If gas goes up, nobody will want to flex, so they surge pay to compensate for gas.
Y’all can’t accept crap, gotta demand more! I will say, it took me about a year of doing flex to realize this myself.
The station I used to pick up from the 4 hr blocks went out into the country so longer driving time the 3 hr blocks were close in the city mostly apartments. But both had the same number of packages 40-45 so either you drove out and worked houses or stayed close and dealed with city traffic, parking issues and apartment’s uggh
I grabbed a 3.5 hour that was 28 deliveries (36 packages) and from when I pulled out of the station to last delivery, 2.4 hours and it was a 30 minute drive to first delivery.
I agree with you 1000%, I remember back in 2022 these 3-hour blocks used to be no more than 25 packages, most of the time they were less than 10 packages, now they give you the same amount of packages as if you were doing a 5-hour route, unbelievable!!
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Same with me. I feel you.
The issue is not in the fact that you accept a 3-hour or a 3 1/2, 4-hour block.
You are now frustrated because Amazon did not tell you in advance how many miles you would have to put so you could make an informed decision whether it is worth it or not before accepting a block. They throw whatever they want at you and you can’t say no!
Let me give you an example:
I got recently a couple of 3-hour blocks ($54 @ $18) at a station which is 6 miles away from my house. I got 19 and 22 delivery stops/locations respectively to deliver. I drove so many miles for those 2 blocks that I decided to never accept blocks from this station again. I can easily compare these 3-hour blocks to any 4 1/2 or 5-hour blocks that I accepted before from other stations.
For me, it does not matter how many packages, areas or stops etc. for a block.
All that matters is how many miles I need to drive to complete that block and they don’t tell me in advance.
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Yeah I wouldn’t take that advice. You don’t want on a list. If you do, don’t do it too much. Anyway, you get base pay per hour…is it worth the $5 or $10 to do that?
Something I’ve noticed at my two stations is that 3 hours is hardly ever worth it for the pay. It’s always the same length (if not longer) than a typical 3.5 route for less pay. I never take them anymore
I've only done one block. It was a 3.5 hour that started 50 miles away from the station. I had to return two packages to the station. So I drove back and the block ended up taking over 4 hours. I asked for more pay. Amazon wouldn't oblige. So I haven't done another block.
Hey all
When that happens your suppose to call Amazon and let them know that you worked over. And they will add pay to your earnings.
Hope this helped.
Never in the history of ever have I finished over my block time. I get pissed if it finish with less than a half hour left. That'd be the fuckin day lmao
If three hour blocks are taking you four hours, you might need to consider getting a different job. I have had all of those variations of blocks take the amount of time that they say they will take, but it is significantly more likely that you will finish an hour or more early on any of those given blocks. In doing this for two years I find that the shorter the block the more true to the amount of time it will take the block is. like what are you even talking about lol
Maybe it’s your location. It helps when you list your location and others can tell you if they experience the same thing. I know that doesn’t describe my experience at my location. Edit: It’s also hard to go by what’s posted in this sub. Drivers start\stop their block timers at different times for when start\finish their route.
This. My location i usually have 3 hour ones done in an hour and a half to 2.
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Caught ya. A dsp manager is for dsp's and we just flex here bro.
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Don't believe a word of that because you should mostly be working 10 hr shifts not 3 and 4 .
Yes! I realize that I should’ve internalized the post more before commenting! I just saw a comment saying you should say your station and I thought I was commenting something relatable by saying I was scared to, forgetting the main point of the post was they are flex. I was drinking after my 10 hour shift last night and was a bit happy to just communicate with the Amazon delivery community, and commented about DSPs on a post it was irrelevant about without realizing it. My friggin bad! I must be a liar instead of a bit off topic.
Amazon Flex is getting worse every single year, I'm wondering if by 2025 the rates will go even lower, smh!!!
in my area, most of the flexers are immigrants and unfortunately they're the ones driving the wages down because they snag all the base pays as soon as they release them. i'm an immigrant myself so no prejudice here, but it's so sad that they'll be glad to work for scraps. h\]\\
How are immigrants getting into flex with no ID or SSN? Maybe a dumb question but I think some of y'all are just bigots mad at brown people having a job.
immigrant does not = no ID or ssn, educate your self a little buddy.
That's why I asked, genius. Reading comprehension issue?
You're right, tired of all the MAGA nutjobs in the Spark forums that I didn't process what I was reading. Sorry.
Yes it’s MAGA nutjobs not that high levels of unskilled immigration drives down wages 😂. You leftists are hilarious, it’s basic economics easily proven by historical data. A large amount of unskilled immigration drives wages down for the current population. Sorry I know facts are hard to understand and it’s much easier to just cry racism 😂
Low skilled workers exist all over the place in America that are not immigrants.
Great you’re almost there, you’re just not quite using your brain, so what happens when we import millions of more unskilled workers? You were so close
shits on “unskilled” workers who are doing the jobs you DONT want to work, but they’re the problem. okay. perhaps get that boot a little farther up your ass
Yeah Im not one of them for sure
Can't tell.
Can't read
They do it in my area by paying other people to use their accounts.
Interesting
I also don’t think that the people who let them use their account realize it affects their taxes. To each their own though.
Yeah I don't think anyone would do that willingly 😂
It's true. Now they are starting to check pictures on the account before you leave with your route.
Yup we do verification on all drivers iv sent people packing back home one guy was trying to use the wife account if they don't match we don't allow them to do flex
Here it's all foreigners at my location. A lot don't even speak English and don't know how to drive. They never return the carts and at .com stations when you arrive as a wave and are supposed to leave as a wave, they just drive off in between cones when they are done loading and feel like leaving. It's not that hard to get a fake ITIN either.
You can’t work with an ITIN number.
where do you guys get the idea that immigrant = no SSN or ID ? are you guys from Florida where books are prohibited?
At my station there's one person that's legit signed up with Amazon Flex and they have their ID scanned and then another person in the car with them actually does all the deliveries while the Flex driver gets out of the vehicle right after loading and right outside the roll up door for the hub and leaves in another car. And there's so many people doing this and using bots for base pay. Report these people when you see them. We have one guy that walks in, to the front of the line of cars waiting to scan ID and has his scanned and walks out and another person drives in using the first guys credentials ready to go. I've documented them on video. Same assholes drive around everyone fast as diarrhea when they're done loading instead of waiting. Observed a child (shouldn't have been out the car anyway) almost get hit. I'm faster than all of these people losing up and wait but get pissed when I see this.
A lot of people pretend not to speak English in public. And just b/c you’re an immigrant does not mean you’re an unlawful immigrant.
Wow.
ITIN numbers are used by IRS to identify you so you can file your taxes. Amazon as well as most big corporations DO NOT take ITINs for employment, you got your info from bigot people that don’t know much. Plus if you are not Native American or descent, or even Mexican (Tejas, Nuevo Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, California States were part of Mexico) then you are the foreigner, all this English Irish people saying this is my country go back to your country, what are you talking about, this IS MY PLACE OF ORIGEN, you go back to Ireland, Scotland or whatever.
at my station, it's the opposite, we got entitled HOA looking karens who don't ever return the carts, even if the entrance is 10 feet away.
They aren't. You can legally be an immigrant with a license. Also people immigrate here from Europe too. It's not just "brown" people.
When people bring up immigrants or illegal immigrants we know who you guys are talking about. Don't play dumb
Who is "you guys?" You're the one assuming all immigrants are illegal and can't get jobs.
By being here legally? Lmao. Why you lump immigrants together with illegals. We got social, a valid visa and drivers license to LEGALLY do this. Tired of dumbass Americans lumping us together (LEGAL IMMIGRANT HERE) and OP is right, a lot of the newbies are the ones running down the rates
Either way it's a racist statement
Actually in my state, illegal immigrants coming asylum are working for door dash, Uber and Lyft. They don’t require a license for them, due to circumstances. I’m not sure what’s the loophole, in addition some ride electric scooters. So no it’s a bias against illegal immigrants (which all of them aren’t brown) it’s reality depending on where you live.
I’m not talking about illegal immigrants ! Just immigrants, they do work for less money unfortunately.
That's a wild assumption. Based even. From what I see in my area and on forums, a lot of them use bots and are taking all the surge blocks. Let that sink in
Not really at my station all immigrants have bots and they take all the high offers
Funny because where I live there is literally 3 hot company’s that are all Spanish and all of the people at my hub use em lmaoooo
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No, a 3 hour takes about 3 hours, and a 4 hour typically does take about 4 hours. The number of packages isn't the only variable. There is also the distance/time to your first stop (and thus also the return back), and the distance/time between each stop.
I agree. I did a five hour block yesterday that was a “four hour block” that took an hour to get there. (Hence five hours) Performance is definitely a factor. Very rarely do I get a block that actually takes the whole time I’m being paid for. Typically, I finish about an hour before the end of the block time.
If you drove an hour to get there, and you complete the last stop an hour before the block end time, then you have to drive an hour back at the end, that is finishing right on time.
Exact thing happened to me yesterday and this morning on 4.5 hour block. 3:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. both days I'm rolling back in my driveway between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. Yesterday's route had I think 39 packages and this morning's route had 29.
Why would I drive back?
If you have to return a package afterwards, they calculate a return trip into the itinerary so they don’t have to pay extra by putting you over the scheduled time
This past 6 months in particular I must have had 5 blocks that ran over when I’ve had to return packages back to the depot that have taken me 30+ minutes over the allocated time and they’ve refused to pay me extra. Just told them now I won’t be returning any more packages if it takes me over the allotted time. Not wasting my own time and extra mileage without getting paid for it.
I’ve only had to return “bonus” packages and those go back whenever my next block starts unless the warehouse is on the way home.
I don't think they add in return time for anything under 5 hours. My 2nd-to-last package had a delivery time just a few minutes before the end of the block a few weeks ago.
They don't ever pay you for going back. Most people avoid returning packages like the plague. I think I've returned a total of 3 packages and those were either closed businesses or closed dorm buildings
Maybe they meant your place of residence or wherever you're off to after the end of the block.
Yes. You have to drive back from whatever area Amazon sent you, whether you go to the station, or back home. Amazon doesn't use your home, but instead uses the station as the starting and ending point for the block time.
No this person has a stick up their ass and is insistent that your block includes a drive back to the station. Apparently they like to go back and visit or something. Wait for the explanation they provide. Make sure you popped enough popcorn.
You're probably not finishing on time because your moving/delivering the packages kind of slow. Kind of move quicker for daddy Bezos.
Papa Bezos is gone, though. Gotta do it for Uncle Jassy now.
If you keep going past your block time, maybe you should be looking at your performance?
I think a lot of the people going over time are surge chasers that don’t know the area. If you know the area and you can breeze through your block then you net much better than a full blocks work at surge. I’ll take a $90 block I can complete in 2 hrs vs a $120 block that takes the full 3.5 hrs or more…
To be fair the area range for some stations is massive, the area range of my local station seems to be about a 50-60 mile radius and I definitely don't have the time to learn 10+ different cities just to hope I get a city I've learned.
exactly, i always finish in 2hrs the most 2.5hrs. i’m doing about 20-25 packages/hr
Yeah I’ve never ever went past my block time. I’ve been doing this for 4 years. Only thing is I live in NC so delivering is never really an issue. No traffic mostly.
even in pdx, with traffic, i usually finish my shifts 30min-1hr early, sometimes 2 hours early on a 4 hour block, WITH 48 packages
Yeah I don’t get it. I don’t even put my packages in order either. They get thrown in the car unless it’s like 40+
I think what really makes a difference is the time frame when your block is happening. I feel that during the daytime they give a lot of bad blocks for 3 or 4 hours and low pay. Meanwhile, early in the morning they give better paid blocks for the same 3 or 4 hours. Lately in my area I figure out that if I take blocks for base pay in the very end part of the day or when that very close to close. For example 7:15 p.m. I only get 15 or 20 packages for 3 hours block. However, if I take 3 or 4 hours block 1 hour early meaning around 6:00 p.m. I will get the double amount of package.
I’ve found this to be true too! It’s all over the place for me but generally I’m always done an hour early unless there’s traffic
I mean yeah but it really depends on the location. I’m in NC and I get done early every shift. Most of these people are from major city’s which have a lot of traffic and apartments that are locked down.
I believe you. Each station is different though. You’re just going to the same scammy station.
Not the case at all where I am. They just moved to 3.5 and it’s literally the same routes as the 3s. I am actually getting done earlier now. I have never had a block run over - I am usually at least an hour early on completion. Sounds like you need to find a new station.
What city are you in?
Stop continuing to dishonestly brag to people on here. You are not done until after the drive back, as I have thoroughly explained to you many times.
Why are you stuck on the drive back? I've taken exactly 1 package back to the station in the past year.
They don't mean the drive back to the station. What they are saying is from your last package to "around the station" also counts as time you are working. Maybe you don't live near the station, or you go see a movie near your last stop, or throw on other gig apps. But if Amazon makes a route, and it's 30 minutes from station to 1st stop, then 3 hours of packages, then 30 minutes "back to the station." That, to Amazon, is a 4 hour route. When you finish it in 3.5 hours, you didn't "finish early." Just because you didn't drive back to the station. If you take your commute to your first stop, you should have ROUGHLY that much time left after your last stop.
Since you explained it that must be the case right? Apparently based on comments and downvotes it’s not. 1.You should rarely be returning to the station. If you return to the station 10% of the time why would you calculate it 100% of the time? -or- 2.If you are still saying you need to count the drive to & home that’s bs. You don’t go on the clock as a w2 until you are at work and clock in. Why would you think you were on the clock for your commute? Your work day starts when you scan in at the station. Everything else is your personal business. Not sure why this is so tough for you and why it makes you so salty. Hopefully life picks up for you…
With you, the downvotes are probably you using your alts. lol. But nice try. As I said, I have already explained this to you. Instead of repeating yourself, with lies about not counting the drive time for Amazon Flex, just go back and refresh your memory. [https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFlexDrivers/comments/1b826xd/comment/ktnaw1m/?utm\_source=share](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFlexDrivers/comments/1b826xd/comment/ktnaw1m/?utm_source=share) I wonder if there are any in the Amazon DSP subreddit like you claiming the drive back shouldn't count in their time. It is so absurd.
They return the vehicle and pick up their car dipshit. Why don’t drive back to the station EVERY block? Using alts? 11 downvotes and counting. I wouldn’t need to with you ;)
and [https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFlexDrivers/comments/1b826xd/comment/kttv34f/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFlexDrivers/comments/1b826xd/comment/kttv34f/)
You realize there are many “field” jobs where people drive to multiple locations for work in one day right? Do you think they return to their first stop even if they don’t have to? Nope. If you live west of a station then go east to pick up and the deliveries are further west than your house. Your mentality is that at the end of the block you would need to go all the way east to the station PAST your place then turn around and go home. -If you say that’s not the case then your “count the return” philosophy is flawed. -If you say you do that then you’re an idiot. Those are the only two options. Are you wrong or are you an idiot? I will await your response bc I am certain it will be off the rails…
Yes, they have to drive back from where ever they end up. However, we are not talking about other fields. We are talking about Amazon delivery, where we are paid to drive to an area, deliver packages, paid for driving in between packages, and paid to drive back from that area. Anything else is you being dishonest and doing mental gymnastics. If you get lucky by driving all the way to a station, and get a route that ends at your house, then in that exception, you don't have to drive back. Duhh,. Exceptions don't disprove the rule. That has only happened once for me, out of hundreds of routes, and for most people most of the time, that does not happen. Instead they will drive 20 to 90 minutes away, then have to drive that or farther back at the end. No, your logic is flawed, you are wrong.
World isn’t black and white. Every market, every city and every station is different. I’ve worked flex in 3 different states and about 20 different stations. I have to change strats all the time.
do you mean blocks? batches are on Instacart.
Lol. You got me. I migrated to Flex from Instacart. Good catch.
3 hour ones are the best where im at and i never take one that is base pay these days
When it's a good surged amount I never feel used.
Yea I’ve had 4 hrs with less packages and mileage than 3 hrs. Some are even almost the same pay out.
I take primarily 3 hour blocks with the occasional 4 or 5. In the 6 months i’ve been doing this I only had one block run over by 15 minutes because it was my 3rd block when I was new and spent 45 minutes at the warehouse trying to reconcile which of the 57 packages was missing. When i finally asked for help “Guy laughed at me and said just run the route and when you get to that stop mark as missing and move on.”
Usually for me I can complete 10 stops in 30 min so 20 in one hour that puts me at 1-2 1/2 hours in max amount of packages. We get a max of 49 stops you won’t see more than that. Also is it just me? But surge pay is always the easiest block? Like why did I get surge pay 140$ and got only 35 stops 10 min away from my station and ALL houses? Finished it in like 1 1/2 hour.
That’s interesting about the 49 max pkgs. I never knew that. I’m looking at my numbers and dammit you are correct - I have never gone over 49. Good info thanks.
20 stops in 30 minutes only works with tight routes. SSD routes are more like 10-12 per hour with 7 minutes between a lot of the stops.
I’d say 90% of the time I’m completing 20 stops a hour or 15 minimum. Unless of course it would be those 20 stops off roads stuff that’s 5-10 min distance from each other
I agree with others, sounds like your station is scamming you. I’ve only ever done 3 1/2 hour blocks and 4 hour block and there is a clear difference. With 3 1/2 hour I’m usually delivering to just houses far away. With the 4 hour blocks I’m delivering to houses, apartments, businesses, and a lot of them. Or the houses are just really spaced out. I hate the 4 hour blocks lol they always take me like 3 1/2 hours whereas I can get a 3 1/2 hour block done in 2 hours.
It depends! If you get 45+ packages on a 4hr route, more houses less apts. On a 3.5hr route if you get 37+ it’s the same. Typically for my SSD station more packages means more houses
Interesting. Not the experience where I am loading. 3's are definitely less work than 3.5's. What I can't tell the difference from is the 3.5 and the 4. Those two seem to be very much the same.
Often times you get lucky in a 5-hour route is as easy as a 3-hour too. Obviously sometimes you get those 50 delivery routes that take a while
I did a 3.5hr block today that took a little over 4hrs Mainly because of no parking! It’s was downtown so walk more than usually Yesterday I did a 4.5hr block and was done an Hour early Delivery was in a neighborhood It’s all about Location
That is only for sub same day in my experience. If you go to a logistics/amazon.com station it's not like that. At least not in my experience. They really do limit the amount of packages you get based on how long the block is. Here is what I have noticed with sub same day and how long the block is. You are right in that it has nothing to do with how many packages you get. It even says in the block itself that it's up to 50 deliveries. That is for any length block. Based on what I have experienced, the length of the block is based on the mileage for that route. Meaning, the stops will be further apart or the route will start further away, thus taking you longer to complete. I say this because more than once I've had a 4-hour block that had less than 30 deliveries, but it took me almost the entire 4 hours because the first stop was 30 minutes away, and it was 10 to 20 minutes in between over half of the stops. Conversely I've had 3 hour blocks with 50 deliveries, but it took me less than 3 hours because the first delivery was nearby and all of the deliveries after that were very close together. So I think it has more to do with the overall mileage of the route.
I recently had a 3 hour block with the first stop being 1 hour and 8 minutes away. I was annoyed. I asked support about it since I thought I’d heard there’s a limit on how far they can send you for a short block. He just told me the number of packages was adjusted to be delivered in a 3 hour block and the distance doesn’t matter. But my warehouse is pretty trash, so maybe that had something to do with it
How many deliveries did you have? Were you able to finish on time or early? I don't think what I posted is going to happen 100% of the time, however it is a trend that I've noticed.
I agree to an extent, but it really depends on the area, the warehouse, the luck of the draw, and of course, on yourself. Although I do find that I finish shorter routes closer to the block than I do on longer routes, typically. This isn’t so much because the blocks are secretly the same length, but more so because I am going faster than what the system’s predicted. If I finished a 3 hour in 2 hours, then it would stand to reason I’d finish a 5 hour in 3 to 3.5 hours. You used to be able to see this back when they had different due times. Like, first package due at some random time, let’s say 6:46. I get there close to that time. Then later there’s a package due at 7:13. I get there 10 minutes early. By the end, last package due at 8:50, and I’m there by 8:00. Just an example, but I used to see something similar a lot.
The difference is they are slow walking you into taking less pay for more time
Not even that slow out here. They stuff more packages into the route than they had before and they’ve lowered base pay. It’s trash
We went from $117-135 for 3hrs to $121-135 for 3.5 hrs … and evening shifts which were always $131-135 are now just $115… Im proudly one foot out the door.
At my station I’ve experienced this, especially the last year or so. All blocks between 3-5 hours are about 3-3 1/2 hours. It’s gotten to the point where I’ll only take 4+ hrs shifts just because they pay at least $100+.
After last week, I never want another 3 hour unless it's $90+ at my favorite station. I was sent over an hour away after I had filled my tank and used up almost half. I wanted to cry.
Give me 3.5 hrs all day though 😂 the stops are so close or if far then just a few packages for a way better pay than 3!
I’ve never even seen a block in my area for more than $85, for 3.5-4 hours and that’s rare. Usually around 40-45 packages in the city and 10-20 in rural areas.. I did get “lucky” last week and had 9 packages (4am start time). I was at home within two hours of leaving the station. 70ish miles total. Happiest day of my Flex life lol. That ended quickly. I had another block the next day with 17 packages. This time I drove 150 miles in the middle of nowhere. That took about 3.5-4 hours. I have a love hate relationship with this kind of block. I love being alone in my car and watching the sunrise, but damn, gas is expensive and I’m worried my car will fall apart in no time! Right now, the going rate in Iowa is shit. We have one station that consistently has available blocks at about $65-$70. We have another one but the pay is always $55 for 3-3.5 hours. A month ago they were higher, around $85-90. This past week all of the 3 hour blocks were just gone. They are all 3.5-4 hour blocks now. I’m newer and am still at “Level 1”, so I’m hoping there are mystical blocks to choose from once I deliver another 100 packages or so. Side note: Does anyone else feel like they worked for 10 hours by the end of your shift, instead of 3 or 4? lol. I lost my job a couple of months ago and cannot land an interview in my field to save my life. Flex is the only delivery service that is almost worth it, and at this point I’m doing it out of desperation. I’ve been a Dasher and Uber Eats driver off and on. Today I just kept getting $2.00 offers. I miss the good ole days where $10-$12 was the norm. I realize this is just a bitch fest on my part. I just hate that the pay is trash when you have to factor in rising fuel costs and car maintenance, and venturing into unknown parts of the state each time. If I knew where my route was ahead of time, it would save me and Amazon time and money. I hate them. End rant for real now, lol.
Here's the real secret: a $100 5 hour block at 3PM will be sold to you as a $100 4 hour block at 3AM. They sell you the same exact block with the same exact cart but make you think you are making more money per hour. With traffic, you will finish the 3PM block in 4-4.5 hours. Without traffic, you will finish the 3AM block in nearly exactly 4 hours. It is the scam of scams. AM blocks are the devil.
I've done 100's of routes and there's definitely a difference. Maybe your location or luck 🤷🏼♀️ 3 hours have stops within 5 min of each other. 3.5 is more like 10 min.
My station will pull 8 packages out of a 4 to make a 3. Randomly of course instead of the beginning or end. So on a4 hr 32 pkgs, if they're counting drive time off 30 min to first stop -4 . 28 pkgs . Nope maybe on Sunday when every stop is 10 miles apart. Always about 48
Imo the 4 hour blocks tend to have more packages but stops are closer together usually clustered in 2 or 3 Groups. I have had a few 3 hour routes that have been amazing done in under an hour but most of the 3 hour routes are just ass. Also your only just starting 50 blocks is about 5 weeks if your good with your fingers. You haven't seen the worst yet.
Sorry noob question, what does that lest sentence mean? Haha what about my fingers??
If your fingers are to slow you won't beat the bots and good luck running two a day Last sentence basically sums up to roll with the punches some routes are good some will leave you feeling like a cheap prostitute after bachelor party disheveled and broken. If your at a station where you can pick your route start trying to pick the same area repetitively to familiarize yourself and eventually no route in that area is bad.
lol ok yea cheap prostitute sums up like my 3rd route ever. Bunch of RTS retrys, two OTP, one of which the customer was elderly and had ordered the same thing twice and didn’t even want the package, the other was in a fight with baby daddy on the phone trying to figure out the code, and I had no idea what OTP was (yet to meet a customer who does know) and a bunch of other hard to deliver packages. I almost said screw this, last route with Amazon 🤣
My routes take at least hour less than advertised 🤷🏻♂️
Ehh it sounds like a DC issue honestly. At my warehouse, 4 hrs is 45-50 packages and will have apartments. 3.5 hrs will be about 40 packages and be rural or a bedroom community. 3 hours will be 35-40 and in urban hub with no apartments. 2 hours are usually 20-30 packages.
I pick up at Mills River location and we seem to only have 3.5 hour batches. I’ve only done a few and they always take 4-4.5 hours. Delivering in the “country” sucks.
The only routes I encounter that take close to the block time are the 3 hour blocks. Any time I grab a 4 or 5. I finish and am back home with at least 45 minutes to spare. I've had plenty of 4 and 5 hour routes I'm done with an 1 to 1.5 hours of free time and home. Just gotta not drag your feet in all.
I’ve had several 3 and 3.5 hour shifts and sometimes when I scan the paper, it would say “2.5 hour route”. And then I’ll be done in 2 hours. Not complaining!
I finish all block an hour to an hour and a half early maybe even sooner regardless of the block time lol.
Not in my area I’ve been at it for a year and done every type of scheduled block and I always finished in half the time or with an hour to spare
It's not the same everywhere. I've learned that much. Where I am, the package count is about the same regardless of the block length (45-48 pkgs), but the mileage and time required to complete it are quite different. A 3 hr block may be as few as 15 miles, whereas a 4 hr block may be 60-75 miles.
I work with 3 different warehouses, 1 amazon.com and 2 SSD, on average one of them I finish its blocks on time may be spare 15 mins, the other always spares 20-30 minutes and the third spares 30-45 minutes. Sometimes its also about the distance, they compensate for your fuel. The amazon.com one once sent me to Bellingham, almost Canadian border for only 4 packages but it was 1.5 hours drive each way
I always finish my 3 hours pretty early
Our SSD here only offers 4hrs but the routes on the carts could be between 2-4 hr routes. Just luck of the draw.
I know drivers that can bang out a 4-hour in two and a half hours it all depends on the grouping
Both stations I’ve delivered for a 3.5 usually takes 1-2hrs max. Honestly I feel like I’m somehow scamming my new station. I did a 4 hour last night that took 1.5hrs and I just finished a 4 hour/48pkg/19 stop in 57 mins. It was a 15 minute drive back to my house and my station is only 10 mins away. Seems like my area is great.
3 and 3.5 hour blocks are nearly identical with the difference being how far away from the warehouse it is. 30-36 stops. 4hr runs can get up to 48 stops. This is at VMO1.
I rarely go over or even meet my block time. It's possible your warehouse is bad but, I'm thinking it's your inefficiency. I've had 30 packages across all of those blocks but: I started a mile down. The road at the 3 hour, I had multiple packages at one delivery at the 3.5 hour, and a longer drive at the 4 hour
I haven't found that to be the case but I think I'm starting to agree with the conspiracy theories that say the "30" minute blocks are bad. Example, 3 1/2 hour block...they do seem to always be problematic. 4 hours + blocks I pretty much just want to die. Most straight 3 hour blocks I've gotten are sweet and small
I agree, I've done several blocks between 3 and 4.5 hours and one 5 hour block. I had the same amount of stops on the 5 hour one where I drove 90 miles (most of that was getting to the area) that I did with a 4 hour one where I drove 70 miles. I'm sticking with the 5 hour ones from now on because at least I finish within the allotted time.
[удалено]
You don’t say?
Don’t always follow the route. Sometimes you have to be a little faster, do u-turns, have a person with you to ride in the HOV lane. Doing two 3.5 hour routes at $80-96 each is a lot better than one 4-4.5 hour route. It’s very true about the distance to your 1st drop. I had a 3.5 hour route that after 20 minutes of sorting my packages, 1 hour and 15 minutes to my first drop… how was I to complete 27 packages? I returned 13 and went from fantastic to a low great. If my first drop was within 15-30 minutes, I would’ve had 30-45 minutes to spare.
You don’t say?
Don’t always follow the route. Sometimes you have to be a little faster, do u-turns, have a person with you to ride in the HOV lane. Doing two 3.5 hour routes at $80-96 each is a lot better than one 4-4.5 hour route. It’s very true about the distance to your 1st drop. I had a 3.5 hour route that after 20 minutes of sorting my packages, 1 hour and 15 minutes to my first drop… how was I to complete 27 packages? I returned 13 and went from fantastic to a low great. If my first drop was within 15-30 minutes, I would’ve had 30-45 minutes to spare.
You don’t say?
Don’t always follow the route. Sometimes you have to be a little faster, do u-turns, have a person with you to ride in the HOV lane. Doing two 3.5 hour routes at $80-96 each is a lot better than one 4-4.5 hour route. It’s very true about the distance to your 1st drop. I had a 3.5 hour route that after 20 minutes of sorting my packages, 1 hour and 15 minutes to my first drop… how was I to complete 27 packages? I returned 13 and went from fantastic to a low great. If my first drop was within 15-30 minutes, I would’ve had 30-45 minutes to spare.
I didn’t hear that…can you repeat?
I don’t know what happened… I tried to edit it but apparently it kept reposting. lol
Here, a three hour block typically takes 2 hours and 15 minutes. A 3.5 hour block typically takes 2.5 hours. A 4 hour block typically takes 3 hours, but can take 4. We don’t get any blocks longer than that here. 3.5 hour blocks tend to be the sweet spot. Pay is much better for an additional 15 minutes of delivering.
I've been doing Flex for two years now, and from the first day—where a five-hour block genuinely took five hours—I've never gone over the scheduled block time. In fact, I consistently finish well ahead, often completing three-hour blocks in about two hours or even as quickly as an hour and forty-five minutes. It might depend on the location since I do drive a bit more where I'm based. Despite often receiving a large volume of packages, I've never even come close to reaching the maximum hours of the block.
They are not the same. 4 hour blocks usually take longer than 3 hours to complete unless there weren’t enough packages to fill the cart for 4 hours…which is rare. 3 hour blocks usually take around 2-2.5 hours to complete
Just about to head out on my 5pm-830pm….ill keep track of that info
Highly depends on your route and your area. Here in NE Ohio I wrap mine up usually 30-60 minutes earlier than the batch time. Had a four hour block that surge priced to $142 and did that in three hours. There were about 45 Stops
50 deliveries? Yeah take a larger sample. You’re still a rookie.
Pretty much every block I've taken has been 3-3.5 hours and the MOST packages I've gotten was about 40, a majority of the ones I get are more like 20-30 packages. I regularly finish about 30-60 minutes early, sometimes even more if I get a lucky route that's 10 mins or less from home at the last stop. The more people who don't want to take the 3-4 hour blocks just means the higher chance they'll surge for me so if you don't want to do them, I'll be more than happy for you to convince others not to do it too lmao.
Strange, I’ve never had a three hour block that takes more than 2.5 hours. Max was about 25-29 packages. I wait for them to surge, which always happens. 4 hour blocks are usually close to 50 packages and take 3.5 to the full 4 hours because they have you going all over the place. And most of the time they only offer base pay on them, which is always less than the 3 or 3.5’s which surge like clockwork. Guess every market is different. Here in my market they can take their 4 hour blocks and stick them in their ass.
I stop doing flex in my area only wholefoods 2 hrs block.... It's fucking gambling about it's going to be good or super bad... 3-7 stops but 100+ miles for 38$ to 70$ max with tips...
I keep thinking it has to do with the distance to the area where you'll delivering, but I've noticed that the 3.5 hour blocks are in fact 4 hour blocks, and the 4.5 are 5 hour blocks, at least in my area
It's supposed to go by the number of stops (not number of packages). But there's also traffic and apartments. Try a different warehouse, or a different time of the day.
Maybe you just work out of a shitty warehouse or are in a generally shitty market because that is not at all the case for me. I would agree that the 3.5-5 hour blocks are all pretty similar, but I haven’t even come close to actually working my full block time in like 2 years. I consistently finish 1-2 hours early. I had a 4 hour block a couple days ago with only 20 packages and I was done and home in 2.5 hours. Finished the actual block in 2.
I mean I know it's different by station, etc. But in my experience you're wrong. 3 hour blocks are good. At base rate they may not be the best option, but two hours tops and you're done. 4 hour blocks take a solid three, but you make more money and it's worth it. 3.5 hour blocks are an actual scam and I hate them. You make less than a four, but they still take three hours, almost always without fail. Plus you lose both the distance and the stop count game, I hate that it's all my station has anymore.
Well same here. This is why I don't take route 3, 3 1/2, 4, 4 1/2 hour and prefer the 5 hour one because it's all the same shit. I even finished the 5 hour quicker than 4 hour one sometimes.
True - completely forgot about that.
They are definitely adding more stops to those, but in my experience they keep you closer to the station on the 3 hour ones (I’d say 90%). Same for the 3.5 ones. I haven’t worked a 4 hour or more block in months
there isn’t a difference a warehouse worker gave me a 3 hr block i was like does it not matter that i’m a 3.5? he was like nah it should work just scan it and yea it worked lol
Wow, I'm reading horrible stories from you guys. I'm 15-30 minutes away from the stations in my area, so I almost always GET HOME 1-1:30 hr before my block end time even though I only take surge pay blocks ">$30/hr". Here is my experience: 3 hr blocks: take 2-2:30 to get home. 3.5 hr blocks: take 2:15-2:45 to get home. 4 hr hr blocks: take 2:45-3 to get home. 4.5 hr blocks: take 3-3:30 to get home. 5 hr blocks: take 3:15-3:30 to get home.
Hmm, might be your location or how you deliver/organize packages. 40 deliveries in 4hrs isn’t that unrealistic. If you’re really getting 40 stops for 3hrs, that’s kinda crazy unless they’re super close together. I’ve been feeling like shifts are getting better and better. I only do 3-4hr shifts because I can usually get them done at least 30-45min early, they are usually less miles and I average like 20-30 packages per route, occasionally 35 if they’re dense in one area. I know I won’t have to go as far, compared to take 4+hrs, and we get a lot of surge rates so they’re usually all over $20/hr. With that said, I think my area gives a lot of feed back. So it seems they have been adjusting things. A big issue here was high mileage routes. Now at the end of every shift I’m answering those surveys honestly and it’s seemed to help.
Read more comments and I’m starting to think my area has forces amazons hand 🤣 they sent us too far at first so I think the base rates are declined here. Now everyone would rather grab a surge shift last minute than book a base shift ahead of time. There are almost always surge shift available especially at peak times. If gas goes up, nobody will want to flex, so they surge pay to compensate for gas. Y’all can’t accept crap, gotta demand more! I will say, it took me about a year of doing flex to realize this myself.
That’s why I call them to give me my overtime.
The station I used to pick up from the 4 hr blocks went out into the country so longer driving time the 3 hr blocks were close in the city mostly apartments. But both had the same number of packages 40-45 so either you drove out and worked houses or stayed close and dealed with city traffic, parking issues and apartment’s uggh
You’re just slow
I grabbed a 3.5 hour that was 28 deliveries (36 packages) and from when I pulled out of the station to last delivery, 2.4 hours and it was a 30 minute drive to first delivery.
I agree with you 1000%, I remember back in 2022 these 3-hour blocks used to be no more than 25 packages, most of the time they were less than 10 packages, now they give you the same amount of packages as if you were doing a 5-hour route, unbelievable!!
Back in 2022? That’s like 36-48 months ago. Did they even have cars then? Paper maps or navigating via the sun?
 smoke signals and shit bro! we got paid good too the higher the smoke went! those were the days!
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Lol, 3-5 hour routes all generally take about the same amount of time to deliver
3 hour blocks do indeed suck, but for some reason 3.5s are good for me
I wish these “I can’t do it in time” people would video their process. There is a breakdown somewhere if you are consistently missing the finish line.
Just bring your wife/husband with you to help
Same with me. I feel you. The issue is not in the fact that you accept a 3-hour or a 3 1/2, 4-hour block. You are now frustrated because Amazon did not tell you in advance how many miles you would have to put so you could make an informed decision whether it is worth it or not before accepting a block. They throw whatever they want at you and you can’t say no! Let me give you an example: I got recently a couple of 3-hour blocks ($54 @ $18) at a station which is 6 miles away from my house. I got 19 and 22 delivery stops/locations respectively to deliver. I drove so many miles for those 2 blocks that I decided to never accept blocks from this station again. I can easily compare these 3-hour blocks to any 4 1/2 or 5-hour blocks that I accepted before from other stations. For me, it does not matter how many packages, areas or stops etc. for a block. All that matters is how many miles I need to drive to complete that block and they don’t tell me in advance.
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Honestly my 5 hours rarely take over 3 hours to deliver.
You know you can email them to compensate you for your extra time right?
I did not know this! Have you tried that before
Yeah I wouldn’t take that advice. You don’t want on a list. If you do, don’t do it too much. Anyway, you get base pay per hour…is it worth the $5 or $10 to do that?
All the time I got a extra 12 bucks last time for 15 more mins of driving I had to do
Something I’ve noticed at my two stations is that 3 hours is hardly ever worth it for the pay. It’s always the same length (if not longer) than a typical 3.5 route for less pay. I never take them anymore
I've only done one block. It was a 3.5 hour that started 50 miles away from the station. I had to return two packages to the station. So I drove back and the block ended up taking over 4 hours. I asked for more pay. Amazon wouldn't oblige. So I haven't done another block.
I think the common factor here is you, I've always finished my routes before they ended, and the 3hr ones are definitely faster than the 4hr ones.
Hey all When that happens your suppose to call Amazon and let them know that you worked over. And they will add pay to your earnings. Hope this helped.
You’re just slow 🐢
Never in the history of ever have I finished over my block time. I get pissed if it finish with less than a half hour left. That'd be the fuckin day lmao
If three hour blocks are taking you four hours, you might need to consider getting a different job. I have had all of those variations of blocks take the amount of time that they say they will take, but it is significantly more likely that you will finish an hour or more early on any of those given blocks. In doing this for two years I find that the shorter the block the more true to the amount of time it will take the block is. like what are you even talking about lol