My First and Last Day with Uber Flex

5450 Views 25 Replies 7 Participants Last post by FAC, Jul 9, 2016

FAC

Discussion Starter · Jul 7, 2016

Uber Flex just arrived in Denver yesterday and today was my first and last day! I showed up with a pile of 80 boxes I was supposed to deliver. Som how I got them in my car. I asked them how they expect me to deliver all these in time. They said they are all close by. Which they were kinda. I had a group of packages in one area then drove 7 miles to deliver another batch of boxes. Then directed back to the same area 7 miles away where I started. Had a delivery where the person doesn't live there anymore. Wasted 30 min on phone with support finally told to return the box to amazon at the end of day. I mentioned there is no way I'll be able to complete all the deliveries. I was told to finish my deliveries.

Returned to the Amazon that's 20mles from me two hours on the dot after my block was finished to deliver my final non-deliverable package. I was told I'll only get paid for the four hour block. So I argued that I was told by support to complete my deliveries and come back to warehouse. So technically I should get paid. The guy mentioned he'd contact someone about it but can't promise anything.

Over 75 miles driving delivering packages for 6hrs. And stuck in rush hour on the way home. On one the hottest days of the year and my AC went out. Oh yeah the gps had me take the toll roads so had to pay additional $7. So I averaged less than $10/hr before expenses.

Flex makes Uber look like a dream job!

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flexology

· #9 · Jul 7, 2016 (Edited)

J.F.R. said:
My $00.02 this job is VERY EASY, only problem is securing full-time hours which is why I decided to pursue a more stable job with benefits

I happen to agree...anyone having issues with this job is over-thinking it massively. Especially with .com orders, much like FedEx/UPS, a good practice is just to try to get it vaguely near the door.

I posted a link the other day to the online magazine Ars Technica in which one of their writers did Prime Now for a day. In the comments section there are people complaining that the drivers weren't even getting out of the car, they were just throwing packages over the fence from the street. Meanwhile this guy on this thread is calling support (lol) for his .com unattended orders.

If Amazon has some structural flaw in their system it's not any driver's job to try to out-think the system and carry that burden. Why not let it propagate back up to the top? Don't even e-mail anyone; it will go straight into someone's e-mail trash folder in Seattle and best-case scenario support sends a robot-like stock e-mail back, the Flex driver account may even be flagged, and nothing gets solved.

Just execute one block at a time (like an offensive lineman, but also like a Flex driver) and what happens happens. The "job" of a Flex driver is not to deliver packages. The "job" of a Flex driver is (1) to pick up more blocks*, and (2) to drive to the addresses listed on the manifest so that Amazon's logistics data empire can have more data about traffic and routing. Putting a box of something unattended on the front porch is simply a "nice to have" and I do it because if the shoe were on the other foot and I were the customer, I'd really like to have my items please if it's not too much trouble thank you yay I have been waiting for this package!!!!!

*via the app or via "insider" ways-and-means...in fact, there are some clueless, openly inept drivers who have absolutely no trouble picking up block after block after block day in day out, and there are some pretty decent ones (ahem) who can do everything and anything but pick up a block

And so it goes...

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