To read much more on this subject, see this post first.

Ok, it has been over 1 year now that I have been contracting for Amazon Flex.There has been some definite improvements with the app. For example, in Dallas you will get blocks for Plano, Farmers Branch and Fort Worth.

I am closest to Farmers Branch and I have tried Plano but, it is too far for me and Fort Worth is over 30 miles. No thanks. I will not drive 30 miles to have to drive another 60 to 80 miles to deliver for basically $54 or $72. It is certainly not worth it to me.

Many improvements to the app such as being able to click on the Map and see the address on the map. Also, I was having extreme issues scanning packages at station because of my camera not focussing. Amazon has compensated for that and now packages scan easily.

Amazon took away the ability to forfeit block 45 mins before scheduled pickup, so when you get the 60 min alert, you have been committed and no way to back out.

If you have been driving for a while, Amazon has taken away the scheduled blocks sent out that they used to send out at 10 pm at night and they only send those out to new drivers.

Amazons stock recently went over $1000 per share. AMAZON is making a boat load of money yet, they still take advantage of Flex Drivers.

If you pick up a 3 hour route and you get more that 35, packages, plan on spending 3.5 hours. Amazon is giving drivers 50 and 60 packages on a 3.5 hour route. This is totally absurd. Amazon overloads drivers ongoing and it is not right. Amazon is trying to cut cost on the amount they spens to have packages delivered and it drivers will do it, they continue to take advantage of them.

Another thing that I have noticed is when drivers that contract with the companies such as Scoobiz and the like, those guys will bring back a lot of packages, specifically apartments that they do not wan to deliver and then Amazon gives them to us. Mind you that the Company, Scoobiz driver has already been paid to deliver the packages. These are typical blocks that come out last towards the end of the day.

Yesterday, Amazon tried to give me 47 packages for a 3 hour $54 route. I only took 35. And since this was not a scheduled route, meaning that packages were brought back by drivers who have already been paid to do them, then they are spread out and usually there is some type of access issue, they are more time consuming to deliver.

About 35 of the packages I picked up, 19 were for apartments where the office was already closed. I delivered 5 of those to individuals that were home. but I will not leave a package at a door of an apartment unless i have made contact.

oK, THE ABOVE WAS FROM 2 MONTHS AGO.

It is Now September 1, 2017. I delivered for the first time in a month yesterday. AMAZON has gotten a couple things right finally. You are not able to scan a whole bag of packages and the app puts them in order for you. So, you do not have to stand there trying to scan every single package before you leave. GREAT IDEA.

Now, back to what is the most annoying thing about delivering for AMAZON:

APARTMENTS. If we did not have to deliver to apartments, this would be an idea gig.

I have said it is before but, it bears repeating, I WOULD NOT LIVE IN AN APARTMENT COMPLEX THAT WOULD NOT ACCEPT MY PACKAGES

I get so tired of the leasing offices not accepting packages for the residents that they have living there. Yesterday, a leasing office told me that they would not accept packages over the size of a shoebox. WTF. If the customer is not home and without permission to leave package at their door, then the package must returned to the station. This makes us look bad because we have to bring them back. All of the packages that I had yesterday were for apartments.

Another thing that really irks me is that when you try and contact the customer and leaving them an urgent message they do not respond and with notes in their account then we have to return the package.

I contacted Amazon yesterday and told them that they really should send out messages out to all of their customers living in apartments to tell them that they must put whether or not that it is ok to leave a package at a door of an apartment. If that does not work, then Amazon should manufacture lockboxes and sell them to the apartment complexes.

The last several times that I did deliver for Amazon, I have not had anyone saying that they did not get a package that I had marked delivered. I believe the picture of delivery added to the app has helped this issue a whole lot.

Another reason that I do not deliver for Amazon that much is because of the delivery times that they offer. You cannot get any blocks in the morning before 1030 or 11 am.

We used to be able to get blocks at 730 or 8 am in the morning and now all of the blocks are pretty much scheduled between 1030 am and 130 pm.

The times are just not convenient for me. I would much rather have different time options so that I could deliver one in the morning and maybe pick up another block in the afternoon. TO BE CONTINUED…..

OCTOBER 7 , 2017 UPDATE

FOR THE LAST 2 FRIDAYS, I HAVE BEEN GETTING EMAILS FROM AMAZON SAYING THAT I AM FALLING BEHIND WHAT THEY EXPECT OF ME. THIS WOULD BE BECAUSE I HAVE NOT DELIVERED FOR THEM IN A MONTH OR SO.

I DO STILL WANT TO BE ACTIVE BUT, I SCREWED UP AND TOOK A VEHICLE SURVEY TO BE ABLE TO USE MY VAN TO DELIVER. AFTER I DID THIS, I DECIDED THAT I SHOULD PROBABLY NOT DRIVE MY VAN BECAUSE IT HAS TOO MANY MILES.

SO I ASKED AMAZON TO SEND ME ANOTHER SURVEY SO I COULD CHANGE MY CAR BACK TO MY ALTIMA.

SO NOW, I HAVE FILLED OUT THE SURVEY AT LEAST 5 TIMES. BUT, THE BLOCKS THAT THEY OFFER ME NOW ARE 5 HOURS AND $90 WHICH IS FOR A LARGE VEHICLE.

i HAVE GONE ROUND AND ROUND ABOUT THIS WITH AMAZON AND IT HAS YET TO BE CORRECTED,

I HOPE THEY DO NOT TERMINATE ME BEFORE IT GETS STRAIGHTENED OUT.

NOVEMBER 3, 2017 UPDATE.

I decided to cut and paste my APPEAL LETTER that I wrote to Amazon a year ago. I got Reinstated but, it took a month. Like I said, this is my appeal letter and yours will certainly not be the same as mine, Some of the references I made then, I may not make now. Who knows…. I left out the contact information and my contact list. Reading it now I sound pretty pathetic and desperate. But if this has happened to you, then you would know how it feels to be wrongly terminated or falsely accused..

Hello,

I am so grateful to have had worked with Amazon and the flex program. The DFW area is the number 2 city for Uber and because of this, most of the business that taxi drivers had now belong to Uber.

I had contacted most all of the other app based services to try and get work but, because I drive a marked taxi cab, none of these companies will allow a taxi cab to drive for them. However, taxi drivers are the most insured and permitted of all of the other individual drivers. Then, the opportunity came along for me to deliver for Amazon.

This is not something that I took lightly. I have a very strong work ethic and I have also been honest, to a fault. Any and all of the individuals below will attest to my character and work ethic. Please contact anyone and everyone to verify. I have more contacts also that you can contact.

INFORMATION OMITTED

Also, even one of your own Area Managers

INFORMATION OMITTED

When I first started delivering packages, I just delivered the packages, leaving them at the doors of the customers out of view but, not thinking about what if package was not here when they got home.

Many of the areas such as Trophy Club, Southlake and others were new developments with many contractors in the neighborhood. At first, I did not concern my self with trying to make contact with the customer because I did not think for a minute that packages would not be there when they looked for it. After Amazon started sending me emails about complaints, I became paranoid and overcompensated with the deliveries. I rang the bell and tried to contact via phone almost everyone. If I noticed someone in the neighborhood that was working or delivering then I became creative and hid packages in the bushes or would take to the side of the house or hide underneath something, etc. However, I have also left the notes on the deliveries inside the app.

#1 As recent as this last week, I still received deliveries that were assigned already to another driver and I acknowledge and delivered. If packages that do not get delivered that i have returned to the station are not reassigned to the station before going out to another driver, then there is no telling what happened to the package.

#2 I have several barcodes that I have taken pictures of recently from packages that were delivered but, were not able to be scanned because of wrong barcode. EVERY TIME IN PICK UP AT THE STATION THERE ARE AT LEAST 3 OR 4 BARCODES THAT WILL NOT SCAN, and even after i initially tried to have them corrected, they still would not scan. But, was told by the station to deliver them anyway.

#3 The route that I had the day before yesterday only had 28 packages I think. One one of the heavy boxes had already been out with another driver and when I got it, the box was already compromised. I did not notice that it was starting to open on one end until after it moved around in the back of my taxi. So, I stopped in Flower Mound at CVS to buy some tape. As soon as I got down the road a little bit, my back tire was flat. When I got out to see the problem, I noticed that someone had sliced my tire on the outside tire wall.

You would need to know what taxi drivers face here in the DFW area with all of the corrupt politicians. Uber drivers are very aggressive and even though they have killed our business still are aggressive towards taxi drivers. I believe that my tire was sliced by an uber driver.

I had to drive on the rim 4 miles to a Firestone where I was charged $160 to replace the tire. This all happened as a result of trying to make sure that the package for one of your customers was intact.

I have attached some barcodes from the most recent packages where the barcode did not work but, I delivered anyway.

I even have pictures that I made to show where packages are. I have done everything that I am supposed to do to try and contact customers. I can send you notes on every time block that you have given me.

There are many factors that affect successful package delivery. I know for a fact there are some customers that will tell Amazon that they did not get a package just so they can get free products. Another flex driver recently told me that his neighbor had ordered one of those robot vacuum cleaners. He wanted another one so he told Amazon that he did not receive the package and Amazon sent him another one.

I promise you that if your customers were to later find a package that they had already told you they they did not receive, they will not call you to inform you that they found it.

I feel I am being unfairly targeted by Amazon. I am also targeted by Uber drivers. If one of those customers that I made a face to face delivery to was an Uber driver, I believe they would tell Amazon that they did not get it, even if they themselves in person received the package.

I really need this income from the opportunity that Amazon gave me. I would never ever in a million years take it for granted or take anyones package. Anyone from the Amazon team or law enforcement is welcome to my home anytime to inspect every inch to look for any items that you may think that I have taken.

I am pleading with you to please reinstate me as I do the right thing and I will not hide any more packages. This is probably the reason that the people are not finding them and then when they later find them are not letting you know. Please Please give me another chance.

I will have to buy another vehicle soon and I will not drive a marked taxi cab to deliver packages as I am being targeted by many here in the DFW area.

Please reinstate me. I can help you locate any of the packages that I delivered. However, any packages that were returned and not reassigned to the station before being sent out with another driver, I cannot be held accountable. If you would like the pictures, the notes or any additional information, I will be happy to send it to you.

I will close with this. My dad taught me as a young to always tell the truth and to never steal from anyone. I have held this my whole life. Even as I drive a taxi I always run the meter and never overcharge or flat rate customers. I have been this way my whole life. While other

people who do not have the same values as me are further ahead financially because of their dishonestly, I will not waiver. The only thing I am guilty of is being to careful with the delivery of the packages to the point that maybe the customer justs needs to be informed of the notes that I left in the app on the package scan. If you look at the deliveries that I have done especially in the last 2 or 3 weeks, every one of them have notes on specifically where I left the packages. Also, there should be multiple voice mails from when I tried to contact or made contact with the customer.

I really need this work for Amazon. I know that Amazon does not need me. But, terminating me is not going to solve your problem. I never took a package and I would never do that. I needed this job. I do not need more stuff. I have everything that I would ever need except steady reliable income.

Please reinstate me. I am pleading with you. See bar codes below.

Sincerely

INFORMATION OMITTED

AND THEN I ATTACHED THE BAR CODES OF THE PACKAGES THAT I FELT UNEASY ABOUT DELIVERING BUT DID ANYWAY