Amazon flex is an app that was launched in 2015 and is a side shift for many drivers but is also a primary source of income for so many other people. The program uses drivers for delivering of packages on a daily basis using their own vehicles and operates in more than 50 different cities of U.S. one of the greatest benefits of Amazon flex is the good amount of pay they provide their drivers that range between 18$ to 25$ per hour and depends on the type of block they are assigned to deliver.
What are blocks?
Blocks are delivery shifts that appear on the screen of flex app as “block”. The drivers find the package delivery jobs in their area after they log in to the flex app and tap on the blocks icon on their app’s screen to manage and undertake a delivery shift.
Once the blocks appear, the drivers have seconds to claim the available shift which are only available in limited amount and consist of a serious competition among the drivers to compete for these handful blocks.
Once a driver is able to claim a block they click on accept to work on their task for delivery for the available shift. In order to make sure that one is able to claim a shift they have to ensure their availability on the app so they are offered blocks instantaneously.
How are blocks delivered and paid?
Afterwards the drivers make their way to get the designated packages from the amazon location and use the flex app to navigate their way to reach their destination and deliver the packages that correspond to the place of address.
Once deliveries are done, the driver gets paid for his job for which flex pays through directly deposition the money twice in a week. The app also provides opportunities for the driver to track their earnings in the earning section of amazon flex app.
Guidelines for amazon flex drivers
There are certain set rules which the drivers have to follow to deliver blocks which if not followed can lead to deactivation of the account. Some of the guidelines for warehouse and restaurant block deliveries include:
- A block cannot be dropped less than 45 minutes from the start of the shift
- One cannot be 5 minutes late for delivering packages once they start a block
- Insulated bag should be available if the block delivery involves food pick up from the restaurants to avoid any cold baggage for the customer
- One cannot excuse if they are late for their delivery of shift by saying that the GPS feature were unavailable for them to timely reach their destination
How many blocks can one miss before suffering deactivation?
One has to be vigilant and make sure that they only claim a block which they can deliver. If they consider a block that they believe they will not be able to timely deliver then they should consider going back to calendar in Amazon flex app and tap on the scheduled block to ‘forfeit block’ at least 45 minutes before their time for the shift delivery starts.
If one has accepted blocks for delivery that start the process of delivery within the next 45 minutes of the start of the shift then the driver have only 5 minutes before they can cancel a block. If they are unable to timely cancel it, the block is considered to be missed.
Thus one can miss the blocks only a few times before their account can become deactivated by amazon flex. Not just this if a person is cancelling the blocks just too often it also leads to deactivation of the account. One is only able to miss a block out of every 20 blocks claimed. If the number increases it simply leads to inactivation of the account.
Deactivation of the account
Like other accounts on amazon, the account can be temporarily or permanently deactivated which could be because of one of the several reasons:
Temporary deactivation can result from:
- Not picking up or delivering services in a timely fashion and of the desired quality
- Constant late deliveries
- Not being able to deliver packages back to amazon that are returned from the customer
- Performing other jobs while they are supposed to be performing their block
- Using excuse for GPS not working to start a block too late that it can be considered as missed
Permanent deactivation which is not likely to be reactivated may include: Missing too many blocks and shifts Or being too late for a block they have claimed.
How many blocks can thus actually be missed before deactivation?
It is believed if anyone misses blocks consistently or suffers any cause three times that can cause deactivation of a block for sure. There are some drivers on amazon flex who claim blocks say that if they are to miss 1 block out of every 20 they are likely to bear the deactivation of their accounts.
This block missing can be calculated through the minimum reliability rate that assess the ratio of how many shifts a driver work to the number of shifts or blocks they sign for. This minimum reliability rate must be 90% for the drivers which if less can lead to deactivation of the driver’s account on amazon flex.
Therefore, one must keep an eye to make sure that they don’t miss a block by checking the reliability ratings they are given in their amazon weekly summary on the app.
How can flex drivers prevent deactivation?
The best possible course of action to avoid deactivation of the account is to call amazon driver support and work proactively to excuse themselves in an apologetic manner for the late deliveries and an assurance to avoid missing or late delivering of their services.
It does not always appear that one is making an excuse for the missing of a block or late delivery of service there can sometimes be genuine reasons like traffic that can lead to delay and should be informed to amazon driver support.
The GPS can also sometimes show a lag of time which can affect the timely delivery of service or cause one to miss a block. All in all a person may report these issues but they can affect the reliability report of the driver which causes the drivers to stay careful and avoid any missing of the block of the shift.
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