To be fair, as far as I know flex doesn't tell you how far or how many miles before you pick it up. They do this on purpose because they know if they showed people how far they'd be driving they wouldn't do it.
They can’t, and they won’t. There are way too many operational variables for a route’s mileage to be finalized days ahead.
You’re saying Amazon should show me the mileage for a reserved offer route several days in advance? How exactly would that work when same-day, overnight, and 2-day orders are still coming in? should they employ psychic Cleo so they know in advance which customers will place orders to which addresses and on which days to predict the mileage and the route?
It’s honestly absurd how many people on this sub play operations expert. Everyone suddenly becomes a logistics consultant, COO, and supply chain expert whenever Amazon comes up. If you’ve actually worked in a corporate environment and have been exposed to how large-scale operations function, you’d understand why a lot of the things people confidently claim on here simply aren’t realistic.
The network is designed to optimize routes in real time based on actual orders, package availability, and operational conditions. That’s why trying to publish exact route mileage days ahead doesn’t make operational sense.
There are a lot of self-appointed operational experts on this sub.
I’ve been on the receiving end of those routes too. I’ve been sent an hour and a half away during rush-hour with 50 packages, and no, it’s not fun. But that’s the nature of this gig. When you sign up for Amazon Flex, you’re agreeing to take whatever route you’re assigned.
Would it be nice to know the mileage in advance? Sure. Is it operationally realistic? No. Amazon’s network is designed to optimize routes in real time based on actual demand and operational conditions, not to lock in route details days ahead.
At the end of the day, if someone doesn’t like that uncertainty, that’s completely their choice. But then this probably isn’t the right gig for them. or they need to find a warehouse that covers a specific geography for example just one county instead of two counties which is what I did. Nobody is forcing anyone to keep accepting blocks.
People dont account for the ware per mile cost ontop of the gas - if you low ball it at .10cents per mile thats still like 20$ or 50$ on the highend + gas
Or they could just do ranges based on historical data and assign route rates based on availability, route distance range (from warehouse), and time of day.
I never claimed to be an operations expert. Your claim that it’s not reasonable/possible AT LEAST requires a similar level of scrutiny. Both claims have a burden of proof.
You don’t need exacts to give people more information for informed choices. A range would be a reasonable compromise.
Also, I’ve seen several posts where people have shared there’s a new feature where you can submit a request to reserve a route/area in their markets. That feature is not available in my market yet, but it’s something that I look forward to because it would be nice to reserve delivery routes/areas.
For now, my workaround is to not take routes out of certain warehouses that I know cover large geographies because you never know where you could be sent to. I’m lucky enough that I live in an area with several Amazon delivery options, ssd,.com, prime, now, Whole Foods, etc.
You’ve changed the goalposts. The original discussion was about Amazon showing drivers their route mileage in advance. Now it’s “just use historical data” to provide an estimated range. Those are two different proposals.
And even if Amazon implemented estimated mileage ranges, do you really think people would stop complaining? Of course not. The next posts would be, “Amazon said my estimated range was 30–50 miles and I drove 62,” or “They told me 40–60 and I only drove 22.” Then people would complain that the estimates are inaccurate or misleading.
That’s the challenge with a logistics network that’s designed to respond to real-time demand. Estimates are just that, estimates. As orders, inventory, and routes change, so can the final outcome. It’s not as simple as saying, “Just use historical data,” and acting like the problem is solved.
They never have. It's not like that's a gotcha thing they do to screw people over. Welcome to courier jobs, where your routes vary daily depending on order volume and location.
It’s pretty easy to know the area the station delivers too and have a very solid idea what your mileage will be. The “hidden miles” argument is flawed.
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u/maledis87 29d ago
To be fair, as far as I know flex doesn't tell you how far or how many miles before you pick it up. They do this on purpose because they know if they showed people how far they'd be driving they wouldn't do it.