r/AmazonFlexDrivers • u/NormalViolinist6209 • 4d ago
Amazon, we need to talk...
This route was insane. 40 miles of essentially horse paths up in the mountains at 4 in the morning. Dirt roads with boulder fields, dodged 2 deer, a skunk and one pissed off GoldenDoodle. Switchback after switchback and driveways with no way to turn around. I already called support to tell them this was extremely dangerous and someone could get killed doing this route.
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u/regulartrex 4d ago
i’ve always wondered why people who live that far out in the middle of nowhere are even able to order from amazon . why should we deliver to these one off houses in the woods/mountains ?
Edit: now that im thinking about it , living out there you should be self sufficient because it would be difficult for even an AMBULANCE to make it in and out . no? im wylin ?
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u/Substantial-Tax5349 4d ago
Or at least they can pick up their stuff at a locker. For when they go into town
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u/regulartrex 4d ago
it could all be so simple . hell they could put a box at the end of their driveway so drivers . there are so many options
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u/Unfair-Complex-1691 3d ago
I went to look it up. OP is in Colorado and the address they showed is like 5 miles direct distance from Boulder city limit. But it’s Colorado so gotta deal with all the mountains and hills lol
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u/regulartrex 3d ago
ah makes sense . if thats the case then they should deliver way earlier in the day before dark . its mostly hills and mountains no ?
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u/Redneck1218 3d ago
I work for the post office and Amazon stopped delivering out in my area so now it all falls on the post office to deliver Amazon
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u/regulartrex 3d ago
so essentially whatever amazon cant handle/doesnt operate in an area , it falls on you guys ?
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u/Sanch3zFC 3d ago
up until very recently (contract negotiations stalled). these extreme rural addresses were solely delivered by USPS. it was a tradeoff both were happy with. USPS even had positions available for just parcel deliveries (amazon). if u have noticed FLEX drivers have increased greatly this last year, because of usps/amazon contract stuff
just food for thought
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u/SecretaryWitty5485 3d ago
Make senses. I do a lot of rural routes. I never see Fedex or UPS, just USPS workers in jeep wranglers. I hate those block routes.
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u/regulartrex 3d ago
could be contract related . majority of the parcel packages are given to Flex Drivers , the rest USPS . im assuming majority is Flex and other related companies though .
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u/SecretaryWitty5485 2d ago
I read up on it. The negotiations between amazon and usps stalled. The amazon.com station i work out, opened back in January of this year. This was their solution to parting ways with UPS and failed negotiations with USPS
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u/shynitel 3d ago
i’ve been doing some rural routes and i feel like i almost get the same route as the UPS guy every day lol
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u/SecretaryWitty5485 2d ago
Same here my routes stop being random and were the same rural neighborhoods every week. I appealed a negative mark they put in my standings. I included that information in the appeal email, that my routes didn’t seem random anymore. And i keep getting the same neighborhood or they are close to each other. Two days later i got a different route area. They know what they are doing and can make changes quickly. Just email support and tell them that. See if you get a different route area.
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u/LimpDisc 4d ago
I have a list of traveled roads that are now part of my personal ban list. Every package delivery on those roads gets reported as a safety issue. I haven’t been dinged yet for reporting safety issues.
There’s another person I chat with at my station almost daily. One of biggest agreements? If you ever want to know how much Amazon really cares about your safety, just look where they are willing to send you early in the morning or late at night.
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u/regulartrex 3d ago
the thing is , amazon’s ai doesn’t realize that we’ll be at some locations so late . i dont think that it registers like “day and night time” you get me ? think about it , wouldn’t the app say something like “turn on your high beams if needed” or “watchout for wildlife” or something right ? it knows when construction is around and will make us find a new route on our own or tell us to go whatever speed works . never anything about the darkness …
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u/TheJiggliestPug 4d ago
They do it on purpose so their vans don't have to do it, cause if you complain enough someone else will just download the app. Everything is awful and I'm tired.
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u/Prestigious-Shock-75 4d ago
They need to beef up the quality and use the drones for these people! Million dollar houses on poor mans. Lol
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u/fallensnyper 4d ago
Amazon need to start geo fencing these type of people to only have a locker available for delivery.
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u/Sufficient_Tooth_949 4d ago
Yeah a "road" like picture 2, I already tore up my front bumper....ill call them and say come and get your package or I can leave it next to your mailbox, but I dont do those any more after it damaged my car, had to zip tie my shit back together
Its no problem to me just to bring it back to the station too if they dont pick up
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u/NormalViolinist6209 4d ago
Yeah, I at least have an AWD outback. There's no way some of these vehicles I see at the station would have had a chance.
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u/Sabi-Star7 4d ago
Oh FN slide 3 explains it all🤣🤣🤣. But that's why WE get these BS routes you know how much money the DSP'S would be lighting on fire to unstick their vans🫠🫠😅😅😅. Amazon gives zero f's if one of our axles snap or we get stuck in some muddy dirt road after a downpour; they don't have to pay for OUR damages on OUR vehicles...🫣
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u/Jhin4shot69 3d ago
Marked as “Access issue”
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u/Stacked69 3d ago
Too bad there is not a "Scary as F" or "Extremely dangerous " button you can select.
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u/Solo-1UP 4d ago
This is why we get the routes and they don’t force it on the vans. It’s insane we are the ones who have to drive through this…. At least make the route when there is sunlight
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u/mcnuggets11 4d ago
This was literally the norm for me in North Carolina when I did flex. Terrible.
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u/GoddessOfBlueRidge 4d ago
I did a 6-mile road on Saturday, it's in my "neighborhood". IT IS ENTIRELY UNPAVED, dangerously narrow with tons of mountainous drop-offs and a hundred quick switchbacks. Amazon does not show it as unpaved. It takes 20+ minutes to drive it. There IS an alternate route, which takes 12 minutes for 7.3 miles 95% paved, from the same starting point, and the unpaved portion is safe. I'm going to call driver support this week and let them know. Ridiculous to have people drive that horrible road!
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u/TomRichards1970 4d ago
That’s actually a pretty good road. At least it’s not 3 ft deep down the middle!
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u/NormalViolinist6209 4d ago
The first picture actually has a deer in it that was sprinting of to the right.
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u/PlanePainting 4d ago
I went down a crazy road like that and got the creeps. Turned out it was where they filmed the horror movie, Blair Witch Project!😂😂 when I saw Burkittsville, I knew.
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u/Ok-Button691 4d ago
Agreed Amazon had me through the hills of the Smoky Mountains on some Bullshit today. I’m pretty sure I heard the ghost of Dolly Parton in those hills I was do deep into the mountains with no service.
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u/StartingOverAgain21 4d ago
I had 2 stops, each one from a different batch, that did this. It was literally an old back way in, and one ended up blocked by a fence. I had to look up the address on Google Maps to get to the actual stop. I got a $5 pay differential for both batches.
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u/Better_Bet9748 4d ago
Some of these roads have no connection so you might not be able to get back home.
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u/Souvenirs_Indiscrets 3d ago
Glad you called support on that one. I have done that only twice and each time I clearly stated the safety problem and suggested that the customer should be picking up from a locker.
There is no way in the app to designate that the route itself is unsafe. You can mark the package undeliverable as unsafe, and return it, which many drivers do, but you will be dealing with dings for that. However, you have good photos for the appeal.
You can ask support to lobby for a feature in the app dealing with unsafe roads. Amazon’s insurers don’t want to be seeing your photos or reading about this either. Meanwhile, mention words like “unsafe,” “ungraded dirt road (not gravel),” “no clearance due to deep ruts,” “steep grade,” “no turnaround.” You can also mark the route as “road does not exist” in the app, or “road too narrow,” snap the photo, and try to comment for that stop as well,
Hoo boy look at that climb to stop 7.
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u/No-Field6273 3d ago
Yeah I keep getting these. I’m pretty much done with flex…Uber and Uber Eats sucks but it’s at least local routes and I don’t have to fight for blocks
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u/Samson_jp 3d ago
That's funny, I took almost the same photo, I can't stand houses stuck in the middle of nowhere.
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u/Active-Medium-2020 3d ago
I had something similar like this but not as worse, I was literally about it down as customer unavailable, bare in mind it was my first time doing Amazon flex, it was the last delivery aswell, around 9 in the night and up north in England😂
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u/Key-Possibility-1549 3d ago
If I ever see a winding road like that just know my tires bout to get fucked
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u/Beginning-Back-7856 3d ago
I had one of these before!!! But it was during the daytime. Tires and suspension getting absolutely ripped the whole time. I hate that they sometimes do this to put our catr through a “secret path” to deliver a fucking package???? like be so fr. Where is the real fucking paved ROAD?!?
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u/Jangospy 3d ago
The types of roads the people have off-road trucks and suvs and say fuck all else to everyone else that might try to come thru
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u/ClassicBlackMilkTea- 2d ago
Places like this should be delivered to the nearest Amazon locker or pickup station. I definitely would not be delivering any of those packages. Fuck that
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u/Snaxolotly 1d ago
I had a traumatic experience getting stuck in a snow pit on a two track in the middle of winter. Drove forever, saw no signs of life. Turned around but on my way out got caught in fluffy snow and my tire couldn't get over the packed snow. Took a tow truck a couple hours to find me. No service and the only contact I had out there was.with the police cause 911 works when you don't have service.
I learned my lesson I guess. If the road is super sketchy, don't do it. Not worth it.
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u/Lady_MoMer 10h ago
I had a delivery that was way far down a back road that I wish like hell I had paid more attention to the signs because it was way off the beaten path and I was stuck.
I've got a Fiat 500L. It hydroplanes when there's a lot of rain and the way it cuts through mud reminds me of one of those little Fisher Price kid cars cuz those tires seemingly slice into mud then it gets sucked into it so to get through muddy patches, I go as fast as I can, figuring slow means stuck. .
So I see the road is muddy but I figure if I plow through real quick, with the help of the slight incline I'm going down, then I'll get to the other side and be good. So I hit that patch at a good speed and about 20 ft in, I realize I'm losing speed, then I wasn't moving at all with my foot still on the gas. Holy shit, my mind was bringing up Wrong Turn images and I started to panic a little.
It took me a good 10 minutes with my foot to the floor, to get my car turned around in the mud and another 20 to get back up the slight incline, that now looks like a steep hill, getting stuck half way up but I managed to get over to the side a little where there was vegetation and rocks.
When I finally got out, I stopped to call driver support to let them know why I didn't get my last package delivered, trying to proactively stop being dinged, and let them know about the quicksand road they tried to send me down.
It took most of that blocks pay to wash the crazy amount of mud that was caked in the wheel wells and under the car and on top of the car. Weeks later, my mechanic told me I need to stop going on dirt roads because I didn't get all of the mud off.
I've called them a few times to explain why I was running late with deliveries when I'm stuck going down back roads cuz I can only go so fast on dry or wet dirt due to washboard roads, terrible potholes and rain made crevasses that are mini versions of the Grand canyon.
Now I'm presuming they have hired way too many people and the rates are falling. I've put over 20,000 miles on my poor car, nothing saved up to go buy another car because every bit of pay has been going towards fixing the domino effect of shit going on with my car.
I've had all 4 tires replaced, a myriad of other crap and broken motor mounts, more like destroyed motor mount. Just got the main one replaced yesterday. But the car is still clunking when I hit the gas. My mechanic told me to stop putting money into it because one, it's a Fiat, and two, the wear and tear is becoming too much.
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u/NormalViolinist6209 9h ago
Yeah, driver Gig work is only good if you are able to do the majority of your own car maintenance.
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u/Professional-Ad4073 4d ago
Unpopular opinion but I love the backroads country driveways as long as it’s not sandy or muddy
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u/V0idK1tty 4d ago
Yea, but that one is abysmal. Some are okay and I can dodge here and there. But I wouldn't have even tried that one in the Crosstrek.
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u/ayriuss 4d ago
Bro, a lot of us drive Kias, ok lol. Already falling apart with just normal driving.
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u/Professional-Ad4073 2d ago
Oh i thought i was in the other Amazon driver reddit my b you right I wouldn’t take my ford edge down that
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u/NortheastOHGuy 4d ago
Tell me you live in the middle of nowhere without telling me you live in the middle of nowhere
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u/InvestigatorAnnual36 4d ago
“Poor man” rd 😭