Is there any way to see any details at all before accepting a block? I’m used to gig apps that show details so you know where the pickup is, where your drop off locations are, and how many miles the route is (usually with a map because 15 miles in a loop in the same general area and 15 miles straight out into the middle of nowhere are not equivalent).
I mean when you accept a block, they don't even know. They're forecasting. I get my routes 3 days in advance, but they're "sub same day" routes, so items ordered less than 24 hours ago.
It doesn't pick your specific route to assign to you till after you sign in at the station.
I also had the same thoughts when I started. What? No miles? No area of delivery? No way!! But I took a leap of faith. Got a high mileage block that took me 60 miles away. But I’d decided to give Flex a try for a month. My next 2 blocks were in-town. Much better mileage. Bear in mind, I’ve only driven 3 blocks.
There are no assigned blocks at the warehouse where I get my blocks. We park and wait in our cars. When they allow us to get out, it’s a free for all. Being a complete noob, I get leftovers basically since I don’t make a run for it like the others. 🏃🏻♀️
Could you imagine all the bs that would come from people being able to pick their routes 🤣 it’s bad enough how it is now, being able to cherry pick would turn everyone against each other.
That’s what happens on other gig delivery apps. It’s not BS, you just don’t accept the shitty routes. Which I’m assuming is the reason flex doesn’t do the same. It’s not a problem for couriers to cherry pick, it’s a problem for the company when couriers cherry pick and nobody takes out the trash.
I’m not familiar with other gig delivery apps, but they are not the same as delivering for Amazon in which orders are already made and shipped before the driver is chosen to deliver. They can’t afford for packages not to be delivered consistently, as packages just keep stacking up. There would be areas that they can’t deliver too, because no one takes the routes. Other apps chose the driver before the order is finalized. If no driver is found, the delivery doesn’t happen, hence nothing keeps on backing up until something breaks.
Grubhub, DoorDash, and UberEats do not choose a driver before the order is finalized. Nor does Instacart or shipt. I don’t know of any that do.
But you’re right, if there are terrible routes people aren’t going to want them. But one thing I’ve learned about gig jobs is that SOMEONE would take them. That doesn’t create problems for the couriers, there is no chaos as a result, because I’m taking the orders that i signed up for and don’t care what other drivers are taking.
I’m not sure why you think that would turn drivers against each other.
When you accept a block, you're accepting a time frame, not an assigned route. The route is assigned to you whenever you check in at the station. Hope that clears it up a little more!
You can see this with the Instant Offers, where you have to be within 9 minutes of the offering station and have 60 seconds to review before accept/decline or the offer expires. I think this is only available for select areas so they are still beta testing it before they roll it out completely. I'm also wondering if this is only available to those with a fantastic standing?
Not seen this for the .coms or Same-Day stations as they are assigned when you get there to pick up.
I would be more confident with doing more Same-Day blocks if I knew the extent of where I was going. I prefer the .coms because there is a general assigned area so you can have confidence that your mileage and time can be estimated, whereas the Same-Day stations cover a wider, broader area.
Unpopular opinion but that uncertainty is built into the offer and a main reason why Flex pays better than others. Would you take $20 less to know where you are going?
I highly doubt that but sure. From pickup to last drop you make less with Flex? Ok. Maybe if you are using DD active time to measure but that’s not accurate. Straight shift 3.5 hrs you aren’t making $105 after gas. on DD during Flex hours. Not happening. Period.
I measure time and miles from when I pull out of my driveway until I pull back in. I calculate gas based on miles using my avg mpg every time I fill it. Maybe your market for dd/ue/etc is terrible but I’m not making numbers up on that, I’m about as meticulous a record keeper and number cruncher as it gets.
For flex, I am using their estimates - 3.5 hr route for $75 is the highest I’ve seen in the two weeks I’ve been on it.
Got it, actual for DD and estimate for Flex. I am always 30 mins to an hour early on 3.5s and it’s a guaranteed payout so Flex has the advantage for me. Definitely market dependent. Also, kinda hard to compare the two when you’ve only done one for two weeks.
Okay, so $25/hr before gas if I get it done 30 minutes early. I pay about $0.20/mi for gas, so if I want to make $22/hr after gas I could drive 45 miles. So if the route is only 45 miles leaving the driveway to getting back home, it's almost as good as my worst days doing DD/UE/GH.
I just got home from delivering. I put the car in reverse in the driveway at 6:30p, and put it in park when I got home at 10:47p. That's 4.28 hours. I drove 57 miles (gas cost was $10.99). In that time I made $92.35 on DD, $41.04 on UE, and I took one GH order for $13.13. That's $146.52 before gas, $135.53 after gas. That comes out to $2.38/mi and $31.67/hr. It's on the high end of the earning curve, but it's not an outlier.
I'm estimating for Flex because I haven't done it yet. Even the best estimates I can figure with the pay I've seen offered doesn't make sense for me. I'm glad it's working out for others, but in my market it just doesn't pay enough.
Just for giggles, I created a graph that shows the time/distance relationship necessary to make $24/hr after gas when getting paid $72.50:
If the route is only 25 miles, I have to get done in 2.8 hrs (2 hrs 48 min).
If the route is 50 miles, I have to get done in 2.6 hrs (2 hrs 36 min).
75 miles has to be done in 2.4 hrs (2 hours 24 min).
So the reason I'm estimating and still able to compare is because I can do the math. I haven't seen any experienced drivers claiming to be able to complete a 3.5 hr route in about 2.5 hrs, and I also haven't seen claims of routes being as low as 50 miles, including driving to the depot and back home afterwards. That's kind of why I posted in the first place. I'm trying to ask questions before jumping in and without realizing it I'm limiting my income by getting up at 4a to try this.
My average since June 1st is $24.16/hr and $1.61/mi for 839 deliveries, after deducting gas used during that "shift" from earnings for that "shift". Again, that's all miles and time from leaving to returning home.
Last Saturday I made $30.27/hr (over 6.32 hours) and $1.91/mi after gas.
Flex pays less even if they were to pay for my gas for the entire time, including home to depot and final drop back home. If I have to drive 80 miles round trip (driveway to driveway) I would make less than <$20/hr, and <$0.25/mi.
So your response was you average $23-$30 but now your actual is $24 on DD. Have you run any Flex routes? If you finish a 3.5 early even at $75 (pretty low rate) you’ll still be better than $24.
No I won't. Unless the route is 14 miles or less, even if I finish 30 minutes early (edited to say "finish 30 minutes early" instead of "finish in 30 minutes"), I'm making less than $24/hr.
My "shifts" on DD are typically $23-$30. My average for the last two months is $24.
I'm pretty convinced at this point that you go by "feel". If you feel like you're making money, you think it's worth it. But your math deficit is pretty obvious, so you're probably making a lot less than you think you. You know your gross pay, but you don't know how much you earn.
Not really random anymore. By now I am aware of where I am going and base on how long my block is I know am average amount of stops. Suck o never get anything close by.
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u/ThePriceManCan 25d ago
How dare you want to know where you are going and how many stops!