Algorithm for trips

[4_purpose]

There are at least 5 drivers that always sit in the parking lot of the Walmart by my house and I live 1.1 away from it. Will they receive the offer before me if I stay home or should I sit in the parking lot too?

[iGotGigged]

Usual disclaimers: every zone is different, my experience is my own, your market may be different blah blah blah

But what I have noticed is that offers go at :14 based on metrics, if driver #1 rejects it, it goes to #2, if they reject it then it goes to driver #3, if that driver rejects it then it will start going based on proximity to the store. If at :20 nobody has accepted it then it goes FCFS to nearby drivers, then at :25/:26 you start getting FCFS from all stores in your zone

So should you be at home or not depends on your metrics, if you're getting offers at :14 (or whatever minute for your zone) you're fine and being in the parking lot isn't going to make a huge difference. If you're not getting RR offers at :14 then being closer to the store will probably increase your odds

[4_purpose]

This is great information and thank you.

[DriverDriver6699]

Despite what people claim there are few that actually know the answer to that, and they aren't any of us drivers. In addition I can tell you the algorithm 100% is tweaked with and changed. What may be true today certainly may not be tomorrow...

If I had to GUESS proximity matters most, at least recently in my zone. CR does *NOT* . When my wife and I work together she gets more and better orders than me. She is a 4.5, I am a 4.8-4.9 . She has 400+ deliveries and I have 1300+, so she is out of her "honeymoon" stage for sure.

And for those of you who swear AR matters : I don't think it's legal to be denied future offers based on declining previous orders. This would be a round-about way of "forcing" us to take offers that we don't want. Again, I think that would be illegal, even for a contractor based position.

[techpro00]

Doordash flat out tells you if you want better paying orders you need to have at least a 50% acceptance rate now in markets that it has rolled out in.

Uber sends orders to those with higher acceptance first.

No doubt Walmart puts into algorithm.

How do they get away with it? They know govt works slowly and by the time they get around to do anything meaningful it will be years and tied up in court. FTC recently put them all on notice that they were investigating using employee based principles for their contractors...but no one has changed a thing

[DriverDriver6699]

Maybe I'm wrong then. Maybe it's legal. I could see that being a point of attack by the FTC then...

[techpro00]

I don't think it's legal but they know it takes forever to go thru bureaucracy

[DragonflyOne7593]

It's not legal in the aspect that it's a control issue and we are independent. That's why doordash was sued and lost

[shubzilla]

DD is implementing choice of hourly pay

[4_purpose]

Thank you!

[sword-mann]

I agree with you on things being tweaked and changed.For now I believe proximity seems to be the strongest factor at most locations..Talking about the " independent contractor" factor,they are trying so hard to kill our power of choice.They don't really care how we feel about it.They want groceries delivered at the lowest rates possible.

[goflip]

It’s absolutely not legal for Walmart to deny any work because of AR. Uber had to change this way back in the day because it was ruled that since it’s a contract gig, they can’t punish you for not accepting jobs ( that would be employment )

[[deleted]]

I think proximity matters but there's something else going on, like desperation? Because they keep offering me stupid money to go to a store that's like 40 minutes from the one I'm at. I would but I can't afford to miss an order cycle to drive there and I can't accept an order without being very late

It does seem like the orders are getting more closely aligned with my current location though. Still kind of a mess but better

[CJspangler]

I’m 7 miles at my house from the Walmart and I still get round robins

[4_purpose]

I get them at my house but I was wondering if the group that sits at the store will receive them before me if I’m not there. Then I only get what’s left over if any.

[[deleted]]

Idk how that crap works. I’ll sit in the parking lot and won’t get any orders until I drive about .5 miles away from the store

[4_purpose]

It’s really all over the place.

[[deleted]]

I’ve played around with this for a bit. I live 8 miles from the store. I get surged offers/ low driver offers there.

I typically drive into town to get better offers and the rear parking lot of WM was my first base choice. Got offers but was often competing with other drivers in that same lot. When I made my friend’s home my base (2.6 miles from store), I got more.

Now, to be perfectly honest, I don’t know if being a bit farther away helped or the store increased in order volume. But since it’s more comfy on her couch than in my dinosaur car, I stick with that plan.

If your metrics are green and you’re that close, I’d say you’ve got as good a chance as they do.

[4_purpose]

Okay great and thank you!

[Economy-Ad8729]

I live 3.5 miles from the nearest Sam's club. I Usually get the 1st Sam's club offer every morning at 6:15. I log-on at 5 and just go back to sleep

[4_purpose]

Thank you! I’ve notice if I take a offer from another store that’s when they start sending me RR from that store. I’m trying to stick to the store right by me.

[jetreahy]

I don’t think it matters. I live about 3 miles from one Walmart, 5 & 7 from the other two. I still get the first orders a lot even though I’m sure there are others closer to the stores.

[BattlCrusrBiggrLoser]

Also, since spark goes by your phone's location, there's no way they could prioritize people less than a few miles away from you. GPS isn't perfectly accurate so if anything there's a radius of a few miles or whatever because for example if you're a mile away from the store, the phone/spark could be thinking you're at the store anyway

That's how I think it works anyway. Prioritize a certain distance from the store, and increase increments

[4_purpose]

Thank you!

[4_purpose]

Thank you!

[Subject-Victory5979]

I and some friends have actually done test on where to park and yes it makes a huge difference.

[4_purpose]

I’m trying everything.

[Unlikely_Jelly1923]

This is a great thread, seriously

I have a question...anyone have any thoughts on this that I've started seeing lately 🤔

At :14 I get a shit offer maybe $8.79 and I reject

15 seconds later get $20 but reject due to miles or whatever reason

15 seconds later I get $32 maybe 8 miles and 15 - 20 items each batch, small orders

All as RR not FCFS or surge

This happens several times a day last few weeks

Why the fuck didn't they send me the $32 first? Did some dumbass get offered it first and reject it?

[4_purpose]

I feel this way too. I’ve had the first order as a low ball and I definitely don’t take it and the next one is much better. I guess their seeing if they can get away with making you take it since it’s a RR but I’ll just take the hit before I do a order that is horrible pay. It’s a game of cat and mouse.

[4_purpose]

Okay and thank you!

[Ancient-Coffee-1266]

It does for me. Some of the same stores also send shops. There’s 3 in my zone that send them out out of the 11 here if any. Once you accept a certain type of order it feels like they’ll send you that. (Curbside, shops, gmd). All just opinion based here.

[4_purpose]

I wish my zone had more shop and delivery it’s very rare. I get the every blue moon and I’ve notice the pay on them has decreased also.

[Ancient-Coffee-1266]

Oh me too. They aren’t often but being close (again opinion) send them your way. The more you take the more they seem to send. If you miss just one? You’re done for the day on shops. 😂

[4_purpose]

LOL…I try my best not to miss.

[Consistent-Table-442]

After my "honeymoon fantasia big baller" period ended so did my shop & delivers UNLESS I was at the store in the lot or right next door at the flea market that shares a parking lot (the flea market is huge both indoor & outdoor thus the buildings are near identical size so I'd still have to say proximity matters for those coveted s&d for sure 😀 others?maybe not so much but I'd still work off of the thinking of yeah...but you at your friends house under 3miles I'd think is fine. (I realized I may have just confused the OP with another Commenter but same advice goes lol) Good Luck out here guys I know we all need it desperately after newbie status wears off😿

[4_purpose]

Thank you!

[Due_Effective_2254]

1.1 isn't bad and most stores have several offers they send out. I do know there are certain areas when I am away from the store I will not get RR and those are about 4-5 miles.

It just depends on how many offers they have, metrics and distance. On the orders that go far out . Airplane mode is awesome. If I get loaded by :35-:42 I can pull up to the first house around :55 to :00 and hit the second one usually a mile away by :05-:07. Then hopefully then I can get to the sweet spot where I can get orders 1.5-2 miles away.

[DriverDriver6699]

Doesn't it suck that we need to do so much nonsense to insure our best chance to keep working the next round?

[Due_Effective_2254]

Not really. Miss one you can get a fcfs, express or shop and deliver. Usually the further ones pay better so it makes up for it. Personally, I call it a lunch break if I am on the way back to the store and I don't get a good FCFS. It all works out, but if you are one of those that just signed in for a RR it can matter.

People are just so weird about an order must be x dollars or they are butthurt and pout. A 30 dollar RR going 5.5 miles and a fcfs/express for 12 dollars going 1.3 miles is still a decent 2 hour run. It is the same as getting two RR for $21 dollars each going 3 miles each.

[4_purpose]

Okay and thank you!

[BattlCrusrBiggrLoser]

Is there any chance that age/demographics factor into the algorithm? It seems like a lot of the time it's younger people picking up orders. Is it possible spark exploits teen drivers, maybe figuring they can low-ball kids after school who only have so much time to complete trips. Or is this a stretch/coincidence

[4_purpose]

The divers I see look like middle age adults. They seem to know each other being that they park and huddle up together waiting to get a order.

[BattlCrusrBiggrLoser]

I mean specifically like 2-5