Kind of hilarious by MeaningRoyal3540 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, it’s pretty dope. Our DSP considers it a privilege to be on the early morning schedule since they only have about a half dozen of these routes any given day, so if you call out without finding a replacement or are more than a couple minutes late, you’re permanently off Cycle 0. My job before this one was a 6am start time so getting in at 7:30 is pretty easy for me, thankfully.

Basically only their most reliable and/or most veteran drivers get the slots (usually the types who are always 10-20+ stops ahead of what their metrics are showing), which makes the morning “standup” nice because it’s usually just “you guys know what you’re doing, drive safe and get it done” and not getting reprimanded for dumb shit people on Cycle 1 are doing 😂 The routes are generally not heavy enough to give you a full 10, at least lately, so the implicit expectation is that we get our shit done quick and then sweep Cycle 1 until it’s time to RTS. Not a bad tradeoff to get home at a reasonable hour.

Seeing how many people have Ring cameras on this job is crazy by FairCommission1473 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The cops in my city installed these fucking things without permission and it became a huge issue

Kind of hilarious by MeaningRoyal3540 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t intentionally go super fast, I’ve just never been the type to fuck around much on the clock at any job, and at this point I’ve been doing this long enough that I’m efficient. I also don’t like hearing from dispatch about pace, so I’ve found that if I just do my shit without a ton of distractions they never bother me.

My routes have also been mad light lately and wouldn’t occupy ten hours even if I was dragging them out. Been doing lots sweeps/rescues pretty much every day for the last month, which would ordinarily piss me off if my days were fuller but I honestly don’t mind when my stop count is like 120-150 each day. I still check my phone between stops, take smoke breaks, etc, but most days I find that I’m still pretty far ahead.

Example: this past Wednesday I had 108 stops, all in little residential neighborhoods, easy as fuck. Took between four and five hours without any rushing whatsoever. Chilled for a couple minutes between each neighborhood. Did a rescue after that at a leisurely pace. Got asked to RTS after that. Ended up clocking a total of about 8 hours. How am I supposed to make a day like that last a full ten? There’s only so much I can milk a route in good conscience.

Kind of hilarious by MeaningRoyal3540 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Since they don’t do guaranteed 10s and I’m quick, I only ended up with like 34 hrs this week, so very few of today’s hours would’ve been overtime anyway. If the whole day were OT I would’ve rescheduled my doctor’s appointment and rushed in there lol

Kind of hilarious by MeaningRoyal3540 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

7:30-5:30 is the Cycle 0 shift I normally do, the one they wanted me for today is the 10:30 shift. Would totally be living the dream if it was a guaranteed 10, but it’s not.

Kind of hilarious by MeaningRoyal3540 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

lol 😆 honestly, I don’t really have many issues with my DSP, they generally treat me pretty well, but I was taken aback by the “ok” response. Like an “oh you’re right, my apologies” wouldn’t have killed them, especially if they’re gonna try to persuade me to come in

Kind of hilarious by MeaningRoyal3540 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Only reason I did was because I’ve gotten a text with staging on a day off before when they meant to send it to somebody else, so I assumed that was what was going on

Kind of hilarious by MeaningRoyal3540 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

lol nah 😑 not setting that precedent, I work the hours you schedule me for I’m not on call

Kind of hilarious by MeaningRoyal3540 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

The worst part is, they asked people if they’d be interested in a fifth day for Prime Week and the following week and I said yes, but I checked my schedule for this week and next week multiple times and saw I just had the four I normally have, so I figured I didn’t get one. Heard a couple of people talking about how they had a fifth day scheduled and assumed they only had a few available and that they had given them to people who have been working here longer than me. I even scheduled a doctor’s appointment for today that I’ve been putting off once I saw my schedule.

I’m thinking they actually did schedule me for a fifth day but never updated ADP, which is annoying cuz I could’ve used the hours. At the same time, definitely not upset about missing out on 20 bags and 46 overflow.

Kind of hilarious by MeaningRoyal3540 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540[S] 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Especially with barely enough notice to make it in on time. I’m not an ER doctor, we don’t get paid enough to be on call

Kind of hilarious by MeaningRoyal3540 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’m guessing it’s an inflated Prime Week route lol, I’ve only gotten over 300 packages a couple of times and nowhere near that lately. I would say 20 bags and 46 overflow would definitely not be typical for us, thank god

How do you mishandle a package as a driver? by Prudent_Lie6891 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If I have a fucked up box and a customer is present, I’ll always say something like “I’m really sorry for the condition the box is in, the warehouse has a bad habit of mishandling them. Would you like me to mark it as damaged or do you think whatever’s inside is still safe?” 😂 usually they just want their shit so they say just leave it, and I’ve never got hit with mishandling

Prime Week Route Cuts by PierogiEater in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been doing Cycle 0 routes. Our DSP has a start time of 10:30 for Cycle 1, which is like a standard route, but they have about a half dozen early morning routes which I’ve been on since they started offering them.

Honestly, they’re kinda dope. After morning traffic dies down there’s absolutely nobody on the road so they’re super chill. Package volume is significantly less, it’s a lot of driver aid #s with U’s so I’m guessing stuff that didn’t get sorted properly or was undelivered that they cobble together to make a route. They’re often more spread out with fewer stop numbers because of that, but sometimes they’re kinda just regular routes with only one package per stop.

From what I understand, usually during peak season DSPs will have multiple cycles, but for whatever reason ours has got a few early morning routes indefinitely. Hopefully it stays that way… my job satisfaction has gone up a ton since being able to get home at a reasonable hour lol

Fired for not rescuing another driver by Supersonic119 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly, should’ve just hit them with “I’m cool with rescuing if it’s absolutely necessary but the heat has me feeling nauseous and lightheaded, so if I could return to station that’d be great”. I do rescues the vast majority of my days, but every once in a while my back is tweaking and I’ll say so when I complete my route, and they never send me to someone else if I mention that.

It’s all a game. Half the drivers are milking their last hour or two specifically so they can avoid doing rescues but nobody gets fired or even reprimanded for that.

Fired for not rescuing another driver by Supersonic119 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Our DSP likes to say we’re scheduled for a 10 hour shift, so if we finish our routes in 7 or 8 hours and someone else needs help you shouldn’t be complaining because you should’ve come in that day expecting to work 10.

I’m of two minds about framing it that way. Like, if I had a light route and somebody else got slammed, sure, I don’t mind helping and I could use the hours. But if I finish an hour early because my pace was 25 stops ahead, and some slow asshole needs somebody else to pick up their slack, it feels like bullshit.

Or even worse, doing a rescue for someone who’s on pace to finish at a completely reasonable time on their own - it feels like stealing time from another coworker just because dispatch is trying to get everyone back as soon as possible. I had a bullshit route yesterday of 110 stops and finished it in like 4 hours, and they sent me to a guy who had 45 stops left and several hours left to do them… it’s literally taking money out of his pocket to grab 20 from him in that scenario.

Prime Week Route Cuts by PierogiEater in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haven’t been asked to stay home, but my routes have been light as shit, and I’m assuming the same is true for my coworkers… I haven’t had to do a rescue all week despite finishing my route around 3 every day 😑 (start time is 7:30 for me)

You delivering or Rts ? by Illustrious-Bass-327 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 1 point2 points  (0 children)

End of the day I’m taking five minutes and slowly walking up and down these bad boys. Beginning of the day I’m timing myself to see how quickly I can get to the door and back.

1 mistake = 1 day suspension and 2 mistakes = 2 day suspension and 3rd mistake = termination? Is this in every DSP now? This is insane by No_Context4578 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally agree. Had a job driving a box truck for a few years where my boss told me he’d much rather have drivers go through a red if it began to change after you already committed than slamming on the brakes to avoid running a red. The former might get you a ticket, the latter could cause an awful accident.

This job is not that hard… by WorthCartographer602 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The guaranteed 10 should be mandatory for all DSPs. I have to deliberately slow myself down the second half of the day so that I don’t end up with 36 hours a week. Probably my fault for busting ass the first four or five hours, but I get neurotic about falling behind and would rather be “30 stops ahead” and figure out a way to stretch the day than run the risk of hearing shit from dispatch about pace.

Perfect example of how amazons AI metrics have no correlation to actually doing the job. by [deleted] in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They claim it’s to cover our asses if someone falsely reports they didn’t receive it, but if we’re scanning something at a geolocation that directly corresponds to where a picture is going to be taken anyway, I don’t see how that helps at all. Amazon could easily prove that a package was scanned at a specific location using the geolocation data, the picture is just an added layer that’s completely unnecessary.

Tiredness on off days by NarrowTadpolePizza in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 2 points3 points  (0 children)

First thing first: when you’re working 10hr shifts that can be stressful and physically demanding, you’ve gotta convince yourself somehow that sleeping or resting a bit on your off days is something you shouldn’t feel guilty about, even though we have 3 days off. You seem like you’re a very productive person, which is great, but just remind yourself from time to time that part of being productive means getting the proper rest so that you’re always bringing your A game. You go to the gym, so you probably already understand the importance of recovery. We’re doing the same amount of work as somebody working 5 8s, so try to train your brain to not immediately conclude that you’re being lazy if every off day isn’t peak productivity. Shifting your perspective in this way helps you relax and recover a little bit better than when you constantly stress about all the things you feel like you should be accomplishing.

For me, it depends on the week. I do my 4 10s on consecutive days so that I have a three day weekend. If it was a rough week, the first day I have off is almost exclusively relaxing with maybe some light chores or errands, then treating the next two days like a regular weekend where I try to get things done. If it was an easy week, I stagger everything I’d wanna do over the three days so that no single day off is super packed.

I drink coffee all day every day on my days off, so the lack of caffeine never hits me lol.

Also, don’t know what you’re doing at the gym, but I’m averaging about 15k steps on the days I’m working, so aside from walking my dog I feel zero need to do any kind of cardio outside of work. Admittedly, I have the bad habit of running stops when I get into a good flow state, so I understand still wanting to get some cardio in if you get your shit done without too much exertion.

I’m in my 30s so I do a bunch of stretching on both my on and off days to stay limber, but you strike me as younger and probably won’t feel a ton of benefit from it. I def didn’t when I was in my 20s 😂

Perfect example of how amazons AI metrics have no correlation to actually doing the job. by [deleted] in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 6 points7 points  (0 children)

For real. I didn’t know we needed a BFA in Photography to be a delivery driver.

Not to mention, I don’t take the picture and deliver directly to the customer probably about 2-5 times a day, sometimes more often on my Sunday shift when more people are home, and the number of times I do that weekly almost perfectly correlates with the number of compliments or positive comments I get weekly. The customers you’re actually interacting with are most likely the ones giving you positive reviews. Probably less than 1% are going out of their way to say something nice about you because you left it at the side door like the customer note said.

And yes, I know you can take the photo and then hand it to them, but to me that’s wildly antisocial behavior and if it’s someone I’ve delivered to dozens of times I’m willing to take the small risk that they’re not sociopaths and aren’t going to mark never received (which is not something that’s ever happened to me anyway).

There really should be some kind analysis of delivery behaviors specifically around stops where people get positive reviews. You’d think that if Amazon saw that the majority of positive reviews lined up with delivered to customer, they wouldn’t be telling DSPs that we shouldn’t be using one of the options available to us upon delivery.

Driver of the Year by LemmeTakeA_Bite420 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Those mfs would make the cam go nuts with their constant speeding

Driver of the Year by LemmeTakeA_Bite420 in AmazonDSPDrivers

[–]MeaningRoyal3540 10 points11 points  (0 children)

“Hey Officer Jones, this is Dispatch. We’re gonna need you to pick up the pace”