I’ve heard lots of stories about drivers getting deactivated. When you deliver for long enough there are going to be mistakes made. Packages will be late. Items will be reported not delivered. Blocks will be forfeited too close to the start time. Traffic. Thieves. Bad weather. Life happens and no matter how hard we try there are some things we just can’t control. For the most part these mistakes are forgiven. You receive the standard don’t do it again email and everyone moves on.
Except sometimes they don’t. And that’s when the contract termination email arrives.
I used to think that was the end of the line for an Amazon Flex delivery driver. I had never met or heard of a driver being reinstated. But that all changed a few weeks ago when I found out that being reactivated was possible.
I’m sure the severity of the mistake weighs heavy on the decision. If you decide to stop by your house for some video games in the middle of your route, I’m pretty sure your chances of delivering again are zero. But if your mistakes were beyond your control and you took the time to document them as recommended in this post, then there is definitely a good chance your appeal will be heard and approved.
So how did this driver do it?
- Instead of firing off an immediate response, she waited.
- She set aside her frustration and in doing so she could think more clearly.
- She took the next few days (not ten minutes) to craft a well written appeal.
- She wrote about her length of time delivering.
- She wrote about her rapport with customers, other drivers and warehouse workers.
- She wrote about why she likes being a Flex Driver.
- She wrote about how, if reactivated, she will be better.
- And then she was patient.
- Two weeks later she was out delivering again.
I know some may think the above is too much to go through to keep a position such as this. I know there’s a lot of discontent lately with Amazon and the lack of support for it’s drivers. I get it. But on the other hand, there aren’t too many positions out there that pay as well for the amount of time worked. To lose a job like this can be very frustrating, especially during this time of year when every penny counts. Hopefully the above gives some hope to drivers who feel they’ve been wrongly deactivated and truly want to keep delivering.
On a final note, here’s hoping that things continue to pick up for all of us. Stay safe and pay attention to your surroundings. Especially on the night shifts. There’s lots of crazies out there!
Good to know if my side income is cut off there’s a chance I can recover from it.
I had a long 8 hour shift today. Had two orders one right after the other cancel in the middle of picking them up today. Both times I had the food in front of me. It was weird.
Called support and there was nothing they could do because they couldn’t pull my name for the delivery.
Oh, you station managers and your shenanigans.
I have had mine terminated and appealed, after 3 weeks, they replied that I should go into further details of the reasons I missed and/or forfeited the blocks. Warning me to respond within 10 days of receiving the email. I m naturally pissed off and thought of calling their bluff. However,i must pay bills. Yes, they seem to sense our vulnerability and that is why there seems no level play ground and this abrupt terminations. At what point are you asked to go. Because someone has told me of receiving the same message before she even started delivering. In reality,if we factor in other explicit and implicit cost like cosy of gas, tolls, your vehicle wears and tears as you mount mileage,risk of being hit or you hitting another car you will discover that the 18$ an hour is not real. But for the flex and independence and exigencies, we hold on to it now. It can’t be a perm thing.
@sdflexer wow you did an 8hr shift? I drive in San Diego as well and the most I’ve ever been offered or able to secure has been 4hrs. The blocks go so fast.
Just curious, how many offenses (late deliveries, forfeited blocks) does one need until their acct is deactivated? Does it matter if the blocks are forfeited well in advance? Thanks for this blog
Hi Gerry. The last person I heard about being deactivated had three offenses. They forfeited two blocks within 30 minutes of their start time and then missed a block because they thought it started at 11am and it actually started at 10am. They were sent home and the termination email arrived that afternoon. I’m not sure if they had any late deliveries in addition to the above.
I generally pick up 2 hour blocks in consecutive order or close to get the 8 hours. This week I’ve been seeing 3 hour blocks and was prescheduled 3 days this week, 2 for 2 hours and 1 for 3 hours.
Just today I worked 7 hours. Two 3 hour blocks and one 1 hour block.
@sdflexer yeah I’ve noticed this week that a lot more delivery opportunities have come up, especially with the restaurant blocks. I did also see a lot of 3hr blocks which I’ve never seen before. Still have never received anything prescheduled but that’s probably because I only drive 6-8hrs a week. Did you notice the rate increase last weekend? That was pretty cool. Not sure what that was about but I’m not complaining
Well, I just got my first package not received email. Does anyone know how many it takes for termination? I am very thorough with my deliveries and make sure they are delivered correctly. Unfortunately I work in South East Michigan which is a terrible area. I figured theft would be a problem, especially this time of year. This is the problem with being a contractor. No job security 🙁
I forfeited a block a couple days ago that was for 8:30 am. I was scheduled to be off from my other job that starts at 3 pm .Less than 20 hours before that shift my boss told me the person who was going to work for me was sick and could not work . I have never had a problem getting off in 20 years at this job so it was a total surprise.
Any way I had something to do after my Amazon shift and was worried I might not have the time to do it now that I had to work later that day .I usually finish my block in less than the 4 hour schedule but some times a rare route that takes longer comes up. I was still thinking of keeping it until it dawned on me that besides getting a tough route I could also get stuck with having to go back to the warehouse which would be a killer. I have read here how people have been fired for trivial things that are not their fault and was hesitant to forfeit. Still, I have gotten e-mails stating that if you have to forfeit to do it at least one hour before block. Well I was over eight hours away and figured that was more than reasonable.
Guess not. The very next day my app stopped working. When I try to log in the screen goes total white out. My thinking is this is way to much of a coincidence since I have had the app for over seven months and have never had a problem. I e-mailed flex support on my computer and they asked for tech specs. About ten hours later they said they will have the tech team look it and get back to me. That was about 18 hours ago and have still not heard back.
Anyone else have a problem with the app like mine? And any idea of what is going on ? I did not get a termination e-mail so I am wondering if this is some kind of suspension or maybe taking time to check my record.
I don’t think you were deactivated due to forfeiting the block. Yes, it seems like a strange coincidence, but it may be just that. I’m sure you tried the usual tricks like restarting your phone? Hopefully support gets back to you soon and it gets sorted. Or maybe someone here has had similar issues and can help.
I had this same exact white screen problem at 5 am at the warehouse before a fresh delivery while trying to scan my packages for the route I had been assigned. This was after i had already checked in about 10 mins ealier on the app. I tried to sign in about 10 times and only kept getting to a white screen. I too thought, I had done something wrong, because I completely missed a 7am shift earlier that week. Turns out, it was my 4g signal failing me, when I connected to wifi, everything started working normally again.
I just tried connecting with wifi and it worked . Thank You .
Only problem is I remember I turned it off long ago because I had a problem like you had only in reverse at ware house. I could not connect after check in . I then turned OFF wifi and it began working again.
YES IT HAPPENED WITH ME SAME WAY
My Hubby got deactivated after 5 forefeitted blocks. It happened like 3 weeks ago with the new update. We wrote an email to appeal explaining the situation and got reactivated.
Deactivated ? Did his app just stop letting him log in like mine? Was he sent any emails saying he was no longer needed ?
It’s been three days and after giving specs info have only heard to wait for tech team to check the problem and get back to me. It just seems that they could easily have told me to uninstall app and send a link to reinstall in less than a day.
I have been an A+ Flex driver, no mistakes or bad feedback from customer, delivered on time, rarely canceled my scheduled block. But lately I have been receiving very few scheduled blocks, 4 hours or none for the entire week. I wrote to Amazon to ask about why is this, and all I got is the generic response of ” we try the best we can to accommodate all the available drivers to the number of deliveries in the areas….blah,blah,blah. And something about not relying on Flex driving as your only means of income.” Geezus. What really bothers me is that there are wanted Flex driver ads posted on the local (LV) Craigslists. So I’m like…why the heck are they posting ads for drivers when there are plenty of us already registered drivers who are dying to deliver?
That’s cool that you’ve received scheduled blocks in the past. Sorry to hear that it has not been consistent as of late. I drive in San Diego and have never once had a scheduled block. If I want to work I have to literally be glued to the app and continue to refresh the offer page over and over until a block pops up, and they go fast. Also I’ve never been able to get anything more then a 4hr block. Hopefully things change for you. It really is a great gig, I’m just glad I have a full time job
Wow Gerry, I thought LV was bad until you said you never had any scheduled blocks given. For the past two weeks I have not had any scheduled blocks or have any open blocks pop-out. I know how frustrating & time consuming it is to keep watch for an open block. There are some drivers who hang-out at the Amazon warehouse & they are on their phones refreshing the app in hopes a block comes up. I would think since it’s the holidays there would be a lot of deliveries but it seems it’s not the case. I do hope things change with Flex….it is a good side job. It’s always fun seeing the $ increase little by little when you open the Earnings section in the app.
Hey Gerry, do you still drive for Amazon Flex in San Diego? I just moved here a couple of months ago and I’ve been driving for about a month. it seems like I’m only delivering regular prime packages, because I’ve never received tips for anything, and I’m never offered grocery or restaurant blocks. Have you had the same experience?
Thanks for the insight!
Hi Sarah,
I have not driven since early March, so not sure if any changes have been implemented. The only time I’ve encountered something similar to what you’re experiencing was when I was signed up to deliver out of the station in Carlsbad. I believe they only do regular Prime packages, no tips and no restaurant blocks. In fact I never saw any available blocks during that time
I emailed support and asked them to switch me back to delivering out of San Diego UCA6 station off of Kurtz. When I got linked up with them I was back to seeing regular blocks for delivering Prime Now packages as well as restaurant blocks, all with tips when folks were feeling generous, which they typically are. Hope this helps.
Hey guys . I just got my 2nd email stateing that the customer did not receive there package. It’s my 2nd in 3 weeks. I got 1 more strike any1 know how I should go about dealing with this? It’s so easy to get packages stolen and customers lying to get free sh**!!! I know termination is in the near future for me. What should I email them so I can get my job back and how long would I have to wait? I can’t afford to be jobless atm. Any info would be appreciated
Document each case with support via email. Some people are actually taking photos of the packages when they leave them in sketchy places and submitting those when they get the “not delivered” email. If you are deactivated I have heard the process can take up to 3 weeks but in some situations things happen sooner. Definitely do not sit idle. Keep an open dialog on the situation. Hopefully you won’t be deactivated at all. Good luck.
Man that’s such a great idea . I think I’m gonna start taking pictures to document. Such a hassle but something’s gotta be done. Do u think maybe putting packages in a grocery bag would be a good idea?
I have the same situation,i contacted amazon to know the address of the packages reported as not received and they told me that they can not share that information but I know that sometimes the costumer opens the door they look that the package is there and they do not pick it up and even can collect and then report as lost to seek a refund or a new delivery
Yes I’m currently on thin ice. Such bad timing. I know some *uckery is going on with customers, amazon set it up to where it’s just too easy to get free sh**. Cameras are a must if these customers wanna purchase from amazon. I recently saw this and would like to share this link.
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/officers-re-deliver-stolen-packages-after-nabbing-a-few-grinches/366795040
Take pictures
Start driving a cab
What is the rule on going back to the warehouse after finishing the route early? I’ve seen drivers get assigned as few as 2 packages for 4 hour block, especially evening delivery block.
It is really a case-by-case basis but I will always head back to the warehouse if I can make it there with at least 30 minutes left on my block. That gives me a chance to pick up a one hour delivery if it comes available.
I think my problem is different; when i’m trying to fill out the form; my SSN is telling me it already exist with another email; for this reason; i can’t further the application. I e-mail the amazonflex concerning this problem and they told me they can’t disclose any information for me unless i email them with the email associated with my SSN. i told them to stop or forfeit the former email that may be associated with my SSN so that i may have chance to continue the form but noting was done to it.
I have been terminated 10 days ago for having app issues. When I worked restaurant deliveries , I did not receive notifications and always called support. I was told they will document it and I will be covered. I received the deactivation email stating I was not available to deliver for part or all of my shift. I tried appealing with no positive outcome. Has anyone else received a no for appeal and still been able to get activated?
Hey sup darius. From time to time this happens to almost every driver guranteed. U can get it reactivated if u write them an apology letter stating ever detail. Get your shine box ready because your gonna really have to sale your story and kiss some ass if u really wanna get this job back. Its gonna take a few weeks possibly longer,there’s just so many drivers amazon just doesn t care. Wish I could do more to help ya. Check out reddit link I sent u this will help u alot and u can post questions and people reply . I got a question howd u get into the restaurant side of amazon? I do logistica, I wanna try this restaurant thing is there a site I can go to for more info? Good luck bro.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFlexDrivers/
Hey Charlie , sorry just saw this. I finally got reactivated. Restaurant blocks pop up with warehouse. I did 2.5 hours the other day and made well above the hour they guarantee. The key is to have many stops and talk to your customers. Hope you like logistics. I thought about applying but there’s too many stops without tips.
Hi Darius,
I was just deactivated two weeks ago and appealed. I just got an email today stating that after reviewing the information Amazon will not be reinstating me for Amazon Flex. They didn’t say if it’s permanent or if after a period of time then I can be reactivated. Since you were in the same situation that I am in now, did you ever get reactivated?
Sorry to hear that. Yeah unfortunately amazon hires an army of drivers and don’t care about any of us. They deactivate easy. It’s tough to get back on. Try logistics. Hope it works out for you
Does anyone have their example letter of dispute they would like to share? I was terminated for “late deliveries”
I was just deactivated with the vaguest email that didn’t explain what I did. The warehouse team does nothing to support you and Flex Appeals just asks you to explain. Explain what? I have only received two emails from them within the past four months.
Hi,
I wish I saw this before. I got an email of customer complaints and got the email from amazon terminating my account. I unlike whom you speak of wrote write away. Then today I sent another email explaining that things happen and the only things I get are complaints that packages were not received but I have been doing this 7 months and do my best to make sure its going to the right locations and put in a safe area. Right before I hit send for this new message with my head clear of all of my frustrations I recieved an email saying they won’t consider me back even though I did write about the situation they talked about. Do you all think I can still be reconsidered if I wait a bit?
I would give it a go one more time, just like you were going to do. With your head clear and a clear explanation. I wish you the best.
Hello, sorry for the late late reply, regarding your main post of the ‘female’ who emailed Amazon regarding of the deactivation and then they reinstated her, is there anyway of contacting her via email? I want to reach out and to be able to find out what she wrote in order for if the same situation happens to me i can be varie on what to write. Many thanks.