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James Shih

Delivery Gigs: Tips for Amazon Flex Drivers

2021-01-08

A large number of jobs have been put on hold or have been furloughed during the pandemic. This has caused many workers, such as myself, to turn to delivery gigs like Amazon Flex to pay the bills.

In this article, I will go over some basics about Amazon Flex, how one can deliver for them, and some key tips based on my personal experiences on the job. This article represents my own experience and opinions and does not represent the views or standards of any other entity. Also, work environments change, the statements below are just a snapshot of my experiences recently.

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Picture by Amazon

What is Amazon Flex?

Amazon Flex allows adults 21 and over with a clean driving record to work as independent contractors to deliver Amazon items to customers. There are mainly two types of deliveries: 1) packages, 2) groceries.

In order to deliver for Amazon Flex, one must download their app and request to be a Flex Driver. There's generally a long wait list: it may take months before one is approved and maybe even longer during this high time of the pandemic.

If a spot opens, you will be notified and the app will walk you through registration and ask to check your background and driving history. Once everything is cleared, time to drive, right? Not quite, one has to get a "block." A block is a 1.5-4 hour slot of time given to a Flex driver to deliver all their assigned packages or groceries to receive pay.

The frequency and availability of blocks is determined by a number of factors: number of deliveries to be made, the number of drivers, etc...and can vary greatly. To see available blocks right away, you can turn on push notifications to show you when a block is available and grabbing it as soon as you can.

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Picture by James Shih

What does getting a delivery look like?

Deliveries break down into two categories:

1) Packages: you will have to drive to an Amazon delivery center to pick up a route. A route is a collection of packages that are grouped by addresses close to each other. After parking, an associate will bring a cart with the route QR code and the packages linked to that route. You will then scan the route and packages and place them in their car for delivery.

2) Groceries: you will drive to a Whole Foods or Amazon Fresh for pick up. Check in on the app and then you will be told to wait until a delivery is made available. When available, the app will you to go into the store to pick up pre-packed, sealed grocery bags for delivery. Each store is slightly different, so it's important to ask the employees there for any help and location of the bags.

Once you've scanned all the items, the app will then direct you to your first stop and then you're off to deliver!

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Picture by James Shih

Delivery Tips

Having done deliveries now throughout the pandemic, here are some of the tips I wish I knew before becoming a Flex Driver:

1. Stay hydrated.

This is super important. You can easily go through thousands of steps in one delivery block and you may have to carry heavy boxes up to customers doors. For such physical labor, it's important to stay hyrdrated. I recommend bringing a water flask or container to place in your car so that you can sip from it between deliveries. However, another issue that comes up with drinking water...

2. Where are the restrooms?

It's so important that you use the restroom before doing your deliveries. There have been many a time in which I've had to delay delivery to go find a restroom to go pee. Restrooms have become especially rare during the pandemic as many stores completely close them in an abundance of safety. Here are some of my go to spots to use the restroom:

- Fast Food restaurants

- Supermarkets

- Starbucks

- Public Parks

If nature calls and there's no restroom to be found? I did some googling and found that those that urinate in a public area may be charged with disorderly conduct or worse, indecent exposure. That's why it's important that you use the restroom beforehand and also know your go-to, indoor spots in case you need to relieve yourself.

3. Organizing your packages: be quick

When receiving packages and placing them in your vehicle, it can be helpful to find an organization method that works for you and makes it easy to locate a package when arriving at an address. I've tried organizing packages alphabetically by the name of the street, but what happened for me was that it was slowing down my scanning process.

For me, what I focus on now is scanning the packages as quickly as I can and grouping them in my vehicle by type of package: large, medium, small, envelopes. Also, I make sure to do a quick look at the name on the package before placing it. There will be times I'll have to fill in gaps between large packages with small ones, but by looking at the names briefly, I'm surprised by how instinctively I somehow memorized where a package is, even though I spent a split second looking at the label.

For groceries it's easier because there are fewer addresses and the bags are grouped by address by a random name (which is not related to the customer's name), i.e. put all the packages labelled "KAIS" together or "TUPA."

The important thing for the methods mentioned above is to AVOID PERFECTIONISM. It should take 15 minutes tops to scan the items, get them in your car, and get on the road. Taking a quick moment to organize can save more time down the line, but organization should not take priority over timeliness.

4. Keep track of miles

As an independent contractor, the miles you drive on the job are deductible when paying taxes so it's imperative that you keep track of your miles to save cash. One app I use is Stride, which tracks the miles you drive via GPS. It's pretty convenient because you just turn it on when you start driving and then stop it when you've finished all your deliveries and it will calculate the miles and log them for you.

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Picture by James Shih. Can you spot the package?

Is it worth it?

Amazon Flex is a nice side hustle if you get approved, however, I don't think it's sustainable as a single source of income. The number of blocks I'm seeing now are less from when I started, which may be specific to my account, but this could also happen to you thus making the income stream lower and inconsistent for some. Also, gas and auto maintenance costs take a big cut into the profit. Amazon Flex in combination with other freelance gigs like Postmates, blog writing, graphic design, etc...is more sustainable.

If you do decide to drive for Amazon Flex, hopefully the tips above helped! One last thing: it's especially important to follow COVID guidelines (mask wearing, hand washing, social distancing) when working.

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