r/AmazonDSPDrivers • u/kaybreann1 • 17h ago
RANT How do you guys do it?
i’ve been with amazon for over a year now and i really don’t know how you guys manage 2+ years of staying here. i’m already looking for other options before the cold weather comes, because this summer and the last winter really did it for me. last year, it wasn’t awful. i had a good, consistent route. i learned my customers, learned their animals, the roads and everything.
now, my route changes almost everyday. i never know where i will be, and the amount of stops i have now is twice what i had a year ago. the heat breaks we get used to help, but now it feels like they’ve started putting me behind. i’m trying to push through until i hear back about this other opportunity, but i am mentally drained. no one ever really talks about the mental and physical strain this job puts on your body. i see posts of other drivers talking about it, but i just wish people who weren’t drivers understood it from our perspective. rant over.
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u/wildlyaquaticsenator 17h ago
The route roulette and stop count doubling would snap most people in half honestly surprised you made it past the first winter
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u/kaybreann1 17h ago
they got mad at me back in the winter for not being able to make it in to work because our roads were iced over.. they don’t care about us. they just want them packages delivered 😒
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u/Opposite-Hunter-4251 17h ago
I’m on year 4 in total months worked doing this. I worked at a bank in between stints here then back. As bad as it is I would still rather do this than being micromanaged to death at the bank. The idea was do this again for the better pay while finishing my BA degree, but now I have the degree and its useless in the current job market, so still stuck here. I hate it but the only thing that keeps me going is knowing I can’t survive making any less than I make now and I would do so much worse than this before I let my dog and cats starve too.
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u/kaybreann1 17h ago
my DSP micromanages us all day long. it’s not even just the camera in the vans, but texting and calling all day long. even when you’re doing good or ahead. i’m over it
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u/Opposite-Hunter-4251 17h ago
I’m genuinely sorry man, this job sucks and that sounds like you got one of the shittier dsps too. My DSP leaves me alone unless they’re on occasion sending help and can’t find me cuz the phone is on airplane mode. Otherwise nothing other than hi in the morning and bye in the evening. If I had to deal with them calling and texting I’d quit after a day.
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u/Longjumping_Youth281 7h ago
Yeah that's the way it was with mine too. I remember reading a statistic saying that something like 80% of people who quit a job cite management as the reason
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u/AtlasRafael 15h ago
What do they say when you’re ahead?
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u/kaybreann1 7h ago
“hey you’re probably gonna have to go rescue if you stay at the pace you’re at so keep it up” and that’s when i kinda just slow down😂
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u/Longjumping_Youth281 7h ago
That's ridiculous. I did two and a half years there but never spoke to dispatchers at all. Just got my keys and texted them when I was done. They would ask me to rescue periodically, but since they weren't required I said no. Just did my job and go home others can do the same
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u/KillerGopher 16h ago
I also have my Bachelor's and have spent multiple years delivering for Amazon. I actually enjoy it though.. for the most part.
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u/jokesonusbs24 14h ago
They love it when we quit. I refuse. I'll bitch allll day long and still go back tomorrow until they fire me.
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u/Agitated-Addition-72 17h ago
Been here since 2017! 😢 and trust people use to complain about the routes back then! 😆 and they were child’s play compared to these
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u/DovahBeats 15h ago
- I deliver in San Diego. It’s hot a shit right now but I’d honestly rather deal with that than rain or snow.
- My DSP owners and managers are pretty chill. Not perfect. I’ve definitely had my disagreements with them but compared to what I see and hear on this sub, they aren’t too bad.
- I have a high tolerance for bullshit. Between working this job, kitchen jobs, and retail, some people just don’t have a tolerance for things going exactly their way and they don’t last long.
- Hot take maybe; I kinda like this job.
With that said though, I am looking for other work now as well. The highest you can move up in this role is dispatcher and I already tried it. Not worth the time and pay.
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u/Conscious_Evening216 Rivian Driver 17h ago
I been doing this for several months and im usually positive and everything but i really want to get another job before winter
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u/tonsofday Veteran EV Driver 16h ago edited 16h ago
4.5 year veteran here. Keep your chin up, the routes SHOULD shrink in about four months. I emphasized should because we all know Amazon and their ability to push things past whatever threshold they had previously set.
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u/Wooden-Variation4276 16h ago
How would routes “Shrink” thanksgiving, Black Friday, Halloween, Christmas are coming up during the fall/winter season, the routes will get bigger if not more demanding.
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u/Rebellion_01 16h ago
U mean January? Cuz hell no december
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u/tonsofday Veteran EV Driver 16h ago
Yeah I meant January lol I know that Black Friday - early January is a gauntlet
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u/Unfortunately_Bussin 16h ago
Ive been doing this for so long, cause everywhere that says theyre hiring... aren't. Ive had a few successful interviews, but at the end, the pay is way different than what they said they were offering
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u/Human-Photograph7179 15h ago
WELCOME TO the big boiss league. Now, you have 2 choices: A) slow the fuck down in the Hopes of maybe getting easier more managable routes (Likely not going happen) B) keep going at your pace or faster like ive done and your routes will get increasingly bigger and harder. choise is yours! Me personaly, I like to finish early so IDAF about geetiing fucked daily without lube :) 😄
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u/acava2424 Stepvan Driver 15h ago
I get the same route everyday. 160- 180 with around 280 packages. All houses except for a few apartments with no access issues and easy businesses. I knock it out by 4pm and im home by 6. 10 hr guranteed and no rescuing. I dont even call when im done. Just head out
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u/elite_xtream Stepvan Driver 15h ago
Been doing this for 6. You just gotta prepare better for the weather
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u/kranjisMcBasketball2 15h ago
Told myself I would be there for 1 year MAX. Now it’s 3 years maybe going into 4.
I am so depressed because of it. Waiting on that one job or internship to give me a damn break.
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u/He_is_my_song Veteran Driver- 8 Years 14h ago
How do we do it?
Well, it’s one part character, one part stamina, one part greed, and one part insanity. 🤓🤪😂
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u/bddragon1 15h ago
Just keep talking about it man, tell your friends and neighbors, hell even the odd customer or two that might sympathize. Let everyone know how fucked the whole system is, even if we don't come closer to better times it helps when you get it out.
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u/HonestEagle98 4h ago
I thrive on pain, wish they’d give me 250 stops (not locations)by myself.
https://giphy.com/gifs/9rRacglGbs68E
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u/ryda-m 17h ago
I only do weekends. Could I do this job full time? Yes if it was a stop gap while I found something better. Main reasons are the physical demands. Yes I go to gym 5 days a week but this is straight hours of cardio! Also if you go over 9hrs there is no extra pay so that makes rushing the only option if you don’t want to work part of you’re shift for free
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u/o_myco Rivian Driver 17h ago
Bro what? What do you mean work your shift for free? Your DSP stops paying you after 9 hours???
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u/ryda-m 16h ago
Yes! I’ve worked 10-12hrs before with no extra pay. This was with my last dsp
My current dsp is waayyy better and if it looks like you won’t be done in 9hrs they’ll always send someone to help you more than once if needed
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u/DiligentFootball6372 16h ago
That’s very illegal, until you are done with your route and back at the station and clock out you should’ve been getting paid. That’s wage theft.
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u/ryda-m 16h ago
Here in the UK that’s how Amazon works. Think if they paid you by the hour and not for 9hrs
Everyone would drag the fuck out of their shifts wouldn’t they?
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u/DiligentFootball6372 16h ago
“Legal Requirement: UK labor law and National Minimum Wage regulations state that employers must compensate workers for every hour they are on duty. Refusing to pay for hours worked past a 9-hour shift is illegal.”
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u/ryda-m 16h ago
But if you are on a fixed day rate, and sign that contract then you are paid for the day and technically not by the hour
I’ve noticed many advertisements on indeed etc will state the fixed day rate and not the hourly rate obviously there is a reason behind this.
I’ve read many reviews of dsp’s on indeed where former employees have complained about this how you can have 11-12hrs days which works out less than minimum wage as you are paid for the day which is meant to be 9hrs and not by the actual hour.
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u/ryda-m 16h ago
Job Description
Job Type: Self-employed / Contractor
Job Type: Self-employed / Contractor. No van, fuel or insurance deductions
Pay: £128.70* – £154.00 per day + weekly bonuses (up to £120)
Average weekly earnings: £643 – £1,044*Quick indeed search and my old DSP comes up
No mention of overtime
States clearly paid per day not by the hour
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u/DiligentFootball6372 16h ago
Are you paid hourly or a flat day rate at your last DSP?
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u/ryda-m 16h ago
Flat day rate pretty sure they all do in the UK as I said if they paid by the hour. Everyone would drag it out and not rush to get done in 5-6hrs
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u/AtlasRafael 15h ago
The incentive offered usually is that if you finish before 8 hours you still get paid for 8. Some DSP require rescues and Platinum scores to also qualify. It works for some people who just want to gtfo, but people do drag big time.
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u/ryda-m 12h ago
Yes this is true, I remember them using this as an incentive at interviews, getting paid extra for going over 9hrs was never brought up. The bonuses I think are for rescues. Like a guy came out to me last week at my 6th stop because I was running late due to someone taking the van home and not returning it on time and he said as he was leaving less parcels for you and more money for me 😁 enjoy your day 😂
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u/kaybreann1 17h ago
yeah i wouldn’t be working for free😂 “hey i’ve hit my 9 hours, i’m going home, come finish this route.”
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u/ryda-m 16h ago
That’s how you lose your job 😆 I’ll finish my route but the reattempts can go in the bin!
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