As an Amazon Flex driver, you are expected to meet customer service standards defined by Amazon. While being an independent contractor does provide a bit of flexibility, there are certain standards that must be met for you continue to be eligible to deliver for Amazon Flex.
For the most part, being courteous and professional should go without saying. The one area that is likely to affect all drivers, however, is being on time for your delivery blocks and deliveries.
Amazon Flex will track the number of successful on-time deliveries you have completed. If you fail to keep up a high success record, you may receive warnings and after repeatedly failing to meet their expectations you may be terminated from the program.
If you fail to cancel a delivery block 45 minutes before the start time, or are late by 5 minutes or more, you will also receive a warning email such as the one above. If you violate these rules more than three times, you may receive a termination notice.
What to do if something beyond your control happens?
Things can happen that are not your fault and beyond your control. For example, a restaurant delivery with an unrealistic pickup time may be assigned to you. In these cases, it is always wise to call the support line and let them know what happened. They will also let the customer know and mark the system to show that the late delivery should not be counted against you.
Things like flat tires and road closures can certainly happen, but that is why Amazon will allow for a couple of late deliveries before taking further action. If these situations continue to occur many times, this represents (from Amazon’s perspective) a pattern of repeated missed or late deliveries, and is enough for them to take action. Just like in school, there are limits to how many times you can use the excuse that your dog ate your homework.
Instead, the best practice is to be as prepared as possible and make sure you always deliver on time, and allow for delays during truly extenuating circumstances only. When this happens, let the Amazon Flex team know right away and document everything so that you can explain the situation to them. If you have a reasonable explanation that is truly out of your control, any late delivery marks may be removed from your account.
What if my Amazon Flex partnership is terminated – can I get my account reinstated?
Amazon Flex may terminate your contract after multiple or significant failures to meet their expectations. If you believe you have a strong case for why you believe the missed blocks or late deliveries deserve special consideration, it would be a good idea to write to Amazon and explain your situation. You should provide as much (relevant) detail and documentation you are able to. This is your chance to make as convincing of an argument as possible and explain how you will improve and make sure that you will never fall below the expected delivery standards again.
Keep in mind the staff at Amazon Flex are very busy – so be convincing but concise in your explanations, and do not send repeated messages to them. You should find that if you have genuine reasons for any missed expectations, you will be able to quite easily explain the situation and provide a compelling case.
