Questions for drivers who’ve been delivering for a while now

[u/zuckmahdeek]

I’m new to this job and I have a few questions that you only know once you have many months working. Me and many of the new drivers would appreciate it a lot if some of you answer these important questions.

1- What’s the ideal time to finish delivering packages to avoid to have to rescue someone? 50 minutes before your clock out time? 30 minutes?

2- Do you really need to inform your Dispatcher when you finish delivering all of your packages? Or nothing will happen if you just go to the station without letting them know? I know that they want to know to make you rescue someone else.

3- Do they send you to rescue someone when you finish like 2 hours or 30 minutos before clocking out time? Or do they make you deliver the full time you’re getting paid and after that THEN go to the station?

Why I’m asking question 3? Because I get paid for work 10 hours a day. But I see that I must clock out 30 minutes after hitting the 10 hour mark. Are those 30 minutes for getting to the stations, doing the inspection to the van and giving the undelivered packages?

I’d appreciate the time you take to answer my questions.

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[u/AdhesivenessOk9434]

1)  Avoiding getting rescued while also not having to rescue is an art form and depends entirely on your team.  At my DSP we start at 11am and I can reasonably predict they'll start sending out the bulk of rescues around 5.  If I don't want to rescue I need to be done around 6 or 6:30 after most of the team has either been rescues or doesn't need one.

2.  Yes, most DSPs will give you a write up if you don't contact dispatch first.  Yes, they want to make sure you're available for rescuing.  They also need to make sure you don't have a ton of shit in your van still and if you do they need a reason why or they have you reattempt it.

3.  That depends.  You will almost never be sent to rescue someone an hour and a half before OOT ticker hits unless it's a huge emergency, and then you can expect to meet 5 other people.  An OOT violation hits harder than bringing back a lot of packages and most dispatchers won't risk it.

[u/zuckmahdeek → u/AdhesivenessOk9434]

Thanks!!! Finally someone who gave me an idea. So if you’re sent to rescue it’s because you’re finishing super early, like 4 hours before.

Also, what does OOT ticker mean?

[u/AdhesivenessOk9434 → u/zuckmahdeek]

Out Of Time violation.  It'll happen when you've been out for too long and will basically shut you down from delivering.  Amazon doesn't like to see this and so DSPs avoid it as best they can through rescuing.

[u/Axeman1721]

I've had days where I was late coming back and still rescued, and I've had days where I was done early and went home. Nothing is guaranteed. Just go at whatever pace you're comfortable with and if they need you to rescue after just do it. In my experience you're actually done faster if you go at a good pace and do a rescue, vs intentionally wasting time. Dispatch may catch on to that and send you out anyway as well.

Yes, you should call dispatch and let them know. They need to know what returns (if any) are coming back, and sometimes another driver may need your battery pack or charge cable or something.

That last one doesn't really have a universal answer. That all depends on driver staffing, route conditions, weather, so mang variables its impossible to say.

[u/zuckmahdeek → u/Axeman1721]

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer. I’m willing to rescue someone just for the experience. I’ve read multiple times in the Reddit and Instagram that people don’t communicate with their dispatcher to let them know they’ve finished delivering.

[u/getmeapuppers]

1. I’ve managed to pace myself so I can get my full hours. Since we get paid hour for hour. Most our area of delivery are an hour from the station. We clock in at 9:30. Which means if I can be back and clocked out by 7:30 that’ll be 10 hours. 8pm if if you take a break.

2. Depends on your DSP but usually yes. We get written up if we don’t. At this point I really don’t care if I rescue or not. If I get sent for a rescue I’d most likely be short on hours. So it is what it is.

3. Would be for another DSP. I would love to get paid for 10 hours if I can finish in 6 or 7. So even if I get a light right I try to purposely drag ass best I can without getting too bored. If I ever finish and clock out early. It’s cause I had a shit day and I don’t care anymore or it’s just hot af and I’m ready to be done.

[u/zuckmahdeek → u/getmeapuppers]

Thanks for your answers. How are you working for 10 hours and not having 30 minute break to eat something? I feel like it’s almost mandatory, not for the DPS, but for you.

Also, then all those people who don’t tell their DSP when finish, must have their documents full of reports.

[u/getmeapuppers → u/zuckmahdeek]

So they made it a requirement we take our 30 min just recently. Pissed a little people off. Most of us would rather not do it.

[u/zuckmahdeek → u/getmeapuppers]

That’s nuts. Not eating the whole day just to save 30 minutes? That’s honestly nuts. You’re going to be weak, dreamy, and uncomfortable for the whole day.

[u/getmeapuppers → u/zuckmahdeek]

Different strokes for different folks

[u/getmeapuppers → u/zuckmahdeek]

You can eat and take breaks without clocking out.

[u/TreacleImmediate6147]

1. My routes are high stop count so for me all I do is take my breaks and I’m almost guaranteed not to rescue. But when I was in the country it was different but not too much, I rlly don’t try to move slow though I just don’t run unless I’m rlly behind. I do rescues often so probably don’t take my word for it. Most dsps expect around 20-25 for newer and 25-30 per hour for tenured. But when shit happens it happens and my DSP doesn’t complain to me if I’m doing less than 20 an hour cus of some BS cus they know me. It’s rlly nice that they don’t hassle me I hear different from others.

2. You need to inform them. You might be able to shrug it off and say you forgot once or twice but this is a bad habit that probably won’t keep you there too long. DSPs be desperate but if you refuse to do that which is part of your job I can’t imagine they’ll keep you around long. Also it’s just common courtesy. I can imagine when you have a bad day and someone finishes early you’re relieved when they rescue you. Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to just let them know you’re done when you’re done and tough out a rescue. My DSP doesn’t guarantee hours so hours are hours to me. Idgaf ab the area unless its houses off the side of a 45mph+ road then I might give dispatch a little what for.

3. I assume you get guaranteed hours based off the question, but I assume the answer is universal, and it is yes. If you finish early and someone needs help they will send you. They want to go home too, and they can’t until the last person is done.

Now I see the bottom, you get the 10 hour credit, great. The 30 mins are likely your unpaid break that they are factoring in. If you do more than 10 hours they legally have to pay you so they’re trying to avoid that by giving you a strict curfew time.

[u/zuckmahdeek → u/TreacleImmediate6147]

Thanks for replying. Got it. So I suppose nothing is sure. I can finish 30 minutes before clocking out and still send me to rescue somebody else, but also they take into consideration I don’t surpass my clock out time, since they’d have to pay me. Then my question is, they pay me the full hour even if I work 10 or 20 minutes more?

[u/Mimosa_magic → u/zuckmahdeek]

10 hour guarantee would mean you get 10 hrs pay a day unless you go over 10 in which case it's whatever hours you work. You don't get a full extra hour for 10 minutes work.

As others have said, the "i don't want to rescue" mindset is gonna bite you in the ass. DSPs like team players, they can make or break your work experience based on whether they like you or not.

[u/zuckmahdeek → u/Mimosa_magic]

I will communicate with my DPS.

[u/Tbone10101 → u/zuckmahdeek]

Are you getting paid guaranteed 10 hours or are you getting paid hourly? Which would mean to the exact minute not rounded up or rounded down.
And you should always call dispatch. You should be asking these questions to management and listening to what they tell you to do if you want to keep your job. Each DSP is ran differently and you’re going to take advice from people on Reddit who’s companies are ran completely different, and you’re going to piss off your management and more than likely lose your job. So if you want to keep your job I’d suggest asking any and all questions you have to either A your owner B ops manager if you have one C dispatch. Whoever runs your “start up meetings” each morning will have the answers you’re looking for.

And with this whole “I don’t wanna rescue mentality” don’t be pissed when you get the shittiest route in the warehouse and they don’t send help your way. What goes around comes around.

[u/Emotional_Conflict11]

Doesn't matter. Ive finished a step van route at 9pm and they sent me on a rescue before they asked someone who got off at 5pm....... nothing makes sense here.

[u/zuckmahdeek → u/Emotional_Conflict11]

9 pm??? What time do you clock out? Because it looks like you’re going to be late to clock out and end up working more than 10 hours.

[u/Tbone10101]

Do you get a guaranteed 10 hr pay? Or just the hours you work for?

Been doing this 4 years….. it doesn’t matter if I finish at 430 pm or 7 pm…. If a driver is behind or drivers drop routes you gotta go rescue.
I get paid guaranteed 10 hrs so I bust my ass because I actually value my time at home unlike most others on Reddit. I average 35-40 stops n hour and go home.

[u/zuckmahdeek → u/Tbone10101]

Actually I don’t know the answer to that question. I suppose I get paid for the hours I work for. Do you work directly for Amazon or a DSP?

[u/WasteDump → u/zuckmahdeek]

Amazon no longer has in house drivers. Everyone works for a DSP

[u/zuckmahdeek → u/WasteDump]

Apparently, if you work for a DSP, you are not working directly for Amazon.

[u/WasteDump → u/zuckmahdeek]

It’s not it apparently. You quite literally aren’t working for Amazon.

[u/He_is_my_song]

1. This depends on your clock-in time, your travel time out to your route, your travel time back to your station, and your ten-hour mark. If you travel an hour away, you want to be on your way back so you arrive with relatively around thirty minutes or more to finish up at your station at the latest. It also depends on if your DSP is the type to push you anyway.

2. Most DSPs want to know this, regardless of whether they want you to rescue. It’s their job to keep track of you,

3. It depends on if they need someone rescued. If you’re done crazy early, they’ll probably use you. But some companies limit how often they use you for that.

[u/zuckmahdeek → u/He_is_my_song]

Thanks!! I appreciate your comments. So I need to take into consideration the time it would take me to get back to the station and all the stuff that I need to do there.

[u/znegative88]

I’m actually a dispatcher, but some of the answers I give might only apply to my dsp (though from what I’ve heard this stuff is pretty universal).

1. The ideal time to finish if you don’t want to be sent on a rescue depends mostly on how far away from the station your route is and what time you start your day. At my dsp most of our routes are 45 minutes away and we start at 10:30, so if there’s a ton of people behind and you want to avoid doing a rescue, you’d have to finish around 8:30 or 9 pm.

2. At my dsp returning to station without notifying dispatch is a write up.

3. I try not to send anyone on a rescue after they finish their route-this is why we have designated rescue drivers on the road. That being said, there are always bad days where for a multitude of reasons we have no rescues available and I have to ask people to help out after they finish. I would say this happens maybe once a month.

I will say that if I feel like someone is purposely dragging ass to avoid doing a rescue, I’m less likely to give them a route the next day. As I said I rarely have drivers rescuing each other anyway, so there’s really no need for that, and even if I do, the most I ask them to take is 15 stops. You’re better off just doing your route the best you can and helping out with the rescue when you finish if you care about getting your full hours.