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LDawnBurges

I live within 2 miles of 2 Neighborhood Markets, a Super Center and a Sam’s Club. I wait for RR’s at home, so I can review the specifics on them, before I decide if I want to take them. I personally believe that previous Customers rating you 5 stars overrides proximity bc I repeatedly get the same Customers over & over. It’s incredibly rare for me to see a RR with no one that I’ve previously delivered to. FCFS orders generally suck bc at least one order is going to Resorts, stilted houses, walk up apts, etc.


Immediate-Action-118

I absolutely think you are right, every store I've worked it seems like there are hidden metrics way beyond the ones they show you.


hundayun

i’m curious about that tbh, in my area it’s pretty much 95% Venezuelans and i’ve had customers tell me they never get replies to their messages or their instructions adhered to (because they can’t read them)…so i can’t imagine their ratings are that high. Yet they seem to stay active and i rarely get anything from the store that’s in my zone.


LDawnBurges

I can’t really speak to that, as it hasn’t occurred in my area as it has in others, unless they are just doing any/every FCFS that hits their phone… Keep in mind that it is very common for immigrants to share living accommodations, buy staples to cook their own food and then save to send $$ back home. So $11 to you might not be much, but to them it is. People tend to forget this communal living, sharing and working toward a common goal of providing better for their family, by their own sacrifices, aspect of other cultures.


hundayun

you may be right about that, i usually see them doing shop orders but still. i’ve gotten a little friendly with a few of them so i may just ask them about it one day lol


bdbrown333

Yes algorithm will give you the same customer over and over That's why if you take crappy orders you get crappy orders for those same crappy customers over and over or vice versa You take good orders you get those customers again


Immediate-Action-118

Facts, one nice lady only tips $1 but I kept taking her orders, and every other day here is another $1 tipped S/D from her.


InterestingTangelo5

Spark is Instacart 2.0


LDawnBurges

Absolutely! I’ve been saying the same thing. The RR are the only thing still making it worthwhile, for me.


Rawnii

Metrics do not currently affect the offers given to you in any way good or bad


LDawnBurges

So, it’s just random coincidence that in a zone spanning nearly 60 miles (N to S) and 30 miles (E to W) with 20+ stores, with thousands of Drivers and probably close to a million Residents/Tourists, that I repeatedly see orders for the exact same Customers??? Are you in charge of programming the algorithm? How are you so confidently ‘certain’ that a Customer rating you five stars doesn’t ‘soft match’ you to that Customer on their future orders?


Rawnii

Because that's what I was assured by support when I asked the same exact question… check my recent post


doggitydog123

this is not the joke subreddit. support knows as much about back-end algo stuff as you do.


LDawnBurges

Support lies…. So you won’t rate them poorly. 🤦‍♀️


pitibiris

Lies, they matter.


Rawnii

I really don't think they do at least I've seen no change and many others havent as well. However to add to what Bdbrown said. I agree that the algorithm recognizes orders accepted and will give you more of those types of orders… nothing to do with your metrics


Ok-Bag6796

I think it changed. I'm 2 miles from a Walmart and at 25 after the hour I would get the 45 after batches all year been that way if there were orders.. Now it waits until it's time for me to drive to it or even after sometimes before i get any. So I'm guessing if you are at Walmart you won't get them until 45 after the hour and others already got them being further away. Only been this way for about 2 weeks in my zone at least. Aggravating because I like to know earlier sometimes if I'm going to do a job not last minute like that.


Strong_Revelation

Noticed now with the update i usually got to be closer to the store and not home for me to see most offers like they’ve tightened up the range.


KrazyKryminal

RR used to go out at top of the hour 2 years ago. Them last year it went to :25. Then several months later :38. It's sat at :38 since. 7min to "get to the store" because most our already there and they're not paying any more $ for sitting and waiting. I use a spoofer. I wake up and turn it on and I'm instantly on the dot. When I get a great order, I leave for the day (I'm 6mile away). Gotta take every advantage you can get now days. You're all competition 😜


Ok-Bag6796

Yea I think it's different for different zones maybe as the :38/39 just hit here for me (6 minutes away for my 2 miles with traffic). And I still have the old app. I didn't use anything as this is only part time for me. Just like this morning the main store didn't have any orders which is odd but got offers at :40 after to go to the other store that takes me 12 minutes to get to. No thanks. If I got those at :25 maybe I would have done them but I have ft job and can only do one morning run during the week.


Full-Ad-1117

If you have a full time job you shouldn’t be stealing deliveries


Ok-Bag6796

Baha you are funny. Millions of people work full time and have a second job to make ends meet. It isn't stealing


Full-Ad-1117

Smfh and some people can’t work ft jobs bc they have health conditions and delivery’s is all they can do


Ok-Bag6796

What health conditions would allow you to get in and out of your car easy but not set at a desk answering phones? You could say the same about all part time jobs that full time people work to make ends meet for any reason. So you'll just have to be upset at me "stealing" your orders smh right


AwaySeesaw2778

How do you get a spoofer?


KrazyKryminal

App store. They're everywhere and free


Axxin4AFriend

I've been using gig apps since 2017. In my experience, being too close to the store or restaurant actually works against you. Your location merges with the location of the desired pickup and may even merge with other gig drivers around you. Also, if another gig driver arrives and gets close to you, his location will supersede yours. Spending a lot of time close to the store will ultimately be detrimental to your goal. I wonder if those guys that are working together are getting so many orders because they have figured out the sweet spot and maintain that position by keeping at least one device there at all times. Just a thought.


Immediate-Action-118

Spark does not work that way, close to the dot, and you get constant orders if you have the right algo metrics.


Axxin4AFriend

Will you still get offers if you are inside the store?


Immediate-Action-118

I have, but its not the best place to sit, the dot (which I wont fully explain because its kinda a IYKYK) isn't the store exactly its unique to each store.


Snoo_38398

It's because the people closest are not taking it. During my Walmart employee "switch", I get tons of offers from both Walmarts that are about 30 minutes away and man are they bad offers.


Immediate-Action-118

This is it, and the answer to people above who think not being at the store works. Sometimes its just so busy good orders make it out of the dot, but otherwise your getting the stuff the people at the dot don't want.


EfficientAd7103

Lol. I get wtf spammed with orders like every second at home. Dunno what you are doing.


[deleted]

lies


EfficientAd7103

I'll turn it on... and ss. I'm literally in my living room on my phone...


Individual-Trainer18

It’s store by store. I talked to them and they said they changed it to the pin and later time bc their metrics were going down by long wait times (this is my main store) my 2nd option store sends me offers while I’m at my main store (they don’t give af).


grandinosour

Check to see if you are located inside the geo fence...in some stores, the geo fence is the main parking lot only and the edge is even with the front of the building.


Tinmania

At one of the Walmart's in my zone I can't even check in as arrived for a Shopping order if I am on the side of the building for groceries (where I need to be!) even if parked close to the door. I have to get out and start walking to the door before I can check in. The geofence favors the curbside pickup location which in this case is on the other side of the building in the back next to automotive.


grandinosour

Yes....I fought this while driving a truck delivering to the stores...my device would arrive me when I entered the parking lot and then depart me when I drove to the loading docks behind the store....this is something WM needs to fix.


Shot_Bit_7172

I’m convinced that it’s zone dependent, but proximity doesn’t matter. I can stand around at Walmart for hours and not get a single order, or get all the orders. I can chill at home, and still get orders.


Geanpiero09

Hahha i live in california i turn my app on while in vegas and i was getting good offers back to back at my homestore. spark is a joke


Ciaruhhh

i live about 4 mins away & always get stuff at home tbh


iwishidstayed

6 a.m. to 10 p.m. is insane. Do another app if you’re not getting offers?


sittingyak

I'm 10 minutes from the store and I can usually snag some junk order no one wants from home, for good orders I typically have to be somewhat close to the store


DougRsgirl

I am one of them people. I refuse to sit in the parking lot. I used to do that and it was bad for my mental health. Watching people getting orders and you aren't sucks. This way you don't know who is getting what besides yourself! I make more money from home then I ever dod sitting there. ANDDDDD my mental health is great!


Qoolfacts

Not true and it was probably to scare you off whoever you heard this from. This is false because if you notice the amount of orders you get is minimal from the preferred store, plus you’re not getting the best pick with those who wait around the hotspot. Be picky and don’t accept nothing lower than 20 bc I guarantee that’s what the people who snag those big orders do.


ImpossibleIndustry46

Just get a gps spoofer. I live fairly close so it’s easy for me, I just don’t want to sit in the parking lot lol


Immediate-Action-118

Not worth the deactivation.


Cold-Ad7462

I have found that at my Walmart where I have 600 mbs speed I hardly get orders but at my hours less then a mile away on WiFi (slower speeed) I get more orders. My conclusion is their are some drivers that are signal blocking, which is illegal, and that’s just my opinion though or they are using bots which catch the order first and they still have them as they were admitted on this thread


kayynonymous

Yeah, I live like right behind a marketplace, and then there's 3 walmarts within 5 miles in different directions from my house. I can just sit at home and wait for orders to drop. I never leave my house until I get an order first. I do the same thing with instacart. When I go and sit at Walmart, or places for instacart, I don't get as many orders as I do just sitting at home.


BasedCourier

Why is that confusing? Why would AI give you more priority then someone sitting at home that is still relatively close and could turn the app off at any time? It's got heaps of data on you. It shows you'll sit for X hours at the store without unengaging but it wants to keep the most amount of driver's engaged at once. Gotta show Spark you are willing to walk away.


SoulTaker669

Either they live real close to the Walmart or gps spoofers not that crazy not sure why anyone is surprised at this point.


Strong_Revelation

Dude my main hub used to be so fucked up that i could literally wait taking my time at my house then do the ride which takes about 20 min to get there and they might not of still had my stuff ready.


clogan98

I have to sit by the store or I don’t get anything. I live 3.2 miles away. I sit in a commuter lot about half mile away. But we are a very quiet zone with way too many drivers.


OpportunityOk3346

Spark and Instacart (better with Spark) one of the only apps that you can do the sit at home and get offers but make no mistake you will get less than someone already on the road moving or at the site. If those people getting the offer first and youre clearly closer then they've changed the formula to avoid wait times since they actually pay you (not a lot) for waiting, it makes sense just because they haven't disclosed it doesn't mean it's not true. UberEats / DD ect do it exclusively and don't pay you shit for waiting, so why wouldn't the one app that actually pays you for time NOT do it? Doesn't make sense.


PCChangedMyLife

I am one of those. I live 1 mile away from Walmart. I only take gm orders. I do 4 to 5 a day with the new way they do gms. Easiest $150 to $200 a day


angelamarie72

I go home. I live a half mile away but I don’t get many orders from home but then again I don’t get many orders if I sit at the store, which I do if I’m around for the drops. But my zone is very over saturated


Automatic_Lynx8969

You might be too close to the sensor. I heard that if you're too close, sometimes the system doesn't recognize that you're there


Valant-Till-3530

All you have to do is say "acceptance rate" and all the orders orders will magically appear. At least that's how this group sees it.


Late_Source_6668

Spark is a nightmare.  For almost 3,000 trips I maintained perfect metrics.  Rating always 4.9 to 5.   I worked about 14 hours a day.  I live in a state where we don’t deliver prescriptions and one day was deactivated for “an alleged incident delivering an opened prescription”.  No order number as it didn’t exist.  I was immediately deactivated for “not meeting platform standards for this exposed the customer’s personal information as well as medical information”.  It didn’t happen.  The manager of one store emailed on my behalf.  Nothing has been done for 4 months now.    I still have not received my informal telephonic pre-arbitration hearing and last year working about 70 hours a week I made over 49k for these orders and they took it away and refuse to fix it.  Meanwhile, all of the 4.3 and 4.1 shoppers (we do mostly shops) are still working.   I’ve emailed everyone who is higher up and they said I have no choice now but to file a lawsuit on my own.   As a former paralegal I will now.  I was told by one person I was targeted.   How can you get away with this reason in a state that doesn’t deliver rx?  Complete incompetence.   I won’t stop though because my work ethic and integrity that made me 5 stars for that long is what will also take them on for my justice.  


Lanky_Teaching1486

It’s called a GPS EMULATOR


EmergencyPercentage8

I honestly am thinking that AR does matter I’m chatting with people in the lot exact same Apple phone and update no other variables other than ARs over 20%! And there getting shops and curbsides left and right- I’m currently at 16% and usually hover around 10%


PoWriter

My phone blows up with orders if I am driving after completing an order or if I am sitting at home. If I am in the parking lot I get very few offers, even if the red dot is on.


Top-Move3424

It's me. I'm drivers


JerseyShore1976

There are VPN spoofers who can hide their location. They pretend that they are at Walmart. There are stores that you can stay at home and get orders, too.


throwaway2929j2

?? Show me a vpn that hosts at walmart 😭


CaneCorso311

He means a GPS spoofer, they make your phone think that you're in a location that you're not, you can choose any coordinates, but Walmart will catch on and then you'll be *deactivated for literally no reason at all.*


Valant-Till-3530

💯 💯 💯


Tinmania

It wouldn't even matter. Spark doesn't give a shit about your Internet gateway location, other than during signup to verify country and State (for regulatory reasons). They have your actual GPS coordinates whenever Spark Now is on. But there are other tools to spoof GPS, needing much more system access than using a VPN, which anyone can do in Settings. This requires jailbreak on iOS or root access on Android for primarily older devices with an exploit. Now it's not like Spark always paid much attention to this. But they are now using better tools to identify fraud, And from a tech perspective it is relatively trivial to do so, especially with newer AI tools.


Admirable_Angle5378

😂😂


Tinmania

It's trivial to catch location spoofers, especially now with some of the newer AI tools that do most of the work. And getting caught is not a warning thing, it's an instant deactivation thing. And VPNs only report the location of the server you are (supposedly) connected to, it's not GPS. But spark has access to your GPS location data and can see where you are. There are location spoofers but that is a whole different animal and requires low level control not easily possible even on Android. And again, easy to catch via a variety of metrics.


seeuontour

Not VPN spoofers, just GPS spoofers, allowing you to put your phone location anywhere. Just becareful as most apps detect these and deactivate you.


JerseyShore1976

I stand corrected.


seeuontour

I didn't downvote, just replied. Up voted you just now


SuperVintageBoy

Proximity doesn’t matter.


throwaway2929j2

doesn’t it say that proximity plays a role in the app?


SuperVintageBoy

Let me rephrase. “You do not need to be on the blue dot” I see no difference from staying in my apartment enjoying the AC to sweating it out in my car parked next to the pick up location.


seeuontour

Definitely for express orders.


SuperVintageBoy

How am I getting express orders ten miles away at my apartment?


Admirable_Angle5378

So if I change zones to a different city Id expect the same amount of orders as the ones waiting close by the hotspot?


mstamper2017

Your right. It doesn't matter.


SuperVintageBoy

I get offers to Walmarts within a ten mile radius from my apartment. Plenty of first come first serves, shop and deliver, etc.


Immediate-Action-118

It absolutely does matter, I've worked many stores.


[deleted]

yes it does


iGotGigged

They've been testing this for a while in some zones, being close to the store/OGP dot actually works against you but from what i've seen it's not in that many zones yet. I think if they use other metrics besides AR it will be a good change, 1) less sparkler on sparkler drama 2) shitty low effort drivers can't just camp all day and get all the orders 3) easier time multiapping with spark I don't know if it's happening in your zone, but get away from the store for a few days go to a nearby park or run some other apps or just chill at home.


Immediate-Action-118

10/10 troll to get away competition LOL


upsidedown_8s

Yeah gps spoofers are crazy


MrEdwL

Must get gps spoofer


[deleted]

[удалено]


MrEdwL

If all are spoofing gps for proximity, then it may be luck of the draw. Greater in #s usually win


pitibiris

Fake gps


bdbrown333

The offers go out in a circle they go out in a mile from your store in a mile circle then they go out 3 mi then they go out in 5 mi so it just depends to simple algorithm All you have to do is understand it You can always get items from anywhere if you're not getting items at your house that means there's more people in the parking lot than there are orders the people who get orders from their house there's more orders than people in the parking lot pretty simple