No Access
I have been a Spark Driver for almost 2 yrs. I sometimes wonder why Spark has so many problems with their app when larger companies seem more efficient in running their apps. Every issue that has been described in other reviews, I have experienced and more. Like GPS directing you to the wrong location sometimes miles away from the actual address. Or While doing a delivery the app glitches or go down and can’t complete the order until I get support on the phone. Another issue is that I may receive random messages saying my account is at risk of deactivation, please disconnect external devices that manipulate orders or some other unethical act that I am no wise doing. When I call about it they don’t understand why I receive those messages. The current problem that I am experiencing is for the last 5 weeks I have not been able to open the Spark app consistently. I call support about it, they email me a list of things to do as if it’s on my end. After following their steps it still will not open so they escalate it to technical support and then it might open. I can’t even view my completed order or pay. They send me notifications that I qualify for certain incentives but can’t view them. This is also frustrating. Am I being restricted to make deliveries ? I don’t know if they, meaning Spark, are locking me out of my account or not. It is something to think about while considering Spark.
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App sign in issues
Hi, I’m new and i’m currently going through the on boarding. I’m having a problem with signing into the app. I know that sounds weird because I just said I’m going through the on boarding. I’m only able to access the on boarding via the link that was sent to me through text message from Spark. If I attempt to login into the app, I get a wrong email or password initially I thought it was because I didn’t update the app. I also thought maybe it was because when I started the process I was on a waiting list so I thought maybe, I had forgotten something. I attempted to login using what I thought was my email and password got the same error message. I then clicked on the link in the text I receuevrf some months ago and was able to begin the on boarding submitted everything that I needed to submit. I Did the video training chose a new password for logging in ..last message was they were verifying my insurance information ..left the link attempted to login to the app with my new password and again same error message I deleted the app and then downloaded the app again and still same message. I’m at a loss because if I can’t access the app then once the background check is complete. How will I even continue in the process and begin driving for Spark? I’m just so confused right now.
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Ok.
Ok so let me start with the app glitches which at times are ridiculous. They used to be daily occurrences. I hope this update has fixed them. Secondly, we shouldn’t have to wait on tips. Quit playing games with us to get the cheapest labor possible. Either it’s bad customers or them themselves stealing from the people that work for them and it isn’t right. Especially when dealing with customers that will have you going back and forth up floors to their apartment door for orders. They should have a process in place where they got to call in and have a good reason why they are taking a tip off. Sometimes though they got good offers for batches for example, but batches are another mixed bag as if the Walmart employees themselves don’t want to or feel the need to get the batches loaded up and they will play games on your time and make you miss incentives to make good money doing this. Then you got to waste time with support filing complaints on them to get new people hired. (Or atleast I do.) In good markets you can definitely make good money doing this long as you aren’t dealing with shotty employees and or customers though I also agree with others that it can get over saturated with too many drivers and then you can’t get good offers all the time either. So, definitely things to consider if you want to do this.
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I dont usually ever write a review...
Ive done Doordash and Uber eats and earned a lot from both of them so im not new to the delivery game. Ive racked up hundreds of miles with Spark driver, and it beats both of them in my opinion with how much you can earn per hour. 2 things i hate about this app is #1 the costumer service; the app would get this error where an order that has been picked up and will still be in the system. That error would cost you time just waiting there and when you contact Costumer support, theyll claim that you will receive reimbursement for your inconvenience but you will NEVER get it. Good luck disputing any type of errors on their part; Spark map giving you wrong address, App telling you to bring back an order that was not picked up by a costumer to a nearest Walmart, etc. You will NOT get reimbursed. #2 the tip system; this system is whats stopping this App from being the greatest delivery app of all time. if i see that i have to drive 13 miles for a delivery, and im earning $18 dollars from it but im only receiving $6 today and ill get the "tips" 24-48 hours from that day then ill lose interest in doing that. Why not just let us earn the entire total if were spending gas for that delivery?
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Company being greedy
This long over due to say but when these companies first started they was only charging $1 to use the platforms. Sparks don’t show how much they charging you. The customer get 1 and 2 waters and don’t tip. Plus they live in an apartment and the company don’t take care of the drivers. This company 2 years ago paid good before Walmart took over. I use to make $175 at the less but almost $300 a day. Now the orders got cheaper, no tip, and multiple orders, high miles. You buying gas way more. It’s a insalting to us as drivers, using our car and we see $9 for 11 miles and the customers has 12 items plus waters. Now they want us to shop and deliver for multiple people with the same money. Technically they don’t pay you to shop. We spend 20to 40 mins shopping and then bag it up and put it in the car. Drive there, take it out and put it on their porch or go to an apartment on the the 3rd floor for $12 . Now everything need to be $20 and up. Everything has went up but Walmart giving free deliveries wayyyy to much and that’s why the drivers not making out. You have to really be out working from early morning to night to make money. It take 5 hours to make $100, while u tearing up your car on these roads. I DONT RECOMMEND SPARKS find another hustle.
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Poverty
Working below the poverty level. Eight hours to make less than a hundred dollars but then there is the cost of gas, vehicle maintenance, tires, and they wear out fast with driving over 100 miles a day. 20,000 miles in about eight months. Sometimes when the app crashes then a driver will be lucky to get $20 on four hours. Then sometimes don’t send any offers for over two hours. A driver will be lucky to make $10 an hour but they don’t pay on driving to pickup an order or driving back after an order was delivered. But if you need to make some money for food, it’s barely enough to pay for groceries or rent. I’m very disappointed but not surprised that Walmart would pay people about half the minimum wage. Just look at the stores and how minimal they are staffed with employees. A multi billion dollar company takes advantage of the drivers. It’s similar to the history of the experience of Walt Disney of being taken advantage of and manipulated into poverty. Walmart should at least pay livable rates for drivers. Or are they playing favorites for some of the drivers?
But then how much a driver gets paid depends on the zone they drive in. Some zones make drivers drive for well above 100 miles for significantly less money and less than $80, but could reach 200 in a day to earn a little closer to $100.
So, what a driver makes is lost in gas and wear on one’s vehicle, but it’s worse for those driving SUV or trucks.
But then how much a driver gets paid depends on the zone they drive in. Some zones make drivers drive for well above 100 miles for significantly less money and less than $80, but could reach 200 in a day to earn a little closer to $100.
So, what a driver makes is lost in gas and wear on one’s vehicle, but it’s worse for those driving SUV or trucks.
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Better the app
One thing that could change is when you get a batch, we could decide which order to deliver first. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense the order of the deliveries/Also I’ve noticed the same drivers always get the shop and deliveries and never take the curbsides pickups. They just sit in the parking lot waiting for them. The store doesn’t want us sitting in there parking lot. I feel if you’re within a 2 mile radius of the store the orders should be passed out evenly amongst the drivers. Another thing is when you assign orders from stores that I’m so far away from. It would cost me money to take those offers. So it ruins my acceptance rating. Maybe send those orders out unassigned. Example: you send me an order from a store that’s 9 miles away and the offer is for $8.00 for 7.8 miles. So I reject it and it ruins my acceptance rating. One more thing it’s not fair for the customer to take away the tip. We work so hard especially in this heat of 100 plus degrees and we do everything right and they take it away. It’s called tip baiting. They add a large tip so the driver will accept it and then they take it away. That’s one of the biggest thing we drivers do not like. Thank you for listening
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Useless support
June 24 I was supposed to get my CA adjustment after waiting a whole day nothing was deposited. Spoke to a agent they told me 24-48 hrs to wait so I waited Wednesday would’ve 48 hrs since Monday still nothing gave it a lil more time. Thursday got in touch with another agent told me it’s a problem with earnings gave me a reference number told me to wait another 24-48 for earnings team to get in touch with me so I waited. Nothing deposited no one contacted me. Saturday talked to another agent said it was a problem with the app gave me another reference number said technical support will get in touch in ANOTHER 24-48 HRS so I waited AGAIN nothing not surprising at that point. Talked to another one today now all of a sudden it’s that the ONE banking only does adjustment deposits on Tuesdays which if that was true why didn’t it go through last Tuesday? Or why didn’t any other agent say that when they knew all the info this one did? And surprise surprise she gave me another reference number and said to wait 24 hrs is it going to be like this every time an adjustment has to be deposited waiting more than a week for it to go through that’s if it even goes through tomorrow which I’ve lost all hope by now. Moral of the story these agents don’t know what they’re talking about and don’t help at all they just tell you to wait and give you reference numbers which probably arent even getting passed on to anyone
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Unreliable
Pay is tad better than other independent contractor apps. I am disappointed when you need to call customer service to get help with a delivery the people on the other end of the phone are just as clueless as you are in the situation that you are in. Another thing I would HIGHLY recommend is figuring out how the spark app can work online & offline for those of us who work in areas where cellphone service isn’t all that great. I know I work up in and around mountainous areas and signal is lacking in some of those areas and a lot of times I can’t complete deliveries because of this so I have to call spark and that takes forever because they have no idea how to fix the situation. I also would recommend some sort of order organization. My area(according to the app has 13 locations) I can get orders in one area and have to drive an hour to another area to drop off when there is a location 5 mins up the road from drop off. Make It make sense. Also if customers don’t tip y’all need to compensate for that even if it’s just $2-$5 extra per(single)orderor even $1-$2per order in a multi batch. Also however yall figure out the times for orders y’all don’t factor in traffic of any caliber, accidents, stops for gas etc. which isn’t fair to us drivers.
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App constantly freezes and no feedback
I love shopping and delivering for my community and there is money to be made on this platform. However; the app is constantly freezing, and I have to restart my phone multiple times a day. it’ll say that I have offers, but I can’t do anything because of of this. I use other platforms for delivery services and don’t run into this issue. They really need to fix it. I contacted Support and they said they can’t help but I would receive an email from tech-support which I never did. I end up, just shutting it off and moving to another platform that doesn’t freeze.
I don’t understand the rating system on any of these platforms, but especially this one. I went from five stars to 4.8 stars, but there’s no feedback as to what I need to improve upon. We do curbside orders as well as shopping orders, and I don’t know if it’s because something was out of stock or some thing another shopper did. It just makes me feel confused and bad to get a low rating but not know why.
I hope they improve upon the technical issues with the app freezing and higher, some quality assurance agents to provide feedback to us when we get less than five stars.
I don’t understand the rating system on any of these platforms, but especially this one. I went from five stars to 4.8 stars, but there’s no feedback as to what I need to improve upon. We do curbside orders as well as shopping orders, and I don’t know if it’s because something was out of stock or some thing another shopper did. It just makes me feel confused and bad to get a low rating but not know why.
I hope they improve upon the technical issues with the app freezing and higher, some quality assurance agents to provide feedback to us when we get less than five stars.
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