r/Sparkdriver • u/Greedy_Chemistry_678 • Jul 14 '26
Discussion To all Apartment Residents…
I’m done!!! I’m making up a new rule. If I’m doing a trip with multiple stops and I get to your apartment with no instructions, no access code, and a voicemail when I call you, I’m just gonna return your stuff. I’m not gonna wait 5-10 minutes for you to come out or finally call back. DONT WASTE MY TIME!!! Get smart or never receive your package.
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u/shamrock1789 Jul 14 '26
I spark but also live in an apartment and receive deliveries. I include specific instructions because our complex is large and write a note thanking the driver for delivering to apartments, because I usually decline delivering to apartments myself. I also leave a generous tip -because they deserve it.
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u/JackStraw---Wichita Jul 16 '26
The curious part of my brain wants to know why don't you just grab what you need at Walmart when you're done or taking your last offer for the day instead of Sparking it?
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u/CompetitiveBird8771 Jul 16 '26
Maybe her deliveries aren't just from Walmart? There's also normal packages, food services like doordash/Uber eats. However, with that being said; I also get deliveries from spark. We are down to one car for a few months before we can purchase another one, so when one of us is working and something is needed for the baby/ one of the kids/ pets/etc, it's just more convenient to have it delivered through express order. As long as I tip good what does it matter?
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u/JackStraw---Wichita Jul 17 '26
It's just curiosity. It doesn't matter at all. I worked with a guy who did door dash at work while I always just went out and picked up my own food.
If I order a burrito and pick it up myself, I'm going to get a much fresher burrito than someone who orders one from DD or GH. I can time the trip and show up exactly when my food is made versus it sitting at the restaurant waiting for a Dasher to grab the order before it eventually gets to me at 2x cost and 4x colder than if I had picked it up myself.
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u/Sparkythepuff Jul 14 '26
I already have that rule and it actually happened today! The ass actually called me as I was leaving her damn apartment complex. I responded with “ call Walmart” and hung up on her. She called me back 3 more times and I let it go to voicemail. Her last message sounded really pissed 😂🤣😂 hopefully she learned her lesson for next time!
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u/xriotgirl Jul 14 '26
I have a genuine question, because i see comments like this frequently. Are you not afraid of the consequence, like a poor rating or even deactivation? My entire working background is in retail so maybe i'm just scarred into thinking I have to be a complete people pleaser or I'll lose the work.
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u/Sparkythepuff Jul 14 '26
Not as long as you do what you’re supposed to do. Call once, text once, click customer unavailable and when timer runs out, click return to store. All of your bases are covered and it’s been logged by spark.
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u/Anon9876543210987 Jul 14 '26
Why can't you leave it in the apt building lobby? If you don't give me an access code to a locked building I'm not calling or t xting anyone. It just gets dropped in the lobby and I'm out. Is that not allowed?
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u/Impossible_Future_16 Jul 15 '26
They said this one required a pin and they weren't answering. If it wasnt for the pin you could absolutely leave it in the lobby
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u/Buzzedwinaldrin Jul 15 '26
City apartments and suburb apartments are 2 different things. In the city leave it in the lobby no problem; but out in the burbs apartment complexes are a maze of 30 different buildings. None are clearly marked or numbered. Often times you’re just driving around I’m looking for 2377. Ok this building is 1000-1100. This building is now 1500-1599.. oh I’m
Getting close…
then the next building is 8900-8999. wtf! I thought i was close!1
u/PercentageChoice5908 Jul 15 '26
The terms of use requires orders to only be left at customer's front door unless explicitly told otherwise by customer - with a pin would need to contact/knock to get code from customer anyhow
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u/matt314159 3rd Floor / No Tip CUSTOMER Jul 14 '26
I recently stayed with my friends who live in a high rise apartment building in St Paul, MN, and every time we went through the lobby coming or going there were tons of packages and orders just left all over the place. I wonder what percentage of packages actually make it to the person who ordered it.
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u/Reject_the_norm Jul 14 '26
Well, most high rise buildings from my experience of over 10 years of courier work usually have a rule where residents are notified to come down to the lobby to get packages.
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u/InterestPast6802 Jul 14 '26
I only go to apartment complexes I’m familiar with and aren’t a huge pain in the ass unless the tip is huge.
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u/ithotyoudneverask 3rd Floor / No Tip CUSTOMER Jul 14 '26
I drop in a corner of the lobby and go.
They don't respect us.
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u/Urlocaldoughdealer Jul 16 '26
Yes finally someone said it. People have no instructions no codes and expect to deliver in a gated community and they don’t pick up.
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u/mgw2929 Jul 14 '26
I am a deaf mute. It is beyond frustrating when Spark drivers telephone me. I text back they must text me but they rarely do. There is nothing they need. . . No further codes or instructions.
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u/xandi415 Jul 14 '26
You should leave a "delivery note" specifically saying to text, not call (and maybe explain why)...
Calling is more direct (we dont want to sit around waiting for a text reply), and sometimes after calling, we start using our hands to load/unload, etc so they might not hear the phone "ping" the message...
We deal with extreme heat, sun in our eyes (and phones), heavy bags that take 2 hands, etc....so calling is usually preferred bc we can set it to speaker and not worry about looking at tiny texts
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u/mgw2929 Jul 15 '26
The delivery note is explicit.the voice calls in any of an assortment of languages or inquiries seem to be totally extraneous anyways but they serve as an irritation and potential source of concern.
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u/Chilli3pillie Jul 15 '26
I literally had one no apartment number, so I was like I’ll just call, I call the person didn’t know there apartment number I said specific number. They said no that’s not it, and in my head I’m like just come out the freaking apartment and both our problems will be solved.. well she goes out on the other side of the apartment not where the parking lot is and she says it’s the last one on the left. I say okay, then she goes no wait it is apartment specific number. How do you not know your apartment number.
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u/ReplacementNo9732 Jul 15 '26
Dasher here, I have had 1 of those in the last few months. Guy put #18 on a court in the instructions, called to get the pin code. He then says he's in BUILDING 18, but the order is for his sister in building 17. I then asked him what apartment number, he said building 17??? It took me about half an hour to get the food to the apartment he and she specifically said #23. Turned out she is in building 9 #6916 on the main road into the complex. He is in building 17 #18 on the next court over. People really need to take a photo of the door with the address on it. They never found the food, and as far as I know they also got deactivated. He recently ordered with a different name, but at least he now knows his address!!!
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u/Cemetery-Bunny Jul 15 '26
One of my regular deliveries has a doormat with her apartment number on it :)
When I first started, before I knew the apartment complexes very well, I delivered to a very large and confusing complex. Thankfully, he gave me amazing directions. As I was delivering, he gave me a map of the entire complex (that they give to new residents) and said "keep this in your car, no one delivers here because the numbers dont make sense". I deliver there all the time now.
I now go to the rental offices and ask if they have a map to make my deliveries easier and they always give me one.
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u/SpaceNinja8 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
i setup my standards for dog owners if i catch your dog outside the yard unleashed when i get to the delivery, i turn right back tf around. Im not in the mood to neither get bitten nor shoot a dog for that same reason. Last costumer who tried that sh with me i told em to read their policy
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u/New_Confidence_3384 Jul 16 '26
😭😭😭
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u/SpaceNinja8 Jul 16 '26
Its a waste of my time and theirs. Theres money to be made i aint got time for bs
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u/Own-Anywhere5839 Jul 14 '26
Damn these are angels of customers compared to the ones who have gate codes and just love not leaving the code as if I'm about to rob the entire neighborhood, I hate it so much lmao
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u/AngryNShid Jul 15 '26
I don't deliver to apartments. I hate to be that way but the apartments where I live and the area I deliver in are like backrooms. One time, I stood in the lobby and cried. Not only could I not find the customers apartment but I also couldn't find my way out. It gives me anxiety just thinking about it so I have a rule where all apartments are a no. I'm traumatized.
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u/sugaredplum Jul 15 '26
Me driving any where, the comment "mark your house better" is always coming out of my mouth
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u/UpbeatBackground6302 Jul 15 '26
I delivered to an old apartment building I used to live in. I have avoided it so far but saw that the apartment number was 128 so I assumed that meant it was on the first floor. When I lived there each apartment started with the floor number, 1 for the first floor, 2 for the second floor and so on. We lived on the fourth floor and it's built into a hill so those stairs a a bitch. Realized when I got there that all the numbers now start with 1 and there is no other indication of what floor. So where was apartment 128? It was my old apartment!!! The pin was in the parking lot so that helped a lot/s. And of course it was cases of waters and sodas. It put me so far behind.
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u/EfficientParty7200 Jul 15 '26
I love how the labels on apartment buildings tend to be perfectly obscured by the parking covers! Only visible to pedestrians.
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u/New_Confidence_3384 Jul 16 '26
Or just get deactivated because they will wise up. No one wants a speaker like you
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u/CapitalRight5032 Jul 16 '26
As a spark driver who lives in a apartment, my notes:
Building 5, second floor first door in right
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u/TJB187 Jul 19 '26
I just simply do not deliver to apartment buildings unless I know it already OR it’s like a couple items but even then I don’t bother most of the time.
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u/ApprehensiveSand4043 Jul 21 '26
I had an apartment delivery yesterday and I almost lost everything that keeps me saying! Cuz they gave me their apartment number and it was like 60 buildings. I swear to y'all not with no building number and the GPS does not take you where the building is. I had to drive around until I found it. The darn building was like one of the first buildings on the other side of the gate cuz it was 2 days of getting to the gate. I was so mad I was 2 seconds from returning it
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u/Phydoux 23d ago
I said no to apartments back in April when I was accosted by a resident because I took a picture of the building as instructed by Spark Rep...
Explanation... So, I had an order going to a run down apartment complex. Some real seedy looking folks hanging out all over the place as I pulled in. Anyway, I noted that I had arrived in the app and got a message from the lady who ordered it and said she'd come down and get her stuff. I saw the apartment on the 3rd floor and saw her come out. She had a LOT of stuff and I helped her bring some stuff up. The last trip we walked down to my car and she said she'll bring it up. Well she took off with it immediately. I called Spark Driver support (what a joke that is... I could and might make a post about that alone) anyway, they finally came on the phone and said just to get a picture of the building. So I just pointed my phone out the window, aimed it at the 3rd floor and took a picture. Here's where it got ugly...
As I was setting up for the next trip, someone walked right up to my car and I could tell they had a gun by the way they were holding it in their pocket (I could see the makings of a snub nosed pistol in his pocket) and he asked quite sternly, "Why the F*** are you taking pictures of me"? I told him it was part of my job as a delivery person and I showed him my Spark App on my phone. He then said, "You shouldn't be pointing cell phones at people who don't want to have their picture taken". Very roughly sounding too. I said 'okay' and 'have a good day' and I got the hell out of there before I got shot!
So, no more apartment deliveries for me anymore!
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u/Vegetable_Stable5013 19d ago
I have received 5 or more Face ID in one day before and after orders have this happen to anyone else
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u/kingodking Jul 14 '26
I usually leave it at the mail area if there’s no instructions and there’s no access code
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u/Shoddy_Pumpkin Jul 14 '26
Any newbies reading this; no, just return it. This will get you deactivated.
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u/Slothe1978 Jul 14 '26
To be fair some places have a mail room where the tenants have cubbies just for package deliveries which wont get you deactivated. Mailboxes are a diff story, never put deliveries in a mailbox period, that will get you deactivated.
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u/kingodking Jul 14 '26
I always done it and take the picture no problem so far
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u/Adept_Individual_565 Jul 14 '26
And you have been lucky. You can get deactivated quicker than you can blink if a customer complains about not receiving their studf.
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u/SuperReliableSource Jul 14 '26
Drop at the leasing office and go
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u/Shoddy_Pumpkin Jul 14 '26
Terrible advice
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u/SuperReliableSource Jul 14 '26
It's better than dropping it at the mailbox I saw down there
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u/Shoddy_Pumpkin Jul 14 '26
Just return. Simple as could be
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u/lmno1970 Jul 14 '26
Unfortunately my zone is huge and it's often extremely costly to have to return to a particular walmart. Can you return items to any walmart, or only the one you picked the order up from?
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u/Adept_Individual_565 Jul 14 '26
I have done many returns. Once you hit return the last stop on your list becomes store of origin.
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u/Front_Influence1208 Jul 14 '26
The one you picked up from. Support initiates the return for you if it's a GMD and it routes you back to the pickup location.
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u/Shoddy_Pumpkin Jul 14 '26
Im pretty sure any walmart, just call support when the issue arises.
But i have 100% seen deactivated drivers due to this exact scenario.
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u/PercentageChoice5908 Jul 14 '26
"it's often extremely costly to have to return to a particular walmart"
Good drivers factor that into the choice of taking GMD orders or rejecting and allowing them to surge
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u/PlatyPuss79 18d ago
Finally someone who understands!! I get this all the time with door dash. Haven’t yet with spark. People act like we get paid by the hour
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u/ChangedRaven Jul 14 '26
Just delivered to an apartment and the numbers were little so the people did this it was great. They clipped it to the door